HAMLET PRINCE OF DENMARK

Act 1 Scene 1

(Enter Barnardo and Francisco, two sentinels, at several doors)
l1l	Barnardo	 Who’s there?
l2l	Francisco	Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself.
l3l	Barnardo	Long live the King!
	Francisco	Barnardo?
	Barnardo	He.
l4l	Francisco	You come most carefully upon your hour.
l5l	Barnardo	’Tis now struck twelve. Get thee to bed, Francisco.
l6l	Francisco	For this relief much thanks. ’Tis bitter cold,
l7l		And I am sick at heart.
	Barnardo	Have you had quiet guard?
l8l	Francisco	Not a mouse stirring.
	Barnardo	Well, good night.
l9l		If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus,
l10l		The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste.
		(Enter Horatio and Marcellus)
l11l	Francisco	 I think I hear them.—Stand! Who’s there?
	Horatio	Friends to this ground.
l12l	Marcellus	And liegemen to the Dane.
	Francisco	Give you good night.
l13l	Marcellus	O farewell, honest soldier. Who hath relieved you?
l14l	Francisco	Barnardo has my place. Give you good night.
		(Exit)
l15l	Marcellus	 Holla, Barnardo!
l16l	Barnardo	Say—what, is Horatio there?
l17l	Horatio	A piece of him.
l18l	Barnardo	Welcome, Horatio. Welcome, good Marcellus.
l19l	Marcellus	What, has this thing appeared again tonight?
l20l	Barnardo	I have seen nothing.
l21l	Marcellus	Horatio says ’tis but our fantasy,
l22l		And will not let belief take hold of him
l23l		Touching this dreaded sight twice seen of us.
l24l		Therefore I have entreated him along
l25l		With us to watch the minutes of this night,
l26l		That if again this apparition come
l27l		He may approve our eyes and speak to it.
l28l	Horatio	Tush, tush, ’twill not appear.
	Barnardo	Sit down a while,
l29l		And let us once again assail your ears,
l30l		That are so fortified against our story,
l31l		What we two nights have seen.
	Horatio	Well, sit we down,
l32l		And let us hear Barnardo speak of this.
l33l	Barnardo	Last night of all,
l34l		When yon same star that’s westward from the pole
l35l		Had made his course t’ illume that part of heaven
l36l		Where now it burns, Marcellus and myself,
l37l		The bell then beating one—
		(Enter the Ghost in complete armour, holding a truncheon, with his beaver up)
l38l	Marcellus	 Peace, break thee off. Look where it comes again.
l39l	Barnardo	In the same figure like the King that’s dead.
l40l	Marcellus	(to Horatio)
		 Thou art a scholar—speak to it, Horatio.
l41l	Barnardo	Looks it not like the King?—Mark it, Horatio.
l42l	Horatio	Most like. It harrows me with fear and wonder.
l43l	Barnardo	It would be spoke to.
	Marcellus	Question it, Horatio.
l44l	Horatio	(to the Ghost)
		 What art thou that usurp’st this time of night,
l45l		Together with that fair and warlike form
l46l		In which the majesty of buried Denmark
l47l		Did sometimes march? By heaven, I charge thee speak.
l48l	Marcellus	It is offended.
	Barnardo	See, it stalks away.
l49l	Horatio	(to the Ghost)
		 Stay, speak, speak, I charge thee speak.
		(Exit Ghost)
l50l	Marcellus	 ’Tis gone, and will not answer.
l51l	Barnardo	How now, Horatio? You tremble and look pale.
l52l		Is not this something more than fantasy?
l53l		What think you on ’t?
l54l	Horatio	Before my God, I might not this believe
l55l		Without the sensible and true avouch
l56l		Of mine own eyes.
l57l	Marcellus	Is it not like the King?
l58l	Horatio	As thou art to thyself.
l59l		Such was the very armour he had on
l60l		When he th’ ambitious Norway combated.
l61l		So frowned he once when in an angry parley
l62l		He smote the sledded Polacks on the ice.
l63l		’Tis strange.
l64l	Marcellus	Thus twice before, and just at this dead hour,
l65l		With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch.
l66l	Horatio	In what particular thought to work I know not,
l67l		But in the gross and scope of my opinion
l68l		This bodes some strange eruption to our state.
l69l	Marcellus	Good now, sit down, and tell me, he that knows,
l70l		Why this same strict and most observant watch
l71l		So nightly toils the subject of the land,
l72l		And why such daily cast of brazen cannon,
l73l		And foreign mart for implements of war,
l74l		Why such impress of shipwrights, whose sore task
l75l		Does not divide the Sunday from the week:
l76l		What might be toward that this sweaty haste
l77l		Doth make the night joint-labourer with the day,
l78l		Who is ’t that can inform me?
	Horatio	That can I—
l79l		At least the whisper goes so: our last king,
l80l		Whose image even but now appeared to us,
l81l		Was as you know by Fortinbras of Norway,
l82l		Thereto pricked on by a most emulate pride,
l83l		Dared to the combat# in which our valiant Hamlet—
l84l		For so this side of our known world esteemed him—
l85l		Did slay this Fortinbras, who by a sealed compact
l86l		Well ratified by law and heraldry
l87l		Did forfeit with his life all those his lands
l88l		Which he stood seized on to the conqueror#
l89l		Against the which a moiety competent
l90l		Was gagèd by our King, which had returned
l91l		To the inheritance of Fortinbras
l92l		Had he been vanquisher, as by the same cov’nant
l93l		And carriage of the article designed
l94l		His fell to Hamlet. Now sir, young Fortinbras,
l95l		Of unimprovèd mettle hot and full,
l96l		Hath in the skirts of Norway here and there
l97l		Sharked up a list of landless resolutes
l98l		For food and diet to some enterprise
l99l		That hath a stomach in ’t, which is no other—
l100l		And it doth well appear unto our state—
l101l		But to recover of us by strong hand
l102l		And terms compulsative those foresaid lands
l103l		So by his father lost. And this, I take it,
l104l		Is the main motive of our preparations,
l105l		The source of this our watch, and the chief head
l106l		Of this post-haste and rummage in the land.
		(Enter the Ghost, as before)
l107l		But soft, behold—lo where it comes again!
l108l		I’ll cross it though it blast me.—Stay, illusion.
		(The Ghost spreads his arms)
l109l		If thou hast any sound or use of voice,
l110l		Speak to me.
l111l		If there be any good thing to be done
l112l		That may to thee do ease and grace to me,
l113l		Speak to me.
l114l		If thou art privy to thy country’s fate
l115l		Which happily foreknowing may avoid,
l116l		O speak!
l117l		Or if thou hast uphoarded in thy life
l118l		Extorted treasure in the womb of earth—
l119l		For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death—
		(The cock crows)
l120l		Speak of it, stay and speak.—Stop it, Marcellus.
l121l	Marcellus	Shall I strike at it with my partisan?
l122l	Horatio	Do, if it will not stand.
	Barnardo	’Tis here.
	Horatio	’Tis here.
		(Exit Ghost)
l123l	Marcellus	 ’Tis gone.
l124l		We do it wrong, being so majestical,
l125l		To offer it the show of violence,
l126l		For it is as the air invulnerable,
l127l		And our vain blows malicious mockery.
l128l	Barnardo	It was about to speak when the cock crew.
l129l	Horatio	And then it started like a guilty thing
l130l		Upon a fearful summons. I have heard
l131l		The cock, that is the trumpet to the morn,
l132l		Doth with his lofty and shrill-sounding throat
l133l		Awake the god of day, and at his warning,
l134l		Whether in sea or fire, in earth or air,
l135l		Th’ extravagant and erring spirit hies
l136l		To his confine# and of the truth herein
l137l		This present object made probation.
l138l	Marcellus	It faded on the crowing of the cock.
l139l		Some say that ever ’gainst that season comes
l140l		Wherein our saviour’s birth is celebrated
l141l		The bird of dawning singeth all night long#
l142l		And then, they say, no spirit can walk abroad,
l143l		The nights are wholesome# then no planets strike,
l144l		No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
l145l		So hallowed and so gracious is the time.
l146l	Horatio	So have I heard, and do in part believe it.
l147l		But look, the morn in russet mantle clad
l148l		Walks o’er the dew of yon high eastern hill.
l149l		Break we our watch up, and by my advice
l150l		Let us impart what we have seen tonight
l151l		Unto young Hamlet# for upon my life,
l152l		This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him.
l153l		Do you consent we shall acquaint him with it,
l154l		As needful in our loves, fitting our duty?
l155l	Marcellus	Let’s do ’t, I pray# and I this morning know
l156l		Where we shall find him most conveniently.
		(Exeunt)