Appears, Act I. sc. 2; sc. 3. Act II. sc. 1; sc. 2. HORATIO, friend to Hamlet. Appears, Act I. sc. 1; sc. 2; sc. 4; sc. 5. Act III. sc. 2. Act IV. sc. 5; sc. 6. Act V. sc. 1; sc. 2. LAERTES, son to Polonius. Appears, Act I. sc. 2; sc. 3. Act IV. sc. 5; sc. 6. VOLTIMAND, a courtier. CORNELIUS, a courtier. ROSENCRANTZ, a courtier. Appears, Act II. sc. 2. Act III. sc. 1; sc. 2; sc. 3. Act IV. sc. 1; sc. 2; sc. 3; sc. 4. GUILDENSTERN, a courtier. Appears, Act II. sc. 2. Act III. sc. 1; sc. 2; sc. 3. Act IV. sc. 1; sc. 2; sc. 3; sc. 4. OSRIC, a courtier. Appears, Act V. sc. 2. A Courtier. Appears, Act IV. sc. 5. A Priest. Appears, Act V. sc. 1. Appears, Act I. sc. 1; sc. 2; sc. 4; sc. 5. BERNARDO, an officer. Appears, Act I. sc. 1; sc. 2. Appears, Act I. sc. 1. REYNALDO, servant to Polonius. Appears, Act II. sc. 1. A Captain. Appears, Act IV. sc. 4. An Ambassador. Appears, Act V. sc. 2. Ghost of Hamlet's Father. Appears, Act I. sc. 1; sc. 4; sc. 5. Act III. sc. 4. GERTRUDE, Queen of Denmark, and mother of Hamlet. Appears, Act I. sc. 2. Act II. sc. 2. Act III. sc.1; sc. 2; sc. 4. Act IV. sc. 1; sc. 5; sc. 6. Act V. sc. 1; sc. 2. OPHELIA, daughter of Polonius. Appears, Act I. sc. 3. Act II. sc. 1. Act III. sc. 1; sc. 2. Act IV. sc. 5. Lords, Ladies, Officers, Soldiers, Players, Gravediggers, Sailors, Messengers, and other Attendants. SCENE, ELSINORE. SCENE I.-Elsinore. A Platform before the Castle. FRANCISCO on his post. Enter to him BERNARDO. BER. Who's there? FRAN. Nay, answer mea: stand, and unfold yourself. 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. Answer me. I, the sentinel, challenge you. Bernardo then gives the answer to the challenge, or watch-word-" Long live the king!" BER. Have you had quiet guard? BER. Well, good night. If you Not a mouse stirring. do meet Horatio and Marcellus, The rivalsa of my watch, bid them make haste. Enter HORATIO and MARCELLUS. FRAN. I think I hear them.-Stand! who's there? HOR. Friends to this ground. FRAN. Give you good night. And liegemen to the Dane. O, farewell, honest soldier: BER. Welcome, Horatio; welcome, good Marcellus. BER. I have seen nothing. MAR. Horatio says, 't is but our fantasy; And will not let belief take hold of him, Touching this dreaded sight, twice seen of us: Therefore I have entreated him along With us to watch the minutes of this night; Sit down awhile; He may approve our eyes, and speak to it. • Rivals-partners, companions. Shakspere uses rivality in the sense of partnership, in ‘Antony and Cleopatra:'" Cæsar having made use of him in the wars 'gainst Pompey, presently denied him rivality—would not let him partake in the glory of the action." The derivation of rival takes us into an early state of society. The rivalis was a common occupier of a river— rivus; and this sort of occupation being a fruitful source of strife, the partners became contenders. Hence the more commonly received meaning of rival. с In the quarto of 1604 (B), Stand, ho! This form of expression is an abbreviation of " may God give you good night;" and our แ good night" is an abbreviation abbreviated. The French idiom has gone through the same process. In 'L'Avare' of Molière, it is said of Harpagon, “donner est un mot pour qui il a tant d'aversion, qu'il ne dit jamais, je vous donne, mais, je vous prête le bonjour." (Acte II., Scène 5.) This line is ordinarily given to Horatio, as in the quarto (B). In the folio, and the first quarto of 1603 (4), it belongs to Marcellus. • Confirm what we have seen. And let us hear Bernardo speak of this. When yon same star, that's westward from the pole, The bell then beating one,— MAR. Peace, break thee off; look, where it comes again! Enter GHOST. BER. In the same figure, like the king that's dead. HOR. Most like:—it harrows me with fear, and wonder. HOR. What art thou, that usurp'st this time of night, In which the majesty of buried Denmark Did sometimes march? by heaven I charge thee, speak. MAR. It is offended. BER. See! it stalks away. HOR. Stay; speak: speak I charge thee, speak. MAR. 'T is gone, and will not answer. BER. How now, Horatio? you tremble, and look pale: Is not this something more than fantasy? What think you on 't? HOR. Before my God, I might not this believe, [Exit GHOST. • Exorcisms were usually performed in Latin-the language of the church-service. Harrows, in the folio. In quarto (A), horrors; in (B), horrows. Mr. Caldecott states that the word harrow is here used in the metaphorical sense which it takes from the operations of the harrow, in tearing asunder clods of earth. On the other hand some etymologists assert that to harrow and to harry (to vex, to disturb) are the same, and that the implement of husbandry derived its name from the verb. Mr. Caldecott has a curious note on the harou-the cry for helpof the Normans, with which harrow and harry seem to have some connection. (See his 'Specimen of an Edition of Shakespeare,' 1832.) * In quarto (B), speak to; Question, in the folio, and quarto (A). He smote the sledded Polacks a on the ice. "T is strange. MAR. Thus, twice before, and just b at this dead hour, This bodes some strange eruption to our state. Whose image even but now appear'd to us, Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands, Against the which, a moiety competent Was gaged by our king; which had return'd To the inheritance of Fortinbras, Had he been vanquisher; as, by the same cov'nante And carriage of the article design'd, His fell to Hamlet: Now, sir, young Fortinbras, Polacks-Poles. In the old copies the word is spelt Pollax, according probably with the pronunciation. Steevens reads Polack," as it is not likely that provocation was given by more than one." b Just, in the folio; in quarto (B), jump. Malone properly observes, that "in the folio we sometimes find a familiar word substituted for one more ancient." In this play, however, the more ancient word occurs-" so jump upon this bloody question." (Act V., Scene 2.) • What might be in preparation. To-weard, to-ward, is the Anglo-Saxon participle, equivalent to coming, about to come. 66 The solemn agreement for this trial at arms was recognised by the courts of law and of chivalry. They were distinct ratifications; and therefore "law and heraldry" does not mean the herald law," as Upton says. |