The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (875 page)

A plain in Denmark

Enter FORTINBRAS, a Captain, and Soldiers, marching

PRINCE FORTINBRAS

Go, Captain, and greet the Danish king. Tell him that I would like to march through his kingdom, with his permission. You know the place. Let him know we will grant him his favor.

Go, captain, from me greet the Danish king;Tell him that, by his licence, FortinbrasCraves the conveyance of a promised marchOver his kingdom. You know the rendezvous.If that his majesty would aught with us,We shall express our duty in his eye;And let him know so.

Captain

I will do it, my lord.

I will do't, my lord.

PRINCE FORTINBRAS

Go quietly.

Go softly on.

Exeunt FORTINBRAS and Soldiers

Enter HAMLET, ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDENSTERN, and others

HAMLET

Hello sir. Whose army is this?

Good sir, whose powers are these?

Captain

They are from Norway, sir.

They are of Norway, sir.

HAMLET

What is their purpose, sir?

How purposed, sir, I pray you?

Captain

They are on their way to Poland.

Against some part of Poland.

HAMLET

Who is in command, sir?

Who commands them, sir?

Captain

The nephew to the old king of Norway, Fortinbras.

The nephews to old Norway, Fortinbras.

HAMLET

Is he attacking the heart of Poland or some part of it?

Goes it against the main of Poland, sir,Or for some frontier?

Captain

We are going to gain a little land that I wouldn’t pay five dollars to farm.

Truly to speak, and with no addition,We go to gain a little patch of groundThat hath in it no profit but the name.To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it;Nor will it yield to Norway or the PoleA ranker rate, should it be sold in fee.

HAMLET

Well, then the Poles will never defend it.

Why, then the Polack never will defend it.

Captain

Yes they will. It is already guarded.

Yes, it is already garrison'd.

HAMLET

Two thousand souls and twenty thousand dollars will not settle this dispute. This is the result of too much money and peace. It is quite pointless. Thank you for the information, sir.

Two thousand souls and twenty thousand ducatsWill not debate the question of this straw:This is the imposthume of much wealth and peace,That inward breaks, and shows no cause withoutWhy the man dies. I humbly thank you, sir.

Captain

God be with you, sir.

God be wi' you, sir.

Exit

ROSENCRANTZ

Are you ready to go, my lord?

Wilt please you go, my lord?

HAMLET

Go ahead. I’ll be there soon.

I'll be with you straight go a little before.

Exeunt all except HAMLET

Everything is telling me to hurry up and get on with my plan. What is a man if he only eats and sleeps? He is no more than a beast. God did not create us to waste our minds and abilities. There is a reason for my existence. Let me not ignore this opportunity, a silly young prince led by selfish ambition is offering his life for the sake of honor. I will not have another idle thought. I will think of nothing but revenge.

How all occasions do inform against me,And spur my dull revenge! What is a man,If his chief good and market of his timeBe but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more.Sure, he that made us with such large discourse,Looking before and after, gave us notThat capability and god-like reasonTo fust in us unused. Now, whether it beBestial oblivion, or some craven scrupleOf thinking too precisely on the event,A thought which, quarter'd, hath but one part wisdomAnd ever three parts coward, I do not knowWhy yet I live to say 'This thing's to do;'Sith I have cause and will and strength and meansTo do't. Examples gross as earth exhort me:Witness this army of such mass and chargeLed by a delicate and tender prince,Whose spirit with divine ambition puff'dMakes mouths at the invisible event,Exposing what is mortal and unsureTo all that fortune, death and danger dare,Even for an egg-shell. Rightly to be greatIs not to stir without great argument,But greatly to find quarrel in a strawWhen honour's at the stake. How stand I then,That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd,Excitements of my reason and my blood,And let all sleep? while, to my shame, I seeThe imminent death of twenty thousand men,That, for a fantasy and trick of fame,Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plotWhereon the numbers cannot try the cause,Which is not tomb enough and continentTo hide the slain? O, from this time forth,My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!

Exit

Elsinore. A room in the castle

Enter QUEEN GERTRUDE, HORATIO, and a Gentleman

QUEEN GERTRUDE

I will not speak with her.

I will not speak with her.

Gentleman

She won’t go away. She needs to be pitied.

She is importunate, indeed distract:Her mood will needs be pitied.

QUEEN GERTRUDE

What does she want?

What would she have?

Gentleman

She talks about her father. She says there are tricks in the world and cries and beats her heart. She is talking out of her head. People listen to her and hear what they want. It seems she is trying to tell something horrible.

She speaks much of her father; says she hearsThere's tricks i' the world; and hems, and beats her heart;Spurns enviously at straws; speaks things in doubt,That carry but half sense: her speech is nothing,Yet the unshaped use of it doth moveThe hearers to collection; they aim at it,And botch the words up fit to their own thoughts;Which, as her winks, and nods, and gesturesyield them,Indeed would make one think there might be thought,
Though nothing sure, yet much unhappily.

HORATIO

She needs to be spoken with because she is causing people to think the unthinkable.

'Twere good she were spoken with; for she may strew
Dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds.

QUEEN GERTRUDE

Bring her in.

Let her come in.

Exit HORATIO

Everything within me tells me something awful about to happen. Perhaps it is just my guilt eating away at me.

To my sick soul, as sin's true nature is,
Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss:
So full of artless jealousy is guilt,
It spills itself in fearing to be spilt.

Re-enter HORATIO, with OPHELIA

OPHELIA

Where is her majesty of Denmark?

Where is the beauteous majesty of Denmark?

QUEEN GERTRUDE

How are you, Ophelia?

How now, Ophelia!

OPHELIA

[Sings]
How can you tell your true love from another? By his hat and walking stick or his shoe?

How should I your true love know
From another one?
By his cockle hat and staff,
And his sandal shoon.

QUEEN GERTRUDE

What brings about this song?

Alas, sweet lady, what imports this song?

OPHELIA

Did you say something? No? Just listen.

Say you? nay, pray you, mark.

Sings

He is dead and gone, lady. Dead and gone. Grass grows over his head and a stone is placed at his foot.

He is dead and gone, lady,
He is dead and gone;
At his head a grass-green turf,
At his heels a stone.

QUEEN GERTRUDE

Stop, Ophelia…

Nay, but, Ophelia,--

OPHELIA

I beg you to listen.

Pray you, mark.

Sings

His shroud is as white as the mountain snow…

White his shroud as the mountain snow,--

Enter KING CLAUDIUS

QUEEN GERTRUDE

At last, look at this girl, my lord.

Alas, look here, my lord.

OPHELIA

[Sings]
Covered in sweet flowers which were tossed to the ground by true love showers.

Larded with sweet flowers
Which bewept to the grave did go
With true-love showers.

KING CLAUDIUS

How are you, pretty lady?

How do you, pretty lady?

OPHELIA

I’m well, and may God give you yours. They say the baker’s daughter was an owl. My lord, we know what we are, but not what we are to become. May God be at your table.

Well, God 'ild you! They say the owl was a baker's
daughter. Lord, we know what we are, but know not
what we may be. God be at your table!

KING CLAUDIUS

She is thinking about her father.

Conceit upon her father.

OPHELIA

I beg you to not talk about that. But, when asked tell them the song means:

Pray you, let's have no words of this; but when they
ask you what it means, say you this:

Sings

Tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s day, and in the early morning, I will be at your window to be your Valentine. Then he got up and dressed and opened the bedroom door. He let in a maid, but let out a woman.

To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose, and donn'd his clothes,
And dupp'd the chamber-door;
Let in the maid, that out a maid
Never departed more.

KING CLAUDIUS

Pretty Ophelia!

Pretty Ophelia!

OPHELIA

I promise, I will end it soon…

Indeed, la, without an oath, I'll make an end on't:

Sings

By Jesus and Saint Charity, shame young men who must do it. They are to blame. She said you promised to marry me before you brought me into your bed, but now you won’t because I came to your bed.

By Gis and by Saint Charity,
Alack, and fie for shame!
Young men will do't, if they come to't;
By cock, they are to blame.
Quoth she, before you tumbled me,
You promised me to wed.
So would I ha' done, by yonder sun,
An thou hadst not come to my bed.

KING CLAUDIUS

How long has she been like this?

How long hath she been thus?

OPHELIA

I hope everything works out well. We must wait and see. But I can’t help crying, thinking about his body in the cold ground. My brother will be told about this, so thank you. Thank you for your advice. Come on, Driver. Good night, sweet ladies. Good night.