SCENE I. A room in POLONIUS' house. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark  Shakespeare homepage  |  Hamlet  | Act 2, Scene 1 

 Previous scene  |  Next scene  SCENE I. A room in POLONIUS' house. 

 Enter POLONIUS and REYNALDO  LORD POLONIUS  Give him this money and these notes, Reynaldo. 

 REYNALDO  I will, my lord. 

 LORD POLONIUS  You shall do marvellous wisely, good Reynaldo, 

 Before you visit him, to make inquire 

 Of his behavior. 

 REYNALDO  My lord, I did intend it. 

 LORD POLONIUS  Marry, well said; very well said. Look you, sir, 

 Inquire me first what Danskers are in Paris; 

 And how, and who, what means, and where they keep, 

 What company, at what expense; and finding 

 By this encompassment and drift of question 

 That they do know my son, come you more nearer 

 Than your particular demands will touch it: 

 Take you, as 'twere, some distant knowledge of him; 

 As thus, 'I know his father and his friends, 

 And in part him: ' do you mark this, Reynaldo? 

 REYNALDO  Ay, very well, my lord. 

 LORD POLONIUS  'And in part him; but' you may say 'not well: 

 But, if't be he I mean, he's very wild; 

 Addicted so and so:' and there put on him 

 What forgeries you please; marry, none so rank 

 As may dishonour him; take heed of that; 

 But, sir, such wanton, wild and usual slips 

 As are companions noted and most known 

 To youth and liberty. 

 REYNALDO  As gaming, my lord. 

 LORD POLONIUS  Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing, quarrelling, 

 Drabbing: you may go so far. 

 REYNALDO  My lord, that would dishonour him. 

 LORD POLONIUS  'Faith, no; as you may season it in the charge 

 You must not put another scandal on him, 

 That he is open to incontinency; 

 That's not my meaning: but breathe his faults so quaintly 

 That they may seem the taints of liberty, 

 The flash and outbreak of a fiery mind, 

 A savageness in unreclaimed blood, 

 Of general assault. 

 REYNALDO  But, my good lord,-- 

 LORD POLONIUS  Wherefore should you do this? 

 REYNALDO  Ay, my lord, 

 I would know that. 

 LORD POLONIUS  Marry, sir, here's my drift; 

 And I believe, it is a fetch of wit: 

 You laying these slight sullies on my son, 

 As 'twere a thing a little soil'd i' the working, Mark you, 

 Your party in converse, him you would sound, 

 Having ever seen in the prenominate crimes 

 The youth you breathe of guilty, be assured 

 He closes with you in this consequence; 

 'Good sir,' or so, or 'friend,' or 'gentleman,' 

 According to the phrase or the addition 

 Of man and country. 

 REYNALDO  Very good, my lord. 

 LORD POLONIUS  And then, sir, does he this--he does--what was I 

 about to say? By the mass, I was about to say 

 something: where did I leave? 

 REYNALDO  At 'closes in the consequence,' at 'friend or so,' 

 and 'gentleman.' 

 LORD POLONIUS  At 'closes in the consequence,' ay, marry; 

 He closes thus: 'I know the gentleman; 

 I saw him yesterday, or t' other day, 

 Or then, or then; with such, or such; and, as you say, 

 There was a' gaming; there o'ertook in's rouse; 

 There falling out at tennis:' or perchance, 

 'I saw him enter such a house of sale,' 

 Videlicet, a brothel, or so forth. 

 See you now; 

 Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth: 

 And thus do we of wisdom and of reach, 

 With windlasses and with assays of bias, 

 By indirections find directions out: 

 So by my former lecture and advice, 

 Shall you my son. You have me, have you not? 

 REYNALDO  My lord, I have. 

 LORD POLONIUS  God be wi' you; fare you well. 

 REYNALDO  Good my lord! 

 LORD POLONIUS  Observe his inclination in yourself. 

 REYNALDO  I shall, my lord. 

 LORD POLONIUS  And let him ply his music. 

 REYNALDO  Well, my lord. 

 LORD POLONIUS  Farewell! 



 Exit REYNALDO 

 Enter OPHELIA  How now, Ophelia! what's the matter? 

 OPHELIA  O, my lord, my lord, I have been so affrighted! 

 LORD POLONIUS  With what, i' the name of God? 

 OPHELIA  My lord, as I was sewing in my closet, 

 Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced; 

 No hat upon his head; his stockings foul'd, 

 Ungarter'd, and down-gyved to his ancle; 

 Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other; 

 And with a look so piteous in purport 

 As if he had been loosed out of hell 

 To speak of horrors,--he comes before me. 

 LORD POLONIUS  Mad for thy love? 

 OPHELIA  My lord, I do not know; 

 But truly, I do fear it. 

 LORD POLONIUS  What said he? 

 OPHELIA  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; 

 At last, a little shaking of mine arm 

 And thrice his head thus waving up and down, 

 He raised a sigh so piteous and profound 

 As it did seem to shatter all his bulk 

 And end his being: that done, he lets me go: 

 And, with his head over his shoulder turn'd, 

 He seem'd to find his way without his eyes; 

 For out o' doors he went without their helps, 

 And, to the last, bended their light on me. 

 LORD POLONIUS  Come, go with me: I will go seek the king. 

 This is the very ecstasy of love, 

 Whose violent property fordoes itself 

 And leads the will to desperate undertakings 

 As oft as any passion under heaven 

 That does afflict our natures. I am sorry. 

 What, have you given him any hard words of late? 

 OPHELIA  No, my good lord, but, as you did command, 

 I did repel his fetters and denied 

 His access to me. 

 LORD POLONIUS  That hath made him mad. 

 I am sorry that with better heed and judgment 

 I had not quoted him: I fear'd he did but trifle, 

 And meant to wreck thee; but, beshrew my jealousy! 

 By heaven, it is as proper to our age 

 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. 



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