The natural gates and alleys of the body,
And with a sudden vigour it doth posset73
And curd, like eager74 droppings into milk,
The thin and wholesome blood: so did it mine,
And a most instant tetter barked about76,
Most lazar-like77, with vile and loathsome crust,
All my smooth body.
Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand
Of life, of crown and queen, at once dispatched80:
Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,
Unhouseled, disappointed, unaneled82,
No reckoning made, but sent to my account83
With all my imperfections on my head.
O horrible, O horrible, most horrible!
If thou hast nature86 in thee, bear it not;
Let not the royal bed of Denmark be
A couch for luxury88 and damned incest.
But, howsoever thou pursuest this act,
Taint90 not thy mind nor let thy soul contrive
Against thy mother aught91; leave her to heaven
And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge,
To prick and sting her. Fare thee well at once;
The glow-worm shows the matin94 to be near,
And 'gins to pale his uneffectual95 fire.
Adieu, adieu, Hamlet: remember me.
Exit
HAMLET O all you host97 of heaven! O earth! What else?
And shall I couple98 hell? O, fie! Hold, my heart;
And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,
But bear me stiffly up. Remember thee?