What are they that would speak with me?
Who are these people who want to speak with me?
What do these guys want?
who wants to talk to me
Sailors, sir. They say they have letters for you.
They're sailors, sir. They say they're bringing letters for you.
They're sailors who have some letters for you.
sailors with letters 4 u
Let them come in.
Send them in.
Show them in.
bring them here
The sea voyage, the pirate attack, the boarding, the capture, the return — all of this happens between scenes, in the gap between Act 4 scene 4 and this letter. Shakespeare does not show it. He narrates it, briefly, in Hamlet's own words, in a letter. This is a striking choice: Hamlet's final soliloquy in 4-4 resolved to have only bloody thoughts, and his very next appearance (via letter) shows him in precisely the violent, decisive, action-driven mode he was wishing for. He did not decide to board the pirate ship after philosophical deliberation — he acted 'on the instant,' in a moment of 'compelled valour.' The adventure seems to have done something to him. The man who appears in 5-1 and 5-2 is calmer, more decisive, more fatalistic in the best sense — and the gap between 4-4 and 4-6 is where that change happened, invisible to the audience, narrated at one remove in a private letter. Shakespeare is suggesting that the change Hamlet needed could not happen on a stage, under the audience's gaze — it had to happen out at sea, off the map, in a space where no one was watching.
I do not know from what part of the world
I should be greeted, if not from Lord Hamlet.
I do not know what part of the world would send me a greeting, if not from Lord Hamlet.
I wouldn't expect to hear from anyone in the world except Lord Hamlet.
only hamlet would write to me
God bless you, sir.
May divine grace be upon you, sir.
Hope you're doing well, sir.
bless u
Horatio is the only person in Hamlet's world who is entirely trustworthy. The play establishes this in 3-2 when Hamlet explains why he can confide in Horatio: 'thou art e'en as just a man / As e'er my conversation coped withal.' Everyone else in Hamlet's life has been compromised — Gertrude by remarriage, Ophelia by her father's instructions, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern by Claudius's commissions. Horatio has nothing at stake. He is a scholar, a visitor, a man without property or political position at the Danish court. He has nothing to gain from betraying Hamlet and nothing to lose from loyalty. This scene shows why that matters: Hamlet's first act on escaping death is to write to Horatio. Not to his mother, not to any other friend. Horatio is the man Hamlet trusts to carry him back to Denmark, to witness what happens, and — as we learn in 5-2 — to tell his story afterward.
Let him bless thee too.
And may God bless you as well.
And may he bless you too.
bless u 2
He shall, sir, and’t please him. There’s a letter for you, sir. It
comes from th’ambassador that was bound for England; if your name be
Horatio, as I am let to know it is.
If God wills it, he will, sir. Here's a letter for you, sir. It's from the ambassador who was sailing for England. If your name is Horatio, as I've been told it is.
He will, sir, if it pleases him. Here's a letter for you. It's from the ambassador headed for England. You're Horatio, right?
letter for you from the ambassador for england
[_Reads._] ‘Horatio, when thou shalt have overlooked this, give these
fellows some means to the King. They have letters for him. Ere we were
two days old at sea, a pirate of very warlike appointment gave us
chase. Finding ourselves too slow of sail, we put on a compelled
valour, and in the grapple I boarded them. On the instant they got
clear of our ship, so I alone became their prisoner. They have dealt
with me like thieves of mercy. But they knew what they did; I am to do
a good turn for them. Let the King have the letters I have sent, and
repair thou to me with as much haste as thou wouldst fly death. I have
words to speak in thine ear will make thee dumb; yet are they much too
light for the bore of the matter. These good fellows will bring thee
where I am. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern hold their course for England:
of them I have much to tell thee. Farewell.
He that thou knowest thine,
HAMLET.’
Come, I will give you way for these your letters,
And do’t the speedier, that you may direct me
To him from whom you brought them.
Horatio, when you've read this, help these fellows get to the King. They have letters for him. After we'd been at sea just two days, a heavily armed pirate ship chased us. We were too slow, so we fought back, and I boarded their ship. Right then they broke free from us, leaving me captured alone. They've treated me with mercy—they know what they're doing, and I owe them a favor. Make sure the King gets the letters I've sent, and come to me as fast as you'd escape death. I have things to say that will leave you without words, yet they're too heavy for language to carry. These good men will bring you where I am. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are heading to England—I have much to tell you about them. Goodbye, Hamlet. Come, I'll help these letters reach their destination, and quickly, so you can direct me to the man who sent you.
Horatio, once you've read this, help these guys get to the King. They've got letters for him. Two days into our voyage, a well-armed pirate ship started chasing us. We were slow, so we fought back and I jumped onto their ship. But then they got away, leaving me their prisoner. They've treated me well—they're smart guys, and I owe them. Make sure the King gets my letters, and get to me as soon as you can. I've got things to tell you that will blow your mind, things that are too big for words to really explain. These good men will bring you to me. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are heading to England, and I've got a lot to tell you about that too. See you soon, Hamlet. All right, I'll get these letters delivered fast, and then you can take me to wherever Hamlet is.
horatio read this. help these guys reach the king. we got attacked by pirates 2 days out. i fought & got captured alone but theyre cool ppl. i owe them. send my letters to the king & get 2 me ASAP. cant explain by letter but its huge. these guys know where i am. r&g headed to england—lots 2 tell u. yours hamlet ok lets move fast & u show me where he is
The Reckoning
The shortest scene in Act 4, and one of the most purely functional in the play — but it does significant work. It repositions Hamlet from 'in transit toward his death' to 'alive and returning,' and it does so in his own voice. The letter Hamlet sends Horatio is immediate, energetic, slightly over-excited in its telling of the pirate adventure — a man who has been in danger and survived it and cannot quite believe it yet. There is something different in this Hamlet's register: the paralyzed self-examiner of the soliloquies is not quite visible here. He sounds like a man who has been forced into action and discovered he is capable of it. The scene also establishes that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are gone — without Hamlet — which will matter enormously in 5-2.
If this happened today…
A friend who was being sent abroad under slightly suspicious circumstances texts from a stranger's phone: 'Long story, got picked up by some people on the highway who were heading back to town, managed to hitch a ride with them. Send you details when I see you. Coming home tomorrow. Don't tell anyone except you. Also there's some documents you should bring to the right people.' The friend calls immediately. The stranger's phone answers.