Page:Some Textual Difficulties in Shakespeare.djvu/56

38 the taking of arms against self—suicide; for not by any such opposition to others could his troubles be conquered. But by death, if it brings oblivion, the dagger can conquer all. It might be easy enough to kill a king. But the only way to really wipe a man out of existence is to kill yourself.

In this soliloquy, there is not the least hesitation over the fact that self-destruction may be against the law of heaven. It was in the earlier soliloquy that he gave thought to such matters—before the whole state of affairs had been revealed to him. Here there is nothing of that. He is wholly concerned with the hope that death may end all. Shakespeare has eliminated everything to bring forth in all its depths this one desire. And so the prime concern of this soliloquy is that of forgetting.

With this too short view of the soliloquy, we are in a position to return with a new eye to the "crux" with which we began. The accepted view with all modern authorities is that these words are "intended as nonsense"; or, as the Globe editors say, "Hamlet is talking nonsense designedly." But let us look at the facts.

Hamlet inadvertently, and not caring much what he did, had killed Polonius and hid the body under the stairs. In this juncture the messenger comes to him from the king and says, "You must tell us where the body is, and go with us to the king." Immediately there arose in