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May be the devil, and the devil hath power
T' assume a pleasing shape. Yea, and perhaps
Out of my weakness and my melancholy,
As he is very potent with such spirits,
565Abuses me to damn me. I’ll have grounds
More relative than this. The play’s the thing
Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.
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Murder has no tongue, but miraculously it still finds a way to
speak. I’ll have these actors perform something like my
father’s murder in front of my uncle. I’ll
watch my uncle. I’ll probe his conscience and see if he
flinches. If he becomes pale, I know what to do. The ghost I saw may
be the devil, and the devil has the power to assume a pleasing
disguise, and so he may be taking advantage of my weakness and
sadness to bring about my damnation. I need better evidence than the
ghost to work with. The play’s the thing to uncover the
conscience of the king.
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Exit
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HAMLET exits.
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