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Hamlet

by: William Shakespeare

Act 4 Scene 6

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Original Text	Modern Text
Enter HORATIO and a SERVANT	HORATIO and a SERVANT enter.
HORATIO What are they that would speak with me?	HORATIO Who are the people who want to speak with me?
SERVANT Seafaring men, sir. They say they have letters for you.	SERVANT Sailors, sir. They say they have letters for you.
HORATIO Let them come in.	HORATIO Show them in.
Exit SERVANT	SERVANT exits.
I do not know from what part of the world 5I should be greeted, if not from Lord Hamlet.	I don’t know who else would send me a letter from abroad except Hamlet.
Enter SAILORS	SAILORS enter.
SAILOR God bless you, sir.	SAILOR Hello, sir. God bless you.
HORATIO Let him bless thee too.	HORATIO May He bless you, too.
SAILOR He shall, sir, an ’t please Him. There’s a letter for you, sir— it comes from the ambassador that was bound for England—if your name be Horatio, as I am let to know it is. (gives HORATIO a letter)	SAILOR He will, sir, if He wants to. There’s a letter for you, sir. It’s from the ambassador, Lord Hamlet, who was going to England—if your name’s Horatio, as they told me it is. (he hands HORATIO a letter)
HORATIO (reads) “Horatio, When thou shalt have overlooked this, give these fellows some means to the king. They have letters for him. Ere we were two days old at sea, a pirate of very warlike appointment gave us chase. Finding ourselves too slow of sail, we put on a compelled valor, and in the grapple I boarded them. On the instant, they got clear of our ship, so I alone became their prisoner. They have dealt with me like thieves of mercy, but they knew what they did; I am to do a good turn for them.	HORATIO (reading the letter) “Horatio, When you’ve read this letter, find a way to let these guys see the king. They have letters for him. Before we were at sea for even two days, a pirate ship equipped for battle pursued us. We were too slow to escape, so we were forced to stand and fight. In the battle that followed I ended up on the pirate ship. Just then they left our ship behind, so I became the only prisoner on board. They’ve treated me quite mercifully for thieves, but they knew what they were doing. They want me to do a favor for them.

Read the Summary of Act IV, scenes v–vi

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