HAMLET
:
| There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, rough hew them how we will. But thou would’st not think how ill all’s here about my heart. But ’tis no matter. We defy augury. There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all.
(
LAERTES
enters with
OSRIC
bearing swords followed by
CLAUDIUS
and
GERTRUDE
with goblets
.)
Come on, Sir!
|
LAERTES
:
| Come, my lord.
(
Fanfare of trumpets. They draw and duel
.)
|
HAMLET
:
| One.
|
LAERTES
:
| No.
|
HAMLET
:
| Judgement?
|
OSRIC
:
| A hit, a very palpable hit.
|
CLAUDIUS
:
| Stay, give me a drink.
Hamlet, this pearl is thine, here’s to thy health.
(
Drops pearl in goblet
.)
Give him the cup.
|
GERTRUDE
:
| The Queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet.
|
CLAUDIUS
:
| Gertrude, do not drink!
|
GERTRUDE
:
| I will, my lord. (
Drinks
)
|
LAERTES
:
| My lord, I’ll hit him now.
Have at you, now!
(
The grapple and fight
.)
|
CLAUDIUS
:
| Part them, they are incensed.
They bleed on both sides.
(
OSRIC
and
CLAUDIUS
part them
.)
|
LAERTES
:
| I am justly killed by my own treachery. (
Falls
)
|
GERTRUDE
:
| The drink, the drink! I am poisoned! (
Dies
)
|
HAMLET
:
| Treachery! Seek it out.
(
Enter
FORTINBRAS
.)
|
LAERTES
:
| It is here, Hamlet. Hamlet thou art slain.
Lo, here I lie, never to rise again.
The King, the King’s to blame.
|
HAMLET
:
| The point envenomed too?
Then venom to thy work. (
Kills
CLAUDIUS.
)
(
Crown hinges down
.)
|
LAERTES
:
| Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Ha … m …
(
Dies
)
|
HAMLET
:
| I follow thee.
I cannot live to hear the news from England.
The rest is silence. (
Dies
)
|
HORATIO
:
| Good night sweet prince,
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
(
Turns to face away from audience
.)
Go, bid the soldiers shoot.
(
Four shots heard from off-stage
,
ALL
stand, bow once
and exit. End
.)
|
CLAUDIUS
:
| Our sometime sister, now our Queen,
(
Enter
HAMLET.
)
Have we taken to wife.
(
Crown hinges down
.)
|
HAMLET
:
| That it should come to this!
(
Exit
CLAUDIUS
and
GERTRUDE.
Wind noise. Moon hinges up. Enter
HORATIO
above
.)
|
HORATIO
:
| My lord, I saw him yesternight—
The King, your father.
|
HAMLET
:
| Angels and ministers of grace defend us!
(
Exit, running, through rest of speech
.)
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
(
Enter
GHOST
above
.)
|
GHOST
:
| I am thy father’s spirit.
The serpent that did sting thy father’s life
(
Enter
HAMLET
above
.)
Now wears his crown.
|
HAMLET
:
| O my prophetic soul!
Hereafter I shall think meet
To put an antic disposition on.
(
Moon hinges down. Exeunt.
Short flourish of trumpets. Enter
POLONIUS
below,
running. Crown hinges up
.)
|
POLONIUS
:
| Look where sadly the poor wretch comes.
(
Exit
POLONIUS,
running. Enter
HAMLET
.)
|
HAMLET
:
| I have heard that guilty creatures sitting at a play Have by the very cunning of the scene been struck. (
Enter
CLAUDIUS, GERTRUDE, OPHELIA, MARCELLUS
and
HORATIO
joking
,
ALL
sit to watch imaginary play, puppets appear above screen
.)
If he but blench, I know my course.
(
Masque music
,
CLAUDIUS
rises
.)
The King rises!
|
ALL
:
| Give o’er the play!
(
Exeunt
ALL
except
GERTRUDE
and
HAMLET.
Crown hinges down
)
|
HAMLET
:
| I’ll take the ghost’s word for a thousand pounds.
(
Enter
POLONIUS,
goes behind arras. Short flourish of trumpets
.)
Mother, you have my father much offended.
|
GERTRUDE
:
| Help!
|
POLONIUS
:
| Help, Ho!
|
HAMLET
:
| (
Stabs
POLONIUS
.) Dead for a ducat, dead!
(
POLONIUS
falls dead off-stage. Exit
GERTRUDE
and
HAMLET.
Short flourish of trumpets. Enter
CLAUDIUS
followed by
HAMLET
.)
|
CLAUDIUS
:
| Hamlet, this deed must send thee hence
(
Exit
HAMLET.
)
Do it, England.
(
Exit
CLAUDIUS.
Enter
OPHELIA,
falls to ground. Rises and pulls gravestone to cover herself. Bell tolls twice. Enter
GRAVEDIGGER
and
HAMLET
.)
|
HAMLET
:
| A pirate gave us chase. I alone became their prisoner.
(
Takes skull from
GRAVEDIGGER.
)
Alas poor Yorick—but soft (
Returns skull to
GRAVEDIGGER
.)—This is I, Hamlet the Dane!
(
Exit
GRAVEDIGGER.
Enter
LAERTES
.)
|
LAERTES
:
| The devil take thy soul!
(
They grapple, then break. Enter
OSRIC
between them with swords. They draw. Crown hinges up. Enter
CLAUDIUS
and
GERTRUDE
with goblets
.)
|
HAMLET
:
| Come on, Sir!
(
LAERTES
and
HAMLET
fight
.)
|
OSRIC
:
| A hit, a very palpable hit!
|
CLAUDIUS
:
| Give him the cup. Gertrude, do not drink!
|
GERTRUDE
:
| I am poisoned! (
Dies
)
|
LAERTES
:
| Hamlet, thou art slain! (
Dies
)
|
HAMLET
:
| Then venom to thy work! (
Kills
CLAUDIUS.
Crown hinges down
.)
The rest is silence. (
Dies)
(Two shots off-stage. End
)
|
1ST WITCH
:
| When shall we three meet again?
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
|
2ND WITCH
:
| When the hurly-burly’s done,
When the battle’s lost and won.
|
3RD WITCH
:
| That will be ere the set of sun.
|
1ST WITCH
:
| Where the place?
|
2ND WITCH
:
| Upon the heath.
|
3RD WITCH
:
| There to meet with Macbeth.
|
ALL
:
| Fair is foul, and foul is fair.
Hover through the fog and filthy air.
(
Four drum beats
.)
|
3RD WITCH
:
| A drum! a drum!
Macbeth doth come. (
Enter
MACBETH
and
BANQUO
.)
|
MACBETH
:
| So foul and fair a day I have not seen.
|
BANQUO
:
| How far is’t called to Forres? What are these, so withered and so wild in their attire, That look not like the inhabitants o’the earth, And yet are on’t?
|
MACBETH
:
| Speak if you can! What are you?
(
The
WITCHES
encircle
MACBETH
.)
|
1ST WITCH
:
| All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!
|
2ND WITCH
:
| All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!
|
3RD WITCH
:
| All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!
|
BANQUO
:
| Speak then to me who neither beg nor fear Your favours nor your hate.
|
3RD WITCH
:
| Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none.
So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!
|
1ST WITCH
:
| Banquo and Macbeth, all hail!
(
The
WITCHES
vanish.
)
|
MACBETH
:
| Stay, you imperfect speakers! Tell me more!
|
BANQUO
:
| Wither are they vanished?
(
Lights up to reveal living room.
)
|
MACBETH
:
| Into the air;
Would they had stayed!
|
BANQUO
:
| Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?
|
MACBETH
:
| Your children shall be kings.
|
BANQUO
:
| You shall be king.
|
MACBETH
:
| And Thane of Cawdor too, went it not so?
|
BANQUO
:
| To the selfsame tune and words.
(
Enter
ROSS.)
Who’s there?
|
ROSS
:
| The King hath happily received, Macbeth,
The news of thy success. I am sent
To give thee from our royal master thanks;
And for an earnest of a greater honour,
He bade me from him call thee Thane of Cawdor.
|
BANQUO
:
| What! Can the devil speak true?
|
MACBETH
:
| The Thane of Cawdor lives. Why do you dress me
In borrowed robes?
|
ROSS
:
| Who was the Thane lives yet;
But treasons capital, confessed, and proved
Have overthrown him.
(
ROSS
hands
MACBETH
a chain and seal which were Cawdor’s.
)
|
MACBETH
:
| (
Aside
) Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor!
The greatest is behind. Two truths are told
As happy prologues to the swelling Act
Of the imperial theme—I thank you, gentlemen.
|
ROSS
:
| My worthy Cawdor!
(
Exit
ROSS
and
BANQUO.
)
|
MACBETH
:
| (
Aside
) Stars hide your fires,
Let not light see my black and deep desires.
(
Exit
MACBETH.
Drums.
Enter
LADY MACBETH
reading a letter.
)
|
LADY MACBETH
:
| (
Reading aloud to herself.
) ‘Whiles I stood rapt in
the wonder of it, came missives from the King,
who all-hailed me, “Thane of Cawdor”; by
which title, before, these weird sisters saluted me,
and referred me to the coming on of time, with
“Hail, king that shalt be.” This have I thought
good to deliver thee, my dearest partner of
greatness, that thou mightest not lose the dues of
rejoicing by being ignorant of what greatness is
promised thee. Lay it to thy heart, and farewell.’
Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be
What thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature:
It is too full o’the milk of human kindness,
To catch the nearest way. Hie thee hither,
That I may pour my spirits in thine ear,
And chastise with the valour of my tongue
All that impedes thee from the golden round,
Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem
To have thee crowned withal.
(
Enter
1ST MESSENGER.
)
What is your tidings?
|
MESSENGER
:
| The king comes here tonight.
|
LADY MACBETH
:
| Thou’rt mad to say it!
Is not thy master with him?
|
MESSENGER
:
| Our Thane is coming;
One of my fellows had the speed of him.
|
LADY MACBETH
:
| He brings great news.
(
Exit
1ST MESSENGER.)
The raven himself is hoarse
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
Under my battlements. Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here
And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-f
Of direst cruelty.
(
Enter
MACBETH.)
Great Glamis, worthy Cawdor!
Greater than both by the all-hail hereafter!
(
They embrace.
)
|
MACBETH
:
| Duncan comes here tonight.
|
LADY MACBETH
:
| And when goes hence?
|
MACBETH
:
| Tomorrow, as he purposes.
|
LADY MACBETH
:
| O never
Shall sun that morrow see! Look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under’t.
(
Voices heard off-stage.
)
He that’s coming
Must be provided for—
|
MACBETH
:
| We will speak further. (
He goes to door stage
right.
DUNCAN
is approaching, accompanied by
BANQUO
and
ROSS,
and by two Gatecrashers,
uniformed policemen, who proceed to investigate
actors and audience with their flashlights before
disappearing into the wings.
)
|
DUNCAN
:
| This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air
Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself
Unto our gentle senses.
(
LADY MACBETH
goes to meet him.
)
See, see, our honoured hostess—
(
LADY MACBETH
gives a curtsey.
)
Where’s the Thane of Cawdor?
|
MACBETH
:
| (
Re-entering from threshold.
) Your servant.
(
MACBETH
steps forward and bows.
)
|
DUNCAN
:
| (
To
LADY MACBETH
.) Fair and noble hostess, we are your guest tonight.
Give me your hand.
(
LADY MACBETH
leads him out followed by
ROSS
and
BANQUO. MACBETH
remains.
)
|
MACBETH
:
| If it were done, when ’tis done, then ’twere well
It were done quickly. He’s here in double trust:
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself. I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself
And falls on the other.
(
Enter
LADY MACBETH.
)
How now? What news? Hath he asked for me?
|
LADY MACBETH
:
| Know you not he has?
|
MACBETH
:
| We will proceed no further in this business.
|
LADY MACBETH
:
| And live a coward in thine own esteem,
Letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’,
Like the poor cat i’ the adage?
But screw your courage to the sticking place,
And we’ll not fail. When Duncan is asleep—
What cannot you and I perform upon
The unguarded Duncan?
(
BANQUO
is approaching.
)
|
MACBETH
:
| (
Off-stage
) Who’s there?
MACBETH
goes to meet him at window,
LADY
MACBETH
behind.
)
|
BANQUO
:
| (
From window.
) A friend.
What, sir, not yet at rest? The King’s a-bed.
I dreamt last night of the three sisters.
To you they have showed some truth.
|
MACBETH
:
| I think not of them. Good repose the while.
|
BANQUO
:
| Thanks, sir; the like to you.
(
MACBETH
closes shutters.
)
|
MACBETH
:
| Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle towards my hand? Come, let me clutch thee—
I have thee not and yet I see thee still!
(
A bell sounds.
)
I go, and it is done; the bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven or to hell.
(
Exit
MACBETH.
Sounds of owls and crickets. Enter
LADY MACBETH
holding a goblet.
)
|
LADY MACBETH
:
| That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold;
The doors are open, and the surfeited grooms
Do mock their charge with snores; I have drugged their possets.
(
Owl and crickets.
)
I laid their daggers ready.
Had he not resembled
My father as he slept, I had done’t.
(
Enter
MACBETH
carrying two blood-stained daggers.
)
My husband!
|
MACBETH
:
| I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?
|
LADY MACBETH
:
| I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry.
(
A police siren is heard approaching the house. During the following dialogue the car arrives and the car doors are heard to slam.
)
|
MACBETH
:
| There’s one did laugh in ’s sleep, and one cried ‘Murder!’
One cried ’God bless us!’ and ‘Amen’ the other,
(
Siren stops.
)
As they had seen me with these hangman’s hands.
|
LADY MACBETH
:
| Consider it not so deeply.
These deeds must not be thought
After these ways; so, it will make us mad.
|
MACBETH
:
| Methought I heard a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more!
Macbeth does murder sleep’—
(
Sharp rapping.
)
Whence is that knocking?
(
Sharp rapping.
)
How is’t with me when every noise appals me?
|
LADY MACBETH
:
| My hands are of your colour; but I shame
To wear a heart so white.
Retire we to our chamber.
|
MACBETH
:
| Wake Duncan with thy knocking! (
Sharp rapping.
)
I would thou couldst!
|
