Hamlet Synopses » Act I » Act I, Scene v

Synopsis of Hamlet Act I scene v

The Ghost declares itself to be the spirit of Hamlet’s father. Because he died before he could confess his sins and have them forgiven, he is suffering torments in purgatory (a place between heaven and hell).

He reveals that, in contrast to the accepted belief that he died after being bitten by a snake, he was actually murdered by Claudius, who poured poison into Old Hamlet’s ear as he was sleeping in his garden.

He urges Hamlet to avenge his murder — but not to act against Gertrude, even though he sees her marriage to Claudius as incestuous. Hamlet vows to exact immediate vengeance on his villainous uncle.

Horatio and Marcellus, who have followed Hamlet, now arrive. Hamlet (urged on by the voice of the Ghost) makes them swear not to reveal, either directly or by hints, what they have seen. He tells them that he may decide to pretend to be mad.

Commentary on Hamlet Act I scene v

Sulphurous and tormenting flames - these are the traditional torments of hell, but it is clear from his later comments that the Ghost is not in hell for eternity, but in purgatory. He died, as he later says, ‘Unhouseled’, which means ‘Without having taken the sacrament of holy communion’ (see Themes and significant ideas: Mass and holy communion) which was often given to people on their deathbed.

More on beliefs surrounding death: Catholics would have believed it necessary to make confession to a priest and receive the sacrament of extreme unction, whereas for Protestants an individual’s trust in God’s forgiveness, and clear conscience, was the vital factor.
Even though Old Hamlet had been a virtuous man, he was still guilty of sin (see Imagery and symbolism: The Fall and original sin and Themes and significant ideas: Mercy and forgiveness) and these sins must be ‘purged away’.

The fact that Claudius has killed his brother ‘with all (Old Hamlet’s) imperfections on (his) head’ makes the terrible crime of fratricide even worse.

Most unnatural murder - as the Ghost says, any murder is ‘unnatural’, but this is particularly horrible as it is the killing of a brother. This would remind Shakespeare’s audience of the first murder recorded in the Bible — the murder of Abel by his jealous brother Cain. See Genesis 4:8-11.

And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
And the Lord said unto Cain, ‘Where is Abel thy brother?’
And he said, ‘I know not. Am I my brother’s keeper?’
And he said, ‘What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now thou art cursed from the ground.’ (Genesis 4:8-11 AV)

Claudius is himself aware of the ‘unnatural’ nature of his crime when he speaks in Act III scene ii of ‘the primal eldest curse’ on his deed. (See Imagery and symbolism: Cain and Abel.) The term ‘unnatural’ would also have an added significance for Shakespeare’s audience as it implied ‘acting against the laws of nature as laid down by God’. It is a very significant term for Shakespeare, particularly in Macbeth and King Lear.

Sweep to my revenge - in fact, Hamlet does nothing of the kind. Why Hamlet fails to act against Claudius is a question which has preoccupied critics for centuries.

In my orchard ... The serpent that did sting thy father’s life - the Ghost equates Claudius with the serpent which tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden and destroyed the innocence of mankind, making us mortal and subject to death. (See Imagery and symbolism: The Garden of Eden).

More on Eden imagery: Given this image-pattern, Gertrude would be seen as Eve, who succumbed to temptation and potentially ruined all humanity. (See Act I scene ii comment on ‘Frailty, thy name is woman’ .)

The whole ear of Denmark … is abused - this is a pun, and a very important one. Not only has the ear of the King been ‘abused’ by the poison poured into it, but the ears of the public throughout Denmark have been deceived by the false report of what happened to the King. The power of words, especially their power to hurt and deceive, is a highly significant theme of the play.

O my prophetic soul - Hamlet has, we gather, already suspected his uncle of some terrible evil. He has prophesied to himself (foreseen) that Claudius is a villain.

That incestuous, that adulterate beast - ‘incest’ refers to sexual intercourse between people who, according to the laws of the Christian Church, are very closely related. (See Themes and significant ideas: Incest, for a comment on the ‘prohibited degrees of kinship’). For Shakespeare’s audience this would have included Claudius and Gertrude: marriage between a man and his deceased brother’s wife was forbidden in chapter 18 of Leviticus in the Old Testament.

‘You shall not have intercourse with your brother's wife, for that would be a disgrace to your brother’ (Leviticus 18:8 AV)

It was precisely this relationship which Henry VIII cited as the reason why he should divorce Katharine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn, the mother of Queen Elizabeth the First. (See Social/political context: The grounds for divorce).

More on incest: It is note-worthy that, in the play, no-one except Hamlet (and the Ghost) at the court see the marriage of Claudius and Gertrude as incestuous; does this suggest the court’s moral corruption? Adultery is the unlawful sexual intercourse between a couple, at least one of whom is married to someone else. In the Bible this is forbidden by the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 20:14). (See also Themes and significant ideas: The Ten Commandments).

It is not clear in the play whether or not we should assume that Gertrude had been unfaithful to Old Hamlet before his death, or whether she was seduced by her brother-in-law when she was a widow (as in ‘The Mousetrap’, the play Hamlet arranges to have performed in Act III).

Sleeping within my orchard - traditionally, the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden was an apple.

Unhouseled (without receiving the sacrament of the eucharist), disappointed (unprepared), unaneled (without receiving extreme unction), No reckoning made - Claudius killed Old Hamlet before he had time to prepare for death, through receiving anointing with oil in the sacrament of extreme unction (believed by Catholics to protect the soul from evil spirits and absolve it of minor sins) or be given the eucharist (communion) which was administered as sustenance for the journey of the soul and was considered a very important element in a ‘good death’.

The play assumes that this is a Christian world where sinners are judged by God and dealt with according to the ‘reckoning’ of their sins.

The idea of a world where God dispenses justice and punishment after death is contradictory to a world where an individual decides on personal revenge; this dilemma is at the heart of the play.

Leave her to heaven - the Ghost asks that Hamlet allows Gertrude’s conscience, and the laws of heaven, to judge her.

One may smile and smile and be a villain - Hamlet is aware that it is easily possible to pretend to be amiable — note his comment to his mother in Act I scene ii: ‘I know not seems’ (see Themes and significant ideas: False appearances).

This fellow in the cellarage - on the Shakespearean stage, there would be a trapdoor down to the area beneath the platform. This would be used here for the Ghost’s underground movement. (See The Theatre: Design of theatres).

To put an antic disposition on - Hamlet says that he may pretend to be mad. Does he pretend? Or does he really go mad? (See Characterisation: Hamlet).

O cursed spite / That ever I was born to set it right - in spite of his earlier vow to ‘sweep to my revenge’, Hamlet now wishes that it were not his fate to have to avenge his father.

Investigating Hamlet Act I scene v

Hamlet is asked to take action against Claudius for his sins but to leave Gertrude to heaven.
- Is there any contradiction in this?
Compare Hamlet’s initial reaction to the Ghost’s desire for vengeance, and his reluctance at the end of the scene:
- How do we see this vacillation continuing throughout the play?
- What might make Hamlet reluctant to kill Claudius?
Remind yourself of the structure of the Act 1:
- Why did Shakespeare not suggest Claudius’ guilt right at the start of the play?
- Can you identify at which point in Hamlet we become certain that Claudius is guilty?

King James Version
Today's New International Version

¹And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. ²And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. ³And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. ⁴And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: ⁵But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. ⁶And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? ⁷If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. ⁸And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. ⁹And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? ¹⁰And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. ¹¹And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; ¹²When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. ¹³And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. ¹⁴Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. ¹⁵And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. ¹⁶And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. ¹⁷And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. ¹⁸And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech. ¹⁹And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. ²⁰And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. ²¹And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. ²²And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. ²³And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. ²⁴If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. ²⁵And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. ²⁶And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.

¹Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, 'With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.' ²Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. ³In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. ⁴But Abel also brought an offering - fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favour on Abel and his offering, ⁵but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favour. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. ⁶Then the LORD said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? ⁷If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.' ⁸Now Cain said to his brother Abel, 'Let's go out to the field.' While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. ⁹Then the LORD said to Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?' 'I don't know,' he replied. 'Am I my brother's keeper?' ¹⁰The LORD said, 'What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. ¹¹Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. ¹²When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.' ¹³Cain said to the LORD, 'My punishment is more than I can bear. ¹⁴Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.' ¹⁵But the LORD said to him, 'Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.' Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no-one who found him would kill him. ¹⁶So Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. ¹⁷Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. ¹⁸To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech. ¹⁹Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. ²⁰Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. ²¹His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. ²²Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain's sister was Naamah. ²³Lamech said to his wives, 'Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. ²⁴If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.' ²⁵Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, 'God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.' ²⁶Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD.

King James Version
Today's New International Version

¹And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, ²Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. ³After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. ⁴Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. ⁵Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD. ⁶None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD. ⁷The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. ⁸The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness. ⁹The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover. ¹⁰The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness. ¹¹The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. ¹²Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman. ¹³Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman. ¹⁴Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt. ¹⁵Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. ¹⁶Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness. ¹⁷Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness. ¹⁸Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time. ¹⁹Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness. ²⁰Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbor's wife, to defile thyself with her. ²¹And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. ²²Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. ²³Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. ²⁴Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: ²⁵And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. ²⁶Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: ²⁷(For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) ²⁸That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. ²⁹For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. ³⁰Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

¹The LORD said to Moses, ²'Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'I am the LORD your God. ³You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. ⁴You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the LORD your God. ⁵Keep my decrees and laws, for whoever obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD. ⁶''No-one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD. ⁷''Do not dishonour your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her. ⁸''Do not have sexual relations with your father's wife; that would dishonour your father. ⁹''Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere. ¹⁰''Do not have sexual relations with your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter; that would dishonour you. ¹¹''Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father's wife, born to your father; she is your sister. ¹²''Do not have sexual relations with your father's sister; she is your father's close relative. ¹³''Do not have sexual relations with your mother's sister, because she is your mother's close relative. ¹⁴''Do not dishonour your father's brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt. ¹⁵''Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife; do not have relations with her. ¹⁶''Do not have sexual relations with your brother's wife; that would dishonour your brother. ¹⁷''Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness. ¹⁸''Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living. ¹⁹''Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period. ²⁰''Do not have sexual relations with your neighbour's wife and defile yourself with her. ²¹''Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. ²²''Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable. ²³''Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion. ²⁴''Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. ²⁵Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. ²⁶But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things, ²⁷for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. ²⁸And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. ²⁹''Everyone who does any of these detestable things - such persons must be cut off from their people. ³⁰Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practised before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the LORD your God.''

King James Version
Today's New International Version

¹And God spake all these words, saying, ²I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ³Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ⁴Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁵Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; ⁶And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. ⁷Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. ⁸Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: ¹⁰But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: ¹¹For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. ¹²Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. ¹³Thou shalt not kill. ¹⁴Thou shalt not commit adultery. ¹⁵Thou shalt not steal. ¹⁶Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. ¹⁷Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's. ¹⁸And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. ¹⁹And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. ²⁰And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. ²¹And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. ²²And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. ²³Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold. ²⁴An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. ²⁵And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. ²⁶Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

¹And God spoke all these words: ²'I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ³'You shall have no other gods before me. ⁴'You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. ⁷'You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. ⁸'Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹Six days you shall labour and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. ¹²'Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. ¹³'You shall not murder. ¹⁴'You shall not commit adultery. ¹⁵'You shall not steal. ¹⁶'You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour. ¹⁷'You shall not covet your neighbour's house. You shall not covet your neighbour's wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.' ¹⁸When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance ¹⁹and said to Moses, 'Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not let God speak to us or we will die.' ²⁰Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.' ²¹The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. ²²Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Tell the Israelites this: 'You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: ²³do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold. ²⁴''Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honoured, I will come to you and bless you. ²⁵If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. ²⁶And do not go up to my altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.'

Religious ceremony which symbolises receiving an inward spiritual grace.

The central act of Christian worship in which bread and wine are consumed in the way that Jesus demonstrated at the Last Supper before his betrayal and death.

The anointing with oil of sick people in preparation for death.

Disobedience to the known will of God. According to Christian theology human beings have displayed a pre-disposition to sin since the Fall of Humankind.

The Christian Bible consists of the Old Testament scriptures inherited from Judaism, together with the New Testament, drawn from writings produced from c.40-125CE, which describe the life of Jesus and the establishment of the Christian church.

The second son of Adam and Eve and first murder victim in the Bible.

The firstborn son of Adam and Eve. His killing in jealousy of his brother Abel is the first murder described in the Bible, for which Cain was cursed.

A snake. In some religions and mythologies seen as the embodiment of deceit, cunning and evil, and associated with Satan.

According to the book of Genesis in the Bible the first woman, said to have been created by God out of Adam's rib, to be his companion.

The place described in the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament, in which God placed his first human creatures, Adam and Eve.

Related to prophecy, that is the communication of the plans or message of God through a human messenger.

1. Term for a worshipping community of Christians. 2. The building in which Christians traditionally meet for worship. 3. The worldwide community of Christian believers.

A 'testament' is a covenant or binding agreement and is a term used in the Bible of God's relationship with his people). The sacred writings of Judaism (the Hebrew Bible). These also form the first part of the Christian Bible.

A married person who has sexual relations with someone other than their lawful spouse commits adultery, an act forbidden by the seventh of the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses in the Old Testament.

Also called 'The Decalogue' (Ten Words). Instructions said to have been given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai, which have not only shaped Jewish and Christian belief and practice but also strongly influenced the legal systems of many countries.

According to the Book of Genesis, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil grew in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat its fruit by God. When they disobeyed, they lost their innocence and close relationship with God.

An act of remembrance in which Christians consume bread and wine in the way that Jesus demonstrated at the Last Supper before his betrayal and death.

The anointing with oil of sick people in preparation for death.

Enter GHOST and HAMLET

HAMLET
Where wilt thou lead me? speak; I'll go no further.

Ghost
Mark me.

HAMLET
I will.

Ghost
My hour is almost come,
When I to sulphurous and tormenting flames
Must render up myself.

HAMLET
Alas, poor ghost!

Ghost
Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing
To what I shall unfold.

HAMLET
Speak; I am bound to hear.

Ghost
So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear.

HAMLET
What?

Ghost
I am thy father's spirit,
Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night,
And for the day confined to fast in fires,
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison-house,
I could a tale unfold whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres,
Thy knotted and combined locks to part
And each particular hair to stand on end,
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine:
But this eternal blazon must not be
To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O, list!
If thou didst ever thy dear father love--

HAMLET
O God!

Ghost
Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.

HAMLET
Murder!

Ghost
Murder most foul, as in the best it is;
But this most foul, strange and unnatural.

HAMLET
Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift
As meditation or the thoughts of love,
May sweep to my revenge.

Ghost
I find thee apt;
And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed
That roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf,
Wouldst thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear:
'Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard,
A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark
Is by a forged process of my death
Rankly abused: but know, thou noble youth,
The serpent that did sting thy father's life
Now wears his crown.

HAMLET
O my prophetic soul! My uncle!

Ghost
Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast,
With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts,--
O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power
So to seduce!--won to his shameful lust
The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen:
O Hamlet, what a falling-off was there!
From me, whose love was of that dignity
That it went hand in hand even with the vow
I made to her in marriage, and to decline
Upon a wretch whose natural gifts were poor
To those of mine!
But virtue, as it never will be moved,
Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven,
So lust, though to a radiant angel link'd,
Will sate itself in a celestial bed,
And prey on garbage.
But, soft! methinks I scent the morning air;
Brief let me be. Sleeping within my orchard,
My custom always of the afternoon,
Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole,
With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial,
And in the porches of my ears did pour
The leperous distilment; whose effect
Holds such an enmity with blood of man
That swift as quicksilver it courses through
The natural gates and alleys of the body,
And with a sudden vigour doth posset
And curd, like eager droppings into milk,
The thin and wholesome blood: so did it mine;
And a most instant tetter bark'd about,
Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust,
All my smooth body.
Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand
Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatch'd:
Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,
Unhousel'd, disappointed, unanel'd,
No reckoning made, but sent to my account
With all my imperfections on my head:
O, horrible! O, horrible! most horrible!
If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not;
Let not the royal bed of Denmark be
A couch for luxury and damned incest.
But, howsoever thou pursuest this act,
Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive
Against thy mother aught: leave her to heaven
And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge,
To prick and sting her. Fare thee well at once!
The glow-worm shows the matin to be near,
And 'gins to pale his uneffectual fire:
Adieu, adieu! Hamlet, remember me.

Exit

HAMLET
O all you host of heaven! O earth! what else?
And shall I couple hell? O, fie! Hold, hold, my heart;
And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,
But bear me stiffly up. Remember thee!
Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat
In this distracted globe. Remember thee!
Yea, from the table of my memory
I'll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,
That youth and observation copied there;
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmix'd with baser matter: yes, by heaven!
O most pernicious woman!
O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!
My tables,--meet it is I set it down,
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain;
At least I'm sure it may be so in Denmark:

Writing

So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word;
It is 'Adieu, adieu! remember me.'
I have sworn 't.

MARCELLUS HORATIO
[Within] My lord, my lord,--

MARCELLUS
[Within] Lord Hamlet,--

HORATIO
[Within] Heaven secure him!

HAMLET
So be it!

HORATIO
[Within] Hillo, ho, ho, my lord!

HAMLET
Hillo, ho, ho, boy! come, bird, come.

Enter HORATIO and MARCELLUS

MARCELLUS
How is't, my noble lord?

HORATIO
What news, my lord?

HAMLET
O, wonderful!

HORATIO
Good my lord, tell it.

HAMLET
No; you'll reveal it.

HORATIO
Not I, my lord, by heaven.

MARCELLUS
Nor I, my lord.

HAMLET
How say you, then; would heart of man once think it?
But you'll be secret?

HORATIO MARCELLUS
Ay, by heaven, my lord.

HAMLET
There's ne'er a villain dwelling in all Denmark
But he's an arrant knave.

HORATIO
There needs no ghost, my lord, come from the grave
To tell us this.

HAMLET
Why, right; you are i' the right;
And so, without more circumstance at all,
I hold it fit that we shake hands and part:
You, as your business and desire shall point you;
For every man has business and desire,
Such as it is; and for mine own poor part,
Look you, I'll go pray.

HORATIO
These are but wild and whirling words, my lord.

HAMLET
I'm sorry they offend you, heartily;
Yes, 'faith heartily.

HORATIO
There's no offence, my lord.

HAMLET
Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio,
And much offence too. Touching this vision here,
It is an honest ghost, that let me tell you:
For your desire to know what is between us,
O'ermaster 't as you may. And now, good friends,
As you are friends, scholars and soldiers,
Give me one poor request.

HORATIO
What is't, my lord? we will.

HAMLET
Never make known what you have seen to-night.

HORATIO MARCELLUS
My lord, we will not.

HAMLET
Nay, but swear't.

HORATIO
In faith,
My lord, not I.

MARCELLUS
Nor I, my lord, in faith.

HAMLET
Upon my sword.

MARCELLUS
We have sworn, my lord, already.

HAMLET
Indeed, upon my sword, indeed.

Ghost
[Beneath] Swear.

HAMLET
Ah, ha, boy! say'st thou so? art thou there,
truepenny?
Come on--you hear this fellow in the cellarage--
Consent to swear.

HORATIO
Propose the oath, my lord.

HAMLET
Never to speak of this that you have seen,
Swear by my sword.

Ghost
[Beneath] Swear.

HAMLET
Hic et ubique? then we'll shift our ground.
Come hither, gentlemen,
And lay your hands again upon my sword:
Never to speak of this that you have heard,
Swear by my sword.

Ghost
[Beneath] Swear.

HAMLET
Well said, old mole! canst work i' the earth so fast?
A worthy pioner! Once more remove, good friends.

HORATIO
O day and night, but this is wondrous strange!

HAMLET
And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. But come;
Here, as before, never, so help you mercy,
How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself,
As I perchance hereafter shall think meet
To put an antic disposition on,
That you, at such times seeing me, never shall,
With arms encumber'd thus, or this headshake,
Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase,
As 'Well, well, we know,' or 'We could, an if we would,'
Or 'If we list to speak,' or 'There be, an if they might,'
Or such ambiguous giving out, to note
That you know aught of me: this not to do,
So grace and mercy at your most need help you, Swear.

Ghost
[Beneath] Swear.

HAMLET
Rest, rest, perturbed spirit!

They swear

So, gentlemen,
With all my love I do commend me to you:
And what so poor a man as Hamlet is
May do, to express his love and friending to you,
God willing, shall not lack. Let us go in together;
And still your fingers on your lips, I pray.
The time is out of joint: O cursed spite,
That ever I was born to set it right!
Nay, come, let's go together.

Exeunt