Page:Hamlet - The Arden Shakespeare

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

108

[ACT III.

HAMLET

⁠SCENE II.—A Hall in the Castle.

⁠Enter Hamlet and two or three of the Players.

Ham. Speak the speech, I pray you, as I
pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue;
but if you mouth it, as many of your players^{[a 1]}
do, I had as lief the town-crier spoke^{[a 2]} my
lines. Nor do not saw the air too much with ⁠5
your^{[a 3]} hand, thus; but use all gently; for in
the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say,
the whirlwind of passion,^{[a 4]} you must acquire
and beget^{[b 1]} a temperance that may give it
smoothness. Oh, it offends me to the soul ⁠10
to hear^{[a 5]} a robustious^{[b 2]} periwig-pated^{[b 3]} fellow tear
a passion to tatters, to very rags, to split the
ears of the groundlings,^{[b 4]} who, for the most
part, are capable of nothing but inexplicable
dumb-shows and noise; I would^{[a 6]} have such a ⁠15
fellow whipped for o'er-doing Termagant;^{[b 5]} it
out-herods Herod;^{[b 6]} pray you, avoid it.

↑ 3. your players] Q 1, F; our players Q.
↑ 4. spoke] Q, had spoke F.
↑ 5, 6. much with your] Q, much your F, much, your Caldecott.
↑ 8. the whirlwind of passion] F, whirlwind of your passion Q.
↑ 11. hear] Q, see F.
↑ 15. would] Q 1, Q; could F.

↑ 8, 9. acquire and beget] acquire, through training and practice; beget, through a native artistic impulse.
↑ 11. robustious] sturdy, as in King Henry V. III. vii. 159.
↑ 11. periwig-pated] Steevens quotes from Every Woman in her Humour, 1609: "as none wear . . . periwigs but players and pictures."
↑ 13. groundlings] spectators of the play who stood in the pit, paying, as we learn from Jonson, a penny for admission; capable, receptive, apprehensive.
↑ 16. Termagant] the god of the Saracens, as represented in old romances and mystery plays. Florio, 1611: "Termigisto, a great bolster, quarreller, killer, tamer or ruler of the universe; the child of the earthquake and of the thunder, the brother of death."
↑ 17. Herod] the violent Herod of old sacred plays. In the Coventry play of the Nativity a braggart speech is followed by the stage direction, "Here Erode ragis in thys pagond and in the strete also."

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] 3. your players] Q 1, F; our players Q.

[2] 4. spoke] Q, had spoke F.

[3] 5, 6. much with your] Q, much your F, much, your Caldecott.

[4] 8. the whirlwind of passion] F, whirlwind of your passion Q.

[6] 11. hear] Q, see F.

[10] 15. would] Q 1, Q; could F.

[5] 8, 9. acquire and beget] acquire, through training and practice; beget, through a native artistic impulse.

[7] 11. robustious] sturdy, as in King Henry V. III. vii. 159.

[8] 11. periwig-pated] Steevens quotes from Every Woman in her Humour, 1609: "as none wear . . . periwigs but players and pictures."

[9] 13. groundlings] spectators of the play who stood in the pit, paying, as we learn from Jonson, a penny for admission; capable, receptive, apprehensive.

[11] 16. Termagant] the god of the Saracens, as represented in old romances and mystery plays. Florio, 1611: "Termigisto, a great bolster, quarreller, killer, tamer or ruler of the universe; the child of the earthquake and of the thunder, the brother of death."

[12] 17. Herod] the violent Herod of old sacred plays. In the Coventry play of the Nativity a braggart speech is followed by the stage direction, "Here Erode ragis in thys pagond and in the strete also."