Hamlet — Act 2, Scene 1

original text and modern English, side by side

A room in Polonius’s house · Polonius, Reynaldo, Ophelia

Polonius sends his servant Reynaldo to Paris with money for Laertes and elaborate instructions to spread mild slanders about him in order to trick strangers into revealing what Laertes is really up to. Ophelia then rushes in, terrified: Hamlet came to her room half-dressed and white-faced, gripped her wrist, stared at her face and left without a word. Polonius decides Hamlet has been driven mad by love because Ophelia obeyed his order to refuse him, and hurries off to tell the King.

Enter Polonius and Reynaldo.

Polonius

Give him this money and these notes, Reynaldo.

Give him this money and these letters, Reynaldo.

Reynaldo

I will, my lord.

Polonius

You shall do marvellous wisely, good Reynaldo,

Before you visit him, to make inquiry

Of his behaviour.

It would be exceptionally clever of you, good Reynaldo, to ask around about how he's behaving before you go and see him.

Reynaldo

My lord, I did intend it.

My lord, that was my plan.

Polonius

Marry, well said; very well said.

Well said. Very well said.

Look you, sir,

Enquire me first what Danskers are in Paris;

And how, and who, what means, and where they keep,

What company, at what expense;

Look here, sir: first find out for me which Danes are in Paris — how they're living, who they are, what money they have, where they're staying, who they're with, what they're spending.

and finding

By this encompassment and drift of question,

That they do know my son, come you more nearer

Than your particular demands will touch it.

And if this roundabout, drifting sort of questioning turns up someone who knows my son, go in closer than any direct question would take you.

Take you as ’twere some distant knowledge of him,

Pretend you know him only slightly.

As thus, ‘I know his father and his friends,

And in part him’

Say something like, 'I know his father and his friends, and I know him a bit.'

do you mark this, Reynaldo?

Are you following this, Reynaldo?

Reynaldo

Ay, very well, my lord.

Yes, very well, my lord.

Polonius

‘And in part him, but,’ you may say, ‘not well;

But if’t be he I mean, he’s very wild;

Addicted so and so;’

'And him a bit — but,' you can say, 'not well. Though if it's the one I mean, he's very wild, he's addicted to this and that.'

and there put on him

What forgeries you please;

And then hang whatever inventions you like on him.

marry, none so rank

As may dishonour him;

Nothing so vile that it would actually disgrace him, mind

take heed of that;

— be careful of that —

But, sir, such wanton, wild, and usual slips

As are companions noted and most known

To youth and liberty.

just the loose, wild, everyday slips that are the well-known companions of youth and freedom.

Reynaldo

As gaming, my lord?

Gambling, my lord?

Polonius

Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing,

Quarrelling, drabbing.

Yes, or drinking, dueling, swearing, brawling, whoring.

You may go so far.

You can go that far.

Reynaldo

My lord, that would dishonour him.

My lord, that would disgrace him.

Polonius

Faith no, as you may season it in the charge.

No, not really — not if you flavor the accusation properly.

You must not put another scandal on him,

That he is open to incontinency;

You mustn't add the further scandal that he can't control himself sexually;

That’s not my meaning:

that's not what I mean.

but breathe his faults so quaintly

That they may seem the taints of liberty;

The flash and outbreak of a fiery mind,

A savageness in unreclaimed blood,

Of general assault.

Breathe out his faults so delicately that they seem like the smudges freedom leaves, the flare-up of a passionate mind, a wildness in blood that hasn't been tamed yet — the sort of thing that gets at everybody.

Reynaldo

But my good lord—

Polonius

Wherefore should you do this?

Why should you do this?

Reynaldo

Ay, my lord, I would know that.

Yes, my lord, that's what I'd like to know.

Polonius

Marry, sir, here’s my drift,

And I believe it is a fetch of warrant.

Well, sir, here's what I'm driving at — and I believe it's an entirely legitimate maneuver.

You laying these slight sullies on my son,

As ’twere a thing a little soil’d i’ th’ working,

Mark you,

Your party in converse, him you would sound,

Having ever seen in the prenominate crimes

The youth you breathe of guilty, be assur’d

He closes with you in this consequence;

‘Good sir,’ or so; or ‘friend,’ or ‘gentleman’—

According to the phrase or the addition

Of man and country.

Once you've smeared these little stains on my son, as if he were something slightly soiled in the making, then, mark me, the man you're talking to, the one you're sounding out, will — if he has ever seen the young man you're describing guilty of any of those offenses I listed — join in with you, you can be certain, like this: 'Good sir,' or 'friend,' or 'gentleman,' depending on how men in that country address each other.

Reynaldo

Very good, my lord.

Polonius

And then, sir, does he this,—

He does—

And then, sir, he does this — he does —

What was I about to say?

what was I about to say?

By the mass, I was about to say something.

By the mass, I was going to say something.

Where did I leave?

Where did I leave off?

Reynaldo

At ‘closes in the consequence.’

At 'joins in with you.'

At ‘friend or so,’ and ‘gentleman.’

At 'friend or something,' and 'gentleman.'

Polonius

At ‘closes in the consequence’ ay, marry!

At 'joins in with you' — yes, exactly!

He closes with you thus: ‘I know the gentleman,

I saw him yesterday, or t’other day,

Or then, or then, with such and such; and, as you say,

There was he gaming, there o’ertook in’s rouse,

There falling out at tennis’:

He'll join in like this: 'I know the gentleman. I saw him yesterday, or the other day, or then, or then, with so-and-so; and just as you say, there he was gambling, there he was drunk out of his senses, there he was fighting over a game of tennis.'

or perchance,

‘I saw him enter such a house of sale’—

Or possibly, 'I saw him go into a certain house of business'

_Videlicet_, a brothel, or so forth.

— that is, a brothel, or something of the kind.

See you now;

You see now?

Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth;

Your bait of lies hooks this fish of truth.

And thus do we of wisdom and of reach,

With windlasses, and with assays of bias,

By indirections find directions out.

That's how those of us with brains and range work: by roundabout routes and glancing shots, we find the straight answer by going crooked.

So by my former lecture and advice

Shall you my son.

So, following the lecture and advice I've just given you, you'll find out about my son.

You have me, have you not?

You've got me, haven't you?

Reynaldo

My lord, I have.

I have, my lord.

Polonius

God b’ wi’ you, fare you well.

God be with you. Goodbye.

Reynaldo

Good my lord.

My good lord.

Polonius

Observe his inclination in yourself.

And observe his tastes for yourself.

Reynaldo

I shall, my lord.

I will, my lord.

Polonius

And let him ply his music.

And let him keep up his music.

Reynaldo

Well, my lord.

Very well, my lord.

Polonius

Farewell.

Goodbye.

Exit Reynaldo.

Enter Ophelia.

Polonius

How now, Ophelia, what’s the matter?

Well now, Ophelia — what's the matter?

Ophelia

Alas, my lord, I have been so affrighted.

Oh, my lord, I've had such a fright.

Polonius

With what, in the name of God?

By what, in God's name?

Ophelia

My lord, as I was sewing in my chamber,

Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbrac’d,

No hat upon his head, his stockings foul’d,

Ungart’red, and down-gyved to his ankle,

Pale as his shirt, his knees knocking each other,

And with a look so piteous in purport

As if he had been loosed out of hell

To speak of horrors, he comes before me.

My lord, I was sewing in my room, and Lord Hamlet came in front of me with his jacket hanging open, no hat on, his stockings dirty, without garters and slipping down around his ankles, his face as white as his shirt, his knees knocking together, and with a look so pitiful that he might have been let out of hell to describe its horrors.

Polonius

Mad for thy love?

Mad with love for you?

Ophelia

My lord, I do not know, but truly I do fear it.

My lord, I don't know, but I honestly fear so.

Polonius

What said he?

What did he say?

Ophelia

He took me by the wrist and held me hard;

He took me by the wrist and gripped it hard.

Then goes he to the length of all his arm;

And with his other hand thus o’er his brow,

He falls to such perusal of my face

As he would draw it.

Then he stepped back to arm's length, put his other hand over his brow like this, and started studying my face as though he meant to draw it.

Long stay’d he so,

He stayed like that a long time.

At last,—a little shaking of mine arm,

And thrice his head thus waving up and down,

He rais’d a sigh so piteous and profound

As it did seem to shatter all his bulk

And end his being.

Finally he shook my arm a little, nodded his head up and down three times like this, and let out a sigh so pitiful and deep that it seemed to shake his whole body apart and finish him off.

That done, he lets me go,

And with his head over his shoulder turn’d

He seem’d to find his way without his eyes,

For out o’ doors he went without their help,

And to the last bended their light on me.

Then he let me go, and with his head turned back over his shoulder he seemed to find his way without using his eyes, because he went out the door without their help and kept them fixed on me until the last moment.

Polonius

Come, go with me.

Come with me.

I will go seek the King.

I'm going to find the King.

This is the very ecstasy of love,

Whose violent property fordoes itself,

And leads the will to desperate undertakings,

As oft as any passion under heaven

That does afflict our natures.

This is the very ecstasy of love — a passion whose own violence destroys it, and which drives the will into desperate acts as often as any passion under heaven that afflicts us.

I am sorry,—

I'm sorry —

What, have you given him any hard words of late?

tell me, have you said anything harsh to him lately?

Ophelia

No, my good lord;

No, my good lord.

but as you did command,

I did repel his letters and denied

His access to me.

But, as you ordered, I sent back his letters and refused to see him.

Polonius

That hath made him mad.

That's what has driven him mad.

I am sorry that with better heed and judgement

I had not quoted him.

I'm sorry I didn't watch him more closely and judge him more carefully.

I fear’d he did but trifle,

And meant to wreck thee.

I was afraid he was only trifling with you and meant to ruin you.

But beshrew my jealousy!

Curse my suspicions!

It seems it is as proper to our age

To cast beyond ourselves in our opinions

As it is common for the younger sort

To lack discretion.

It seems it's as natural for men my age to overshoot in our opinions as it is common for young people to have no discretion.

Come, go we to the King.

Come, let's go to the King.

This must be known, which, being kept close, might move

More grief to hide than hate to utter love.

This has to come out. Keeping it quiet could cause more grief than telling it will cause anger.

Exeunt.

Hamlet Act 2, Scene 1 summary

Who appears in this scene

Polonius, Reynaldo, Ophelia — A room in Polonius’s house.

Famous lines in Hamlet Act 2, Scene 1, explained

“Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth; / And thus do we of wisdom and of reach, / With windlasses, and with assays of bias, / By indirections find directions out.” (line 67): Polonius's proudest formulation of his own method: tell a small lie and see what truth swims up to take it. It also states the technique the whole court runs on — Claudius sets Rosencrantz and Guildenstern on Hamlet, Polonius hides behind curtains, Hamlet stages a play to catch a conscience. Shakespeare gives the manifesto to the biggest fool on stage, and the man who is spying on his own son will die because of one spying job too many.

Keep reading

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 2, Scene 1. Polytranslator side-by-side translation, polytranslator.com/shakespeare/hamlet/act-2-scene-1.”

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