Makes us traduc'd and tax'd of other nations: They clepe us drunkards3, and with swinish phrase From our achievements, though perform'd at height, That for some vicious mole of nature in them, By their o'ergrowth of some complexion, Being nature's livery, or fortune's star,- Shall in the general censure take corruption formed part of the acted play, as James I. was married to a Danish Princess, and the King of Denmark twice visited this country early in the reign of the successor of Elizabeth. Mr. Barron Field thinks that "the disquisition is too long and calm for the awful occasion, and that Shakespeare may have desired it to be left out by the performer on this account." Both reasons may have had their influence. 3 They CLEPE us drunkards,] i. e. "they call us drunkards;" from the Sax. clypian. See Vol. ii. p. 291. ⚫ THEIR virtues else-] In all the old copies it is "His virtues else"-corrected by Theobald. To his own scandal.] This sentence in the 4to. 1604, stands thus : "the dram of eale Doth all the noble substance of a doubt To his own scandal." Some corruption is evident, but the text, as we have given it, affords a distinct and consistent meaning: it is easy to see how "ill" might be misprinted eale, and "often dout" of a doubt, the compositor having taken the passage by his ear only indeed a stronger proof of the kind could hardly be pointed out. To "dout" is of course to do out, to destroy or extinguish, and the word is still not out of use in some parts of the kingdom, particularly in the north. See Holloway's "General Provincial Dictionary," 1838. Hor. Enter Ghost. Look, my lord! it comes. Ham. Angels and ministers of grace defend us! Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damn'd, Bring with thee airs from heaven, or blasts from hell, Be thy intents wicked, or charitable, Thou com'st in such a questionable shape, That I will speak to thee. I'll call thee, Hamlet, Hor. It beckons you to go away with it, As if it some impartment did desire To you alone. Mar. Look, with what courteous action It waves you' to a more removed ground: But do not go with it. Be thy INTENTS] The folio, 1623, reads "Be thy events." Those who profess to adhere to the first folio have frequently left important variations unnoticed, though materially affecting the authority of that edition. 7 0 ! answer me :] The folio, 1623, thus repeats the interjection, to the injury of this most impressive line, "O! O! answer me." quietly IN-URN'D,] The quartos, including that of 1603, have "quietly interr'd" the folio as in our text. The Ghost beckons.] This stage-direction is in every old copy, though omitted in every modern one. 1 It WAVES you-] So every quarto: the folio, wafts. But Hamlet, just below, according to the same edition, says, "It wares me forth again." Hor. No, by no means. Ham. It will not speak; then, will I follow it'. Ham. Why, what should be the fear? I do not set my life at a pin's fee; And, for my soul, what can it do to that, It waves me forth again :-I'll follow it. Hor. What, if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord, Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff, That beetles o'er his base into the sea, And there assume some other horrible form, I'll follow thee. It waves me still :-Go on, Mar. You shall not go, my lord. Hold off your hands. My fate cries out, Hor. Be rul'd: you shall not go. [Ghost beckons. And makes each petty artery in this body [Breaking from them. By heaven, I'll make a ghost of him that lets me1:- 2 [Exeunt Ghost and HAMLET. then, WILL I follow it.] So the quarto, 1603, and the folio: the other quartos, "I will." 3 And hears it roar beneath.] This and the three preceding lines are only in the quartos, 1604, &c. In the second line of the speech the folio has sonnet for "summit." 4 of him that LETS me :] i. e. that hinders or prevents me. See Vol. vi. p. 409. The word hardly requires a note. Hor. He waxes desperate with imagination. Mar. Let's follow; 'tis not fit thus to obey him. Hor. Have after.-To what issue will this come? Mar. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Hor. Heaven will direct it. Ham. Whither wilt thou lead me"? speak, I'll go no Ham. Speak, I am bound to hear. Ghost. So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear®. Ham. What? Ghost. I am thy father's spirit ; Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night, 5 WHITHER Wilt thou lead me ?] The folio, in opposition to every quarto, prints Where. "Whither," like whether, as we have seen in various instances, (Vol. ii. p. 149; Vol. v. p. 173, &c.) is to be pronounced in the time of a monosyllable. It is sometimes so printed. 6 So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear.] This and the preceding speech are quoted in Beaumont and Fletcher's "Woman Hater," 1607. See Dyce's Beaumont and Fletcher, vol. i. p. 37. Till the foul crimes, done in my days of nature, I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word And each particular hair to stand an-end, To ears of flesh and blood.-List, list, O list!— Ham. O God! Ghost. Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder. Ham. Murder? Ghost. Murder most foul, as in the best it is; But this most foul, strange, and unnatural. Ham. Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift 10 As meditation, or the thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge. Ghost. I find thee apt; And duller should'st thou be, than the fat weed Would'st thou not stir in this: now, Hamlet, hear. A serpent stung me: so the whole ear of Denmark Rankly abus'd; but know, thou noble youth, Thy KNOTTED-] So every quarto: the folio has knotty. 8 Like quills upon the FRETFUL porcupine :] Here again we see the quarto, 1603, confirming the folio. Every other quarto edition has fearful for "fretful," which last is the word in the folio, 1623. 9 — List, list, O list!] So the quartos, 1604, &c. The folio injures the metre, by reading, "List, Hamlet, O, list!" 10 Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift] Both the measure and the grammar of this line are spoiled in the folio, by the needless repetition of haste, and the omission of I. 1 That ROOTS itself-] The quarto, 1603, and all the other quartos, have "roots :" the folio, probably by a misprint, rots. |