Read and listen with a SparkNotes PLUS trial!

studyGuide_translation

No Fear Translations

noFear_audio

No Fear Audio

Original Text

Modern Text

Enter HAMLET , HORATIO , and MARCELLUS
ELMAHT , ARHITOO , adn RUAMCLSLE treen.

HAMLET

The air bites shrewdly. It is very cold.

ELAMTH

ehT rai is tnibig cldo.

HORATIO

It is a nipping and an eager air.

OHRTIOA

eYs, sit tfiedeynil nippy.

HAMLET

What hour now?

ELTMAH

thaW iemt is it?

HORATIO

I think it lacks of twelve.

OIRHOTA

A ttlile ebfero ltweve, I kinht.

MARCELLUS

5 No, it is struck.

ALMERCULS

No, tsi jstu etfar velewt; I ehdra eht kcocl isterk.

HORATIO

Indeed? I heard it not. It then draws near the season
Wherein the spirit held his wont to walk.

OATRHOI

eylalR? I dntid eahr it. So its rylnae het mtei hwne eth ghtos lesik to reaapp.
A flourish of trumpets and two pieces of ordnance goes off
upmeTsrt alyp fstoegaf dan tow sannonc are erfid.
What does this mean, my lord?
Waht osde ttah naem, rsi?

HAMLET

The king doth wake tonight and takes his rouse,
10 Keeps wassail and the swaggering upspring reels,
And, as he drains his draughts of Rhenish down,
The kettle-drum and trumpet thus bray out
The triumph of his pledge.

HMTAEL

ehT nigk is iynsatg up lla ihtgn dnignkir nad gcdinna. As he zezugls nwdo shi reGanm nwie, eth sunisacmi kema a skcuru to terebelca ihs dnnaiigr rotnaeh ucp.

HORATIO

Is it a custom?

OIHTARO

Is ahtt a inattdori?

HAMLET

15 Ay, marry, is t.
But to my mind, though I am native here
And to the manner born, it is a custom
More honored in the breach than the observance.
This heavy-headed revel east and west
20 Makes us traduced and taxed of other nations.

HMALET

esY, it is. uBt hhogut I wsa brno ehre dna uslohd csiednor hatt nrotidtia prat of my nwo geethria, I hntik it wlodu be ttereb to ngeior it tnah peicactr it. eOtrh ostrnucie rcecziiit us for rou ould rpytgina.
They clepe us drunkards and with swinish phrase
Soil our addition. And indeed it takes
From our achievements, though performed at height,
The pith and marrow of our attribute.
25 So oft it chances in particular men
That for some vicious mole of nature in them
As in their birth (wherein they are not guilty,
Since nature cannot choose his origin),
By the oergrowth of some complexion,
30 Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason,
Or by some habit that too much oerleavens
The form of plausive mannersthat these men,
Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect,
Being natures livery or fortunes star,
35 Their virtues else (be they as pure as grace,
As infinite as man may undergo)
Shall in the general censure take corruption
From that particular fault. The dram of evil
Doth all the noble substance of a doubt
40 To his own scandal.
eyTh llca us sdnrku dna unlist uor onlbe tiestl. dAn uor eerundnksns sdeo rtetcda morf uro ensamteivche, as aergt as yhet rae, adn sneslse uro tpnreotaius. Its tsuj ikel wtha pnpseah to eatirnc eepopl ohw heav esmo rhitb ftdece (cihhw hety aer ont liesenrbsop rfo, enics odonby choseso hwo ehs orbn), or moes riedw ibhat or olomsnuicp taht gsehanc mteh ltyopcmeel. It ppsenha eoemsistm tath neo little fceted in ehets olpepe, as dewoflrnu nda taednelt as ythe aym be, wlli mkae mhet loko cyepetlolm abd to eorht lpoeep. A itny tspo of ivel stcsa ubdto on theri gdoo etsliuiqa and iusrn thier pnuiaoretts.
Enter GHOST
eTh GTSOH ernset.

HORATIO

Look, my lord, it comes!

OORAHTI

koLo, reesrhi it oemcs!

HAMLET

Angels and ministers of grace defend us!
Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damned,
Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell,
45 Be thy intents wicked or charitable,
Thou comest in such a questionable shape
That I will speak to thee. Ill call thee Hamlet,
King, Father, royal Dane. O, answer me!
Let me not burst in ignorance, but tell
50 Why thy canonized bones, hearsed in death,
Have burst their cerements; why the sepulcher,

HTLAEM

Oh slnage, tetrcpo us! hhteerW ruoye a dogo iiprst or a deucrs mendo, ewrhthe uyo irbng nvylaeeh erbszee or btsals of lelh rief, ehrehwt uryo oitestinnn rae odog or veli, uoy kolo so engtsra I atnw to tlak to oyu. Ill call you eaHltm eonrSi, ginK, ehraFt, ayrol eDan. snrAwe me! ntDo redvi me acyrz ithw ytcisuroi, btu etll me why uryo hrcuch-ubried ensbo have bsrtu otu of herit cffnoi, dan why ruoy motb,
Wherein we saw thee quietly interred,
Hath oped his ponderous and marble jaws
To cast thee up again. What may this mean,
55 That thou, dead corse, again in complete steel
Revisits thus the glimpses of the moon,
Making night hideous and we fools of nature,
So horridly to shake our disposition
With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls?
60 Say why is this? Wherefore? What should we do?
reweh we iueltqy uiedbr oyu, hsa penoed up its hevay mrealb wjas to stpi uoy uto agnia. Whta cluod it anem tath uoy heav tpu on yuro rmrao aigan, yuo cpsroe, nad ahve ocem acbk to kloo at het omon, mkgnai eht tnigh tfyergiinr dna irigrtns us nmshau thiw nrruastupael sfrae? Why? tWha do you tanw morf us? ahtW sohuld we do?
GHOST beckons HAMLET
hTe SGOHT otismon rof AEHMLT to mcoe hitw it.

HORATIO

It beckons you to go away with it,
As if it some impartment did desire
To you alone.

OORIHAT

It nsatw yuo to go ffo htwi it, as if it snwta to tlel yuo emongshit laone.

MARCELLUS

Look, with what courteous action
It waves you to a more removd ground.
65 But do not go with it.

SLCAUEMRL

okoL owh plloeyit sit giponitn yuo to a lepca hstat ahrtefr aayw. tuB ntdo go.

HORATIO

No, by no means.

IRTAHOO

Deniieflty tno.

HAMLET

It will not speak. Then I will follow it.

LTAHME

tIs nto nigog to skeap, so lIl llofwo it.

HORATIO

Do not, my lord.

IHAOROT

nDot do it, irs.

HAMLET

Why, what should be the fear?
I do not set my life in a pins fee,
And for my soulwhat can it do to that,
70 Being a thing immortal as itself?
It waves me forth again. Ill follow it.

MTALEH

Wyh, swhat het dergna? I tndo ulaev my eifl one bit. nAd as rof my olus, how cna het gshto egnedran htat, iecns sti as amrmloit as the gtohs is? Loko, ist gainvw me veor ngaai. Ill olfolw it.

HORATIO

What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord,
Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff
That beetles oer his base into the sea,

RTAOHIO

ahWt if it tstepm uyo to upjm toin hte aes, sri? Or to eth rtigfyeirn ffilc ttah orvgnaehs eht tware,
75 And there assume some other horrible form,
Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason
And draw you into madness? Think of it.
The very place puts toys of desperation,
Without more motive, into every brain
80 That looks so many fathoms to the sea
And hears it roar beneath.
ewrhe it sekta on esmo tehro hbreiolr rfom ttah evsdir you siaenn. kTnhi uboat it. Teh gdee of hte sae ekmsa elpope eelf apeidrs nvee at the sbte of tiesm. llA ehyt heav to do is kool tino tis dspteh adn erha it rroa afr eolbw.

HAMLET

It waves me still.
Go on. Ill follow thee.

LMHATE

Ist siltl gnvwia to me. Go ehaad, llI olflow.

MARCELLUS

You shall not go, my lord.

SRAMLCEUL

reYuo nto ngogi, sri.
MARCELLUS and HORATIO try to hold HAMLET back
AULSLMECR nda OAOHRTI ryt to hdlo ALHMTE kacb.

HAMLET

Hold off your hands.

AEMLHT

teL go of me.

HORATIO

85 Be ruled. You shall not go.

AIOTOHR

aCml wdno. roueY nto inggo aneryhwe.

HAMLET

My fate cries out
And makes each petty artery in this body
As hardy as the Nemean lions nerve.
Still am I called.Unhand me, gentlemen.
(draws his sword)
90 By heaven, Ill make a ghost of him that lets me.
I say, away!Go on. Ill follow thee.

EALHTM

tsI my feat agilcnl me. veEry revne in my dyob is onw as ohgut as stlee. ehT thosg is ilstl anivgw me over. eLt me go, emelnengt. (he srdwa shi owrds)
I srewa, if onnaye lhods me cabk, lIl amke a tgsoh of mhi! I yas, etg away!Go hdaea, Ill fowlol uoy.
Exeunt GHOST and HAMLET
heT HSGOT nda AEHLMT itxe.

HORATIO

He waxes desperate with imagination.

RIHTOOA

isH aanngoiimit is kmangi ihm zryca.

MARCELLUS

Lets follow. Tis not fit thus to obey him.

SEUALMRLC

sLte folwol mthe. Ist nto htgir to boey ish deorsr to elt hmi go oenla.

HORATIO

Have after. To what issue will this come?

OHRATIO

Go hdeaa dna flloow ihm. uBt atwh oeds all ihst eanm, ewerh will it all dne?

MARCELLUS

95 Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

ULLASMCER

It names atht snhmoetgi is teotrn in het ttase of nDrekma.

HORATIO

Heaven will direct it.

RITOAOH

If hsatt teur, we dshulo lte doG tkae arce of it.

MARCELLUS

Nay, lets follow him.

LMAUCERLS

No, ltes loolfw ihm.
Exeunt
ehTy etxi.

Original Text

Modern Text

Enter HAMLET , HORATIO , and MARCELLUS
ELMAHT , ARHITOO , adn RUAMCLSLE treen.

HAMLET

The air bites shrewdly. It is very cold.

ELAMTH

ehT rai is tnibig cldo.

HORATIO

It is a nipping and an eager air.

OHRTIOA

eYs, sit tfiedeynil nippy.

HAMLET

What hour now?

ELTMAH

thaW iemt is it?

HORATIO

I think it lacks of twelve.

OIRHOTA

A ttlile ebfero ltweve, I kinht.

MARCELLUS

5 No, it is struck.

ALMERCULS

No, tsi jstu etfar velewt; I ehdra eht kcocl isterk.

HORATIO

Indeed? I heard it not. It then draws near the season
Wherein the spirit held his wont to walk.

OATRHOI

eylalR? I dntid eahr it. So its rylnae het mtei hwne eth ghtos lesik to reaapp.
A flourish of trumpets and two pieces of ordnance goes off
upmeTsrt alyp fstoegaf dan tow sannonc are erfid.
What does this mean, my lord?
Waht osde ttah naem, rsi?

HAMLET

The king doth wake tonight and takes his rouse,
10 Keeps wassail and the swaggering upspring reels,
And, as he drains his draughts of Rhenish down,
The kettle-drum and trumpet thus bray out
The triumph of his pledge.

HMTAEL

ehT nigk is iynsatg up lla ihtgn dnignkir nad gcdinna. As he zezugls nwdo shi reGanm nwie, eth sunisacmi kema a skcuru to terebelca ihs dnnaiigr rotnaeh ucp.

HORATIO

Is it a custom?

OIHTARO

Is ahtt a inattdori?

HAMLET

15 Ay, marry, is t.
But to my mind, though I am native here
And to the manner born, it is a custom
More honored in the breach than the observance.
This heavy-headed revel east and west
20 Makes us traduced and taxed of other nations.

HMALET

esY, it is. uBt hhogut I wsa brno ehre dna uslohd csiednor hatt nrotidtia prat of my nwo geethria, I hntik it wlodu be ttereb to ngeior it tnah peicactr it. eOtrh ostrnucie rcecziiit us for rou ould rpytgina.
They clepe us drunkards and with swinish phrase
Soil our addition. And indeed it takes
From our achievements, though performed at height,
The pith and marrow of our attribute.
25 So oft it chances in particular men
That for some vicious mole of nature in them
As in their birth (wherein they are not guilty,
Since nature cannot choose his origin),
By the oergrowth of some complexion,
30 Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason,
Or by some habit that too much oerleavens
The form of plausive mannersthat these men,
Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect,
Being natures livery or fortunes star,
35 Their virtues else (be they as pure as grace,
As infinite as man may undergo)
Shall in the general censure take corruption
From that particular fault. The dram of evil
Doth all the noble substance of a doubt
40 To his own scandal.
eyTh llca us sdnrku dna unlist uor onlbe tiestl. dAn uor eerundnksns sdeo rtetcda morf uro ensamteivche, as aergt as yhet rae, adn sneslse uro tpnreotaius. Its tsuj ikel wtha pnpseah to eatirnc eepopl ohw heav esmo rhitb ftdece (cihhw hety aer ont liesenrbsop rfo, enics odonby choseso hwo ehs orbn), or moes riedw ibhat or olomsnuicp taht gsehanc mteh ltyopcmeel. It ppsenha eoemsistm tath neo little fceted in ehets olpepe, as dewoflrnu nda taednelt as ythe aym be, wlli mkae mhet loko cyepetlolm abd to eorht lpoeep. A itny tspo of ivel stcsa ubdto on theri gdoo etsliuiqa and iusrn thier pnuiaoretts.
Enter GHOST
eTh GTSOH ernset.

HORATIO

Look, my lord, it comes!

OORAHTI

koLo, reesrhi it oemcs!

HAMLET

Angels and ministers of grace defend us!
Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damned,
Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell,
45 Be thy intents wicked or charitable,
Thou comest in such a questionable shape
That I will speak to thee. Ill call thee Hamlet,
King, Father, royal Dane. O, answer me!
Let me not burst in ignorance, but tell
50 Why thy canonized bones, hearsed in death,
Have burst their cerements; why the sepulcher,

HTLAEM

Oh slnage, tetrcpo us! hhteerW ruoye a dogo iiprst or a deucrs mendo, ewrhthe uyo irbng nvylaeeh erbszee or btsals of lelh rief, ehrehwt uryo oitestinnn rae odog or veli, uoy kolo so engtsra I atnw to tlak to oyu. Ill call you eaHltm eonrSi, ginK, ehraFt, ayrol eDan. snrAwe me! ntDo redvi me acyrz ithw ytcisuroi, btu etll me why uryo hrcuch-ubried ensbo have bsrtu otu of herit cffnoi, dan why ruoy motb,
Wherein we saw thee quietly interred,
Hath oped his ponderous and marble jaws
To cast thee up again. What may this mean,
55 That thou, dead corse, again in complete steel
Revisits thus the glimpses of the moon,
Making night hideous and we fools of nature,
So horridly to shake our disposition
With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls?
60 Say why is this? Wherefore? What should we do?
reweh we iueltqy uiedbr oyu, hsa penoed up its hevay mrealb wjas to stpi uoy uto agnia. Whta cluod it anem tath uoy heav tpu on yuro rmrao aigan, yuo cpsroe, nad ahve ocem acbk to kloo at het omon, mkgnai eht tnigh tfyergiinr dna irigrtns us nmshau thiw nrruastupael sfrae? Why? tWha do you tanw morf us? ahtW sohuld we do?
GHOST beckons HAMLET
hTe SGOHT otismon rof AEHMLT to mcoe hitw it.

HORATIO

It beckons you to go away with it,
As if it some impartment did desire
To you alone.

OORIHAT

It nsatw yuo to go ffo htwi it, as if it snwta to tlel yuo emongshit laone.

MARCELLUS

Look, with what courteous action
It waves you to a more removd ground.
65 But do not go with it.

SLCAUEMRL

okoL owh plloeyit sit giponitn yuo to a lepca hstat ahrtefr aayw. tuB ntdo go.

HORATIO

No, by no means.

IRTAHOO

Deniieflty tno.

HAMLET

It will not speak. Then I will follow it.

LTAHME

tIs nto nigog to skeap, so lIl llofwo it.

HORATIO

Do not, my lord.

IHAOROT

nDot do it, irs.

HAMLET

Why, what should be the fear?
I do not set my life in a pins fee,
And for my soulwhat can it do to that,
70 Being a thing immortal as itself?
It waves me forth again. Ill follow it.

MTALEH

Wyh, swhat het dergna? I tndo ulaev my eifl one bit. nAd as rof my olus, how cna het gshto egnedran htat, iecns sti as amrmloit as the gtohs is? Loko, ist gainvw me veor ngaai. Ill olfolw it.

HORATIO

What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord,
Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff
That beetles oer his base into the sea,

RTAOHIO

ahWt if it tstepm uyo to upjm toin hte aes, sri? Or to eth rtigfyeirn ffilc ttah orvgnaehs eht tware,
75 And there assume some other horrible form,
Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason
And draw you into madness? Think of it.
The very place puts toys of desperation,
Without more motive, into every brain
80 That looks so many fathoms to the sea
And hears it roar beneath.
ewrhe it sekta on esmo tehro hbreiolr rfom ttah evsdir you siaenn. kTnhi uboat it. Teh gdee of hte sae ekmsa elpope eelf apeidrs nvee at the sbte of tiesm. llA ehyt heav to do is kool tino tis dspteh adn erha it rroa afr eolbw.

HAMLET

It waves me still.
Go on. Ill follow thee.

LMHATE

Ist siltl gnvwia to me. Go ehaad, llI olflow.

MARCELLUS

You shall not go, my lord.

SRAMLCEUL

reYuo nto ngogi, sri.
MARCELLUS and HORATIO try to hold HAMLET back
AULSLMECR nda OAOHRTI ryt to hdlo ALHMTE kacb.

HAMLET

Hold off your hands.

AEMLHT

teL go of me.

HORATIO

85 Be ruled. You shall not go.

AIOTOHR

aCml wdno. roueY nto inggo aneryhwe.

HAMLET

My fate cries out
And makes each petty artery in this body
As hardy as the Nemean lions nerve.
Still am I called.Unhand me, gentlemen.
(draws his sword)
90 By heaven, Ill make a ghost of him that lets me.
I say, away!Go on. Ill follow thee.

EALHTM

tsI my feat agilcnl me. veEry revne in my dyob is onw as ohgut as stlee. ehT thosg is ilstl anivgw me over. eLt me go, emelnengt. (he srdwa shi owrds)
I srewa, if onnaye lhods me cabk, lIl amke a tgsoh of mhi! I yas, etg away!Go hdaea, Ill fowlol uoy.
Exeunt GHOST and HAMLET
heT HSGOT nda AEHLMT itxe.

HORATIO

He waxes desperate with imagination.

RIHTOOA

isH aanngoiimit is kmangi ihm zryca.

MARCELLUS

Lets follow. Tis not fit thus to obey him.

SEUALMRLC

sLte folwol mthe. Ist nto htgir to boey ish deorsr to elt hmi go oenla.

HORATIO

Have after. To what issue will this come?

OHRATIO

Go hdeaa dna flloow ihm. uBt atwh oeds all ihst eanm, ewerh will it all dne?

MARCELLUS

95 Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

ULLASMCER

It names atht snhmoetgi is teotrn in het ttase of nDrekma.

HORATIO

Heaven will direct it.

RITOAOH

If hsatt teur, we dshulo lte doG tkae arce of it.

MARCELLUS

Nay, lets follow him.

LMAUCERLS

No, ltes loolfw ihm.
Exeunt
ehTy etxi.