Page 270 - Hamlet: The Cambridge Dover Wilson Shakespeare

r.5. NOTES 163
Dowden 'command' (cf. Jul. Caes. 5. 3. 5); but
neither accounts for the inclusion of 'adieu, adieu' or
for the oath that follows. I interpret it heraldically as
the motto or 'word' on a knight's coat of arms or shield,
which expressed, often in riddling or cryptic fashion,
the cause or ideal to which the life of its bearer was
sworn. Cf. the joust in Pericles, 2. 2. at which six
knights appear, each with a device on his shield, together
with a 'motto' or 'word,' these terms being used inter-
changeably (v. N.E.D. 'motto,' iff). Ham. solemnly
dedicates himself to the service of the quest which the
Ghost has laid upon him, adopting as his motto his
father's parting words. By a touch at once of supreme
irony and of profound psychological insight, the 'Word'
his creator gives him is 'Adieu, adieu, remember meP
114, So be it! A fervent Amen to Hor.'s prayer.
115. Wo, ho, ho Mar. in despair halloos at the top
of his voice; Ham. mockingly echoes him, turning the
cry into a falconer's call.
121. once = ever. Cf. A. £5? C. 5. 2. 50.
126-32. Why right, ...I -will go pray The speech,
which begins in a manner as 'wild and whirling' as
those which have gone before, suddenly changes tone as
the words 'business and desire' remind Ham. of the
task that lies before him. But the hysterical hilarity
returns with the Ghost's cries. Cf. Introd. p. Ixii.
135. offence v. G.
136-40. Tes.. .asyou may These words, spoken to
Hor. alone, should I think be an aside, 'And now, good
friends' (v. note 11. 139-40), marking the point where
Mar. is brought into the conversation. Mar. is Ham.'s
problem in this scene, as Dowden (taking his cue from
Irving) alone among critics seems to have reajised (cf. his
notes on 'Denmark' 1. 123 and 'truepenny' 1. 150).
Ham. will tell Hor. everything later; but Mar. must know
nothing except what he knows already, and on that he
must be sworn to secrecy.