Hamlet

William Shakespeare

No Fear Act 2 Scene 2

No Fear Act 2 Scene 2 Page 11

Original Text	Modern Text
GUILDENSTERN Prison, my lord?	GUILDENSTERN Prison, my lord?
HAMLET Denmark’s a prison.	HAMLET Denmark’s a prison.
ROSENCRANTZ Then is the world one.	ROSENCRANTZ Then I guess the whole world is one.
HAMLET A goodly one, in which there are many confines, wards, and dungeons, Denmark being one o' th' worst.	HAMLET Yes, quite a large one, with many cells and dungeons, Denmark being one of the worst.
ROSENCRANTZ We think not so, my lord.	ROSENCRANTZ We don’t think so, my lord.
HAMLET Why, then, ’tis none to you, for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. To me it is a prison.	HAMLET Well, then it isn’t one to you, since nothing is really good or bad in itself—it’s all what a person thinks about it. And to me, Denmark is a prison.
ROSENCRANTZ Why then, your ambition makes it one. 'Tis too narrow for your mind.	ROSENCRANTZ That must be because you’re so ambitious. It’s too small for your large mind.
HAMLET O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.	HAMLET Small? No, I could live in a walnut shell and feel like the king of the universe. The real problem is that I have bad dreams.
GUILDENSTERN Which dreams indeed are ambition, for the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.	GUILDENSTERN Dreams are a sign of ambition, since ambition is nothing more than the shadow of a dream.
HAMLET 245A dream itself is but a shadow.	HAMLET But a dream itself is just a shadow.
ROSENCRANTZ Truly, and I hold ambition of so airy and light a quality that it is but a shadow’s shadow.	ROSENCRANTZ Exactly. In fact, I consider ambition to be so light and airy that it’s only the shadow of a shadow.
HAMLET Then are our beggars bodies, and our monarchs and outstretched heroes the beggars' shadows. Shall we to th' court? For by my fay, I cannot reason.	HAMLET Then I guess beggars are the ones with bodies, while ambitious kings and heroes are just the shadows of beggars. Should we go inside? I seem to be losing my mind a bit.
ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDENSTERN We’ll wait upon you.	ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDENSTERN We’re at your service, whatever you say.

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