Scene V

[The Castle. Another part of the fortifications.]

Enter Ghost, and Hamlet.

HAMLET:

Whither wilt thou lead me? Speak! I'll go no further.

HAMLET:

Where will you lead me? Speak! I’ll go no further.

GHOST:

Mark me.

GHOST:

Listen to me.

HAMLET:

I will.

HAMLET:

I will.

GHOST:

My hour is almost come,
When I to sulphurous and tormenting flames(5)
Must render up myself.

GHOST:

My hour to leave is almost here,
When I must surrender myself
to hellish and tormenting flames

HAMLET:

Alas, poor ghost!

HAMLET:

Alas, poor ghost!

GHOST:

Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing
To what I shall unfold.

GHOST:

Don’t pity me, but listen seriously
To what I shall disclose to you.

HAMLET:

Speak; I am bound to hear.(10)

HAMLET:

Speak, I am obliged to listen.

GHOST:

So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear.

GHOST:

So you are obliged to revenge, when you shall hear me.

HAMLET:

What!

HAMLET:

What?

GHOST:

I am thy father's spirit,
Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night,
And for the day confined to fast in fires,(15)
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison-house,
I could a tale unfold whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,(20)
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres,
Thy knotted and combined locks to part,
And each particular hair to stand an end
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine.
But this eternal blazon must not be(25)
To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O, list!
If thou didst ever thy dear father love—

GHOST:

I am your father's spirit,
Doomed for a certain time to walk the night,
And during the day I am confined to burn in fires,
Until the evil crimes I had done in my life
Are burnt and purged away. If I were not forbidden
To tell the secrets of my prison house,
I could tell a tale whose lightest word
Would crush your soul, freeze your young blood,
Make your two eyes, like stars, jump from their sockets,
Your knotted and combined hair to separate,
And each particular hair to stand on end
Like quills on the angry porcupine.
But this eternal description must not be given
To ears of flesh and blood. Listen, listen, O, listen!
If you ever loved your dear father —

HAMLET:

O God!

HAMLET:

O God!

GHOST:

Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.

GHOST:

Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.

HAMLET:

Murder?(30)

HAMLET:

Murder!

GHOST:

Murder most foul, as in the best it is;
But this most foul, strange, and unnatural.

GHOST:

Murder most foul, as even at best it is still murder,
But this murder is the most foul, strange, and unnatural.

HAMLET:

Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift
As meditation or the thoughts of love,
May sweep to my revenge.(35)

HAMLET:

Tell me about it quickly, so that I, with wings as swift
As meditation or the thoughts of love,
May rush to my revenge.

GHOST:

I find thee apt;
And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed
That roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf,
Wouldst thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear.
'tis given out that, sleeping in mine orchard,(40)
A serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark
Is by a forged process of my death
Rankly abused. But know, thou noble youth,
The serpent that did sting thy father's life
Now wears his crown.(45)

GHOST:

I find you ready,
And if you were duller than the fat weed
That rots itself in ease on the river bank,
You wouldn’t move on this. Now, Hamlet, listen.
The story goes that, sleeping in my orchard,
A serpent bit me. So the whole country of Denmark
Is extremely abused by a lie about the
Process of my death, but know, you noble youth,
The serpent that poisoned and took your father's life
Now wears his crown.

HAMLET:

O my prophetic soul! My uncle!

HAMLET:

O my prophetic soul!
My uncle!

GHOST:

Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast,
With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts—
O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power
So to seduce!—won to his shameful lust(50)
The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen.
O Hamlet, what a falling off was there!
From me, whose love was of that dignity
That it went hand in hand even with the vow
I made to her in marriage, and to decline(55)
Upon a wretch, whose natural gifts were poor
To those of mine.
But virtue, as it never will be moved,
Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven,
So lust, though to a radiant angel link'd,(60)
Will sate itself in a celestial bed
And prey on garbage.
But soft! methinks I scent the morning air.
Brief let me be. Sleeping within my orchard,
My custom always of the afternoon,(65)
Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole,
With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial,
And in the porches of my ears did pour
The leperous distilment, whose effect
Holds such an enmity with blood of man(70)
That, swift as quicksilver, it courses through
The natural gates and alleys of the body,
And, with a sudden vigour, it doth posset
And curd, like eager droppings into milk,
The thin and wholesome blood. So did it mine;(75)
And a most instant tetter bark'd about,
Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust
All my smooth body.
Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand
Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatch'd;(80)
Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,
Unhouseled, disappointed, unaneled,
No reckoning made, but sent to my account
With all my imperfections on my head.

GHOST:

Yes, that incestuous, that adulterous beast,
With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts—
O wicked wit and gifts, that have such power
To seduce! — won to his shameful lust
The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen.
O Hamlet, what a falling-off there was in our marriage!
From me, whose love was of that kind of dignity
That went hand in hand even with the vow
I made to her in marriage. And to turn to
A wretch whose natural gifts were poor when compared
To those I had!
But as virtue can never be moved, it
Was courted though lewdness in a shape of heaven,
And lust, though linked to a radiant angel,
Will satisfy itself in a heavenly bed
And eat garbage.
But wait! I think I scent the morning air,
Let me be brief. As I was sleeping in my orchard,
Always my habit in the afternoon,
Your uncle sneaked in, when I didn’t have security near,
With juice of poisonous hebenon in a vial,
And poured the juice that causes white scales
Into the openings of my ears, whose effect
Holds such an aversion to blood of man
That, swift as quicksilver, it courses through
The natural gates and alleys of the body,
And with a sudden speed, it begins to sour
And curdle the thin and wholesome blood,
Like acid droppings into milk, so it did mine,
And a most instant disintegration began,
Almost like Lazarus, covering all my smooth body
With a vile and loathsome crust.
So I was, sleeping, by a brother's hand,
Gotten rid of, deprived of life, of crown, of queen,.
Cut down even without forgiveness for my sins,
No last Communion, unprepared, no last anointing,
No accounting made, but sent to my account
With all my imperfections on my head.

HAMLET:

O, horrible! O, horrible! most horrible!(85)

HAMLET:

O, horrible! O, horrible! Most horrible!

GHOST:

If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not.
Let not the royal bed of Denmark be
A couch for luxury and damned incest.
But, howsoever thou pursuest this act,
Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive(90)
Against thy mother aught. Leave her to heaven,
And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge
To prick and sting her. Fare thee well at once.
The glow-worm shows the matin to be near
And 'gins to pale his uneffectual fire.(95)
Adieu, adieu, adieu! Remember me.

GHOST:

If you have nature in you, don’t accept this,
Don’t let not the royal bed of Denmark be
A couch for luxury and damned incest.
But, however you pursue this revenge,
Don’t taint your mind, or let your soul plan
Anything against your mother. Leave her to heaven,
And to those thorns that live in her bosom,
To prick and sting her. Goodbye now!
The glowworm shows the morning is near,
And he begins to put out his ineffective fire.
Goodbye, goodbye! Hamlet, remember me.

[Exit.]

HAMLET:

O all you host of heaven! O earth! What else?
And shall I couple hell? O, fie! Hold, hold, my heart!
And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,
But bear me stiffly up. Remember thee?(100)
Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat
In this distracted globe. Remember thee?
Yea, from the table of my memory
I'll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,(105)
That youth and observation copied there;
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmix'd with baser matter. Yes, by heaven!
O most pernicious woman!(110)
O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!
My tables—meet it is I set it down
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain;
At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark.
So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word:(115)
It is ‘Adieu, adieu! Remember me.’
I have sworn't.

HAMLET:

O all you host of heaven! O earth! what else?
And shall I join forces hell? O, for shame! Hold, my heart,
And you, my muscles, don’t grow old in an instant,
But hold me stiffly up. Remember you!
Yes, you poor ghost, while memory holds a seat
In this confused world. Remember you!
Yes, from the table of my memory
I’ll wipe away all unimportant records,
All kinds of books, all pictures, all pressures past,
That my youth and observations wrote there,
And your commandment all by itself shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmixed with other low thoughts. Yes, by heaven!
O most pernicious woman!
O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!
My papers, it is just that I set it all down,
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain,
At least, I am sure, it may be so in Denmark.
So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word:
It is Goodbye, goodbye! remember me. '
I have sworn it.

Enter Horatio and Marcellus.

HORATIO:

My lord, my lord!

HORATIO:

My lord, my lord,

MARCELLUS:

Lord Hamlet!

MARCELLUS:

Lord Hamlet,

HORATIO:

Heaven secure him!(120)

HORATIO:

Heaven keep him safe!

HAMLET:

So be it!

HAMLET:

So be it!

MARCELLUS:

Illo, ho, ho, my lord!

MARCELLUS:

Hello, ho, ho, my lord!

HAMLET:

Hillo, ho, ho, boy! Come, bird, come.

HAMLET:

Hello, ho, ho, boy! Come, bird, come.

MARCELLUS:

How is't, my noble lord?

MARCELLUS:

How are you, my noble lord?

HORATIO:

What news, my lord?(125)

HORATIO:

What news, my lord?

MARCELLUS:

O, wonderful!

MARCELLUS:

O, wonderful!

HORATIO:

Good my lord, tell it.

HORATIO:

My good lord, tell it.

HAMLET:

No; you will reveal it.

HAMLET:

No, you'll reveal it.

HORATIO:

Not I, my lord, by heaven!

HORATIO:

Not I, my lord, by heaven.

MARCELLUS:

Nor I, my lord.(130)

MARCELLUS:

Nor I, my lord.

HAMLET:

How say you, then; would heart of man once think it?
But you'll be secret?

HAMLET:

What do you say then, would heart of man once think it?
And you'll keep it secret?

MARCELLUS AND BERNARDO:

Ay, by heaven, my lord.

MARCELLUS AND BERNARDO:

Yes, by heaven, my lord.

HAMLET:

There's ne'er a villain dwelling in all Denmark
But he's an arrant knave.(135)

HAMLET:

There's never a villain dwelling in all Denmark
Except that he's an arrant knave.

HORATIO:

There needs no ghost, my lord, come from the
grave
To tell us this.

HORATIO:

We don’t need a ghost, my lord, to come from the grave
To tell us this.

HAMLET:

Why, right! You are in the right!
And so, without more circumstance at all,(140)
I hold it fit that we shake hands and part;
You, as your business and desire shall point you—
For every man hath business and desire,
Such as it is; and for my own poor part,
Look you, I'll go pray.(145)

HAMLET:

Why, right, you are right,
And so, without any more talk at all,
I think it’s proper that we shake hands and part.
You, as your business and desires shall point you,
Because every man has business and desire,
Such as it is, and I for my own poor part.
Look, I’ll go pray.

HORATIO:

These are but wild and whirling words, my lord.

HORATIO:

These are but wild and whirling words, my lord.

HAMLET:

I am sorry they offend you, heartily;
Yes, faith, heartily.

HAMLET:

I’m sorry they offend you, heartily,
Yes, indeed, heartily.

HORATIO:

There's no offence, my lord.

HORATIO:

There's no offense, my lord.

HAMLET:

Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio,(150)
And much offence too. Touching this vision here,
It is an honest ghost, that let me tell you.
For your desire to know what is between us
O'ermaster't as you may. And now, good friends,
As you are friends, scholars, and soldiers,(155)
Give me one poor request.

HAMLET:

Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio,
And much offense too. Regarding this vision here,
It is an honest ghost, that I can tell you.
As for your desire to know what happened between us,
Control it the best you can. And now, good friends,
As you are friends, scholars, and soldiers,
Give me one poor request.