(Nothing is permanent, please enjoy)
PROLOGUE
(from offstage coughs to indicate the play is beginning)
We beg you most courteously
To be patient with us,
Silent your vices,
And watch our humble tragedy.
Act I
Scene 1
SETTING: A room in Polonius’s house
(LAERTES and OPHELIA enter)
LAERTES
My belongings are on the ship already. Good-bye, my dear sister. As long as the winds are blowing and the ships sailing, let me hear from you—write.
OPHELIA
Do you doubt I’ll write?
LAERTES
And as for Hamlet, just consider it a big flirtation of the hot-blooded youth. It won’t last, but ‘tis sweet. His affection will fade after a minute. Not a second more.
OPHELIA
No more than a minute?
LAERTES
He may love you, but he’s a slave to his family obligations. Ophelia, he can’t make personal choices for himself the same way common people can. His words only mean as much as the state of Denmark allows them to, and with his father's passing, who knows where his minds at. Keep your love under control. Young people often lose themselves without any help from others.
OPHELIA
I’ll keep your words of wisdom close to my heart. But, dear brother, don’t be like a bad priest who fails to practice what he preaches, showing me the steep and narrow way to heaven while you frolic on the primrose path of sin.
LAERTES
I won’t.
(POLONIUS enters)
I’ve been here too long, and here comes father.
POLONIUS
You’re still here? Shame on you—get on board! The wind is filling your ship’s sail, and they’re waiting for you. Here, I give you my blessing again. And remember a few rules of life. Don’t say what you’re thinking, or act too quickly on what you think. Be friendly to people but don’t overdo it. Once you’ve tested out your friends and found them trustworthy, hold onto them. But don’t waste your time shaking hands with every new guy you meet. Don’t be quick to pick a fight, but once you’re in one, hold your own. Listen to many people but talk to few. Hear everyone’s opinion, but reserve your judgment. Spend all you can afford on clothes, but make sure they’re quality, not flashy, since clothes make the man—which is doubly true in France. Don’t borrow money and don’t lend it, since when you lend to a friend, you often lose the friendship as well as the money, and borrowing turns a person into a spendthrift. And, above all, be true to yourself. Then you won’t be false to anybody else. Good-bye, son. I hope my blessing will help you absorb what I’ve said.
LAERTES
Good-bye, father. Ophelia, remember what I’ve told you.
(LAERTES exits)
OPHELIA
It’s locked away in my memory, and you hold the key.
POLONIUS
What did he tell you, Ophelia?
OPHELIA
Something about Hamlet.
POLONIUS
I’ve heard Hamlet’s been spending a lot of time alone with you recently. If things are the way people tell me they are—then I have to say, you’re not conducting yourself with the self-restraint a daughter of mine should show. What’s going on between you two?
OPHELIA
He’s offered me a lot of affection lately.
POLONIUS
“Affection!” You’re talking like some innocent girl whodoesn’t understand the ways of the world. Do you believe in these “offers,” as you call them?
OPHELIA
I don’t know what to believe, father.
POLONIUS
Then I’ll tell you what to believe. Believe that you are a foolish child for believing these “offers” are real. Offer yourself more respect, or—not to beat this word to death, you’ll-then offer me the chance to be a laughing-stock.
OPHELIA
Father, he’s always talked about love in an honorable fashion—
POLONIUS
Yes, “fashion” is just the word—a passing whim.
OPHELIA
He’s made the holiest of vows to me.
POLONIUS
These vows are traps for dodo birds. Don’t mistake that for true love. From now on spend less time with him. Make yourself a precious commodity. Hamlet is young and has a lot more freedom to fool around than you do. Now do as I say and come along.
OPHELIA
Of course, father.
(POLONIUS and OPHELIA exit)
(END OF SCENE)
@oddmitchbrown