Hamlet — Act 1, Scene 5

original text and modern English, side by side

A more remote part of the Castle · Hamlet, Ghost, Marcellus, Horatio

The Ghost tells Hamlet he is the spirit of his murdered father: Claudius poured poison in his ear as he slept in the orchard, and the story of a snake bite was a lie. He orders Hamlet to avenge the murder but to leave Gertrude to heaven. Alone, Hamlet vows to erase everything from his memory but this command, then makes Horatio and Marcellus swear on his sword to say nothing — the Ghost echoing "Swear" from under the stage — and warns them he may begin acting insane.

Enter Ghost and Hamlet.

Hamlet

Whither wilt thou lead me?

Where are you taking me?

Speak,

Speak.

I’ll go no further.

I'm going no further.

Ghost

Mark me.

Pay attention to me.

Hamlet

I will.

Ghost

My hour is almost come,

When I to sulph’rous and tormenting flames

Must render up myself.

My time is almost up, when I have to give myself back to the sulphurous, tormenting flames.

Hamlet

Alas, poor ghost!

Poor ghost!

Ghost

Pity me not,

Don't pity me.

but lend thy serious hearing

To what I shall unfold.

Just listen seriously to what I'm about to reveal.

Hamlet

Speak,

Speak.

I am bound to hear.

I'm bound to listen.

Ghost

So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear.

And bound to take revenge, once you've heard.

Hamlet

What?

Ghost

I am thy father’s spirit,

Doom’d for a certain term to walk the night,

And for the day confin’d to fast in fires,

Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature

Are burnt and purg’d away.

I am your father's spirit, sentenced for a fixed term to walk at night and to fast in fire by day, until the foul sins I committed in my lifetime are burned away.

But that I am forbid

To tell the secrets of my prison-house,

I could a tale unfold whose lightest word

Would harrow up thy soul; freeze thy young blood,

Make thy two eyes like stars start from their spheres,

Thy knotted and combined locks to part,

And each particular hair to stand on end

Like quills upon the fretful porpentine.

If I weren't forbidden to reveal the secrets of my prison, I could tell you a story whose gentlest word would tear up your soul, freeze your young blood, make your two eyes shoot out of their sockets like meteors, part your neat combed hair and make every single strand stand up like the spines on a bristling porcupine.

But this eternal blazon must not be

To ears of flesh and blood.

But this description of eternity isn't for ears of flesh and blood.

List, list, O, list!

Listen, listen, oh listen!

If thou didst ever thy dear father love—

If you ever loved your dear father—

Hamlet

O God!

God!

Ghost

Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.

—avenge his foul and utterly unnatural murder.

Hamlet

Murder!

Ghost

Murder most foul, as in the best it is;

But this most foul, strange, and unnatural.

Murder most foul, as murder is even at its best — but this one foul, bizarre and unnatural beyond all of them.

Hamlet

Haste me to know’t, that I, with wings as swift

As meditation or the thoughts of love

May sweep to my revenge.

Tell me fast, so that on wings as quick as thought or as a lover's imagination I can sweep to my revenge.

Ghost

I find thee apt;

I see you're ready.

And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed

That rots itself in ease on Lethe wharf,

Wouldst thou not stir in this.

You'd have to be duller than the fat weed that rots in idleness on the banks of Lethe not to be roused by this.

Now, Hamlet, hear.

Now listen, Hamlet.

’Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard,

A serpent stung me;

The official story is that a snake bit me while I slept in my orchard.

so the whole ear of Denmark

Is by a forged process of my death

Rankly abus’d;

All of Denmark's ears have been foully deceived by that invented account of my death.

but know, thou noble youth,

The serpent that did sting thy father’s life

Now wears his crown.

But know this, noble boy: the snake that stung your father's life to death is now wearing his crown.

Hamlet

O my prophetic soul!

Oh, my soul knew it!

Mine uncle!

My uncle!

Ghost

Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast,

Yes — that incestuous, adulterous animal.

With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts,—

O wicked wit, and gifts, that have the power

So to seduce!—won to his shameful lust

The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen.

With the witchcraft of his cleverness and with treacherous gifts — oh, what evil cleverness and gifts, to have such power to seduce — he won over to his shameful lust the will of my queen, who seemed so virtuous.

O Hamlet, what a falling off was there,

Oh Hamlet, what a fall that was!

From me, whose love was of that dignity

That it went hand in hand even with the vow

I made to her in marriage; and to decline

Upon a wretch whose natural gifts were poor

To those of mine.

To turn away from me, whose love was so honorable that it kept perfect step with the vow I made her at our wedding, and to sink down to a wretch whose natural gifts were nothing next to mine.

But virtue, as it never will be mov’d,

Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven;

So lust, though to a radiant angel link’d,

Will sate itself in a celestial bed

And prey on garbage.

But just as virtue can never be tempted, even when vice courts it in the shape of an angel, so lust, even when it's married to a shining angel, will get bored in a heavenly bed and go feeding on garbage.

But soft! methinks I scent the morning air;

But wait — I think I smell the morning air.

Brief let me be.

I have to be quick.

Sleeping within my orchard,

My custom always of the afternoon,

Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole

With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial,

And in the porches of my ears did pour

The leperous distilment,

I was asleep in my orchard, as I always was in the afternoon, and in that unguarded hour your uncle crept in with a vial of cursed henbane juice and poured that leprous distillation into the openings of my ears.

whose effect

Holds such an enmity with blood of man

That swift as quicksilver it courses through

The natural gates and alleys of the body;

And with a sudden vigour it doth posset

And curd, like eager droppings into milk,

The thin and wholesome blood.

It's a poison so hostile to human blood that it races like mercury through all the natural doors and passages of the body, and with a sudden violence it curdles the thin healthy blood the way acid drops curdle milk.

So did it mine;

That's what it did to mine.

And a most instant tetter bark’d about,

Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust

All my smooth body.

Instantly a scab crusted over my whole smooth body like a leper's, in a vile and disgusting rind.

Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother’s hand,

Of life, of crown, of queen at once dispatch’d:

So, while I slept, I was robbed of life, crown and queen all at once by my own brother's hand

Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,

Unhous’led, disappointed, unanel’d;

No reckoning made, but sent to my account

With all my imperfections on my head.

— cut down with my sins still in full bloom, with no last communion, no preparation, no last rites: no accounting made, but sent to face judgment with all my faults on my head.

O horrible! O horrible! most horrible!

Horrible! Horrible! Utterly horrible!

If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not;

If you have any natural feeling in you, don't tolerate it.

Let not the royal bed of Denmark be

A couch for luxury and damned incest.

Don't let the royal bed of Denmark be a couch for lechery and damnable incest.

But howsoever thou pursu’st this act,

Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive

Against thy mother aught;

But however you go about this, don't corrupt your own mind, and don't let your soul plot anything against your mother.

leave her to heaven,

And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge,

To prick and sting her.

Leave her to heaven and to the thorns lodged in her conscience, to prick and sting her.

Fare thee well at once!

Now, goodbye, right away.

The glow-worm shows the matin to be near,

And ’gins to pale his uneffectual fire.

The glow-worm's fading light shows dawn is near.

Adieu, adieu, adieu.

Farewell, farewell, farewell.

Remember me.

Exit.

Hamlet

O all you host of heaven!

All you armies of heaven!

O earth!

And earth!

What else?

And shall I couple hell?

What else — do I add hell to the list?

O, fie!

No, shame on me.

Hold, my heart;

And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,

But bear me stiffly up.

Hold together, my heart, and you, my muscles, don't grow old on me all at once; hold me upright.

Remember thee?

Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat

In this distracted globe.

Remember you? Yes, you poor ghost, as long as memory has any place in this reeling head of mine.

Remember thee?

Yea, from the table of my memory

I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records,

All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,

That youth and observation copied there;

Remember you? Yes — I'll wipe from the notebook of my memory every trivial, sentimental entry, every proverb out of a book, every image and impression that youth and observation copied there.

And thy commandment all alone shall live

Within the book and volume of my brain,

Unmix’d with baser matter.

Only your command will live in the pages of my brain, unmixed with anything cheaper.

Yes, by heaven!

O most pernicious woman!

What a poisonous woman!

O villain, villain, smiling damned villain!

Villain, villain, smiling damned villain!

My tables.

My notebook

Meet it is I set it down,

That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain!

— I ought to write this down: that a man can smile, and smile, and still be a villain.

At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark.

At least I'm sure that's possible in Denmark.

Writing.

Hamlet

So, uncle, there you are.

So, uncle, there you are — recorded.

Now to my word;

It is ‘Adieu, adieu, remember me.’

Now to my watchword: 'Farewell, farewell, remember me.'

I have sworn’t.

HORATIO and MARCELLUS.

I've sworn to it.

Within.

Hamlet

My lord, my lord.

[Horatio and Marcellus, offstage] My lord, my lord.

Within.

Marcellus

Lord Hamlet.

Within.

Horatio

Heaven secure him.

God keep him safe.

Hamlet

So be it!

Within.

Marcellus

Illo, ho, ho, my lord!

Hey, hallo, my lord!

Hamlet

Hillo, ho, ho, boy!

Hallo, hey, my boy!

Come, bird, come.

Come here, bird, come.

Enter Horatio and Marcellus.

Marcellus

How is’t, my noble lord?

How is it, my noble lord?

Horatio

What news, my lord?

What's the news, my lord?

Hamlet

O, wonderful!

Oh — extraordinary.

Horatio

Good my lord, tell it.

Tell us, my good lord.

Hamlet

No, you’ll reveal it.

No, you'll give it away.

Horatio

Not I, my lord, by heaven.

Not I, my lord, I swear.

Marcellus

Nor I, my lord.

Hamlet

How say you then, would heart of man once think it?—

Well then — could any human heart have imagined it?

But you’ll be secret?

But you'll keep it secret?

HORATIO and MARCELLUS.

Ay, by heaven, my lord.

HORATIO and MARCELLUS: Yes, by heaven, my lord.

Hamlet

There’s ne’er a villain dwelling in all Denmark

But he’s an arrant knave.

There isn't a single villain living anywhere in Denmark who isn't an out-and-out scoundrel.

Horatio

There needs no ghost, my lord, come from the grave

To tell us this.

There's no need of a ghost coming out of the grave to tell us that, my lord.

Hamlet

Why, right; you are i’ the right;

Quite right, you're absolutely right.

And so, without more circumstance at all,

I hold it fit that we shake hands and part:

You, as your business and desire shall point you,—

For every man hath business and desire,

Such as it is;—and for my own poor part,

Look you, I’ll go pray.

And so, with no further ceremony, I think we should shake hands and go our separate ways: you where your business and your wishes take you — since every man has business and wishes of some kind — and as for me, well, I'll go and pray.

Horatio

These are but wild and whirling words, my lord.

These are wild, spinning words, my lord.

Hamlet

I’m sorry they offend you, heartily;

I'm sorry they offend you. Truly, I am.

Yes faith, heartily.

Sincerely.

Horatio

There’s no offence, my lord.

There's no offense, my lord.

Hamlet

Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio,

And much offence too.

Yes there is, by Saint Patrick, Horatio — a great deal of offense.

Touching this vision here,

It is an honest ghost, that let me tell you.

About this apparition: it's an honest ghost, I can tell you that much.

For your desire to know what is between us,

O’ermaster’t as you may.

As for your wanting to know what passed between us, master that curiosity as best you can.

And now, good friends,

As you are friends, scholars, and soldiers,

Give me one poor request.

And now, good friends — as you are friends, scholars and soldiers — grant me one small request.

Horatio

What is’t, my lord?

What is it, my lord?

We will.

Of course.

Hamlet

Never make known what you have seen tonight.

Never tell anyone what you've seen tonight.

HORATIO and MARCELLUS.

My lord, we will not.

HORATIO and MARCELLUS: We won't, my lord.

Hamlet

Nay, but swear’t.

No — swear it.

Horatio

In faith, my lord, not I.

On my honor, my lord, I won't tell.

Marcellus

Nor I, my lord, in faith.

Nor will I, my lord, on my honor.

Hamlet

Upon my sword.

On my sword.

Marcellus

We have sworn, my lord, already.

We've already sworn, my lord.

Hamlet

Indeed, upon my sword, indeed.

On my sword, though. Do it.

Cries under the stage.

Ghost

Swear.

Hamlet

Ha, ha boy, sayst thou so?

Ha, old boy, is that what you say?

Art thou there, truepenny?

Are you down there, honest fellow?

Come on, you hear this fellow in the cellarage.

Come on, you can hear him in the cellar.

Consent to swear.

Agree to swear.

Horatio

Propose the oath, my lord.

Name the oath, my lord.

Hamlet

Never to speak of this that you have seen.

Never to speak of what you've seen.

Swear by my sword.

Swear on my sword.

Beneath.

Ghost

Swear.

Hamlet

_Hic et ubique?_

Here and everywhere at once?

Then we’ll shift our ground.

Then we'll move.

Come hither, gentlemen,

And lay your hands again upon my sword.

Come over here, gentlemen, and put your hands on my sword again:

Never to speak of this that you have heard.

never to speak of what you've heard.

Swear by my sword.

Swear on my sword.

Beneath.

Ghost

Swear.

Hamlet

Well said, old mole!

Canst work i’ th’earth so fast?

Can you dig through the earth that fast?

A worthy pioner!

A first-rate tunneler.

Once more remove, good friends.

Let's move once more, my friends.

Horatio

O day and night, but this is wondrous strange.

By day and night, this is astonishingly strange.

Hamlet

And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.

Then welcome it the way you'd welcome any stranger.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,

Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than your philosophy has ever imagined.

But come,

Here, as before, never, so help you mercy,

How strange or odd soe’er I bear myself,—

As I perchance hereafter shall think meet

To put an antic disposition on—

That you, at such times seeing me, never shall,

With arms encumber’d thus, or this head-shake,

Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase,

As ‘Well, we know’, or ‘We could and if we would’,

Or ‘If we list to speak’; or ‘There be and if they might’,

Or such ambiguous giving out, to note

That you know aught of me:—this not to do.

So grace and mercy at your most need help you,

Swear.

But come — here, as before, swear again, as you hope for mercy, that no matter how strangely or oddly I behave — because I may decide from now on that it suits me to put on an act of madness — you will never, on seeing me like that, fold your arms this way, or shake your head like this, or drop some knowing phrase like 'Well, we know,' or 'We could tell you if we wanted to,' or 'If we felt like speaking,' or 'There are those who could, if they were allowed' — no hint of any kind that you know something about me. Swear it, as you hope for grace and mercy when you most need them.

Beneath.

Ghost

Swear.

Hamlet

Rest, rest, perturbed spirit.

Rest, rest, troubled spirit.

So, gentlemen,

With all my love I do commend me to you;

So, gentlemen, I commend myself to you with all my love.

And what so poor a man as Hamlet is

May do t’express his love and friending to you,

God willing, shall not lack.

And whatever a man as poor as Hamlet can do to show his love and friendship for you, God willing, he'll do.

Let us go in together,

And still your fingers on your lips, I pray.

Let's go in together — and keep your fingers on your lips, please.

The time is out of joint.

The world has come out of joint.

O cursed spite,

That ever I was born to set it right.

What a cursed piece of bad luck, that I was ever born to put it back.

Nay, come, let’s go together.

No — come, let's go in together.

Exeunt.

Hamlet Act 1, Scene 5 summary

Who appears in this scene

Hamlet, Ghost, Marcellus, Horatio — A more remote part of the Castle.

Famous lines in Hamlet Act 1, Scene 5, explained

“Murder most foul, as in the best it is; / But this most foul, strange, and unnatural.” (line 31): The Ghost's answer to Hamlet's shocked "Murder!" — all murder is vile, but this one is worse because it is a brother killing a brother, a subject killing a king, and a wife's new husband killing her old one. "Unnatural" is the key word: the crime violates the natural order, which is why the natural order keeps producing ghosts, omens and rot for the rest of the play. The phrase has since become a stock title for crime stories.
“O villain, villain, smiling damned villain! / My tables. Meet it is I set it down, / That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain!” (line 111): Hamlet takes out his notebook and writes down what he has just learned as though it were a lesson from a lecture — that a pleasant face can hide a murderer. The gesture is almost comic and completely characteristic: his first response to catastrophe is to convert it into an observation. It also gives the play its running obsession with the gap between how people seem and what they are, which is exactly the gap Hamlet complained about to Gertrude in the second scene.
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” (line 186): Hamlet tells his rational, university-educated friend that the world contains more than his systematic thinking can account for. It is usually quoted as a general defense of wonder, but here it is specific and slightly teasing: Horatio the skeptic began the play insisting the ghost was a fantasy, and has now heard it shouting from under the floor. "Your philosophy" means the natural philosophy — the science — they both studied at Wittenberg.
“The time is out of joint. O cursed spite, / That ever I was born to set it right.” (line 208): Hamlet's image is a dislocated limb: the age itself is wrenched out of its socket, and he has been handed the job of resetting it. What stands out is the resentment — not "I will avenge my father" but a complaint that he was ever born into this. From the very moment he accepts the task, he is already unwilling, and that reluctance drives the four acts of delay that follow.

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About this translation: the original text follows the public-domain Project Gutenberg Globe edition; the modern English translation was written in-house for Polytranslator and is reviewed on an ongoing basis (last revised August 2026). Free to print and photocopy for classroom use. Cite as: “Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5. Polytranslator side-by-side translation, polytranslator.com/shakespeare/hamlet/act-1-scene-5.”

Studying the language itself? Our Shakespearean English course teaches thou/thee, the verbs, and the meter — free through Unit 2. Or try the Shakespearean English translator.