But upon no one did this unadvised action of the queen make such impression as upon this young prince, who loved and venerated9 the memory of his dead father almost to idolatry, and being of a nice sense of honour, and a most exquisite10 practiser of propriety11 himself, did sorely take to heart this unworthy conduct of his mother Gertrude: insomuch that, between grief for his father’s death and shame for his mother’s marriage, this young prince was overclouded with a deep melancholy12, and lost all his mirth and all his good looks; all his customary pleasure in books forsook13 him, his princely exercises and sports, proper to his youth, were no longer acceptable; he grew weary of the world, which seemed to him an unweeded garden, where all the wholesome14 flowers were choked up, and nothing but weeds could thrive. Not that the prospect15 of exclusion from the throne, his lawful inheritance, weighed so much upon his spirits, though that to a young and high-minded prince was a bitter wound and a sore indignity16; but what so galled17 him, and took away all his cheerful spirits, was, that his mother had shown herself so forgetful to his father’s memory: and such a father! who had been to her so loving and so gentle a husband! and then she always appeared as loving and obedient a wife to him, and would hang upon him as if her affection grew to him: and now within two months, or as it seemed to young Hamlet, less than two months, she had married again, married his uncle, her dear husband’s brother, in itself a highly improper18 and unlawful marriage, from the nearness of relationship, but made much more so by the indecent haste with which it was concluded, and the unkingly character of the man whom she had chosen to be the partner of her throne and bed. This it was, which more than the loss of ten kingdoms, dashed the spirits and brought a cloud over the mind of this honourable19 young prince.
In vain was all that his mother Gertrude or the king could do to contrive20 to divert him; he still appeared in court in a suit of deep black, as mourning for the king his father’s death, which mode of dress he had never laid aside, not even in compliment to his mother upon the day she was married, nor could he be brought to join in any of the festivities or rejoicings of that (as appeared to him) disgraceful day.
What mostly troubled him was an uncertainty21 about the manner of his father’s death. It was given out by Claudius that a serpent had stung him; but young Hamlet had shrewd suspicions that Claudius himself was the serpent; in plain English, that he had murdered him for his crown, and that the serpent who stung his father did now sit on the throne.
How far he was right in this conjecture22, and what he ought to think of his mother, how far she was privy23 to this murder, and whether by her consent or knowledge, or without, it came to pass, were the doubts which continually harassed24 and distracted him.
A rumour25 had reached the ear of young Hamlet, that an apparition26, exactly resembling the dead king his father, had been seen by the soldiers upon watch, on the platform before the palace at midnight, for two or three nights successively. The figure came constantly clad in the same suit of armour27, from head to foot, which the dead king was known to have worn: and they who saw it (Hamlet’s bosom28 friend Horatio was one) agreed in their testimony29 as to the time and manner of its appearance: that it came just as the clock struck twelve; that it looked pale, with a face more of sorrow than of anger; that its beard was grisly, and the colour a sable30 silvered, as they had seen it in his lifetime: that it made no answer when they spoke31 to it; yet once they thought it lifted up its head, and addressed itself to motion, as if it were about to speak; but in that moment the morning cock crew, and it shrunk in haste away, and vanished out of their sight.
The young prince, strangely amazed at their relation, which was too consistent and agreeing with itself to disbelieve, concluded that it was his father’s ghost which they had seen, and determined32 to take his watch with the soldiers that night, that he might have a chance of seeing it; for he reasoned with himself, that such an appearance did not come for nothing, but that the ghost had something to impart, and though it had been silent hitherto, yet it would speak to him. And he waited with impatience33 for the coming of night.
When night came he took his stand with Horatio, and Marcellus, one of the guard, upon the platform, where this apparition was accustomed to walk: and it being a cold night, and the air unusually raw and nipping, Hamlet and Horatio and their companion fell into some talk about the coldness of the night, which was suddenly broken off by Horatio announcing that the ghost was coming.
At the sight of his father’s spirit, Hamlet was struck with a sudden surprise and fear. He at first called upon the angels and heavenly ministers to defend them, for he knew not whether it were a good spirit or bad; whether it came for good or evil: but he gradually assumed more courage; and his father (as it seemed to him) looked upon him so piteously, and as it were desiring to have conversation with him, and did in all respects appear so like himself as he was when he lived, that Hamlet could not help addressing him: he called him by his name, Hamlet, King, Father! and conjured34 him that he would tell the reason why he had left his grave, where they had seen him quietly bestowed35, to come again and visit the earth and the moonlight: and besought36 him that he would let them know if there was anything which they could do to give peace to his spirit. And the ghost beckoned37 to Hamlet, that he should go with him to some more removed place, where they might be alone; and Horatio and Marcellus would have dissuaded38 the young prince from following it, for they feared lest it should be some evil spirit, who would tempt3 him to the the neighbouring sea, or to the top of some dreadful cliff, and there put on some horrible shape which might deprive the prince of his reason. But their counsels and entreaties39 could not alter Hamlet’s determination, who cared too little about life to fear the losing of it; and as to his soul, he said, what could the spirit do to that, being a thing immortal40 as itself? And he felt as hardy41 as a lion, and bursting from them, who did all they could to hold him, he followed whithersoever the spirit led him.
And when they were alone together, the spirit broke silence, and told him that he was the ghost of Hamlet, his father, who had been cruelly murdered, and he told the manner of it; that it was done by his own brother Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, as Hamlet had already but too much suspected, for the hope of succeeding to his bed and crown. That as he was sleeping in his garden, his custom always in the afternoon, his treasonous brother stole upon him in his sleep, and poured the juice of poisonous henbane into his ears, which has such an antipathy42 to the life of man, that swift as quicksilver it courses through all the veins43 of the body, baking up the blood, and spreading a crustlike leprosy all over the skin: thus sleeping, by a brother’s hand he was cut off at once from his crown, his queen, and his life: and he adjured44 Hamlet, if he did ever his dear father love, that he would revenge his foul45 murder. And the ghost lamented46 to his son, that his mother should so fall off from virtue47, as to prove false to the wedded48 love of her first husband, and to marry his murderer; but he cautioned Hamlet, howsoever he proceeded in his revenge against his wicked uncle, by no means to act any violence against the person of his mother, but to leave her to heaven, and to the stings and thorns of conscience. And Hamlet promised to observe the ghost’s direction in all things, and the ghost vanished.
And when Hamlet was left alone, he took up a solemn resolution, that all he had in his memory, all that he had ever learned by books or observation, should be instantly forgotten by him, and nothing live in his brain but the memory of what the ghost had told him, and enjoined49 him to do. And Hamlet related the particulars of the conversation which had passed to none but his dear friend Horatio; and he enjoined both to him and Marcellus the strictest secrecy50 as to what they had seen that night.
The terror which the sight of the ghost had left upon the senses of Hamlet, he being weak and dispirited before, almost unhinged his mind, and drove him beside his reason. And he, fearing that it would continue to have this effect, which might subject him to observation, and set his uncle upon his guard, if he suspected that he was meditating51 anything against him, or that Hamlet really knew more of his father’s death than he professed52, took up a strange resolution, from that time to counterfeit53 as if he were really and truly mad; thinking that he would be less an object of suspicion when his uncle should believe him incapable54 of any serious project, and that his real perturbation of mind would be best covered and pass concealed55 under a disguise of pretended lunacy.
From this time Hamlet affected56 a certain wildness and strangeness in his apparel, his speech, and behaviour, and did so excellently counterfeit the madman, that the king and queen were both deceived, and not thinking his grief for his father’s death a sufficient cause to produce such a distemper, for they knew not of the appearance of the ghost, they concluded that his malady57 was love, and they thought they had found out the object.
Before Hamlet fell into the melancholy way which has been related, he had dearly loved a fair maid called Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius, the king’s chief counsellor in affairs of state. He had sent her letters and rings, and made many tenders of his affection to her, and importuned58 her with love in honourable fashion: and she had given belief to his vows60 and importunities. But the melancholy which he fell into latterly had made him neglect her, and from the time he conceived the project of counterfeiting61 madness, he affected to treat her with unkindness, and a sort of rudeness: but she, good lady, rather than reproach him with being false to her, persuaded herself that it was nothing but the disease in his mind, and no settled unkindness, which had made him less observant of her than formerly62; and she compared the faculties63 of his once noble mind and excellent understanding, impaired64 as they were with the deep melancholy that oppressed him, to sweet bells which in themselves are capable of most exquisite music, but when jangled out of tune59, or rudely handled, produce only a harsh and unpleasing sound.
Though the rough business which Hamlet had in hand, the revenging of his father’s death upon his murderer, did not suit with the playful state of courtship, or admit of the society of so idle a passion as love now seemed to him, yet it could not hinder but that soft thoughts of his Ophelia would come between, and in one of these moments, when he thought that his treatment of this gentle lady had been unreasonably65 harsh, he wrote her a letter full of wild starts of passion, and in extravagant66 terms, such as agreed with his supposed madness, but mixed with some gentle touches of affection, which could not but show to this honoured lady that a deep love for her yet lay at the bottom of his heart. He bade her to doubt the stars were fire, and to doubt that the sun did move, to doubt truth to be a liar67, but never to doubt that he loved; with more of such extravagant phrases. This letter Ophelia dutifully showed to her father, and the old man thought himself bound to communicate it to the king and queen, who from that time supposed that the true cause of Hamlet’s madness was love. And the queen wished that the good beauties of Ophelia might be the happy cause of his wildness, for so she hoped that her virtues68 might happily restore him to his accustomed way again, to both their honours.
But Hamlet’s malady lay deeper than she supposed, or than could be so cured. His father’s ghost, which he had seen, still haunted his imagination, and the sacred injunction to revenge his murder gave him no rest till it was accomplished69. Every hour of delay seemed to him a sin, and a violation70 of his father’s commands. Yet how to compass the death of the king, surrounded as he constantly was with his guards, was no easy matter. Or if it had been, the presence of the queen, Hamlet’s mother, who was generally with the king, was a restraint upon his purpose, which he could not break through. Besides, the very circumstance that the usurper71 was his mother’s husband filled him with some remorse72, and still blunted the edge of his purpose. The mere73 act of putting a fellow-creature to death was in itself odious74 and terrible to a disposition naturally so gentle as Hamlet’s was. His very melancholy, and the dejection of spirits he had so long been in, produced an irresoluteness75 and wavering of purpose, which kept him from proceeding77 to extremities78. Moreover, he could not help having some scruples80 upon his mind, whether the spirit which he had seen was indeed his father, or whether it might not be the devil, who he had heard has power to take any form he pleases, and who might have assumed his father’s shape only to take advantage of his weakness and his melancholy, to drive him to the doing of so desperate an act as murder. And he determined that he would have more certain grounds to go upon than a vision, or apparition, which might be a delusion81.
While he was in this irresolute76 mind there came to the court certain players, in whom Hamlet formerly used to take delight, and particularly to hear one of them speak a tragical82 speech, describing the death of old Priam, King of Troy, with the grief of Hecuba his queen. Hamlet welcomed his old friends, the players, and remembering how that speech had formerly given him pleasure, requested the player to repeat it; which he did in so lively a manner, setting forth83 the cruel murder of the feeble old king, with the destruction of his people and city by fire, and the mad grief of the old queen, running barefoot up and down the palace, with a poor clout84 upon that head where a crown had been, and with nothing but a blanket upon her loins, snatched up in haste, where she had worn a royal robe; that not only it drew tears from all that stood by, who thought they saw the real scene, so lively was it represented, but even the player himself delivered it with a broken voice and real tears. This put Hamlet upon thinking, if that player could so work himself up to passion by a mere fictitious85 speech, to weep for one that he had never seen, for Hecuba, that had been dead so many hundred years, how dull was he, who having a real motive86 and cue for passion, a real king and a dear father murdered, was yet so little moved, that his revenge all this while had seemed to have slept in dull and muddy forgetfulness! and while he meditated87 on actors and acting88, and the powerful effects which a good play, represented to the life, has upon the spectator, he remembered the instance of some murderer, who seeing a murder on the stage, was by the mere force of the scene and resemblance of circumstances so affected, that on the spot he confessed the crime which he had committed. And he determined that these players should play something like the murder of his father before his uncle, and he would watch narrowly what effect it might have upon him, and from his looks he would be able to gather with more certainty if he were the murderer or not. To this effect he ordered a play to be prepared, to the representation of which he invited the king and queen.
The story of the play was of a murder done in Vienna upon a duke. The duke’s name was Gonzago, his wife Baptista. The play showed how one Lucianus, a near relation to the duke, poisoned him in his garden for his estate, and how the murderer in a short time after got the love of Gonzago’s wife.
At the representation of this play, the king, who did not know the trap which was laid for him, was present, with his queen and the whole court: Hamlet sitting attentively89 near him to observe his looks. The play began with a conversation between Gonzago and his wife, in which the lady made many protestations of love, and of never marrying a second husband, if she should outlive Gonzago; wishing she might be accursed if she ever took a second husband, and adding that no woman did so, but those wicked women who kill their first husbands. Hamlet observed the king his uncle change colour at this expression, and that it was as bad as wormwood both to him and to the queen. But when Lucianus, according to the story, came to poison Gonzago sleeping in the garden, the strong resemblance which it bore to his own wicked act upon the late king, his brother, whom he had poisoned in his garden, so struck upon the conscience of this usurper, that he was unable to sit out the rest of the play, but on a sudden calling for lights to his chamber90, and affecting or partly feeling a sudden sickness, he abruptly91 left the theatre. The king being departed, the play was given over. Now Hamlet had seen enough to be satisfied that the words of the ghost were true, and no illusion; and in a fit of gaiety, like that which comes over a man who suddenly has some great doubt or scruple79 resolved, he swore to Horatio, that he would take the ghost’s word for a thousand pounds. But before he could make up his resolution as to what measures of revenge he should take, now he was certainly informed that his uncle was his father’s murderer, he was sent for by the queen his mother, to a private conference in her closet.
It was by desire of the king that the queen sent for Hamlet, that she might signify to her son how much his late behaviour had displeased92 them both, and the king, wishing to know all that passed at that conference, and thinking that the too partial report of a mother might let slip some part of Hamlet’s words, which it might much import the king to know, Polonius, the old counsellor of state, was ordered to plant himself behind the hangings in the queen’s closet, where he might unseen hear all that passed. This artifice93 was particularly adapted to the disposition of Polonius, who was a man grown old in crooked94 maxims95 and policies of state, and delighted to get at the knowledge of matters in an indirect and cunning way.
Hamlet being come to his mother, she began to tax him in the roundest way with his actions and behaviour, and she told him that he had given great offence to his father, meaning the king, his uncle, whom, because he had married her, she called Hamlet’s father. Hamlet, sorely indignant that she should give so dear and honoured a name as father seemed to him, to a wretch96 who was indeed no better than the murderer of his true father, with some sharpness replied, “Mother, you have much offended my father.” The queen said that was but an idle answer. “As good as the question deserved,” said Hamlet. The queen asked him if he had forgotten who it was he was speaking to? “Alas!” replied Hamlet, “I wish I could forget. You are the queen, your husband’s brother’s wife; and you are my mother: I wish you were not what you are.” “Nay, then,” said the queen, “if you show me so little respect, I will set those to you that can speak,” and was going to send the king or Polonius to him. But Hamlet would not let her go, now he had her alone, till he had tried if his words could not bring her to some sense of her wicked life; and, taking her by the wrist, he held her fast, and made her sit down. She, affrighted at his earnest manner, and fearful lest in his lunacy he should do her a mischief97, cried out; and a voice was heard from behind the hangings, “Help, help, the queen!” which Hamlet hearing, and verily thinking that it was the king himself there concealed, he drew his sword and stabbed at the place where the voice came from, as he would have stabbed a rat that ran there, till the voice ceasing, he concluded the person to be dead. But when he dragged for the body, it was not the king, but Polonius, the old officious counsellor, that had planted himself as a spy behind the hangings. “Oh me!” exclaimed the queen, “what a rash and bloody98 deed have you done!” “A bloody deed, mother,” replied Hamlet, “but not so bad as yours, who killed a king, and married his brother.” Hamlet had gone too far to leave off here. He was now in the humour to speak plainly to his mother, and he pursued it. And though the faults of parents are to be tenderly treated by their children, yet in the case of great crimes the son may have leave to speak even to his own mother with some harshness, so as that harshness is meant for her good, and to turn her from her wicked ways, and not done for the purpose of upbraiding99. And now this virtuous100 prince did in moving terms represent to the queen the heinousness101 of her offence, in being so forgetful of the dead king, his father, as in so short a space of time to marry with his brother and reputed murderer: such an act as, after the vows which she had sworn to her first husband, was enough to make all vows of women suspected, and all virtue to be accounted hypocrisy102, wedding contracts to be less than gamesters’ oaths, and religion to be a mockery and a mere form of words. He said she had done such a deed, that the heavens blushed at it, and the earth was sick of her because of it. And he showed her two pictures, the one of the late king, her first husband, and the other of the present king, her second husband, and he bade her mark the difference; what a grace was on the brow of his father, how like a god he looked! the curls of Apollo, the forehead of Jupiter, the eye of Mars, and a posture103 like to Mercury newly alighted on some heaven-kissing hill! this man, he said, had been her husband. And then he showed her whom she had got in his stead: how like a blight104 or a mildew105 he looked, for so he had blasted his wholesome brother. And the queen was sore ashamed that he should so turn her eyes inward upon her soul, which she now saw so black and deformed106. And he asked her how she could continue to live with this man, and be a wife to him, who had murdered her first husband, and got the crown by as false means as a thief —— and just as he spoke, the ghost of his father, such as he was in his lifetime, and such as he had lately seen it, entered the room, and Hamlet, in great terror, asked what it would have; and the ghost said that it came to remind him of the revenge he had promised, which Hamlet seemed to have forgot; and the ghost bade him speak to his mother, for the grief and terror she was in would else kill her. It then vanished, and was seen by none but Hamlet, neither could he by pointing to where it stood, or by any description, make his mother perceive it; who was terribly frightened all this while to hear him conversing107, as it seemed to her, with nothing; and she imputed108 it to the disorder109 of his mind. But Hamlet begged her not to flatter her wicked soul in such a manner as to think that it was his madness, and not her own offences, which had brought his father’s spirit again on the earth. And he bade her feel his pulse, how temperately110 it beat, not like a madman’s. And he begged of her with tears, to confess herself to heaven for what was past, and for the future to avoid the company of the king, and be no more as a wife to him: and when she should show herself a mother to him, by respecting his father’s memory, he would ask a blessing111 of her as a son. And she promising112 to observe his directions, the conference ended.
And now Hamlet was at leisure to consider who it was that in his unfortunate rashness he had killed: and when he came to see that it was Polonius, the father of the Lady Ophelia, whom he so dearly loved, he drew apart the dead body, and, his spirits being now a little quieter, he wept for what he had done.
The unfortunate death of Polonius gave the king a pretence113 for sending Hamlet out of the kingdom. He would willingly have put him to death, fearing him as dangerous; but he dreaded114 the people, who loved Hamlet, and the queen, who, with all her faults, doted upon the prince, her son. So this subtle king, under pretence of providing for Hamlet’s safety, that he might not be called to account for Polonius’ death, caused him to be conveyed on board a ship bound for England, under the care of two courtiers, by whom he despatched letters to the English court, which in that time was in subjection and paid tribute to Denmark, requiring for special reasons there pretended, that Hamlet should be put to death as soon as he landed on English ground. Hamlet, suspecting some treachery, in the night-time secretly got at the letters, and skilfully115 erasing116 his own name, he in the stead of it put in the names of those two courtiers, who had the charge of him, to be put to death: then sealing up the letters, he put them into their place again. Soon after the ship was attacked by pirates, and a sea-fight commenced; in the course of which Hamlet, desirous to show his valour, with sword in hand singly boarded the enemy’s vessel117; while his own ship, in a cowardly manner, bore away, and leaving him to his fate, the two courtiers made the best of their way to England, charged with those letters the sense of which Hamlet had altered to their own deserved destruction.
The pirates, who had the prince in their power, showed themselves gentle enemies; and knowing whom they had got prisoner, in the hope that the prince might do them a good turn at court in recompense for any favour they might show him, they set Hamlet on shore at the nearest port in Denmark. From that place Hamlet wrote to the king, acquainting him with the strange chance which had brought him back to his own country, and saying that on the next day he should present himself before his majesty118. When he got home, a sad spectacle offered itself the first thing to his eyes.
This was the funeral of the young and beautiful Ophelia, his once dear mistress. The wits of this young lady had begun to turn ever since her poor father’s death. That he should die a violent death, and by the hands of the prince whom she loved, so affected this tender young maid, that in a little time she grew perfectly119 distracted, and would go about giving flowers away to the ladies of the court, and saying that they were for her father’s burial, singing songs about love and about death, and sometimes such as had no meaning at all, as if she had no memory of what happened to her. There was a willow120 which grew slanting121 over a brook122, and reflected its leaves on the stream. To this brook she came one day when she was unwatched, with garlands she had been making, mixed up of daisies and nettles123, flowers and weeds together, and clambering up to hang her garland upon the boughs125 of the willow, a bough124 broke, and precipitated126 this fair young maid, garland, and all that she had gathered, into the water, where her clothes bore her up for a while, during which she chanted scraps127 of old tunes128, like one insensible to her own distress129, or as if she were a creature natural to that element: but long it was not before her garments, heavy with the wet, pulled her in from her melodious130 singing to a muddy and miserable131 death. It was the funeral of this fair maid which her brother Laertes was celebrating, the king and queen and whole court being present, when Hamlet arrived. He knew not what all this show imported, but stood on one side, not inclining to interrupt the ceremony. He saw the flowers strewed132 upon her grave, as the custom was in maiden133 burials, which the queen herself threw in; and as she threw them she said, “Sweets to the sweet! I thought to have decked thy bride-bed, sweet maid, not to have strewed thy grave. Thou shouldst have been my Hamlet’s wife.” And he heard her brother wish that violets might spring from her grave: and he saw him leap into the grave all frantic134 with grief, and bid the attendants pile mountains of earth upon him, that he might be buried with her. And Hamlet’s love for this fair maid came back to him, and he could not bear that a brother should show so much transport of grief, for he thought that he loved Ophelia better than forty thousand brothers. Then discovering himself, he leaped into the grave where Laertes was, all as frantic or more frantic than he, and Laertes knowing him to be Hamlet, who had been the cause of his father’s and his sister’s death, grappled him by the throat as an enemy, till the attendants parted them: and Hamlet, after the funeral, excused his hasty act in throwing himself into the grave as if to brave Laertes; but he said he could not bear that any one should seem to outgo him in grief for the death of the fair Ophelia. And for the time these two noble youths seemed reconciled.
But out of the grief and anger of Laertes for the death of his father and Ophelia, the king, Hamlet’s wicked uncle, contrived135 destruction for Hamlet. He set on Laertes, under cover of peace and reconciliation136, to challenge Hamlet to a friendly trial of skill at fencing, which Hamlet accepting, a day was appointed to try the match. At this match all the court was present, and Laertes, by direction of the king, prepared a poisoned weapon. Upon this match great wagers137 were laid by the courtiers, as both Hamlet and Laertes were known to excel at this sword play; and Hamlet taking up the foils chose one, not at all suspecting the treachery of Laertes, or being careful to examine Laertes’ weapon, who, instead of a foil or blunted sword, which the laws of fencing require, made use of one with a point, and poisoned. At first Laertes did but play with Hamlet, and suffered him to gain some advantages, which the dissembling king magnified and extolled138 beyond measure, drinking to Hamlet’s success, and wagering139 rich bets upon the issue: but after a few pauses, Laertes growing warm made a deadly thrust at Hamlet with his poisoned weapon, and gave him a mortal blow. Hamlet incensed140, but not knowing the whole of the treachery, in the scuffle exchanged his own innocent weapon for Laertes’ deadly one, and with a thrust of Laertes’ own sword repaid Laertes home, who was thus justly caught in his own treachery. In this instant the queen shrieked141 out that she was poisoned. She had inadvertently drunk out of a bowl which the king had prepared for Hamlet, in case, that being warm in fencing, he should call for drink: into this the treacherous142 king had infused a deadly poison, to make sure of Hamlet, if Laertes had failed. He had forgotten to warn the queen of the bowl, which she drank of, and immediately died, exclaiming with her last breath that she was poisoned. Hamlet, suspecting some treachery, ordered the doors to be shut, while he sought it out. Laertes told him to seek no farther, for he was the traitor143; and feeling his life go away with the wound which Hamlet had given him, he made confession144 of the treachery he had used, and how he had fallen a victim to it: and he told Hamlet of the envenomed point, and said that Hamlet had not half an hour to live, for no medicine could cure him; and begging forgiveness of Hamlet, he died, with his last words accusing the king of being the contriver146 of the mischief. When Hamlet saw his end draw near, there being yet some venom145 left upon the sword, he suddenly turned upon his false uncle, and thrust the point of it to his heart, fulfilling the promise which he had made to his father’s spirit, whose injunction was now accomplished, and his foul murder revenged upon the murderer. Then Hamlet, feeling his breath fail and life departing, turned to his dear friend Horatio, who had been spectator of this fatal tragedy; and with his dying breath requested him that he would live to tell his story to the world (for Horatio had made a motion as if he would slay147 himself to accompany the prince in death), and Horatio promised that he would make a true report, as one that was privy to all the circumstances. And, thus satisfied, the noble heart of Hamlet cracked; and Horatio and the bystanders with many tears commended the spirit of this sweet prince to the guardianship148 of angels. For Hamlet was a loving and a gentle prince, and greatly beloved for his many noble and princelike qualities; and if he had lived, would no doubt have proved a most royal and complete king to Denmark.
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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contemptible
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| adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的 | |
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tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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venerated
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| 敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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12
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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forsook
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| forsake的过去式 | |
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wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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indignity
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| n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑 | |
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galled
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| v.使…擦痛( gall的过去式和过去分词 )；擦伤；烦扰；侮辱 | |
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improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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19
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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20
contrive
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| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
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21
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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22
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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23
privy
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| adj.私用的；隐密的 | |
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24
harassed
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| adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
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25
rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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26
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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27
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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28
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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29
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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30
sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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31
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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32
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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33
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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34
conjured
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| 用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现 | |
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35
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36
besought
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| v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的过去式和过去分词 )；(beseech的过去式与过去分词) | |
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37
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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38
dissuaded
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| 劝（某人）勿做某事，劝阻( dissuade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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40
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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41
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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42
antipathy
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| n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物 | |
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43
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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44
adjured
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| v.（以起誓或诅咒等形式）命令要求( adjure的过去式和过去分词 )；祈求；恳求 | |
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45
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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46
lamented
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| adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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48
wedded
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| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
enjoined
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| v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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51
meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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52
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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53
counterfeit
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| vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的 | |
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54
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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55
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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56
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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57
malady
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| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
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58
importuned
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| v.纠缠，向（某人）不断要求( importune的过去式和过去分词 )；（妓女）拉（客） | |
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59
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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60
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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61
counterfeiting
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| n.伪造v.仿制，造假( counterfeit的现在分词 ) | |
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62
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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63
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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64
impaired
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| adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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65
unreasonably
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| adv. 不合理地 | |
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66
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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67
liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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68
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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69
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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70
violation
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| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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71
usurper
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| n. 篡夺者, 僭取者 | |
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72
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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73
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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74
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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75
irresoluteness
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| 临渊羡鱼 | |
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76
irresolute
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| adj.无决断的，优柔寡断的，踌躇不定的 | |
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77
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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78
extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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79
scruple
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| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
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80
scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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81
delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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82
tragical
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| adj. 悲剧的, 悲剧性的 | |
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83
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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84
clout
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| n.用手猛击；权力，影响力 | |
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85
fictitious
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| adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的 | |
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86
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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87
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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88
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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89
attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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90
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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91
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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92
displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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93
artifice
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| n.妙计，高明的手段；狡诈，诡计 | |
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94
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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95
maxims
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| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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96
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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97
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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98
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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99
upbraiding
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| adj.& n.谴责（的）v.责备，申斥，谴责( upbraid的现在分词 ) | |
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100
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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101
heinousness
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102
hypocrisy
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| n.伪善，虚伪 | |
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103
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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104
blight
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| n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残 | |
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105
mildew
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| n.发霉；v.（使）发霉 | |
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106
deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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107
conversing
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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108
imputed
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| v.把（错误等）归咎于( impute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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109
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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110
temperately
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| adv.节制地，适度地 | |
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111
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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112
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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113
pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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114
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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115
skilfully
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| adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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116
erasing
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| v.擦掉( erase的现在分词 )；抹去；清除 | |
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117
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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118
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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119
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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120
willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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121
slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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122
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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123
nettles
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| n.荨麻( nettle的名词复数 ) | |
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124
bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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125
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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126
precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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127
scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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128
tunes
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| n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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129
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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130
melodious
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| adj.旋律美妙的，调子优美的，音乐性的 | |
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131
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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132
strewed
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| v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满 | |
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133
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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134
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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135
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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136
reconciliation
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| n.和解，和谐，一致 | |
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137
wagers
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| n.赌注，用钱打赌( wager的名词复数 )v.在（某物）上赌钱，打赌( wager的第三人称单数 )；保证，担保 | |
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138
extolled
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| v.赞颂，赞扬，赞美( extol的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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139
wagering
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| v.在（某物）上赌钱，打赌( wager的现在分词 )；保证，担保 | |
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140
incensed
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| 盛怒的 | |
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141
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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142
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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143
traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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144
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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145
venom
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| n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨 | |
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146
contriver
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| 发明者，创制者，筹划者 | |
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147
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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148
guardianship
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| n. 监护, 保护, 守护 | |
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