Original: That can I.
Modern: I can tell you that story.

Original: At least, the whisper goes so. Our last king,
Modern: At least, that’s what people are saying. Our previous king,

Original: Whose image even but now appear’d to us,
Modern: Whose ghost just appeared to us,

Original: Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway,
Modern: Was challenged, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway,

Original: Thereto prick’d on by a most emulate pride,
Modern: Who was driven by fierce, competitive pride,

Original: Dar’d to the combat; in which our valiant Hamlet
Modern: To single combat; in which our brave Hamlet

Original: (For so this side of our known world esteem’d him)
Modern: (For that’s how this part of the world respected him)

Original: Did slay this Fortinbras; who, by a seal’d compact,
Modern: Killed this Fortinbras; who, by a signed agreement,

Original: Well ratified by law and heraldry,
Modern: Properly confirmed by law and official ceremony,

Original: Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands
Modern: Lost, along with his life, all the lands

Original: Which he stood seiz’d of, to the conqueror;
Modern: That he owned, to the winner;

Original: Against the which a moiety competent
Modern: In return for which an equal portion

Original: Was gaged by our king; which had return’d
Modern: Was wagered by our king; which would have gone

Original: To the inheritance of Fortinbras,
Modern: To Fortinbras as his inheritance,

Original: Had he been vanquisher, as, by the same cov’nant
Modern: If he had won, just as, by the same agreement

Original: And carriage of the article design’d,
Modern: And terms of the contract written,

Original: His fell to Hamlet. Now, sir, young Fortinbras,
Modern: His lands went to Hamlet. Now, sir, young Fortinbras,

Original: Of unimproved mettle hot and full,
Modern: Full of untested, fiery spirit,

Original: Hath in the skirts of Norway, here and there,
Modern: Has gathered from the remote parts of Norway, here and there,

Original: Shark’d up a list of lawless resolutes,
Modern: Collected a band of lawless, desperate men,

Original: For food and diet, to some enterprise
Modern: To feed and support some dangerous mission

Original: That hath a stomach in’t; which is no other,
Modern: That requires courage; which is nothing other,

Original: As it doth well appear unto our state,
Modern: As it clearly appears to our government,

Original: But to recover of us, by strong hand
Modern: Than to take back from us, by force

Original: And terms compulsatory, those foresaid lands
Modern: And violent demands, those same lands

Original: So by his father lost; and this, I take it,
Modern: That his father lost; and this, I believe,

Original: Is the main motive of our preparations,
Modern: Is the main reason for our military preparations,

Original: The source of this our watch, and the chief head
Modern: The cause of our guard duty, and the main reason

Original: Of this post-haste and romage in the land.
Modern: For all this urgent activity and commotion in the country.

Original: A mote it is to trouble the mind’s eye.
Modern: It’s like a speck of dust that irritates the mind’s vision.

Original: In the most high and palmy state of Rome,
Modern: In Rome’s greatest and most glorious time,

Original: A little ere the mightiest Julius fell,
Modern: Just before the mighty Julius Caesar was killed,

Original: The graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead
Modern: The graves were empty, and the dead wrapped in sheets

Original: Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets;
Modern: Made squeaking and chattering sounds in the Roman streets;

Original: As stars with trains of fire, and dews of blood,
Modern: Like shooting stars with trails of fire, and drops of blood,

Original: Disasters in the sun; and the moist star
Modern: Bad omens in the sun; and the moon

Original: Upon whose influence Neptune’s empire stands
Modern: Which controls Neptune’s ocean kingdom

Original: Was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse.
Modern: Was darkened by eclipse almost like the end of the world.

Original: And even the like precurse of fierce events,
Modern: And just like these warning signs of violent events,

Original: As harbingers preceding still the fates
Modern: Like messengers that always come before destiny

Original: And prologue to the omen coming on,
Modern: And introduction to the approaching doom,

Original: Have heaven and earth together demonstrated
Modern: Both heaven and earth have shown together

Original: Unto our climature and countrymen.
Modern: To our region and our fellow countrymen.

Original: But soft! behold! Lo, where it comes again!
Modern: But wait! Look! There it comes again!

Original: I’ll cross it, though it blast me.- Stay illusion!
Modern: I’ll confront it, even if it destroys me. Stop, phantom!

Original: If thou hast any sound, or use of voice,
Modern: If you have any sound, or can use your voice,

Original: Speak to me.
Modern: Speak to me.

Original: If there be any good thing to be done,
Modern: If there’s any good deed to be done,

Original: That may to thee do ease, and, grace to me,
Modern: That might give you peace, and honor to me,

Original: Speak to me.
Modern: Speak to me.

Original: If thou art privy to thy country’s fate,
Modern: If you know secret information about your country’s future,

Original: Which happily foreknowing may avoid,
Modern: Which might be prevented if we knew about it in advance,

Original: O, speak!
Modern: Oh, speak!

Original: Or if thou hast uphoarded in thy life
Modern: Or if you stored up during your life

Original: Extorted treasure in the womb of earth
Modern: Stolen treasure buried in the ground

Original: (For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death),
Modern: (For which, they say, you ghosts often walk after death),

Original: Speak of it! Stay, and speak!- Stop it, Marcellus!
Modern: Tell us about it! Wait, and speak! Stop it, Marcellus!

Hamlet, Act I, Scene i — Overview and Summary

In the opening scene of Hamlet, two sentinels, Bernardo and Francisco, are standing watch on the battlements of Elsinore Castle in Denmark during the cold, dark hours of the night. Francisco is relieved of his post by Bernardo, and they are soon joined by Horatio and Marcellus. Bernardo and Marcellus have brought Horatio to the battlements because they wish him to witness something extraordinary — on two previous nights, they have encountered an apparition that bears a striking resemblance to the recently deceased King Hamlet. Horatio is skeptical of their claims at first, dismissing the idea of a ghost.

Their conversation is interrupted when the Ghost of King Hamlet appears before them. Horatio, shaken and now a believer, attempts to speak to the apparition, but the Ghost remains silent and withdraws. The men discuss the Ghost’s appearance and Horatio connects the ominous visitation to the political tensions building in Denmark, noting that young Fortinbras of Norway is assembling forces and threatening the kingdom. The Ghost appears a second time, and once again Horatio attempts to speak to it, but a cock crows signaling the approach of dawn, and the Ghost departs. Horatio resolves to inform Prince Hamlet of what they have witnessed, believing the Ghost will speak to his son.

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.