the first and now, was and is, to hold, as 'twere,
the mirror up to nature; to show virtue her own
feature, scorn her own image, and the very age
and body of the time his form and pressure.
Now, this overdone, or come tardy off, though it
make the unskilful laugh, cannot but make the
judicious grieve; the censure of which one must
in your allowance o'erweigh a whole theatre of
others. O! there be players that I have seen
play, and heard others praise, and that highly,
not to speak it profanely, that, neither having
the accent of Christians nor the gait of Christian,
pagan, nor man, have so strutted and bellowed
that I have thought some of nature's journey-
men had made men and not made them well,
they imitated humanity so abominably. 40
First Play. I hope we have reformed that
indifferently with us, sir.
Ham. O! reform it altogether. And let those
that play your clowns speak no more than is
set down for them; for there be of them that
will themselves laugh, to set on some quantity of
barren spectators to laugh too, though in the
mean time some necessary question of the play
be then to be considered; that's villainous, and
shows a most pitiful ambition in the fool that
uses it. Go, make you ready. Exeunt Players.
Enter Polonius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern.
How now, my lord! will the king hear this piece of work? 52
28 pressure: impressed character, stamp
29 come tardy off: inadequately done
31 which one: one of whom
32 allowance: acknowledgment
38 journeymen: laborers not yet masters of their trade
45 there be of them: there are some; cf. n.
47 barren: barren of wit
