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GERTRUDE O, speak to me no more!
These words like daggers enter in my ears.
No more, sweet Hamlet.
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GERTRUDE Oh, you must stop! Your words are like daggers. Please, no more,
sweet Hamlet.
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HAMLET A murderer and a
villain,
A slave that is not twentieth part the tithe
Of your precedent lord, a vice of kings,
100A cutpurse of the empire and the rule,
That from a shelf the precious diadem stole,
And put it in his pocket—
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HAMLET A murderer and a villain, a low-life who’s not worth a
twentieth of a tenth of your first husband—the worst of
kings, a thief of the throne, who took the precious crown from a
shelf and put it in his pocket—
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GERTRUDE No more!
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GERTRUDE Stop!
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HAMLET A king of shreds and patches—
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HAMLET A ragtag king—
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Enter GHOST
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The GHOST
enters.
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105Save me and hover o'er me with your wings,
You heavenly guards!—What would your gracious
figure?
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Oh, angels in heaven, protect me with your wings!—What
can I do for you, my gracious lord?
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GERTRUDE Alas, he’s mad!
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GERTRUDE Oh no! Hamlet’s gone completely crazy.
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HAMLET Do you not come your tardy son to chide,
That, lapsed in time and passion, lets go by
110The important acting of your dread command?
O, say!
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HAMLET Have you come to scold your tardy son for straying from his
mission, letting your important command slip by? Tell me!
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GHOST Do not forget. This visitation
Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose.
But look, amazement on thy mother sits.
O, step between her and her fighting soul.
115Conceit in weakest bodies strongest works.
Speak to her, Hamlet.
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GHOST Don’t forget. I’ve come to sharpen your
somewhat dull appetite for revenge. But look, your mother is in
shock. Oh, keep her struggling soul from being overwhelmed by horrid
visions. The imagination works strongest in those with the weakest
bodies. Talk to her, Hamlet.
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