Hamlet - Act 4 Scene 3
Another room in the castle.
The stage direction "attended" tells us that Claudius comes on with some others, but their nature and number varies from one production to the next. One attendant is needed, in order to be sent off midway through the scene (line 38). If more attendants are present, then Claudius has a group of supporters during his confrontation with Hamlet.
The fickleness of the public becomes an issue in Act 4. Claudius argues that in punishing Hamlet, the public will see Claudius (the "scourge") as a tyrant, losing sight of Hamlet's guilt.
Enter CLAUDIUS, attended
CLAUDIUS
I have sent to seek him, and to find the body.
How dangerous is it that this man goes loose!
Yet must not we put the strong law on him:
He's loved of the distracted multitude,
Who like not in their judgment, but their eyes;
And where ’tis so, the offender's scourge is weighed,
But never the offence. To bear all smooth and even,
This sudden sending him away must seem
Deliberate pause: diseases desperate grown
By desperate appliance are relieved,
Or not at all.
Enter ROSENCRANTZ
How now! What hath befall'n?
ROSENCRANTZ
Where the dead body is bestowed, my lord,
We cannot get from him.
CLAUDIUS
But where is he?
ROSENCRANTZ
Without, my lord; guarded, to know your pleasure.
CLAUDIUS
Bring him before us.
ROSENCRANTZ
Ho, Guildenstern! Bring in my lord.
There may be a pause here as Hamlet is brought in, and the play's antagonists stare each other down in confrontation.
Enter HAMLET and GUILDENSTERN
CLAUDIUS
Now, Hamlet, where's Polonius?
HAMLET
At supper.
CLAUDIUS
At supper! where?
Hamlet's irreverent remarks no doubt incense Claudius, but the response of the crowd may shape the dynamic as well: they may be shocked, outraged, or perhaps amused, causing Claudius to lose face and possibly lose control in public.
HAMLET
Not where he eats, but where he is eaten: a certain
convocation of politic worms are e'en at him. Your
worm is your only emperor for diet: we fat all creatures
else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots: your fat
king and your lean beggar is but variable service, two
dishes, but to one table: that's the end.
CLAUDIUS
Alas, alas!
HAMLET
A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king,
and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.
CLAUDIUS
What dost thou mean by this?
HAMLET
Nothing but to show you how a king may go a progress
through the guts of a beggar.
CLAUDIUS
Where is Polonius?
The "other place," is, of course, Hell, which makes this a tremendous insult. Hamlet may volunteer Polonius' location immediately, or there may be a pause, or even a direct threat from Claudius or a guard to motivate the revelation.
HAMLET
In heaven; send hither to see: if your messenger find
him not there, seek him i' the other place yourself.
But indeed, if you find him not within this month, you
shall nose him as you go up the stairs into the lobby.
CLAUDIUS
[To some Attendants]
Go seek him there.
HAMLET
He will stay till ye come.
[Exeunt Attendants]
However incensed he may be, Claudius still has the presence of mind to present Hamlet's exile as a move for Hamlet's benefit, to preserve his safety and aid his mental health.
CLAUDIUS
Hamlet, this deed, for thine especial safety –
Which we do tender, as we dearly grieve
For that which thou hast done – must send thee hence
With fiery quickness: therefore prepare thyself;
The bark is ready, and the wind at help,
The associates tend, and every thing is bent
For England.
HAMLET
For England!
CLAUDIUS
Ay, Hamlet.
HAMLET
Good.
Both Claudius and Hamlet hint here at the underlying cause for their enmity, and at their final goals, while maintaining the veneer of civility.
CLAUDIUS
So is it, if thou knew'st our purposes.
HAMLET
I see a cherub that sees them. But, come; for England!
Farewell, dear mother.
Hamlet leaves with an insult, attacking Claudius' masculinity while also suggesting that his marriage to Gertrude is incestuous and unwholesome.
CLAUDIUS
Thy loving father, Hamlet.
HAMLET
My mother: father and mother is man and wife; man
and wife is one flesh; and so, my mother. Come, for
England!
Exit
Claudius once more orders Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to hurry (four different ways in one speech). He may have to provide them with documents during this speech (such as the letter described by Hamlet in 5.2).
"England" here is a form of address for the King of England, just as Claudius may be addressed as "Denmark."
Claudius refers to recent wars in which Denmark defeated England – a "cicatrice" is a mark or scar from a wound – and forced England to pay ongoing tribute. Thus, the King of England is compelled to do Claudius' bidding.
CLAUDIUS
Follow him at foot; tempt him with speed aboard;
Delay it not; I'll have him hence tonight:
Away! For every thing is sealed and done
That else leans on the affair: pray you, make haste.
Exeunt ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN
And, England, if my love thou hold'st at aught –
As my great power thereof may give thee sense,
Since yet thy cicatrice looks raw and red
After the Danish sword, and thy free awe
Pays homage to us – thou mayst not coldly set
Our sovereign process; which imports at full,
By letters congruing to that effect,
The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England;
For like the hectic in my blood he rages,
And thou must cure me: till I know 'tis done,
Howe'er my haps, my joys were ne'er begun.
Exit