King. Where is Polonius? Ham. In heaven: send thither to see; senger find him not there, seek him i'the other place yourself. But, indeed, if you find him not within this month, you shall nose him as you go up the stairs into the lobby. King. Go seek him there. [To some Attendants. Ham. He will stay till you come. [Exeunt Attendants. King. Hamlet, this deed, for thine especial safety,— Which we do tender, as we dearly grieve For that which thou hast done,-must send thee hence With fiery quickness: therefore, prepare thyself. The bark is ready, and the wind at help, Th' associates tend, and every thing is bent King. So is it, if thou knew'st our purposes. Ham. I see a cherub that sees them3.-But, come; for England!-Farewell, dear mother. King. Thy loving father, Hamlet. Ham. My mother: father and mother is man and wife, man and wife is one flesh; and so, my mother. Come, for England. [Exit. King. Follow him at foot; tempt him with speed aboard: Delay it not, I'll have him hence to-night. Away, for every thing is seal'd and done, That else leans on th' affair: pray you, make haste. [Exeunt Ros. and GUIL. 2 Hamlet, this deed,] The folio inserts of thine after "deed," unnecessarily to the sense, and injuriously to the metre. Lower down, "With fiery quickness" is only in the folio. It also reads, "at bent" for "is bent" of the quartos, at the conclusion of the speech. 3 that sees THEM.] The folio has him for "them" of the quartos: him seems to have no reference, unless Hamlet be mentally adverting to his father. And, England, if my love thou hold'st at aught, The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England; And thou must cure me. Till I know 'tis done, [Exit. SCENE IV. A Plain in Denmark. Enter FORTINBRAS, and Forces, marching. For. Go, captain; from me greet the Danish king: Tell him, that by his licence Fortinbras Claims the conveyance of a promis'd march If that his majesty would aught with us, Cap. For. Go softly on'. I will do't, my lord. [Exeunt FORTINBRAS and Forces. By letters CONJURING-] All the quartos have congruing. The same word occurs in the quartos of "Henry V." (See Vol. iv. p. 476, note 7) which the folio there alters to congreeing. The text of the folio seems preferable, although the quartos may be right. 5 were ne'er begun.] So the folio, and so the rhyme requires: the quartos, "will ne'er begin." 6 CLAIMS the conveyance-] "Craces the conveyance" in the quartos. Go softly on.] These words are probably addressed to his troops, and in the quarto, 1603, we have, "Go, march away," instead of them. The folio prints 66 softly" safely. Enter HAMLET, ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDENSTERN, &c.3 Ham. Good sir, whose powers are these? Cap. The nephew to old Norway, Fortinbras. Cap. Truly to speak, and with no addition, To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it; A ranker rate, should it be sold in fee. Ham. Why, then the Polack never will defend it. Cap. Yes, 'tis already garrison'd. Ham. Two thousand souls, and twenty thousand ducats, Will not debate the question of this straw: This is th' imposthume of much wealth and peace, Ros. [Exit Captain. Will't please you go, my lord? Ham. I'll be with you straight. Go a little before. [Exeunt ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN. How all occasions do inform against me, Enter Hamlet, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, &c.] The folio omits all the rest of this scene, and there is no trace of it in the quarto, 1603. Looking before and after, gave us not To fust in us unus'd. Now, whether it be Of thinking too precisely on th' event, A thought, which, quarter'd, hath but one part wisdom, When honour's at the stake. How stand I, then, Go to their graves like beds; fight for a plot [Exit. 9 And ever three parts coward,-] Schlegel, in his work, Ueber dramatische Kunst und Litteratur, iii. p. 149, quotes this passage as a sort of key to Hamlet's character, and the omission of such an important soliloquy, in connexion with what immediately precedes it, would convince us, even if we had no other reason for thinking so, that the abbreviation of this tragedy for the stage, as we find it in the folio, 1623, was the work of the players, and not of the poet. SCENE V. Elsinore. A Room in the Castle. Enter Queen, HORATIO, and a Gentleman1o. Gent. She is importunate; indeed, distract : Queen. What would`she have? Gent. She speaks much of her father; says, she hears, There's tricks i' the world; and hems, and beats her heart; Spurns enviously at straws; speaks things in doubt, The hearers to collection; they aim at it', And botch the words up fit to their own thoughts; Which, as her winks, and nods, and gestures yield them, Indeed would make one think, there might be thought, Though nothing sure, yet much unhappily. Hor. "Twere good she were spoken with?, for she may strew Dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds. Queen. Let her come in. [Exit HORATIO. 10 Enter Queen, Horatio, and a Gentleman.] The folio omits the "Gentleman," and gives all the quartos assign to him to Horatio, and what Horatio says to the Queen-no doubt to avoid the employment of another actor. We have restored the ancient, more convenient, and, as it seems to us, more natural distribution of the dialogue. 1- they AIM at it,] The folio has "aim" for yawn of the quartos; and yawn may possibly be right, though not very likely to be so. Three lines lower, the folio substitutes would for "might." 2 Hor. "Twere good, she were spoken with.] This advice seems to come properly from Horatio, as it is given in the quartos, and the Queen's reply ought to commence at the order, "Let her come in." In the quartos these latter words are, however, erroneously made the end of what Horatio says. The desire to employ few actors, in all probability, led to this confusion of the dialogue. |