And passion in the gods.

Cor. Looke my lord if he hath not changde his colour, And hath teares in his eyes; no more good heart, no more. Ham. T'is well, t'is very well, I pray my lord, Will you see the Players well bestowed,

I tell you they are the Chronicles

And briefe abstracts of the time,

After death I can tell you,

your

Cor. My lord, I will vse them according to their deserts. Ham. O farre better man,vse euery man after his deserts. Then who should scape whipping?

Vse them after your owne honor and dignitie,

The lesse they deserue, the greater credit's yours.

Cor. Welcome my good fellowes.

exit.

Ham. Come hither maisters, can you not play the mur

der of Gonsago?

players Yes my Lord.

Ham. And could'st not thou for a neede study me

Some dozen or sixteene lines,

Which I would set downe and insert?

players Yes very easily my good Lord.

Ham. T'is well, I thanke you:follow that lord:

And doe you heare sirs? take heede you mocke him not.
Gentlemen, for your kindnes I thanke you,

And for a time I would desire you leaue me.
Gil. Our loue and duetie is at your commaund.
Exeunt all but Hamlet.

Ham. Why what a dunghill idiote slaue am I?
Why these Players here draw water from eyes:

For Hecuba, why what is Hecuba to him,or he to Hecuba?

What

What would he do and if he had my losse?
His father murdred, and a Crowne bereft him,
He would turne all his teares to droppes of blood,
Amaze the standers by with his laments,

Strike more then wonder in the iudiciall éares,
Confound the ignorant, and make mute the wise,
Indeede his passion would be generall.

Yet I like to an asse and Iohn a Dreames,

Hauing my father murdred by a villaine,

Stand still,and let it passe, why sure I am a coward:
Who pluckes me by the beard, or twites my nose,
Giue's me the lie i'th throate downe to the lungs,
Sure I should take it, or else I haue no gall,
Or by this I should a fatted all the region kites
With this slaues offell, this damned villaine,
Treacherous, bawdy,murderous villaine:

Why this is braue, that I the sonne of my deare father,
Should like a scalion, like a very drabbe

Thus raile in wordes. About my braine,

I have heard that guilty creatures sitting at a play,
Hath,by the very cunning of the scene,confest a murder
Committed long before.

This spirit that I haue seene may be the Diuell,
And out of my weakenesse and my melancholy,

As he is very potent with such men,

Doth seeke to damne me, I will haue sounder proofes,
The play's the thing,

The cause of our sonne Hamlets lunacie?

You being so neere in loue, euen from his youth,
Me thinkes should gaine more than a stranger should.
Gil. My lord, we haue done all the best we could,
To wring from him the cause of all his griefe,
But still he puts vs off,and by no meanes
Would make an answere to that we exposde,

Ross. Yet was he something more inclin'd to mirth
Before we left him, and I take it,

He hath giuen order for a play to night,

At which he craues your highnesse company,
King With all our heart, it likes vs very well:
Gentlemen, seeke still to increase his mirth,
Spare for no cost, our coffers shall be open,
And we vnto your selues will still be thankefull.
Both In all wee can, be sure you shall commaund.
Queene Thankes gentlemen, and what the Queene of
May pleasure you, be sure you shall not want. (Denmarke
Gil. Weele once againe vnto the noble Prince.

King Thanks to you both; Gertred you'l see this play. Queene My lord I will, and it ioyes me at the sonle He is inclin❜d to any kinde of mirth..

Cor. Madame, I pray be ruled by me:

And my good Soueraigne, giue me leaue to speake,
We cannot yet finde out the very ground

Of his distemperance, therefore

I holde it meete, if so it please you,

Else they shall not meete,and thus it is.

King What i'st Corambis?

(done,

Cor. Mary my good lord this, so one when the sports are

Madam, send you in haste to speake with him,

And I my selfe will stand behind the Arras,

There

There question you the cause of all his griefe,
And then in loue and nature vnto you, hee'le tell you all:
My Lord,how thinke you on't?

King It likes vs well, Gerterd, what say you?

Queenę With all my heart, soone will I send for him.
Cor. My selfe will be that happy messenger,

Who hopes his griefe will be reueal'd to her.
Enter Hamlet and the Players.

exeunt omnes

Ham. Pronounce me this speech trippingly a the tongue as I taught thee,

Mary and you mouth it, as a many of your players do
I'de rather heare a towne bull bellow,

Then such a fellow speake my lines.

Nor do not saw the aire thus with your hands,
But giue euery thing his action with temperance.

(fellow,

O it offends mee to the soule, to heare a rebustious periwig To teare a passion in totters, into very ragges,

To split the eares of the ignorant, who for the (noises, Most parte are capable of nothing but dumbe shewes and I would haue such a fellow whipt,för o're doing, tarmagant It out,Herodes Herod.

players My Lorde, wee haue indifferently reformed that among vs.

Ham. The better, the better, mend it all together:
There be fellowes that I haue seene play,

And heard others commend them, and that highly too,
That hauing neither the gate of Christian,Pagan,

Nor Turke,haue so strutted and bellowed,

1

That you would a thought, some of Natures journeymen Had made men,and not made them well,

They imitated humanitie,so abhominable:

Take heede,auoyde it.

C 4

players

players I warrant you my Lord.

Ham. And doe you heare? let not your Clowne speake More then is set downe, there be of them I can tell you That will laugh themselues, to set on some

Quantitie of barren spectators to laugh with them,
Albeit there is some necessary point in the Play
Then to be obserued:O t'is vile, and shewes il
A pittifull ambition in the foole that vseth it.
And then you haue some agen, that keepes one sute
Of ieasts, as a man is knowne by one sute of
Apparell, and Gentlemen quotes his ieasts downe
In their tables, before they come to the play,as thus:
Cannot you stay till I eate my porrige? and,you owe me
A quarters wages:and, my coate wants a cullison:
And, your beere is sowre: and,blabbering with his lips,
And thus keeping in his cinkapase of ieasts,

When, God knows, the warme Clowne cannot make a iest
Vnlesse by chance, as the blinde man catcheth a hare:

Maisters tell him of it.

players We will my Lord.

Ham. Well, goe make you ready.

Horatio. Heere my Lord.

exeunt players.

Ham. Horatio, thou art euen as iust a man,

As e're my conuersation cop'd withall.

Hor. O my lord!

Ham. Nay why should I flatter thee?

Why should the poore be flattered?

What gaine should I receiue by flattering thee,

That nothing hath but thy good minde?

Let flattery sit on those time-pleasing tongs,

To glose with them that loues to heare their praise,
And not with such as thou Horatio.

There