quotes, notes, timelines & more

Home » Quotes » Hamlet » What shall I do?

What shall I do?

Queen
What shall I do?
Hamlet
Not this by no means that I bid you do:
Let the bloat king tempt you again to bed,
Pinch wanton on your cheek, call you his mouse,
And let him, for a pair of reechy kisses
Or paddling in your neck with his damned fingers,
Make you to ravel all this matter out
That I essentially am not in madness,
But mad in craft. ’Twere good you let him know,
For who that’s but a queen, fair, sober, wise,
Would from a paddock, from a bat, a gib,
Such dear concernings hide? Who would do so?
No, in despite of sense and secrecy,
Unpeg the basket on the house’s top,
Let the birds fly, and like the famous ape,
To try conclusions, in the basket creep
And break your own neck down.

For ’tis the sport to have the enginer
Hoist with his own petard

Queen
Be thou assured, if words be made of breath
And breath of life, I have no life to breathe
What thou hast said to me.
Hamlet
I must to England, you know that.
Queen
Alack,
I had forgot! ’Tis so concluded on.
Hamlet
There’s letters sealed; and my two schoolfellows,
Whom I will trust as I will adders fanged,
They bear the mandate; they must sweep my way
And marshal me to knavery. Let it work,
For ’tis the sport to have the enginer
Hoist with his own petard; and ’t shall go hard
But I will delve one yard below their mines
And blow them at the moon. O, ’tis most sweet
When in one line two crafts directly meet.
This man shall set me packing.
I’ll lug the guts into the neighbor room.
Mother, good night indeed. This counselor
Is now most still, most secret, and most grave,
Who was in life a foolish prating knave.—
Come, sir, to draw toward an end with you.—
Good night, mother.
  They exit, Hamlet tugging in Polonius.

Source:
Act 3
Scene 4
Line 202

Source Type:

Spoken by:
,

Themes:
, ,