Page:Hamlet (1917) Yale.djvu/81

Prince of Denmark, III. i

plague for thy dowry: be thou as chaste as ice,

as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny.

Get thee to a nunnery, go; farewell. Or, if thou

wilt needs marry, marry a fool; for wise men

know well enough what monsters you make of

them. To a nunnery, go; and quickly too.

Farewell.

Oph. O heavenly powers, restore him!

Ham. I have heard of your paintings too,

well enough; God hath given you one face, and

you make yourselves another: you jig, you

amble, and you lisp, and nickname God's crea-

tures, and make your wantonness your ignorance.

Go to, I'll no more on 't; it hath made me mad.

I say, we will have no more marriages; those

that are married already, all but one, shall live;

the rest shall keep as they are. To a nunnery, go.

Exit Hamlet.

Oph. O! what a noble mind is here o'erthrown:

The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's, eye, tongue, sword;

The expectancy and rose of the fair state,

The glass of fashion and the mould of form,

The observ'd of all observers, quite, quite down!

And I, of ladies most deject and wretched,

That suck'd the honey of his music vows,

Now see that noble and most sovereign reason,

Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh;

That unmatch'd form and feature of blown youth

 150 your paintings: i.e., that women paint their faces

153 nickname: travesty; cf. n.

154 make your wantonness your ignorance: i.e., affect ignorance as a mask for wantonness

155 on 't: of it

161 expectancy: source of hope

162 glass: mirror

mould: model

166 sovereign: supreme

168 feature: proportion of the whole body

blown: blossoming, in its bloom

