alse disloyal/er ring
112 without outside
116 keep guard
120 cuckold man with an unfaithful wife
121 between in the middle of
121 unsmirched unstained
122 true faithful
125 fear fear for
126 hedge protect
127 but ... will only peep through at what it desires, and carry out little of its intention 135 juggled with tricked, deceived
138 To ... stand I am fixed in this resolve
139 both ... negligence I disregard both this world and the next 141 throughly thoroughly, completely
142 stay prevent
143 My ... world by my will, not all the world shall stop me 144 husband manage
149 sweepstake indiscriminately (from gambling, where one person sweeps up all the stakes on the table) 149 draw gather
154 pelican supposedly this bird fed its young with its own blood 155 Repast feed
159 sensible feeling
160 level directly
165 virtue power, efficacy
167 turns the beam tilts the crossbar of the scales (i.e. tips in our favor) 171 Nature human nature
171 fine in refined by
172 instance sign, token
173 After ... loves i.e. after Polonius, to the grave 174 bier movable stand on which a corpse is carried to the grave 175 Hey ... nonny a refrain more usually associated with merry love songs 179 move affect (me)/persuade
180 You Ophelia assigns parts to the individuals in the room "a-down ... a-down-a" well-known refrains 181 wheel refrain
181 false ... daughter refers to a story or ballad that remains unidentified 183 This ... matter this nonsense is actually more meaningful than sane talk/this nonsense contains significance that is beyond the reach of sense 184 rosemary herb symbolizing remembrance
185 pansies flowers symbolic of love, named from French pensees (thoughts) 186 document lesson
187 fitted put together
188 fennel herb said to symbolize flattery
188 columbines flowers symbolic of infidelity
188 rue herb symbolizing repentance
190 o'Sundays on Sundays
190 difference variation on a coat of arms to distinguish different members or branches of a family (or Ophelia may simply mean "differently") 191 daisy possibly symbolic of deception; alternatively, a springtime flower associated with love 191 violets flowers symbolic of faithfulness and of chastity 194 For ... joy a line from a well-known song
195 Thought melancholy
195 passion extreme grief
196 favour charm, attractiveness
203 flaxen white
203 poll head, i.e. hair
205 cast away moan waste our laments
206 Gramercy great mercy
207 God buy ye goodbye (literally, "God be with you")
211 whom whichever of
212 'twixt between
213 collateral indirect
214 touched implicated
222 trophy memorial
222 hatchment tablet bearing the coat of arms of the dead person, placed over the tomb 223 ostentation ceremony
225 That so that
225 call in question demand an explanation
Act 4 Scene 5
8 an't if it
13 overlooked looked over, read
13 means means of access
15 appointment equipment
16 compelled necessary
17 grapple forcible seizing of a ship for the purpose of boarding 19 thieves of mercy merciful thieves
21 repair come
23 too ... matter i.e. inadequate to convey the importance of the issue 23 bore caliber of a gun (Hamlet's words are bullets that are too small to fit) 28 way access
Act 4 Scene 6
1 my acquittance seal confirm my innocence
3 Sith since
3 knowing understanding/knowledgeable
7 proceeded not did not take legal proceedings
7 feats deeds/crimes
8 capital punishable by death
9 As ... up i.e. given that it was greatly in the interests of safety and prudence to do so 12 unsinewed weak
16 conjunctive closely united (an astronomical term referring to proximity between planets) 17 sphere orbit; individual stars and planets were thought to be contained within concentric hollow spheres that revolved around the earth 18 but except, unless I were
19 count account, reckoning, indictment
20 general gender common people
20 gender kind, sort
22 spring ... stone a spring with high levels of lime in its water would petrify a piece of wood placed in it 23 gyves fetters
24 Too slightly timbered i.e. too light
28 terms circumstances
29 go back again i.e. recall her as she was
30 on mount on high
34 shook with tugged (contemptuously) by
43 Claudio a bluff, an intermediary, or Shakespeare's slip when he meant "Horatio"
45 naked destitute
47 pardon permission
51 abuse deceit
51 no such thing not what it seems, a trick
53 character handwriting
63 If so so long as
65 As checking at as a result of deviating from or aborting (a falconry term referring to the hawk turning away from its pursuit in mid-flight) 67 device devising
70 uncharge the practice acquit the plot from blame
74 can well are skilled
74 gallant fine young man
77 As as if
77 incorpsed of one body
77 demi-natured half of the same nature
78 brave splendid
78 passed my thought surpassed anything I could have imagined 79 forgery ... tricks imagining feats of horsemanship
83 Lamond some editors prefer Quarto's Lamord, with its hint of death (la mort, French for "death") 85 brooch jewel/ornament
87 made ... you testified to your skill
89 For ... defence with regard to your skill and performance in self-defense 93 envenom embitter/poison
95 sudden immediate
95 play compete
103 begun by time generated by particular circumstances
104 passages of proof events that have proved it
105 qualifies weakens, diminishes
110 sanctuarize give sanctuary to, protect
112 Will you if you are to
112 close secluded
114 put on encourage/organize
116 in fine in conclusion, finally
117 remiss negligent, not vigilant
118 generous noble-minded
119 peruse examine carefully
119 foils light swords, blunted for use in fencing
121 unbated not blunted
121 pass of practice treacherous thrust/deliberately planned thrust 122 Requite repay, have revenge on
125 unction ointment
125 mountebank quack doctor who traveled around selling various remedies 126 I ... it Laertes leaves unfinished the account of what happened when he did this; or perhaps he means "one need but dip a knife in it"; some editors prefer Quarto's "so mortal that, but dip"
127 cataplasm medicated plaster, poultice
127 rare excellent
128 simples medicinal herbs
129 Under the moon i.e. anywhere, though gathering herbs by moonlight was thought to lend them extra potency 130 withal with it
131 contagion poison
131 gall graze
135 fit ... shape suit our plan/fit us for the roles we are going to play 136 drift scheme, intention
136 look becomes visible
139 blast in proof explode when put to the test
140 cunnings skills (i.e. Laertes' and Hamlet's)
141 ha't have it
143 As i.e. you should
143 bouts rounds in a fight
145 nonce purpose
146 stuck thrust
151 willow a tree associated with sadness and forsaken love 152 hoar grayish white
153 fantastic elaborate/fanciful
154 crow-flowers buttercups/ragged robins (both types of wildflower) 154 long purples a type of purple orchid; the roots resemble testicles, hence the grosser name
155 liberal freely spoken/licentious
155 grosser coarser/more vulgar
156 cold chaste
157 pendent drooping, overhanging
158 envious sliver malicious part of a branch
159 weedy made of wildflowers
163 incapable uncomprehending/insensible
163 distress affliction, calamity
164 indued adapted
167 lay song
173 trick way, habit
174 these i.e. his tears
175 woman ... out the woman in me will be finished
177 folly i.e. his weeping
177 douts extinguishes
Act 5 Scene 1
5.1 Location: a graveyard near the royal castle at Elsinore Clowns rustics 1 Christian burial suicides were not allowed Christian burial rites 2 salvation probably a malapropism for "damnation," though perhaps the Clown suggests Ophelia was trying to get to heaven early 4 straight straightaway (plays on the sense of "not crooked") 4 crowner coroner
5 sat held an inquest (with a play on the literal sense)
9 se offendendo perversion of se defendendo (Latin for "in self-defense," a legal term); literally "in self-offense"
12 argal perversion of ergo (Latin for "therefore") 13 goodman title for a person below the rank of gentleman and often followed by the individual's occupation (here a delver or digger) 16 will ... he whether he will or no
21 quest inquest
25 there thou say'st i.e. how right you are
26 countenance authority, permission
27 even Christian fellow Christians
28 ditchers ditch-makers
29 Adam's profession in the Bible, Adam's job was to look after the Garden of Eden 31 bore arms had a coat of arms (the sign of a gentleman); with obvious play on sense of "limbs"
36 confess thyself the saying continues "and be hanged"
42 does well i.e. as an answer (the sense then shifts to "serves well") 49 unyoke give up, stop laboring (literally, unyoke the oxen) 54 mend improve
56 Yaughan variant spelling of Vaughan, presumably the name of the local innkeeper, perhaps based on one near the Globe 57 stoup tankard
58 In ... love this and the following stanza are loose versions of parts of Thomas Vaux's poem "The Aged Lover Renounceth Love," printed in 1557; O and a may be the gravedigger's grunts as he goes about his work 60 contract ... behove pass away the time to my own advantage 61 meet (more) fitting
64 property of easiness something he can undertake with indifference 65 hath ... sense is more sensitive/fastidious
69 shipped ... land dispatched me into the earth (i.e. my grave/dust) 69 intil into
70 been such been a young man in love
72 jowls strikes, dashes (puns on "jowl"-i.e. jawbone)
72 Cain in the Bible, the first murderer; he killed his brother Abel 74 politician crafty schemer
74 o'er-offices lords it over (on account of his office as gravedigger) 75 circumvent cheat, outwit
82 chapless jawless
83 mazzard head (from the term for a drinking bowl)
84 revolution change/turn of the wheel of fortune
84 trick knack
84 Did ... 'em? Did these people cost so little to bring up that we may play games with their bones?
85 loggats a game where pieces of wood shaped like bowling pins were thrown at a stake fixed in the ground 88 For and and furthermore
88 shrouding sheet sheet in which the corpse was wrapped 92 quiddities ... quillets subtleties, verbal distinctions, quibbling arguments 93 tenures (documents or cases relating to) conditions on which property is held 93 rude ignorant/rough
94 sconce head
95 action of battery litigation concerning physical assault 96 statutes legal documents that secured a debt on land and property (similar to a mortgage) 97 recognizances legal documents that formally acknowledged a debt 97 fines ... recoveries legal processes concerned with securing the outright ownership of land; 97 double vouchers refers to the practice of having two people vouch for a claimant's ownership of the land 98 fine ... fines end of his fines (the sense of fine then shifts to "elegant, handsome" and then to "finely powdered") 99 vouch guarantee
100 the ... indentures land (i.e. his grave) only as long and wide as a legal document 101 pair of indentures two copies of an agreement drawn up on the same sheet of paper, which was then halved along a zigzag line to form documents that, when placed together, were a unique match 102 conveyances deeds relating to the transfer of land and property (plays on the sense of "light-fingered theft/sleight of hand") 102 box deed-box/coffin
103 inheritor i.e. owner
107 assurance in that security in legal documents
108 sirrah sir (used to a social inferior)
114 not lie the First Clown begins a series of puns on the senses of "dwell/fib"
116 quick living (in his reply, the First Clown plays on the senses of "quick-witted/speedy") 126 absolute strictly accurate
126 by the card precisely (literally, according to either the sailor's map or compass) 127 equivocation verbal ambiguity
129 picked over-refined/fastidious
130 galls his kibe chafes his chilblain
148 ground cause (but the First Clown responds to the literal sense of the word) 153 pocky diseased, especially with the pox i.e. syphilis 153 hold ... in hold together long enough to be buried 155 tanner one who converts animal hides into leather by tanning (infusing with an astringent liquid) 159 whoreson wretched (an abusive intensifier used in a jocular manner) 159 Here's a skull presumably one of the two thrown up earlier, but conceivably a third if he is still digging 165 A he
166 Rhenish German wine from the area around the River Rhine 172 fancy imagination
173 abhorred filled with horror
173 My gorge rises i.e. I feel like vomiting
173 gorge stomach contents
177 No ... jeering? There's no one left to laugh at the way you mocked and made fun of people?
178 chop-fallen downcast/lacking the lower jaw
179 favour facial appearance
183 Alexander Alexander the Great, fourth-century king of Macedonia and one of the world's most successful military leaders 190 bung-hole hole in a barrel stoppered with a bung
191 too curiously too closely/overly ingeniously
193 modesty moderation
195 loam mortar made of clay, sand and straw
201 flaw squall, violent gust of wind
204 maimed truncated, insufficient
205 desperate filled with spiritual despair, suicidal
206 Fordo destroy
206 estate status
207 Couch hide
211 obsequies commemorative rites for the dead
212 warrantise authorization
212 doubtful suspicious
213 o'ersways overrules
214 unsanctified not consecrated by the Church
215 last trumpet i.e. Doomsday, which would, according to the Bible, be heralded by the sound of a trumpet 215 For instead of
216 Shards fragments of broken pottery
218 strewments flowers strewn on the coffin or grave
218 bringing ... burial bringing her to her final resting place accompanied by the funeral bell and burial rites 223 sage requiem a solemn funeral chant
223 such rest pray for the same rest
224 peace-parted peacefully departed
227 violets the flower was associated with chastity
229 howling i.e. in hell
237 ingenious sense quick, intelligent mind
240 quick living (i.e. Laertes)
242 Pelion the mountain in Thessaly that, in Greek mythology, the warring giants piled on top of Mount Ossa in their attempt to scale Olympus, the mountain home of the gods 245 emphasis strength of expression (a rhetorical term)
246 Conjures ... stars casts a spell on the planets
252 splenitive hot-tempered (the spleen was thought to be the seat of the passions) 257 quiet calm
259 wag open and shut
265 forbear him leave him alone
267 Woo't wilt thou
267 tear tear violently at (hair, clothing)/injure/destroy 268 eisel vinegar
268 crocodile i.e. something tough and dangerous, the creature that was supposed to shed copious hypocritical tears 270 outface defy/defeat
273 our ground the piled-up earth above us
274 burning zone sun's orbit between the tropics
275 Ossa in Greek mythology, the mountain on which the giants piled Pelion in their attempt to reach Olympus 275 an if
275 mouth grimace/rant
277 mere complete
280 golden couplets baby birds covered in golden down
280 disclosed hatched
283 use treat
285 Let ... day i.e. even Hercules could not stop Laertes from his tiresome rant/my turn will come and even Hercules (or the ranting Laertes) cannot stop me 288 in i.e. by remembering
289 present push immediate test (push may also be suggestive of the thrust of a weapon) 291 living lasting (but also implies that murdering Hamlet will serve as a memorial) Act 5 Scene 2
5.2 Location: within the royal castle at Elsinore
1 this the pair enter mid-conversation; this refers to what Hamlet has just been telling Horatio 1 see the other hear the other news
2 circumstance details
6 mutines ... bilboes mutineers in shackles
6 Rashly on impulse (Hamlet then digresses before returning to his tale in line 13) 7 know acknowledge
8 indiscretion lack of forethought and prudence
9 dear important
9 pall weaken/become flat and stale
11 Rough-hew carve roughly
14 sea-gown short-sleeved, calf-length sailor's gown made of coarse material 14 scarfed wrapped loosely
15 them i.e. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
16 Fingered stole
16 in fine finally, in conclusion
21 Larded garnished, interspersed
21 several various
22 Importing concerning
23 bug hobgoblin, bogeyman
23 bugs ... life terrors to be feared were I to be allowed to continue living 24 supervise reading (of the commission)
24 leisure bated time wasted
25 stay await
31 benetted round snared, surrounded as if in a net
32 Ere ... play i.e. before my brain could begin to consider the issue, I had already taken action 34 fair in elegant handwriting
35 statists statesmen
38 yeoman's i.e. efficient, loyal (a yeoman was an attendant in a royal household) 39 effect nature
41 conjuration entreaty
42 tributary country owing him a tribute (a regular payment after defeat in war) 44 still always (i.e. continue)
44 wheaten garland symbolic of peace
45 comma the mark of punctuatio