Original: Yet here, Laertes? Aboard, aboard, for shame!
Modern: You’re still here, Laertes? Get on the ship, get on the ship—this is embarrassing!

Original: The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail,
Modern: The wind is perfect for sailing,

Original: And you are stay’d for. There- my blessing with thee!
Modern: And they’re waiting for you. Here—take my blessing with you!

Original: And these few precepts in thy memory
Modern: And keep these few pieces of advice in your memory—

Original: Look thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Modern: Make sure you engrave them there. Don’t say everything you think,

Original: Nor any unproportion’d thought his act.
Modern: And don’t act on any rash or inappropriate impulse.

Original: Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar:
Modern: Be friendly, but never crude or overly casual:

Original: Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Modern: The friends you have, whose loyalty you’ve already tested,

Original: Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel;
Modern: Hold them close to your heart with bonds as strong as steel;

Original: But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Modern: But don’t wear out your hand by shaking hands

Original: Of each new-hatch’d, unfledg’d comrade. Beware
Modern: With every new, untested acquaintance. Be careful

Original: Of entrance to a quarrel; but being in,
Modern: About getting into a fight; but once you’re in one,

Original: Bear’t that th’ opposed may beware of thee.
Modern: Conduct yourself so that your opponent will be wary of you.

Original: Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice;
Modern: Listen to everyone, but speak your mind to only a few;

Original: Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.
Modern: Hear everyone’s opinion, but keep your own judgment to yourself.

Original: Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
Modern: Buy clothes as expensive as you can afford,

Original: But not express’d in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
Modern: But not showy or extravagant; high-quality, not flashy;

Original: For the apparel oft proclaims the man,
Modern: Because clothing often reveals what kind of person you are,

Original: And they in France of the best rank and station
Modern: And the people in France of the highest class and position

Original: Are most select and generous, chief in that.
Modern: Are most refined and noble, especially in how they dress.

Original: Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
Modern: Don’t borrow money, and don’t lend it;

Original: For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
Modern: Because lending often means you lose both the money and the friend,

Original: And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
Modern: And borrowing makes you careless about managing your own money.

Original: This above all- to thine own self be true,
Modern: This most importantly—be true to yourself,

Original: And it must follow, as the night the day,
Modern: And it will naturally follow, as surely as night follows day,

Original: Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Modern: That you cannot then be dishonest to anyone else.

Original: Farewell. My blessing season this in thee!
Modern: Goodbye. May my blessing help this advice mature in you!

In Act I, Scene iii of “Hamlet,” Laertes prepares to depart for France and takes the opportunity to warn his sister Ophelia about her relationship with Prince Hamlet. He cautions her that Hamlet’s affections, though seemingly sincere, may be temporary and that as a prince, Hamlet’s choice of wife will be determined by the state’s needs rather than personal desire. Laertes advises Ophelia to guard her honor and not take Hamlet’s romantic overtures too seriously, suggesting that she should protect her reputation and virginity. Ophelia agrees to heed his advice but gently reminds her brother to practice the virtues he preaches rather than behaving recklessly himself.

After Laertes and Ophelia’s exchange, their father Polonius enters and delivers a lengthy series of precepts to Laertes before his journey, including famous advice such as “Neither a borrower nor a lender be” and “This above all: to thine own self be true.” Once Laertes departs, Polonius questions Ophelia about her relationship with Hamlet. When she reveals that Hamlet has expressed his affection for her, Polonius forbids her from spending time with the prince or accepting his letters, asserting that Hamlet’s vows of love are merely strategies to seduce her. He commands Ophelia to refuse all further contact with Hamlet, and despite her apparent feelings for the prince, Ophelia obediently agrees to obey her father’s orders.

Hamlet tells the story of Prince Hamlet of Denmark, who is visited by the ghost of his recently deceased father. The ghost reveals that he was murdered by Hamlet’s uncle Claudius, who has now married Hamlet’s mother Gertrude and assumed the throne. Commanded by his father’s spirit to seek revenge, Hamlet struggles with doubt, melancholy, and the moral complexity of his task. To investigate the ghost’s claims and plan his revenge, he feigns madness, which creates tension throughout the Danish court.

As Hamlet deliberates, his erratic behavior affects everyone around him, particularly his love interest Ophelia, daughter of the king’s advisor Polonius. To test Claudius’s guilt, Hamlet stages a play mirroring his father’s murder, which confirms the king’s culpability. However, Hamlet’s actions become increasingly destructive—he accidentally kills Polonius while the old man spies on him, and his rejection of Ophelia contributes to her descent into genuine madness and eventual drowning.

The play reaches its climax when Ophelia’s brother Laertes returns to avenge his father’s death. Claudius manipulates Laertes into challenging Hamlet to a duel, secretly poisoning Laertes’s sword and preparing poisoned wine as backup. The final scene erupts in tragedy: during the duel, both Hamlet and Laertes are wounded by the poisoned blade, Gertrude accidentally drinks the poisoned wine, and Hamlet finally kills Claudius. As Hamlet dies, he names Prince Fortinbras of Norway as Denmark’s next ruler, bringing the cycle of revenge and political instability to a close. The play ends with Fortinbras restoring order to the Danish court as bodies are carried off in a funeral march.