TEXT:
CLAUDIUS (continued)
There lives within the very flame of love
A kind of wick or snuff that will abate it;
And nothing is at a like goodness still;
For goodness, growing to a plurisy,
Dies in his own too much: that we would do
We should do when we would; for this 'would' changes
And hath abatements and delays as many
As there are tongues, are hands, are accidents;
And then this 'should' is like a spendthrift sigh,
That hurts by easing. But, to the quick o' the ulcer:--
Hamlet comes back: what would you undertake,
To show yourself your father's son in deed
More than in words?
LAERTES
To cut his throat i' the church.
CLAUDIUS
No place, indeed, should murder sanctuarize.
Revenge should have no bounds. But, good Laertes,
Will you do this? Keep close within your chamber.
Hamlet returned shall know you are come home:
We'll put on those shall praise your excellence
And set a double varnish on the fame
The Frenchman gave you, bring you in fine together
And wager on your heads: he, being remiss,
Most generous and free from all contriving,
Will not peruse the foils; so that, with ease,
Or with a little shuffling, you may choose
A sword unbated, and in a pass of practise
Requite him for your father.
NOTES:
Pleurisy
Pleurisy, or plurisy, is the inflammation of the membrane surrounding the lungs. The word derives from the Greek pleura, meaning ‘the side of the body’, or the rib. Pleuritis therefore is an illness affecting that area. Pleuritis became pleurisis in Late Latin, and then pleurisie in French and pleurisy in English. It does not, after all, have anything to do with excess or additions.
Ulcers
The world ulcer covers a multitude of lesions and breaks in various parts in the body. Ulcers can crop up on the skin, in the mouth, and in the digestive tract and elsewhere. Suffice to say, they are very unpleasant, and a perfect word to use for a troublesome adversary.
Swords
The words for swords, foils and rapiers all more or less interchangeable for Shakespeare. Thin, short fencing swords become ever more present and important as the play winds towards its climactic final act.