Ungarter'd, and down-gyved to his ankle;" As if he had been loosed out of hell, To speak of horrors, he comes before me. Oph. He took me by the wrist, and held me hard ; Then goes he to the length of all his arm; And, with his other hand thus o'er his brow, He falls to such perusal of my face, As he would draw it. Long stay'd he so; 10 And thrice his head thus waving up and down, — Pol. Come, go with me: I will go seek the king. This is the very ecstasy of love; Whose violent property fordoes itself,' 11 And leads the will to desperate undertakings, That does afflict our natures. I am sorry, 9 Hanging down like the loose cincture which confines the fetters or gyves round the ankles. 10 That is, his breast. "The bulke or breast of a man, Thorax, la poitrine." -BARET. il To fordo and to undo were synonymous. Oph. No, my good lord; but, as you did com mand, I did repel his letters, and denied His access to me. Pol. That hath made him mad. I am sorry, that with better heed and judgment, It seems it is as proper to our age 13 To cast beyond ourselves in our opinions, As it is common for the younger sort To lack discretion. Come, go we to the king: This must be known; which, being kept close, might move More grief to hide, than hate to utter love.1 [Exeunt. SCENE II. A Room in the Castle. Enter the King, the Queen, ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDENSTERN, and Attendants. King. Welcome, dear Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern! 12 To quote is to note, to mark, or observe. 13 The folio substitutes It seems for By Heaven, of the quartos. Coleridge here makes the following remark: "In this admirable scene, Polonius, who is throughout the skeleton of his own former skill in state-craft, hunts the trail of policy at a dead scent, supplied by the weak fever-smell in his own nostrils." H. 14 "This must be made known to the king, for the hiding Hamlet's love might occasion more mischief to us from him and the queen, than the uttering or revealing it will occasion hate and resentment from Hamlet." Johnson, whose explanation this is, attributes the obscurity to the Poet's "affectation of concluding the scene with a couplet." There would surely have been more affectation in deviating from the universally established custom. The quartos add Come, after the closing couplet. Moreover that we much did long to see you,' 2 I cannot dream of: I entreat you both, That, -being of so young days brought up with him, And, since, so neighbour'd to his youth and hu That you Vouchsafe your rest here in our court Queen. Good gentlemen, he hath much talk'd of you; And, sure I am, two men there are not living, 3 As to expend your time with us awhile, Ros. Both your majesties 1 We do not recollect another instance of moreover that used in this way. Of course, the sense is the same as besides that, or "over and above the fact that," &c. H. 2 So the quartos; the folio, "deem of." In the next line but the quartos have haviour instead of humour. one, H. 3 Gentry for gentle courtesy. — The last line but one, in the preceding speech, is not in the folio. 4 Supply and profit is aid and advantage. H. Might, by the sovereign power you have of us, Guil. But we both obey ; And here give up ourselves, in the full bent, To be commanded. King. Thanks, Rosencrantz, and gentle Guilden stern: Queen. Thanks, Guildenstern, and gentle Rosen crantz : And I beseech you instantly to visit My too-much-changed son.— Go, some of you, tices, Pleasant and helpful to him! Queen. Ay, amen! [Exeunt Ros. GUIL. and some Attendants. Enter POLONIUS. Pol. Th' ambassadors from Norway, my good lord, Are joyfully return'd. King. Thou still hast been the father of good news. Pol. Have I, my lord? Assure you, my good liege, I hold my duty, as I hold my soul, Both to my God, and to my gracious king; As it hath us'd to do) that I have found The very cause of Hamlet's lunacy. King. O! speak of that; that do I long to hear. Pol. Give, first, admittance to th' ambassadors; My news shall be the fruit to that great feast. King. Thyself do grace to them, and bring them [Exit POLONIUS. in. He tells me, my dear Gertrude, he hath found The head and source of all your son's distemper. Queen. I doubt, it is no other but the main; His father's death, and our o'erhasty marriage." Re-enter POLONIUS, with VOLTIMAND and COR NELIUS. King. Well, we shall sift him. Welcome, my good friends! Say, Voltimand, what from our brother Norway? It was against your highness: whereat griev'd, - 6 Was falsely borne in hand, — sends out arrests To give th' assay of arms against your majesty. So the folio; the quartos have hasty instead of o'erhasty. 7 H. 6 To bear in hand is to lead along by assurances or expectaSee Measure for Measure, Act i. sc. 5, note 6. tions. H. 7 That is, the king gave his nephew a feud or fee in land of that annual value. |