Hamlet Soliloquy 4.4
How all occasions do
inform against me, (35)
And spur my dull revenge! What is a man,
If his chief good and
market
of his time
Be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more.
Sure, he that made us with such large
discourse,
Looking before and after,
gave us not (40)
That capability and god-like reason
To
fust in us unused.
Now, whether it be
Bestial oblivion,
or some
craven scruple
Of thinking too
precisely on the
event,
A thought which,
quarter'd,
hath but one part wisdom (45)
And ever three parts coward, I do not know
Why yet I live to say 'This thing's to do;'
Sith I have cause and
will and strength and means
To do't. Examples
gross
as earth exhort me:
Witness this army of such
mass
and charge (50)
Led by a delicate and tender prince,
Whose spirit with divine ambition
puff'd
Makes mouths at the invisible
event,
Exposing what is mortal and unsure
To all that fortune, death and danger dare, (55)
Even for an egg-shell.
Rightly
to be great
Is not to stir without great argument,
But greatly to find quarrel in a straw
When honour's at the stake. How stand I then,
That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd, (60)
Excitements of my reason and my
blood,
And let all sleep? while, to my shame, I see
The imminent death of
twenty
thousand men,
That, for a fantasy and
trick
of fame,
Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot (65)
Whereon the numbers cannot
try the cause,
Which is not tomb enough and continent
To hide the slain? O, from this time forth,
My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!
NOTES
inform against ] Accuse me.
market ] Employment.
discourse ] The power of reason. God gave human beings the
ability to reflect on life's events.
Looking before and after ] Our intelligence allows us to
analyze past experiences and make rational judgments about the future.
fust ] Grow mouldy. Hamlet is saying that God did not give us
the power of reason for it to go unused.
Bestial oblivion ] The forgetfulness of an animal. Our
capability to remember separates mankind from other animals or
"beasts". But Hamlet forgetting Claudius's deeds is clearly not why
he delays the murder.
craven scruple ] Cowardly feelings.
of ] From.
event ] Outcome.
quarter'd ] Meticulously analyzed (literally, divided into
four).
Sith ] Since.
gross ] Obvious.
mass and charge ] Size and cost. Hamlet is referring to the
army led by Fortinbras, prince of Norway. Hamlet wishes he had
Fortinbras's courage.
puff'd ] Inflated.
Makes mouths at the invisible event ] Shows contempt for (or
cares not about) the uncertain outcome of battle.
Rightly to be great...stake ] Truly great men refrain from
fighting over insignificant things, but they will fight without hesitation over
something trivial when their honour is at risk. "True nobility of soul is
to restrain one's self unless there is a great cause for resentment, but nobly
to recognize even a trifle as such as cause when honour is involved"
(Kittredge 121). Ironically, "Hamlet never learns from the Captain or
attempts to clarify what the specific issue of honor is that motivates the
Prince of Norway. In fact, there is none, for the play has made it clear that
Fortinbras's uncle, after discovering and stopping his nephew's secret and
illegal revenge campaign against Claudius, encouraged him to use newly levied
forces to fight in Poland...Since no issue of honor is to be found in
Fortinbras's cause, Hamlet, through his excessive desire to emulate the
Norwegian leader, ironically calls into question whether there is any honour in
his own cause" (Newell 143). [Mr. Cook adds: or, perhaps, Hamlet’s mind
has once again moved from the particular (Fortinbras and his army) to the
abstract (consideration of what defines greatness). It seems Fortinbras and his
army are not important in and of themselves but in how they “inform against”
(indict, critique, etc.) Hamlet’s inaction.]
twenty thousand men ] In line 25, it was 20000 ducats and only
2000 men. It is undecided whether this confusion is Hamlet's or Shakespeare's.
blood ] Passions.
trick of fame ] Trifle of reputation. But is not Hamlet jealous
of Fortinbras and his ability to fight in defense of his honour?
"Fortinbras is enticed by a dream, and thousands must die for it. Hamlet's
common sense about the absurdity of Fortinbras's venture shows the
pointlessness of his envy" (Edwards 193).
Whereon...slain ] The cause is not significant enough to
consume the thousands of men fighting over it, and the tombs and coffins are
not plentiful enough to hold those who are killed (continent = container).
1.
(Make connections!) In a paragraph compare what Hamlet
says in lines 36-49 of this soliloquy to what he says in lines 91-96 of his “To
be or not to be” soliloquy (below).
2.
(Make connections!) In a paragraph explain how this
soliloquy is similar to the “O What a rogue and peasant slave” (2.2.576)
soliloquy. (Think about the role that Fortinbras plays in this speech and that
the First Player plays in the earlier speech: “What would he do,
/ Had he the motive and the
cue for passion / That I have?”)
3.
(What’s your opinion?) Hamlet contrasts his own
cowardly thought with the actions of Fortinbras. Do you think Fortinbras is a
good role model for Hamlet? In other words, should Hamlet be more like
Fortinbras or not? Explain your answer in a paragraph. Use evidence from the
play and this soliloquy to develop your answer. (Like Hamlet, you might be able
to argue both “yes” and “no”.)
