Act Four
Act
Four Scene Two
Sub
Scene One
Where
art thou, dead man?
Hamlet
looked ta the doorway, where his friends had retrieved the corpse on his
instructions. He still felt the effect of the act, and guilt hung partially on
his conscience. Well, it was also fleeting moments in his mind; one moment he
was sane in Dane (if the interpretation was acceptable), and at other times, he
was in his madness (again another interpretation here).
Hamlet’s
thoughts were disturbed by the sounds of approaching steps. He shrugged the
morbid thoughts from his mind to await their arrival.
“Verdammt!”
Hamlet muttered in German; the first words we learned in any language are foul
ones; it’s only our first word to the mother was a decent one.
“Who
calls on Hamlet? O, here they come.” Hamlet saw the arrival of the duo who were
hardly considered his friends anymore.
“How
do you fare?” Rosencrantz was the courteous one, but not Guildenstern who had
remained glum. The previous encounter weighed in his mind,
“All
well?” Rosencrantz did a quick overview of Hamlet if he held any weapon. Once
cannot be careless when madness and murder may rhyme together.
“I
heard the Chamberlain died in your presence. May I know what have you done, my
lord, with the dead body?” Rosencrantz picked his words to ask.
“Compounded
it with dust, whereto ’tis kin,” Hamlet replied.
“Please
do tell us where ’tis, that we may take it thence and bear it to the chapel.
The family awaits their father.” Rosencrantz put on a weak smile. “It’s the
charitable thing to do. More so in Norway.”
That
last line was from the Emperor; I disliked any scandals in Norway.
“Do
not believe it.” Hamlet shook his head.
“Believe
what?” Rosencrantz with his patience stretched.
“That
I can keep your counsel and not mine own. Besides, to be demanded of a sponge,
what replication should be made by the son of a king?”
“Take
you me for a sponge, my lord? I resent that. I am my own man.”
“Ay,
sir, that soaks up the Emperor’s countenance, his rewards, his
authorities. But such officers do the Emperor best service in the end.” Hamlet
looked hard at the other. “Do you know how he chews his food? He keeps them
like an ape an apple in the corner of his jaw, first mouthed, to be last
swallowed.”
“I
won’t believe that.” Rosencrantz still held on to his relationship with Hamlet
as belonging.
“It’s
not me, my dear. It’s the Emperor; the one you kissed his feet on call. When he
needs what you have gleaned, it is but squeezing you, and, sponge,
you shall be dry again.” Hamlet hit the nail into the coffin there. “You
are nothing.”
“I
understand you not, my lord.”
“I
am glad about it. A knavish speech sleeps in a foolish ear.” Hamlet laughed.
“My
lord, I stand to plea now. Please tell us you must tell us where the body
is and go with us to the Emperor.”
“The
body is with the Emperor here, but the Emperor is not with the body. The castle
is huge, Norway is a kingdom, and the Emperor is a thing—"
“A
“thing,” my lord?” Guildenstern snapped in. His tolerance of Hamlet’s attitude
took its peak onto him.
“Or
he speaks. I was to say of nothing. Bring me to him. Hide fox, and all
after! The hounds are here.” Hamlet stood up. “Shall we see your Emperor? Let
him not wait too long for me, the miscreant here.”
Hamlet
took off on the run and was pursued by the duo.
No comments:
Post a Comment