161 ff. That monster, custom, who devours all sensibility (i. e., sensitiveness to moral distinctions), devil though he be with reference to bad habits, is yet an angel in this, that, etc. That is, custom makes habits automatic (a very modern way of saying "all sense doth eat"), but the same power of custom that fixes evil habits may fix good ones too.

169. And either the devil. The verb has dropped out in the early texts. The master of the Fourth Quarto is perhaps as good a word as any of those that have been suggested.

171-72. When the Queen is penitent enough to pray for blessing, she will then be fit to grant to Hamlet the blessing which he cannot now ask.

183. Mouse: a pet name. Cf. Love's Labour's Lost, V, ii, 19: "What's your dark meaning, mouse?"; Twelfth Night, I, v, 69: "Good my mouse of virtue, answer me."

188 ff. Hamlet cannot repress his bitter irony. 190. Paddock

gib: toad tom-cat. The three animals named were the familiars of witches, which gives a sinister turn to Hamlet's taunt.

194. The famous ape. The allusion is to a story that is lost. Conclusions = experiments.

197. If words be made of breath. Cf. III, i, 98. 200. I must to England. How had Hamlet learned this? Cf. III, i, 177; III, iii, 4, for the other references to the plan. 206. To have the enginer Hoist with his own petar: to have the one who lays the mine blown up with his own bomb. 210. Two crafts. There is probably a play on the two meanings of the word-ship, and cunning.

206-10. Has Hamlet a definite plan laid, or is he merely counting on his own skill in a contest of wits?

211. This man: Polonius. Set me packing: set me lugging him away; probably with the added idea: send me off in a hurry (i. e., cause my flight).

212. Guts. This word was less offensive in Shakespeare's time than now.

213-16. Is there any indication that Hamlet thinks of Polonius as Ophelia's father?

Аст IV. SCENE I.

The first three scenes of Act IV immediately follow the last scene of Act III, and form with it a single group. There seems to be no good reason why the division between the two acts should come just where it does, and it has been frequently suggested that Act IV should really begin with what is now its fourth scene-an arrangement which has much to be said in its favor (see also introductory note to Scene IV). At all events, the first three scenes still have to do directly with the death of Polonius, and lead up to the full disclosure (at the end of Scene III) of the King's plan.

9. Hearing something stir. Why does Gertrude thus garble her account?

11. Brainish: a rare word, variously defined as brainsick; headstrong, passionate; imaginary, unfounded on fact.

16. Hamlet, of course, has played directly into the King's hands.

19-23. If Gertrude had known that Claudius had murdered her husband, is it likely that he would have found it necessary to dissemble as he does here?

25. Ore: a precious metal (used chiefly of gold). Mineral (line 26) is a mine.

27. He weeps for what is done. Is Gertrude telling the truth? What motive underlies her statement?

31. All our majesty: all the weight and authority of our office.

40. Some words have dropped out at the end of the line. Capell, following a suggestion of Theobald, read: "So, haply, slander," and this reading has been adopted by many modern editors. Lines 41-44 ("whose air") are not in the Folios.

42. Blank: the white spot in the center of a target, the bull's-eye.

44. Woundless: invulnerable. Cf. "the viewless winds" (Measure for Measure, III, i, 124); "the sightless couriers of the air" (Macbeth, I, vii, 23).

Аст IV. SCENE II.

12. To be demanded of: to be questioned by.

19. Like an ape. The reading of the Folio. The First Quarto (in which the speech immediately follows the present III, ii, 389) has "as an ape doth nuts," which makes the meaning of the Folio reading clear. The Second Quarto has "like an apple."

29-32. Hamlet is deliberately talking nonsense. For the interpretations offered by those who think it sense, see the Variorum.

32-33. Hide fox, and all after. Probably a phrase from a children's game, like hide-and-seek. If so, Polonius is the fox.

Аст IV. SCENE III.

4. This is unprejudiced testimony to a fact of great importance. What qualities has Hamlet shown in the play that would win him the affection of the people? Distracted = crazy.

5. Whose liking is determined by appearances, instead of being a matter of judgment.

6. The offender's scourge: the punishment the offender receives.

9. Deliberate pause: the result of deliberate consideration. For pause, cf. III, iii, 42.

21. Convocation of politic worms. Hamlet's phraseology is punctiliously chosen to fit the body of a statesman. The use of the words "convocation," "politic," "worms," "diet" (perhaps also "emperor") makes it highly probable that Shakespeare had the Diet of Worms in mind. For the use of "your " (lines 22-25) see note on I, v, 167. Hamlet is still feigning madness, but it is difficult to doubt that he has also a certain intellectual pleasure in what he is saying.

33. Go a progress. Progress was the regular word for a royal journey of state. Cf. II Henry VI, I, iv, 76: "the king is now in progress towards Saint Albans."

43. Tender: regard, hold dear. Cf. I, iii, 107.

45. Fiery quickness. Cf. "hot haste."

46. The wind at help. Cf. I, iii, 2-3.

47. Tend: wait. Cf. I, iii, 83.

56. At foot: at his heels.

61. Thereof may give thee sense: may make thee cognizant of it.

63. Free awe. Opposed to awe that is the result of compulsion.

64. Set: value, esteem. Cf. I, iv, 65.

66. Congruing: agreeing. This is the reading of the Quartos. The Folios have conjuring. Cf. Hamlet's description of the letter in V, ii, 38.

Аст IV. SCENE IV.

Scene IV is transitional between the death of Polonius and the working out of its results in the plot against Hamlet's life, in the madness and death of Ophelia, and in the return of Laertes to avenge his father's murder. From this point on it is Hamlet's life rather than the King's that is under direct and constant menace. But just as the sight of the player enacting Hecuba stirred Hamlet to fresh resolution when aggressive action was still possible, so now, after command of the situation has slipped through his hands, the sight of the army of Fortinbras kindles a new resolve to act.

Sufficient time must have elapsed between Scenes III and IV for Claudius's permission to Fortinbras to pass through Danish territory (see line 2, and cf. II, ii, 76-82) to reach him. And the request for this license was presented to Claudius only the day before the death of Polonius (see introductory note to Act II, Scene I). Some days, at least, must accordingly have intervened. This is (strictly speaking) inconsistent with the fact that Hamlet leaves for England the very night of Polonius's murder (IV, i, 29-30; IV, iii, 46-48, 55-57), and there is nothing to indicate that the port was distant from Elsinore (cf. I, iii, 1, 55-57). But it must be remembered that Shakespeare is writing a drama (with the attendant necessity of producing certain illusions as to time in the mind of his audience), not mythology the same goddess was Luna in Heaven, Diana on earth, and Hecate (or Proserpine) in hell.

273-74. The story is extant, etc. Shakespeare is merely heightening the impression of verisimilitude, and search for the story is probably as useless as that for the "dozen or sixteen lines."

282. See the idea of this line elaborated in As You Like It, II, i, 33-40.

286. This: this playwriting of mine. The rest of the speech is an exaggerated description of an actor's costume. There are many contemporary allusions to the wearing of feathers on the stage; Provincial roses were probably rosettes of ribbon, shaped like the roses either of Provins or Provence; razed shoes is a reference to the fashion of wearing shoes extravagantly slashed in patterns. All the allusions are to wellknown vogues of the day, and would be perfectly intelligible to the audience. To turn Turk was to change completely; cf. Much Ado, III, iv, 57: "An you be not turned Turk, there's no more sailing by the star." A fellowship in a cry of players was a share in a theatrical company-cry being humorously transferred from a pack of hounds. Throughout this part of the scene Hamlet's pent-up feelings are finding relief (as they did after the appearance of the Ghost in I, v) in almost hysterical abandon.

292. O Damon dear. Damon and Pythias (look up their story) were proverbial for their friendship. Hamlet is either quoting from some lost ballad, or making up the lines as he goes.

295. Pajock: a word found only here. Probably a dialect form for "peacock"; possibly another spelling of patchock, a clown or ragamuffin. The riming word which Hamlet does not use is obvious.

312. Distempered. See note on II, ii, 55.

318. Purgation. Hamlet is playing on the two sensespurging the body, and clearing from the imputation of guilt. 339. Admiration: wonder. Cf. I, ii, 192.

349. These pickers and stealers: my hands. The church catechism has the phrase: "to keep my hands from picking and stealing." Cf. II Henry VI, I, iii, 193: "by these ten bones." 354. Sir, I lack advancement. Hamlet is giving Rosen