Than sue for life unto a paltry boy. K. EDW. THIRD. Hence with the traitor! with the mur derer! Y. MOR. Base Fortune, now I see, that in thy wheel They tumble headlong down: that point I touch'd, Goes to discover countries yet unknown. K. EDW. THIRD. What! suffer you the traitor to delay? [Young MORTIMER is taken away by 1st Lord and Attendants.] Q. ISAB. As thou receivedest thy life from me, Spill not the blood of gentle Mortimer! K. EDW. THIRD. This argues that you spilt my father's blood, Else would you not entreat for Mortimer. Q. ISAB. I spill his blood? No. K. EDW. THIRD. Ay, madam, you; for so the rumour runs. Q. ISAB. That rumour is untrue; for loving thee, Is this report rais'd on poor Isabel. K. EDW. THIRD. I do not think her so unnatural. 2ND LORD. My lord, I fear me it will prove too true. K. EDW. THIRD. Mother, you are suspected for his death And therefore we commit you to the Tower Till farther trial may be made thereof; If you be guilty, though I be your son, Think not to find me slack or pitiful. Q. ISAB. Nay, to my death, for too long have I liv'd Whenas my son thinks to abridge my days. K. EDW. THIRD. Away with her, her words enforce these tears, And I shall pity her if she speak again. Q. ISAB. Shall I not mourn for my beloved lord, And with the rest accompany him to his grave? 2ND LORD. Thus, madam, 'tis the king's will you shall hence. Q. ISAB. He hath forgotten me; stay, I am his mother. 2ND LORD. That boots not; therefore, gentle madam, go. Q. ISAB. Then come, sweet death, and rid me of this grief. [Exit.] [Re-enter 1st Lord, with the head of Young MORTIMER] IST LORD. My lord, here is the head of Mortimer. K. EDW. THIRD. Go fetch my father's hearse, where it shall lie; And bring my funeral robes. [Exeunt Attendants.] Accursed head, Could I have rul'd thee then, as I do now, Thou had'st not hatch'd this monstrous treachery !— [Re-enter Attendants with the hearse and funeral robes] Sweet father, here unto thy murdered ghost I offer up this wicked traitor's head; And let these tears, distilling from mine eyes, [Exeunt.] INTRODUCTORY NOTE THE tragedy of "Hamlet," the most renowned of English dramas, is based on a legend found in the "History of the Danes," written by Saxo Grammaticus about 1200. It came to England through the French, and was already on the stage in a version now lost, before Shakespeare took it up. The earliest edition of our play was printed in a corrupt form in 1603, and was written at least as early as 1602. A more correct edition appeared in 1604, and further alterations appeared in the version printed in the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays in 1623. The author seems to have worked over and revised this tragedy more than any other of his dramas. The main situation of the tragedy goes back to the prose tale. There we have a king murdered by his brother, who had previously seduced and has now married the queen; and the son of the king, aiming at revenge, finally achieving it, and using the device of pretended madness to protect himself in the meantime. The prototype of Polonius is killed while eavesdropping, but his character bears little resemblance to Shakespeare's Lord Chamberlain; Ophelia and Horatio are merely hinted at; while Laertes, Fortinbras, and several of the minor characters, such as the grave-diggers and Osric, are altogether absent. The original Hamlet goes to England without interruption from pirates, witnesses the death of his two companions, returns and kills not only the king, but all his courtiers, goes to England again and marries two wives, one of whom betrays him to his death. Other elements of the tragedy that are probably not due to Shakespeare's invention have been gathered from a study of contemporary "tragedies of revenge." How many of such additions were made by Shakespeare, how many by the author of the lost play, cannot be decided. But for those things which have raised "Hamlet" to its preeminent position in the history of literature, -the magnificence of the poetry, the amazing truth and subtlety of the psychology, and the intensity of the tragic emotion, it is not hard to assign the credit. Lords, Ladies, Officers, Soldiers, Sailors, Messengers, and other Attendants SCENE: Elsinore, Denmark] ACT I SCENE I. [Elsinore. A platform before the castle] FRANCISCO [at his post. Enter to him] BERNARDO Bernardo W HO's there? FRAN. Nay, answer me. Stand, and unfold yourself. BER. Long live the king! FRAN. Bernardo? BER. He. FRAN. You come most carefully upon your hour. BER. 'T is now struck twelve. Get thee to bed, Francisco. FRAN. For this relief much thanks. 'T is bitter cold, And I am sick at heart. |