Laer. Come, my lord. [They play. How I am punish'd with a sore distraction. That might your nature, honour, and exception, And, when he's not himself, does wrong Laertes, Sir, in this audience, Let my disclaiming from a purpos'd evil Free me fo far in your moft generous thoughts, Laer. I am fatisfy'd in nature, Whose motive, in this cafe, fhould stir me most And will not wrong it. Laer. A touch, a touch, I do confefs. 15 King. Our fon fhall win. 20 25 If Hamlet give the firft, or fecond hit, A ftoup is a flaggon, or bowl. crowns and coronets. Queen. He's fat, and scant of breath. Here, Hamlet, take my napkin, rub thy browse The queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet. Ham. Good madam, King. Gertrude, do not drink. Queen. I will, my lord ;-I pray you, pardon me. Laer. And yet it is almost against my conscience. 2 An union is the finest sort of pearl, and has its place in all 3 Under pretence of throwing a pearl into the cup, the king may be fuppofed to drop fome poisonous drug into the wine. Hamlet feems to suspect this, when he afterwards discovers the effects of the poison, and tauntingly asks him,-Is the union bere? man feeble and effeminate. 4 A wanton was a Unbated Unbated, and envenom'd: the foul practice Ail. Treafon! treason! [Stabs the king. King. O, yet defend me, friends, I am but hurt. Dane, Drink off this potion:-Is the union here? Laer. He is justly ferv'd; [King dies. It is a poifon temper'd by himself.— [Dies. Ham. Heaven make thee free of it! I follow thee. I am dead, Horatio:-Wretched queen, adieu! Hor. Never believe it; I am more an antique Roman than a Dane, Ham. As thou'rt a man, Give me the cup; let go; by heaven, I'll have it. If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart, And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain, Enter Fortinbras, the English Embassaders, and others. For. Where is this fight? Hor. What is it, you would fee? 5 If aught of woe, or wonder, ceafe your fearch. What feaft is toward in thine infernal cell, 10 So bloodily hast struck? Emb. The fight is difmal; And our affairs from England come too late: 15 That Rofencrantz and Guildenstern are dead: Hor. Not from his 3 mouth, He never gave commandment for their death. Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters; 30 Fall'n on the inventors' heads: all this can I Fort. Let us hafte to hear it, And call the nobleft to the audience. For me, with forrow I embrace my fortune; 35I have fome rights of memory in this kingdom, Which now to claim my vantage doth invite me. Hor. Of that I fhall have also cause to speak, And from his mouth whofe voice will draw on more : [March afar off, and fhout within. 40 But let this fame be prefently perform'd, What warlike noife is this? Even while men's minds are wild; left more mifchance Ofr. Young Fortinbras, with conqueft come To the embaffadors of England gives Ham. O, I die, Horatio; The potent poifon quite o'er-grows my fpirit; [Dies. Hor. Now cracks a noble heart:-Good night, sweet prince; On plots, and errors, happen. Fort. Let four captains 45 Bear Hamlet, like a foldier, to the stage; To have prov'd most royally: and, for his paffage, 50 Take up the bodies:Such a fight as this And frights of angels fing thee to thy rest!— i. e. incidents. The word is now difufed. king'. 3 X OTHELLO. Officers, Gentlemen, Mejengers, Muficians, Sailors, and Attendants. SCENE, for the firft At, in Venice; during the rest of the Play, in Cyprus. As if the ftrings were thine,-shouldft know of 10 That never fet a squadron in the field, this. Iago. But you'll not hear me : If ever I did dream of fuch a matter, abhor me. Rod. Thou toldft me, thou didst hold him in thy hate. Tag. Despise me if I do not. Nor the divifion of a battle knows More than a spinfter; unless the bookish theoric4, As masterly as he mere prattle, without practice, [of the city, 15 2 i. e. certainly, in truth. Obfolete. 3 On The story is taken from Cynthio's Novels. thefe lines Dr. Johnson obferves, "This is one of the paffages which muft for the prefent be refigned to corruption and obfcurity. I have nothing that I can, with any approach to confidence, propose." Mr. Tyrwhitt ingeniously proposes to read, "damn'd in a fair life;" and is of opinion, that "Shakfpeare alludes to the judgment denounced in the gospel against thofe of whom all men speak well." He adds, that the character of Caffio is certainly fuch, as would be very likely to draw upon him all the peril of this denunciation, literally understood. Well-bred, eafy, fociable, good-natured; with abilities enough to make him agreeable and useful, but not fufficient to excite the envy of his equals, or to alarm the jealoufy of his fuperiors. It may be obferved too, that Shakspeare has thought it proper to make Iago, in feveral other paffages, bear his teftimony to the amiable qualities of his rival." 4 Theoric, for theory. 6 5 Confuls, for counsellors. It was anciently the practice to reckon up fums with counters. Is fpy'd in populous cities. Rod. What ho! Brabantio! fignior Brabantio, ho! [thieves! Iago. Awake! what, ho! Brabantio! thieves! Look to your house, your daughter, and your bags! Thieves! thieves! Brabantio, above, at a window. Bra. What is the reason of this terrible summons? What is the matter there? Red. Signior, is all your family within? Jago. Are your doors lock'd? Bra. Why? wherefore ask you this? Iago. Sir, you are robb'd; for fhame, put on your gown; 15 Your heart is burst", you have lost half your foul; Is tupping your white ewe. Arife, arise; Whip me fuch honest knaves 4: Others there are, [foul; Do themselves homage: thefe fellows have fome For, fr, It is as fure as you are Roderigo, Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago: Bra. What, have you loft your wits? Rod. Moft reverend fignior, do you know my Bra. Not I; What are you? I have charg'd thee, not to haunt about my doors: Rod. Sir, fir, fir, Bre. But thou must needs be fure, 35 My fpirit, and my place, have in them power To make this bitter to thee. Rod. What a full fortune 5 does the thick lips 40 If he can carry 't thus! Jago. Call up her father, [owe, Roufe him: make after him, poifon his delight, Rod. Patience, good fir. [Venice; Bra. What tell'ft thou me of robbing? this is My houfe is not a grange 7. Rod. Moft grave Brabantio, In fimple and pure foul I come to you. Iago. Sir, you are one of thofe, that will not ferve God, if the devil bid you. Because we come to do you fervice, you think we are ruffians. 45 You'll have your daughter cover'd with a Barbary horfe; you'll have your nephews neigh to you: you'll have courfers for coufins, and gennets for germans. Rod. Here is her father's houfe; I'll call aloud.] Iago. Do; with light timorous accent, and dire 50 yell, As when, by night and negligence, the fire 10 Bra. What profane 1° wretch art thou? Iago. I am one, fir, that comes to tell you, your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs. 1 It has been obferved, that the Scots, when they compare person to perfon, use this exclamation. 2 i.e. by recommendation from powerful friends. 3 The meaning is, Do I ftand within any fuch terms of propinquity or relation to the Moor, as that it is my duty to love him? 4 Knave is here used for fervant, but with a mixture of fly contempt. 5 Full fortune may mean a complete piece of good fortune. To cwe is in ancient language, to own, to poffefs. 6 i. e. broken. 7 That is," You are in a populous city, not in a lone boufe, where a robbery might easily be committed." Grange is ftriatly and properly the farm of a monaftery, where the religious repofited their corn. But in Lincolnshire, and in other northern counties, they call every lone houfe, or farm which ftands folitary, a grange. 8 Nephew, in this inftance, has the power of the Latin word nepos, and fignifies a grandfon, or any lineal defcendant, however remote. 9 A jennet is a Spanish horse. 10 That is, what wretch of grofs and licentious language? 11 This is an ancient proverbial expreffion in the French language, whence Shakspeare probably borrowed it. Bra. |