Home > Hamlet Text > Act IV, Scene V - Page 2

KING:

Who shall stay you?

KING:

Who shall prevent you from it?

LAERTES:

My will, not all the world!
And for my means, I'll husband them so well,
They shall go far with little.(150)

LAERTES:

My will alone, nothing else in the world.
And I’ll use my methods so well,
That they shall go far with little effort.

KING:

Good Laertes,
If you desire to know the certainty
Of your dear father's death, is't writ in your revenge
That, swoopstake, you will draw both friend and foe,
Winner and loser?(155)

KING:

Good Laertes,
If you desire to know the circumstances
Of your dear father's death, is it written in your revenge
That, in the gambling, you will draw both friend and foe,
winner and loser?

LAERTES:

None but his enemies.

LAERTES:

No one but his enemies.

KING:

Will you know them then?

KING:

Will you know them then?

LAERTES:

To his good friends thus wide I'll ope my arms
And, like the kind life-rendering pelican,
Repast them with my blood.(160)

LAERTES:

I’ll open my arms wide like this to his good friends,
And, like the pelican of the old fables,
Feed them with my own blood.

KING:

Why, now you speak
Like a good child and a true gentleman.
That I am guiltless of your father's death,
And am most sensibly in grief for it,
It shall as level to your judgment pierce(165)
As day does to your eye.

KING:

Why, now you speak
Like a good child and a true gentleman.
It shall penetrate your understanding
That I am innocent of your father's death,
And am most sincerely in grief for it,
As day penetrates your eye.

[A noise within.]

LAERTES:

Let her come in.
How now? What noise is that?

Enter Ophelia.

O heat, dry up my brains! Tears seven times salt,
Burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye!(170)
By heaven, thy madness shall be paid with weight,
Till our scale turn the beam. O rose of May!
Dear maid, kind sister, sweet Ophelia!
O heavens! is't possible a young maid's wits
Should be as mortal as an old man's life?(175)
Nature is fine in love, and where 'tis fine,
It sends some precious instance of itself
After the thing it loves.

LAERTES:

Let her come in.
How now! What’s that noise?

O heat, dry up my brains! Tears with seven times the
Salt, burn out the sight and truth of my eyes!
By heaven, your madness shall be revenged in full,
Even beyond what is called “full.” O rose of May!
Dear maid, kind sister, sweet Ophelia!
O heavens! Is it possible a young maid's sanity
Should be die as does an old man?
Nature is short in love, and where it is short,
It sends some precious moment of itself
Close to the thing it loves.

OPHELIA:

[Sings.]

They bore him barefac'd on the bier(180)
(Hey non nony, nony, hey nony)
And on his grave rain'd many a tear.
Fare you well, my dove!

OPHELIA:

They bore him barefaced on the bier
Hey no nonny, nonny, hey nonny
And on his grave rained many a tear.

Fare you well, my dove!

LAERTES:

Hadst thou thy wits, and didst persuade revenge,
It could not move thus.(185)

LAERTES:

Had you your sanity, and you persuaded me to revenge,
It couldn’t move like this.

OPHELIA:

You must sing 'down a-down,' and you 'Call him a-
down-a.' O, how the wheel becomes it! It is the false stew-
ard, that stole his master's daughter.

OPHELIA:

You must sing “hey-down a-down, if you call him
a-down-a.” O, how the wheel suits it! It is the false servant, that
stole his master's daughter.

LAERTES:

This nothing's more than matter.

LAERTES:

This “nothing” is more than just a story.

OPHELIA:

There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you,(190)
love, remember. And there is pansies, that's for thoughts.

OPHELIA:

There's rosemary, that's for remembrance, I beg you,
love, remember, and there’s pansies, that's for thoughts.

LAERTES:

A document in madness! Thoughts and remembrance
fitted.

LAERTES:

A study in madness, thoughts, and remembrance all mixed together.

OPHELIA:

There's fennel for you, and columbines. There's rue for
you, and here's some for me. We may call it herb of grace o'(195)
Sundays. O, you must wear your rue with a difference!
There's a daisy. I would give you some violets, but they with-
er'd all when my father died. They say he made a good end—

[Sings.]

For bonny sweet Robin is all my joy.(200)

OPHELIA:

There's fennel for you, and columbines. there's rue for
you, and here's some for me. We may call it “herb of
grace on Sundays.” O, you must wear your rue with a
difference. There's a daisy. I would give you some
violets, but they withered all when my father died. they
say he made a good end,

”For bonny sweet Robin is all my joy,”

LAERTES:

Thought and affliction, passion, hell itself,
She turns to favour and to prettiness.

LAERTES:

Thought and affliction, passion, hell itself, She changes from violence to kindness and beauty.

OPHELIA:

[Sings.]

And will he not come again?
And will he not come again?(205)
No, no, he is dead;
Go to thy deathbed;
He never will come again.
His beard was as white as snow,
All flaxen was his poll.(210)
He is gone, he is gone,
And we cast away moan.
God 'a'mercy on his soul!
And of all Christian souls, I pray God. God be wi' you.(215)

OPHELIA:

"And will he not come again?
And will he not come again?
No, no, he is dead,
Go to your death-bed,
He never will come again.
His beard was as white as snow,
All white was his hair.
He is gone, he is gone,
And we go away crying.
God have mercy on his soul!

And of all Christian souls, I pray God. God be with you.

Exit.

LAERTES:

Do you see this, O God?

LAERTES:

Do you see this, O God?

KING:

Laertes, I must commune with your grief,
Or you deny me right. Go but apart,
Make choice of whom your wisest friends you will,
And they shall hear and judge 'twixt you and me.
If by direct or by collateral hand
They find us touch'd, we will our kingdom give,
Our crown, our life, and all that we call ours,
To you in satisfaction; but if not,(220)
Be you content to lend your patience to us,
And we shall jointly labour with your soul
To give it due content.

KING:

Laertes, I must share your grief,
Or you deny me my rights. Step aside,
Choose whichever of your wisest friends you want,
And they shall hear and judge between you and me.
If they find that we killed your father or had him killed,
We will surrender our kingdom,
Our crown, our life, and all that we call ours,
To you in satisfaction, but if not,
You must be patient with us,
And we shall work together with your soul
To give it just compensation.

LAERTES:

Let this be so.
His means of death, his obscure burial—(225)
No trophy, sword, nor hatchment o'er his bones,
No noble rite nor formal ostentation,
Cry to be heard, as 'twere from heaven to earth,
That I must call't in question.

LAERTES:

I agree,
His means of death, his obscure burial,
No trophy, sword, no coat of arms over his bones
No noble rites or state funeral,
Cry to be heard, from heaven to earth as it were,
That I must call it into question.

KING:

So you shall;(230)
And where the offence is let the great axe fall.
I pray you go with me.

KING:

And so you shall,
And wherever the guilt is, that’s where the punishment
will be. I beg you, go with me.

Exeunt.