Scene IV

[A plain in Denmark.]

Enter Fortinbras with his Army over the stage.

FORTINBRAS:

Go, Captain, from me greet the Danish king.
Tell him that by his license Fortinbras
Craves the conveyance of a promised march
Over his kingdom. You know the rendezvous.
If that his Majesty would aught with us,(5)
We shall express our duty in his eye;
And let him know so.

FORTINBRAS:

Go, Captain, send my greetings to the Danish king.
Tell him that, with his permission, Fortinbras
Desires to carry out a promised march
Over his kingdom. You know the meeting place.
If his majesty has anything for us to do,
We shall express our duty in person,
And let him know so.

CAPTAIN:

I will do't, my lord.

CAPTAIN:

I will do it, my lord.

FORTINBRAS:

Go softly on.

FORTINBRAS:

Go softly on.

[Exit Fortinbras and Forces.]

Enter Hamlet, Rosencrantz, and others.

HAMLET:

Good sir, whose powers are these?(10)

HAMLET:

Good sir, whose armies are these?

CAPTAIN:

They are of Norway, sir.

CAPTAIN:

They are from Norway, sir.

HAMLET:

How purposed, sir, I pray you?

HAMLET:

For what purpose, sir, I beg you?

CAPTAIN:

Against some part of Poland.

CAPTAIN:

Against some part of Poland.

HAMLET:

Who commands them, sir?

HAMLET:

Who commands them, sir?

CAPTAIN:

The nephew to old Norway, Fortinbras.(15)

CAPTAIN:

The nephew to old Norway, Fortinbras.

HAMLET:

Goes it against the main of Poland, sir,
Or for some frontier?

HAMLET:

Does it go against the main part of Poland, sir,
Or for some frontier?

CAPTAIN:

Truly to speak, and with no addition,
We go to gain a little patch of ground
That hath in it no profit but the name.(20)
To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it;
Nor will it yield to Norway or the Pole
A ranker rate, should it be sold in fee.

CAPTAIN:

To speak honestly, and with no addition to the facts,
We go to gain a little patch of ground
That’s not worth anything except its name.
To pay five dollars, five, I wouldn’t farm it,
And it won’t yield either to Norway or the Poles
A worse rate if it should it be sold in payment.

HAMLET:

Why, then the Polack never will defend it.

HAMLET:

Why, then the Poles never will defend it.

CAPTAIN:

Yes, it is already garrison'd.(25)

CAPTAIN:

Yes, it already has garrisons.

HAMLET:

Two thousand souls and twenty thousand ducats
Will not debate the question of this straw.
This is the imposthume of much wealth and peace,
That inward breaks, and shows no cause without
Why the man dies. I humbly thank you, sir.(30)

HAMLET:

Two thousand souls and twenty thousand dollars
Will not settle the question of who owns this worthless
land. This is the abscess of much wealth and peace,
That breaks inward, and shows no damage until
The man dies. I humbly thank you, sir.

CAPTAIN:

God be wi' you, sir.

CAPTAIN:

God be with you, sir.

ROSENCRANTZ:

Will't please you go, my lord?

ROSENCRANTZ:

Will you please go, my lord?

HAMLET:

I'll be with you straight. Go a little before.
How all occasions do inform against me
And spur my dull revenge! What is a man,(35)
If his chief good and market of his time
Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more.
Sure, he that made us with such large discourse,
Looking before and after, gave us not
That capability and godlike reason(40)
To fust in us unused. Now, whether it be
Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple
Of thinking too precisely on the event—
A thought which, quarter'd, hath but one part wisdom
And ever three parts coward—I do not know(45)
Why yet I live to say 'This thing's to do,'
Sith I have cause, and will, and strength, and means
To do't. Examples gross as earth exhort me.
Witness this army, of such mass and charge,
Led by a delicate and tender prince,(50)
Whose spirit with divine ambition puff'd,
Makes mouths at the invisible event,
Exposing what is mortal and unsure
To all that fortune, death, and danger dare,
Even for an eggshell. Rightly to be great(55)
Is not to stir without great argument,
But greatly to find quarrel in a straw
When honour's at the stake. How stand I then,
That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd,
Excitements of my reason and my blood,(60)
And let all sleep, while to my shame I see
The imminent death of twenty thousand men
That for a fantasy and trick of fame
Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot
Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause,(65)
Which is not tomb enough and continent
To hide the slain? O, from this time forth,
My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!

HAMLET:

I’ll be with you right away. Walk a little before me.
How every event works against me
To spur my dull revenge! What is a man,
If his chief good and use of his time
Is only to sleep and eat? A beast, no more.
Surely He that made us with such large capacity,
Looking before and after, didn’t give us
That capability and godlike reason
To go stale in us, unused. Now, where it is
Beastly forgetfulness, or some defeated principle
Of thinking too much on the event,
A thought which, cut in quarters, has but one part wisdom
And always three parts coward, I don’t know
Why I am still live to say “This thing's to do, “
Since I have cause, and will, and strength, and means
To do it. Examples, as obvious as dirt, urge me.
Look at this army, of such size and power,
Led by a delicate and tender prince,
Whose spirit, with divine ambition puffed up,
Makes faces at the invisible event,
Exposing what is mortal and unsure
To all that luck, death, and danger dare to do,
Even for an eggshell. Rightly to be great
Is not to move without great argument,
But to find quarrel greatly in worthless land
When honor’s at stake. How do I stand, then,
That have a father killed, a mother stained,
Aggravation of my reason and my blood,
And let all sleep while, to my shame, I see
The imminent death of twenty thousand men
That, for a whim and trick of fame,
Go to their graves like going to bed, fight for a plot
On which the numbers don’t have room to fight for the
Cause, which is not tomb enough and big enough
To hide the slain? O, from this time forth,
My thoughts be bloody, or be worth nothing!

Exit.