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HAMLET
A line-by-line translation

Act 1, Scene 1
Shakespeare Shakescleare Translation

Two watchmen, BARNARDO and FRANCISCO, enter. Two watchmen, BARNARDO and FRANCISCO, enter.

BARNARDO BARNARDO
Who’s there? Who’s there?

FRANCISCO FRANCISCO
Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself. No, you answer me. Stop and reveal yourself.

BARNARDO BARNARDO
Long live the king! Long live the king!

FRANCISCO FRANCISCO
Barnardo? Barnardo?

BARNARDO BARNARDO
5 He. Yes, me.

FRANCISCO FRANCISCO
You come most carefully upon your hour. You arrived right on schedule.

BARNARDO BARNARDO
‘Tis now struck twelve. Get thee to bed, Francisco. The clock just struck twelve. Go to bed, Francisco.

FRANCISCO FRANCISCO
For this relief much thanks. ‘Tis bitter cold, Thanks for relieving me. It’s bitterly cold, and I’m miserable.
And I am sick at heart.

BARNARDO BARNARDO
10 Have you had quiet guard? Has your guard duty been quiet?

FRANCISCO FRANCISCO
Not a mouse stirring. Not a mouse stirred.

BARNARDO BARNARDO
Well, good night. Well, good night. If you see Horatio and Marcellus—who are
If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus, going to stand guard with me—tell them to hurry.
The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste.

FRANCISCO FRANCISCO
15 I think I hear them.—Stand, ho! Who’s there? I think I hear them. Stop! Who’s there?

HORATIO and MARCELLUS enter. HORATIO and MARCELLUS enter.

HORATIO HORATIO
Friends to this ground. Friends of this country.

MARCELLUS MARCELLUS
And liegemen to the Dane. And loyal servants of the Danish king.

FRANCISCO FRANCISCO
Give you good night. Good night to you.

MARCELLUS MARCELLUS
O, farewell, honest soldier. Who hath relieved you? Oh, goodbye, honorable soldier. Who’s relieved you?

FRANCISCO FRANCISCO
20 Barnardo has my place. Give you good night. Barnardo’s taken my place. Good night.

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FRANCISCO exits. FRANCISCO exits.

MARCELLUS MARCELLUS
Holla, Barnardo. Hello, Barnardo.

BARNARDO BARNARDO
Say what, is Horatio there? Say, is Horatio here too?

HORATIO HORATIO
A piece of him. More or less.

BARNARDO BARNARDO
Welcome, Horatio.—Welcome, good Marcellus. Welcome, Horatio. Welcome, Marcellus.

MARCELLUS MARCELLUS
25 What, has this thing appeared again tonight? So, has the thing appeared again tonight?

BARNARDO BARNARDO
I have seen nothing. I haven’t seen anything.

MARCELLUS MARCELLUS
Horatio says ’tis but our fantasy Horatio says it’s all our imagination, and he won’t let
And will not let belief take hold of him himself believe in this awful thing we’ve now seen twice. I
Touching this dreaded sight twice seen of us. asked him to join us in our guard duty tonight, so that if the
30 Therefore I have entreated him along ghost appears he can confirm what we see and speak to it.
With us to watch the minutes of this night,
That if again this apparition come
He may approve our eyes and speak to it.

HORATIO HORATIO
Tush, tush, ’twill not appear. Oh, come now. It’s not going to appear.

BARNARDO BARNARDO
35 Sit down a while Sit down for a while, and let us tell you again the story you
And let us once again assail your ears, refuse to believe, about what we’ve seen the last two
That are so fortified against our story, nights.
What we have two nights seen.

HORATIO HORATIO
Well, sit we down, Sure, let’s sit down and listen to Barnardo tell us about it.
40 And let us hear Barnardo speak of this.

BARNARDO BARNARDO
Last night of all, Last night, when that star to the west of the North Star had
When yond same star that’s westward from the pole moved across the heavens to brighten that spot in the sky
Had made his course t’ illume that part of heaven where it’s shining now, at precisely one o’clock, Marcellus
Where now it burns, Marcellus and myself, and I—
45 The bell then beating one—

The GHOST enters. The GHOST enters.

MARCELLUS MARCELLUS
Peace, break thee off. Look where it comes again! Quiet, stop talking! Look, it’s come again.

BARNARDO BARNARDO
In the same figure like the king that’s dead. Looking exactly like the dead king.

MARCELLUS MARCELLUS
[to HORATIO] Thou art a scholar. Speak to it, Horatio. [To HORATIO] You’re well-educated. Speak to it, Horatio.

BARNARDO BARNARDO
Looks it not like the king? Mark it, Horatio. Doesn’t he look like the king, Horatio?

HORATIO HORATIO
50 Most like. It harrows me with fear and wonder. Exactly like him. It fills me with fear and wonder.

BARNARDO BARNARDO
It would be spoke to. It wants us to speak to it.

MARCELLUS MARCELLUS
Question it, Horatio. Ask it something, Horatio.

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HORATIO HORATIO
What art thou that usurp’st this time of night Who are you, disturbing this time of night, and appearing
Together with that fair and warlike form just like the dead king of Denmark, dressed in his battle
55 In which the majesty of buried Denmark armor? By God, I order you to speak.
Did sometimes march? By heaven, I charge thee, speak.

MARCELLUS MARCELLUS
It is offended. You’ve offended it.

BARNARDO BARNARDO
See, it stalks away. Look, it’s moving away.

HORATIO HORATIO
Stay! Speak, speak! I charge thee, speak! Stay! Speak! Speak! I order you, speak!

The GHOST exits. The GHOST exits.

MARCELLUS MARCELLUS
60 ‘Tis gone and will not answer. It’s gone, and won’t answer.

BARNARDO BARNARDO
How now, Horatio? You tremble and look pale. How are you, Horatio? You’re pale and trembling. Isn’t this
Is not this something more than fantasy? something more than just our imagination? What do you
What think you on ’t? think about it?

HORATIO HORATIO
Before my God, I might not this believe I swear by God, I would never have believed this if I hadn't
65 Without the sensible and true avouch seen it with my own eyes.
Of mine own eyes.

MARCELLUS MARCELLUS
Is it not like the king? Doesn’t it look like the king?

HORATIO HORATIO
As thou art to thyself. As much as you look like yourself. That was the same armor
Such was the very armour he had on the king wore when he fought the ambitious king of
70 When he the ambitious Norway combated. Norway. And the ghost frowned just like the king did once
So frowned he once when, in an angry parle, when he fought the Poles, who traveled on the ice in sleds.
He smote the sledded Polacks on the ice. It’s eerie.
‘Tis strange.

MARCELLUS MARCELLUS
Thus twice before, and jump at this dead hour, It’s happened like this twice before, always at this time of
75 With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch. night. Dressed like a warrior, the ghost walks by us at our
guard post.

HORATIO HORATIO
In what particular thought to work I know not, I don’t know exactly what this means, but I have a general
But in the gross and scope of mine opinion feeling it signals that something bad is about to happen to
This bodes some strange eruption to our state. our country.

MARCELLUS MARCELLUS
Good now, sit down and tell me, he that knows, Speaking of that, let’s sit down so that, whoever knows
80 Why this same strict and most observant watch about it, can tell me why we’ve been keeping such a strict
So nightly toils the subject of the land, schedule of nightly watches. And why we’ve been building
And why such daily cast of brazen cannon so many cannons, and buying so many weapons from other
And foreign mart for implements of war, countries. And why the shipbuilders are kept so busy that
Why such impress of shipwrights, whose sore task they don’t even rest on Sunday. What’s coming that forces
85 Does not divide the Sunday from the week. us to work day and night in this way? Who can tell me?
What might be toward, that this sweaty haste
Doth make the night joint laborer with the day?
Who is ’t that can inform me?

HORATIO HORATIO
That can I. I can do that. At least, I can tell you the rumors: the
90 At least, the whisper goes so: our last king, greatness of our former king—whose ghost just now
Whose image even but now appeared to us, appeared to us—inspired the competitive pride of King
1 Hamlet is also the name of the
Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway, Fortinbras of Norway. Fortinbras challenged him to hand-
Thereto pricked on by a most emulate pride, to-hand combat. During that fight, our courageous Hamlet 1 titular character's father (the ghost),
not to be confused here with this
Dared to the combat; in which our valiant Hamlet (as we Danes thought of him) killed old King Fortinbras, play's main character.
95 (For so this side of our known world esteemed him) who—on the basis of a signed and sealed agreement and in
Did slay this Fortinbras, who by a sealed compact full accordance with the law and rules of
Well ratified by law and heraldry, combat—surrendered, along with his life, all the lands he

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