Shakespeare's Hamlet in Plain English

Scene 4

  (en route to the waiting ship)

  Enter Fortinbras with his Army, marching through Denmark

  Fortinbras Captain, go and convey my greetings to the Danish King. Tell him that in regard to his entreaty (forwarded to the King by Voltemand in Act Two) Fortinbras earnestly requests that he be granted safe passage for his forces through his kingdom. You know the rendezvous. If his Majesty sees fit to respond in our favour, we shall be obliged to go and express our gratitude to him in person.

  Captain I will do so, my lord.

  Fortinbras March on, but be aware that we are to cause as little disturbance as possible while we are here in Denmark.

 

  Exit all but the Captain

  Enter Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Others

  Hamlet Good sir, whose forces are these?

  Captain They are from Norway, sir.

  Hamlet What is their purpose, sir, I pray you?

  Captain To invade some part of Poland.

  Hamlet Who commands them, sir?

  Captain The nephew of the King of Norway, Fortinbras.

  Hamlet Is it an invasion of the Polish mainland, sir, or some peripheral region?

  Captain In all honesty, it would be easy to overstate our objectives as we’re only going to gain a small area of land that really has no profit in it; the prince is committing his forces to this undertaking merely in the interests of his own reputation and stature. As for the piece of land in question, I wouldn’t pay five ducats to lease it, nor would it be worth more than that were the King of Norway, or indeed the King of Poland, to sell it.

  Hamlet Why, then the Polish King will never defend it.

  Captain Actually he has already stationed a garrison of soldiers there.

  Hamlet There can be no justification for incurring the loss of hundreds of lives and the expenditure of thousands of ducats over such an insignificant and inconsequential area of land. This is the disease of too much wealth and power, which leads naturally to corruption, the tendency to exploit that power too great for man’s nature to resist, campaigns to conquer other lands a typical consequence, without there being any just cause for engaging in conflict. I humbly thank you sir.

  Captain Goodbye, sir.

  Exit Captain

  Rosencrantz Is it pleases you, my lord, we must be on our way.

  Hamlet I’ll be with you in a moment. Go on ahead.

  Exit all but Hamlet

  How events seem to conspire against me. They spur my dulled resolve, forcing me to realise I am in danger of loosing every opportunity to accomplish my task. What use is a man if his chief purpose is but to sleep and eat? He would be no more than a beast. There is no doubt that our maker, who created us with such a substantial capacity to think and reason, to learn from and improve upon our past, did not give us such capabilities, such powers of intellect, simply for them to remain dormant and unused. Now whether I’ve been too easily distracted by other matters, or it was just cowardly hesitation caused by thinking and moralizing too much, contemplating the issue to an inordinate degree - and there was some wisdom in this - I do not know why I have as yet failed to exact my father’s revenge, since I have the motive and the justification; I possess the will, the strength and the means to do it. Before me are events of such significance they inflame my determination and exhort me to fulfil my charge: I’m witnessing this huge, extremely expensive army, led by a sensitive young prince whose spirit and ambition scoffs at danger and any prospect of defeat, who is exposing his soldiers, mere mortal men, to all that fate and death dare inflict upon them, all for a piece of land which is hardly worth conquering. True greatness is to fight not only for some major cause, but also when the objective is not so important, when it is more a matter of honour than material gain. Where does that leave me then, my father murdered, my mother sullied, and despite all the incitement I need to fulfil my purpose, having shunned opportunities to act decisively, while now, to my shame, I see the imminent deaths of thousands of men, deceived by the notion that there is renown and honour to be found in war, who go to their graves in numbers the cause cannot justify, fighting for a plot of land not big enough to bury all those who will be slain? From this time forth my thoughts must be entirely focused on fulfilling my duty to my father.