Hamlet by William Shakespeare
237 So in just such a manner
237 mis-take your husbands swear insincerely to love and be faithful to your husbands (according to the marriage vow "for better or for worse"); plays on the idea of "mistaking" another man for one's true husband, as Hamlet deems Gertrude to have done 238 pox i.e. a plague on it
239 the ... revenge refers to lines from the anonymous True Tragedy of Richard III
239 raven considered a bird of ill omen whose cry heralded death 242 Confederate ... seeing the occasion itself an ally, there being no one else to see me 243 rank virulent/pungent/foul
244 Hecate's ban the curse of Hecate, goddess of witchcraft
245 dire property dreadful nature
246 wholesome healthy
247 for's for his
247 His i.e. the king's
252 false fire the discharge of blank cartridges from a firearm 257 strucken wounded
258 hart ungalled uninjured male deer
259 watch remain awake
261 this the play/the verse just uttered
261 feathers i.e. elaborate plumes on a hat
262 turn Turk with abandon (like one renouncing Christianity to become a Muslim) 262 Provincial roses French roses from Provence (here rosettes, worn to hide the shoe fastenings and, like the feathers, a feature of the actor's garb) 263 razed shoes shoes with ornamental cuts in the leather
263 fellowship ... cry partnership in a pack
265 share the major players in the Chamberlain's Men had shares in the company's assets 267 Damon either an allusion to the Greek tale of Damon and Pythias, famous for their great friendship, or used as a traditional pastoral name 268 dismantled stripped/deprived
269 Jove supreme Roman god
270 pajock either "patchock" (i.e. base, ragged fellow) or "peacock"
271 rhymed the word that might be expected to rhyme with was is "ass"
279 perdy corruption of the French par dieu ("by God") 281 vouchsafe permit
285 retirement withdrawal to his rooms
285 distempered out of humor (Hamlet chooses to understand the sense of "drunk") 287 choler anger (provoked by an excess of bile, one of the four bodily humours) 289 signify communicate
290 purgation cleansing the body through bloodletting or the use of emetics or laxatives (Hamlet plays on the idea of eliciting confession; the senses of legal and spiritual purging are also relevant) 292 frame order
292 start swerve/recoil
298 breed kind/courtly breeding
298 wholesome healthy, sane
300 pardon permission (to leave)
308 amazement bewilderment/alarm
308 admiration astonishment, wonder
309 wonderful astonishing/excellent
312 closet private room
315 trade dealings (a deliberately derogatory term here)
317 pickers and stealers hands
319 liberty freedom from mental anguish (but a suggestive image of literal imprisonment) 319 deny refuse to tell
324 "While ... grows" the rest of the proverb is "the horse starves"
327 withdraw speak privately
328 recover ... toil a hunting metaphor: the hunter would get to the windward side of the prey (recover the wind), allowing it to scent him and thus driving the animal in the opposite direction and into a net (toil) 330 if ... unmannerly i.e. if I am overly bold in my behavior it is my love for you that is to blame 339 ventages holes (or stops)
348 mystery secret/craft, skill (playing an instrument)
348 sound question/produce music from
349 compass range
352 fret irritate/provide with frets (ridges for fingering on a lute) 355 presently straightaway
358 By th'mass by the Mass (a common oath)
364 fool ... bent indulge me in my foolishness to the limit/force me to play the fool to the limit of my ability (or endurance) 373 nature natural feelings
374 Nero Roman emperor who murdered his mother
378 How ... shent however much I rebuke and punish her verbally 378 somever to whatever extent
379 give them seals i.e. by acting upon them
Act 3 Scene 3
1 him i.e. his behavior
3 dispatch make ready/deal with promptly
5 terms ... estate conditions or responsibilities of my position as king 8 provide prepare, equip
9 fear concern, responsibility
12 single and peculiar individual and private
14 noyance vexation/harm
15 weal welfare
16 cease cessation/decease
17 gulf whirlpool
18 massy massive/weighty
21 mortised fastened securely
22 annexment adjunct, hanger-on
22 petty consequence trivial attachment
23 attends accompanies
23 boist'rous massive/turbulent
25 Arm you prepare yourselves
31 process proceedings
31 tax him home reprove him thoroughly
33 meet fitting
35 of vantage in addition/from an advantageous position
39 rank foul-smelling/rotten
40 primal eldest curse God's curse on Cain, the first murderer, who killed his brother Abel (biblical) 42 inclination ... will my urge and determination to pray are equally strong 44 bound directed/tied/sworn
49 Whereto ... offence? What is the point of mercy if not to confront sin face-to-face?
52 forestalled prevented
55 turn need, purpose
57 effects benefits, acquisitions
59 th'offence i.e. the profits gained from committing the offense 60 currents courses, practices
61 gilded golden/bearing bribes
61 by to one side
64 There i.e. above, in heaven
64 shuffling evasion, deceit
64 the action lies the sin is laid bare/the case is admissible (legal metaphor, continued with evidence) 66 to ... forehead in the very face
67 give in give, submit
67 rests remains
71 limed caught as a bird is trapped by bird-lime (sticky substance spread on branches) 72 assay a great effort/an attempt
76 pat opportunely, conveniently
78 would be scanned needs to be examined/would be interpreted as follows 80 foul sinful/treacherous/shameful; most editors prefer Quarto's "sole"
82 hire and salary i.e. as if Hamlet had hired Claudius to do the murder and was now giving him his wages 83 grossly ... bread i.e. in the grips of worldly pleasures, with no spiritual preparation (such as fasting) 84 broad blown in full bloom
85 audit account
86 circumstance ... thought situation and way of thinking/limited condition and way of thinking/indirect way of thinking 87 heavy grave/gloomy
88 take him kill Claudius
89 seasoned prepared
89 passage journey into the next world
91 hent time to be seized at/opportunity
92 drunk asleep in a drunken stupor
95 relish trace, flavor
98 stays awaits
99 physic medicine (either Claudius' prayer or Hamlet's postponement of the murder) Act 3 Scene 4
1 straight straightaway
1 lay home speak plainly, take to task
2 broad unrestrained
4 heat i.e. Claudius' anger
5 round blunt/severe
18 rood Christian cross
19 queen perhaps this puns on "quean" (i.e. whore)
23 glass mirror
28 Dead ... ducat i.e. I'll bet a ducat (gold coin) he'll soon be dead/I'll kill him for a mere ducat 39 busy interfering, prying
43 brazed covered with brass, hardened
44 proof armor
44 proof ... sense fortified against feeling
46 rude violent/harsh/offensive
53 contraction binding agreement (specifically the marriage contract) 55 rhapsody confused mass
55 glow i.e. blush for shame
56 this ... mass i.e. the earth
57 tristful sorrowful
57 as ... doom as if in anticipation of doomsday
60 index table of contents that prefaces the body of a book
62 counterfeit presentment painted representation
64 Hyperion Greek god of the sun, and one of the Titans
64 front forehead/face
65 Mars Roman god of war
66 station manner of standing
66 Mercury winged messenger of the Roman gods
67 New-lighted newly alighted
69 seal i.e. mark of approval
72 ear i.e. of corn
73 Blasting withering
74 leave cease
75 batten feed greedily
75 moor marshland/waste ground (may play on the sense of "dark-skinned person" to contrast with the fair mountain) 77 heyday ... blood (youthful) period of sexual excitement
80 cozened cheated
80 hoodman-blind blind-man's-buff (Hamlet imagines a blindfolded Gertrude being tricked into picking the wrong man) 82 mutine mutiny
82 matron mature married woman
85 compulsive ... charge compelling sexual passion (of youth) attacks 86 frost i.e. age
87 panders acts as a go-between for/ministers to the gratification of 87 will sexual desire
90 grained ingrained, indelible
91 leave their tinct abandon their color
93 enseamed saturated with grease or pig's fat, i.e. soiled from sexual activity 94 Stewed soaked/slowly boiled (puns on "stew"--i.e. brothel)
94 honeying exchanging endearments
94 making love talking amorously/having sex
95 nasty filthy/lewd/repellent
95 sty pigsty/place inhabited by whores and lustful people
100 tithe tenth part
101 precedent lord previous husband (precedent may have connotations of "exemplary/higher ranking") 101 vice epitome of wickedness/buffoon or trickster from morality plays 102 cutpurse pickpocket
103 diadem crown
106 shreds and patches paltry bits and pieces/the multicolored clothing of a fool or clown 112 important urgent, pressing
117 Conceit imagination
122 th'incorporal the insubstantial
123 spirits vital spirits, a bodily fluid thought to be vital for life 124 as ... th'alarm like soldiers awoken abruptly by a call to arms 125 like ... excrements as if growths of hair had lives of their own 130 His ... conjoined the combination of his appearance and his reason (for wanting revenge) 131 capable responsive 132 piteous pity-inspiring
132 convert ... effects divert me from the grim deeds I intend to carry out 134 want lack
134 colour character, quality/motive, grounds/hue (colorless tears rather than red blood) 141 habit clothing/demeanor
141 as as when/as if
143 coinage invention
144 cunning skillful/crafty
149 reword repeat
150 gambol spring away
151 unction ointment
152 trespass sin
153 skin and film form a thin skin over
154 mining corroding/undermining/sapping
158 ranker more abundant
158 virtue i.e. virtuous talk and rebukes
159 pursy short-winded/fat
161 curb and woo bow and entreat
174 That so that
174 scourge and minister agent of retribution
175 bestow dispose of/stow away
175 answer well justify/pay for
178 behind yet to come
181 bloat bloated/flabby/swollen with self-indulgence
182 Pinch wanton in pinching your cheeks leave marks that proclaim you a wanton (lewd woman) 182 mouse common term of endearment
183 reechy filthy, squalid (literally "smoky")
185 ravel ... out unravel (i.e. reveal) all this business
187 in craft through cunning, by design
189 paddock ... gib toad, bat, tomcat (creatures popularly supposed to be the familiars of witches) 190 dear concernings important matters
192 Unpeg unfasten (thus letting the birds out) 193 famous ... down a reference to a lost story; presumably the ape attempted to imitate the birds who had been released from the basket by climbing in, then leaping out in the hope of flying, only to succeed in breaking his neck 194 try conclusions experiment
202 set me packing cause me to be sent away at once/make me begin plotting 205 still ... grave quiet, trustworthy and dignified/dead
206 prating prattling, chattering
207 draw ... you finish my dealings with you/haul you to your grave 209 matter significance
218 brainish apprehension headstrong conviction/deluded understanding 220 heavy sorrowful
224 answered accounted for
225 providence foresight/arrangements
226 short on a tight leash
226 haunt company
230 divulging becoming apparent
232 apart away
233 ore precious metal
234 mineral mine or its products
240 countenance confront/bear out
248 what's untimely done i.e. Polonius' premature death
Act 4 Scene 1
1 Stowed lodged (refers to Polonius' body); plays on slang sense of "kept quiet," "shut up"
5 Compounded united, mingled
10 keep ... own keep your secrets and not my own/follow your advice (and tell you where the body is) and yet keep my own secret 11 demanded of questioned by
11 replication response
14 countenance favor
15 authorities power, influence
17 mouthed taken into the mouth
21 sleeps in i.e. is wasted on
25 The ... body Claudius has a physical body, but he does not possess true kingship/the body is here in the castle, like Claudius; however he, not being dead, is not with Polonius/Polonius is with the true king, dead Hamlet senior, not with the usurping Claudius/Polonius is with God, rather than Claudius 28 Hide ... after refers to a children's game in which one person (the fox) hides and the others pursue him Act 4 Scene 2
4 of by
4 distracted deranged/confused/foolish
6 scourge punishment
6 weighed considered
7 bear ... even manage matters smoothly and evenly
9 Deliberate pause i.e. the result of careful consideration 10 appliance remedy
15 Without outside
22 convocation political assembly
22 convocation ... diet a punning allusion to the Diet (i.e. assembly) of the German city of Worms 22 e'en even now
25 variable service different dishes in the same meal
28 eat eaten
32 progress official journey of state undertaken by the monarch 41 tender hold dear
44 bark ship
45 tend await
45 at bent ready
51 cherub angel possessed of insight and knowledge
57 at foot closely
60 leans on appertains to
61 aught any worth
62 thereof ... sense may give you an awareness of the value of my love 63 cicatrice scar
64 free awe voluntary submission, uncompelled deference
65 coldly set disregard/regard coolly
66 process command
66 imports at full is fully concerned with/conveys detailed instructions for 67 conjuring solemnly charging/conspiring
68 present immediate
69 hectic fever
71 Howe'er my haps whatever my fortunes
Act 4 Scene 3
4.3 Location: the Danish border (see "Second Quarto Passages That Do Not Appear in the Folio," lines 81-139 [pp. 143-44], for a longer version of this scene, in which Hamlet witnesses the army's march and speaks his soliloquy "How all occasions do inform against me / And spur my dull revenge") 2 licence permission
3 conveyance of granting of/Danish escort for
6 duty respect
6 eye presence
9 softly slowly, carefully
Act 4 Scene 4
4.4 Location: within the royal castle at Elsinore
2 importunate insistent, pressing
2 distract agitated/deranged
6 hems makes "hmm" noises
7 Spurns ... straws strikes out spitefully at trifles
7 in doubt of unclear meaning
9 use manner/utterance
10 collection a gathering of meaning
10 aim guess
11 botch patch, stitch clumsily together
12 Which which words
12 yield convey, deliver
13 thought intended
14 unhappily ominously near the truth/maliciously
16 ill-breeding mischief-making
19 toy trifle
19 amiss wrong, calamity
20 artless jealousy unskilled suspicion
21 It ... spilt its excessive fear of being revealed ends up betraying it ("to spill" means both to destroy and to reveal) 26 cockle hat hat with a cockle-shell on it, showing that the wearer had visited the Spanish shrine of Santiago (Saint James) of Compostela; a staff and sandals were also typical of such a pilgrim 27 shoon shoes
38 Larded strewn, covered
40 showers i.e. of tears
42 yield reward; a common way to express thanks
42 owl ... daughter refers to the tale of a baker's daughter who was turned into an owl after she had been ungenerous to Jesus when he begged for bread 45 Conceit upon fanciful thinking about/brooding on
49 betime early
51 Valentine sweetheart, supposedly the first person of the opposite sex one saw on Valentine's Day 52 rose the sexual innuendo of Ophelia's language suggests possible erectile connotations 53 dupped opened (perhaps punning on "tupped," i.e. "had sex with") 53 chamber door playing on vaginal connotations
54 maid virgin
58 Gis Jesus
60 do't have sex
61 cock euphemism for God, plays on sense of "penis"
62 tumbled had sex with
65 An if
76 spies scouts sent ahead of the main army
79 remove removal
79 muddied stirred up
81 greenly foolishly
82 hugger-mugger secrecy
85 as much containing of as much significance
87 wonder bewilderment/doubt (about his father's death)
87 in clouds in a state of confusion (or suspicion)/aloof and inscrutable 88 wants lacks
88 buzzers gossips, rumor-mongers
90 of matter beggared deprived of facts and solid evidence 91 nothing ... ear not hesitate to accuse me to one listener after another 93 murdering-piece small cannon which scattered its shot and so could kill more people 94 Gives ... death kills me over and over
96 Switzers Swiss guards (mercenaries commonly employed in royal households) 99 overpeering ... list rising over its boundary
100 flats flat or lowlying land near the shore
101 head insurrection
103 as as if
104 Antiquity ancient tradition
105 The ... word (antiquity and custom are) the things that confirm and support every utterance 107 Caps thrown into the air in support
110 counter following the scent in the wrong direction (hunting term) 110 f