Hamlet 5:2 Flashcards
‘Rashly -/ And prais’d be…’
‘Rashly -/ And prais’d be rashness for it - let us know,/ our indiscretion sometime serves us well,/ When our deep plots do pall, and that should learn us/ There’s a divinity that shapes our ends,/ Rough-hew them how we will.’ - Hamlet
- finally embracing the reckless confidence and irrationality that he lacked in the early scenes, perhaps giving hope that he can finally avenge his father
‘There’s a divinity that…’
‘There’s a divinity that shapes our ends,/ Rough-hew them how we will.’
what does Hamlet say he found in the ‘grand commission’ he stole from Ros and Guil?
‘royal knavery!’ - H
‘an exact command […] That, on the supervise, no leisure bated,/ No, not to stay the grinding of the axe,/ My head should be struck off.’ - H
‘That, on the supervise, no…’
‘That, on the supervise, no leisure bated,/ No, not to stay the grinding of the axe,/ My head should be struck off.’ - Hamlet
what is the command that Hamlet replaces the orders to kill him with?
‘That, on the view and knowing of these contents,/ Without debatement further more or less,/ He should those bearers put to sudden death,/ Not shriving-time allow’d.’ - Hamlet
- in other words, Ros and Guil will be executed instead of Hamlet
‘Why, man, they did make…’
‘Why, man, they did make love to this employment;/ They are not near my conscience; their defeat/ Does by their own insinuation grow:/ ‘Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes/ Between the pass and fell incensed points/ Of might opposites.’ - Hamlet
- defence of sending R and G to their deaths
- he feels no guilt as they brought it upon themselves
‘Why, what a…’
‘Why, what a king is this!’ - Horatio to Hamlet
- H is finally stepping into his role
‘Does it not, think thee, stand… And with such…’
‘Does it not, think thee, stand me now upon/ He that hath kill’d my king and whor’d my mother;/ Popp’d in between th’election and my hopes;/ Thrown out his angle for my proper life,/ And with such coz’nage - is’t not perfect conscience/ to quit him with this arm?’ - Hamlet
- ‘kill’d my king’ implies a sort of distance from his father, seeing him as a ‘king’ rather than parental figure like his ‘mother’
- ‘th’election and my hopes’ ie. the throne and expectation of succession > become more about himself than his father? found a real motivator
‘is’t not perfect…’
‘is’t not perfect conscience/ To quit him with this arm? And is’t not to be damn’d/ To let this canker of our nature come/ In further evil?’ - Hamlet
- presenting Claudius as an evil or cancer that needs to be cut out
‘And a man’s…’
‘And a man’slife no more than to say ‘one’.’ - Hamlet
- it doesn’t take long to kill a man
‘But I am very sorry…’
‘But I am very sorry, good Horatio,/ That to Laertes I forgot myself;/ For by the image of my cause I see/ The portraiture of his.’ - Hamlet
‘young Osric’
- represents the future
- physical representation of Claudius’ plan
- exemplifies the theme of flattery
- Hamlet treats him awfully, making him hard to like
‘Dost know…’
‘Dost know this water-fly?’ - Hamlet about ‘young Osric’
- irrelevant, fleeting
‘Thy state is more…’
‘Thy state is more gracious; for tis a vice to know him. He hath much land, and fertile.’ - Hamlet about Osric
- unnecessarily cruel, suggesting it is better to not know the ‘water-fly’ Osric
- his ‘fertile’ ‘land’ explains his place at the court, he is rich and useful
‘He hath much…’
‘He hath much land, and fertile. Let a beast be lord of beasts, and his crib shall stand at the king’s mess. ‘Tis a chough; but, as I say, spacious in the possession of dirt.’ - Hamlet
- represents how the court system worked with anyone who had land and money able to eat at the king’s table - Hamlet seems to dislike this way of the world, perhaps showing a contradictory view to previous statements
- a ‘chough’ was a crow or jackdaw, an insult at Osric’s chatter
‘I thank your lordship…’
‘No, believe me…’
‘It is…indeed.’
‘But yet methinks…’
‘Exceedingly…’
‘I thank your lordship; it is very hot.’ - Osric
‘No, believe me, ‘tis very cold; the wind is northerly’ - Hamlet
‘It is indifferent cold, my lord, indeed.’ - O
‘But yet methinks it is very sultry and hot’ - H
‘Exceedingly, my lord; it is very sultry’ - O
- showing Osric’s obsequiousness, Hamlet is playing with Osric like he did with Polonius knowing that they will flatter him
‘his Majesty bade me signify…’
‘his majesty bade me signify to you that ‘a has laid a great wager on your head.’ - Osric to Hamlet
- audience is aware of the plan coming into action
‘Sir, here is newly come to…’
‘Sir, here is newly come to court Laertes; believe me, an absolute gentleman, full of most excellent differences, of very soft society and great showing. Indeed, to speak feelingly of him, he is the card or calendar of gentry, for you shall find in him the continent of what part a gentleman would see.’ - Osric
- building up jealousy
- Hamlet, in response, uses complex vocabulary and long-winded sentences in order to mock Osric
‘The King, sir, hath wager’d with…’
‘The King, sir, hath wager’d with him six Barbary horses; against the which he has impon’d, as I take it, six French rapiers and poniards, with their assigns ‘ - Osric
- ‘six Barbary horses’ on Hamlet to win, ‘six French rapiers and poniards’ on Laertes to win
‘I will win for…’
‘I will win for him an I can; if not, I will gain nothing but my shame and the odd hits.’ - Hamlet
- accepts the challenge
‘To this effect, sir…’
‘To this effect, sir, after what flourish your nature will.’ - Hamlet to Osric
‘This lapwing…’
‘This lapwing runs away with the shell on his head.’ - Horatio about Osric
- a comment on Osric’s youth (a young chick, just hatched hence the ‘shell’)
- could also be a comment on Osric’s hat (possibly) back on his head
- Lapwing’s were also famous for scurrying around
'’A did comply, sir, with…’
'’A did comply, sir, with his dug before ‘a suck’d it.’ - Hamlet about Osric
- saying he bowed politely to his mother’s nipple before suckling
‘drossy age’
‘drossy age’ - Hamlet
- degenerate times
‘The Queen desires you to use…’
‘The Queen desires you to use some gentle entertainment to Laertes before you fall to play.’ - Lord to Hamlet
- asking him to be courteous, perhaps even to apologise (which he sort of does)
‘You will lose…’
‘I do not think…’
‘You will lose this wager, my lord.’ - Horatio
‘I do not think so; since he went into France I have been in continual practice.’ - Hamlet
‘I shall win at the…’
‘I shall win at the odds. But thou wouldst not think how ill all’s here about my heart; but it is no matter.’ - Hamlet
- has a bad feeling but ignores it as womanly (‘as would perhaps trouble a woman’)
‘It is but foolery…’
‘It is but foolery; it it is such a kind of gain-giving as would perhaps trouble a woman.’ - Hamlet
- dismissing his bad feeling as womanly, Horatio encourages him to listen to his gut
‘If your mind dislike…’
‘If your mind dislike anything, obey it. I will forestall their repair hither, and say you are not fit.’ - Horatio
