For husband shalt thou P. Queen. O, confound the rest! None wed the second, but who kill'd the first. P. Queen. The instances, that second marriage move, Are base respects of thrift, but none of love; When second husband kisses me in bed. P. King. I do believe, you think what now you speak; But, what we do determine, oft we break. Of violent birth, but poor validity: Which now, like fruit unripe, sticks on the tree; Το pay ourselves what to ourselves is debt:1 Their own enactures with themselves destroy :" Whether love lead fortune, or else fortune love. ? The instances,] The motives. i what to ourselves is debt:] The performance of a resolution, in which only the resolver is interested, is a debt only to himself, which he may therefore remit at pleasure. 2 Their own enactures with themselves destroy:] What grief or joy enact or determine in their violence, is revoked in their abatement. Enactures is the word in the quarto; all the modern edi. tions have enactors. JOHNSON, The great man down, you mark his favourite flies; poor advanc'd makes friends of enemies. And hitherto doth love on fortune tend: The For who not needs, shall never lack a friend; But, orderly to end where I begun,- Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own: So think thou wilt no second husband wed; Sport and repose lock from me, day, and night! 13 Each opposite, that blanks the face of joy, Ham. If she should break it now, To OPHELIA, P. King. 'Tis deeply sworn. Sweet, leave me here a while; My spirits grow dull, and fain I would beguile P. Queen. [Sleeps. Sleep rock thy brain; And never come mischance between us twain ! [Exit. Ham. Madam, how like you this play? 3 An anchor's cheer in prison be my scope!] May my whole liberty and enjoyment be to live on hermit's fare in a prison, Anchor is for anchoret. JOHNSON. King. Have you heard the argument? Is there no offence in't? Ham. No, no, they do but jest, poison in jest: no offence i'the world. King. What do you call the play? 4 Ham. The mouse-trap. Marry, how? Tropically. This play is the image of a murder done in Vienna: Gonzago is the duke's name; his wife, Baptista: you shall see anon; 'tis a knavish piece of work: But what of that? your majesty, and we that have free souls, it touches us not: Let the galled jade wince, our withers are unwrung.— Enter LUCIANUS. This is one Lucianus, nephew to the king. Oph. You are keen, my lord, you are keen. Ham. It would cost you a groaning, to take off my edge. Oph. Still better, and worse. Ham. So you mistake your husbands.-Begin, murderer;-leave thy damnable faces, and begin. Come; -The croaking raven Doth bellow for revenge. Luc. Thoughts black, hands apt, drugs fit, and time agreeing; Confederate season, else no creature seeing; • The mouse-trap.] He calls it the mouse-trap, because it is 66 -the thing "In which he'll catch the conscience of the king." Thy natural magick and dire property, [Pours the Poison into the Sleeper's Ears. Ham. He poisons him i'the garden for his estate. His name's Gonzago; the story is extant, and written in very choice Italian: You shall see anon, how the murderer gets the love of Gonzago's wife. Oph. The king rises. Ham. What! frighted with false fire! Queen. How fares my lord? Pol. Give o'er the play. King. Give me some light :-away! Pol. Lights, lights, lights! [Exeunt all but HAMLET and HORATIO. Ham. Why, let the strucken deer go weep, For some must watch, while some must sleep; Would not this, sir, and a forest of feathers," (if the rest of my fortunes turn Turk with me,) with two Provencial roses on my razed' shoes, get me a fellowship in a cry of players, sir? Hor. Half a share. 5 Would not this, sir, and a forest of feathers, &c.] It appears from Decker's Gul's Hornbooke, that feathers were much worn on the stage in Shakspeare's time. 6 turn Turk with me,] This means to change condition fantastically. 7- Provencial roses on my razed shoes.] Provencial, or (with the French ç) Provençal. He means roses of Provence, a beautiful species of rose, much cultivated. Razed shoes may mean slashed shoes, i. e. with cuts or openings in them. The poet might have written raised shoes, i. e. shoes with high heels; such as by adding to the stature, are supposed to increase the dignity of a player. 8 — a cry of players,] Allusion to a pack of hounds, which was once called a cry of hounds. 1 Ham. A whole one, I.] The actors in our author's time had not For thou dost know, O Damon dear,' Of Jove himself; and now reigns here Hor. You might have rhymed. Ham. O good Horatio, I'll take the ghost's word for a thousand pound. Didst perceive? Hor. Very well, my lord. Ham. Upon the talk of the poisoning,- Ham. Ah, ha!-Come, some musick; come, the recorders. For if the king like not the comedy, Why then, belike,2-he likes it not, perdy.3 Enter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN. Come, some musick. Guil. Good my lord, vouchsafe me a word with you. Ham. Sir, a whole history. Guil. The king, sir, Ham. Ay, sir, what of him? Guil. Is, in his retirement, marvellous distempered. Ham. With drink, sir ?4 Guil. No, my lord, with choler. Ham. Your wisdom should show itself more richer, to signify this to the doctor; for, for me to annual salaries as at present. The whole receipts of each theatre were divided into shares, of which the proprietors of the theatre, or house-keepers, as they were called, had some; and each actor had one or more shares, or part of a share, according to his merit, 1 O Damon dear,] Hamlet calls Horatio by this name, in allusion to the celebrated friendship between Damon and Pythias. Why then, belike.] Hamlet was going on to draw the consequence, when the courtiers entered. JOHNSON. 2 3 he likes it not, perdy.] Perdy is the corruption of par Dieu, and is not uncommon in the old plays. 4 With drink, sir?] Hamlet takes particular care that his uncle's love of drink shall not be forgotten. |