_. Then, on
shifting his ground, he makes them swear never to speak of
what they have _heard_. Then, moving again, he makes them
swear that, if he should think fit to play the antic, they
will give no sign of knowing aught of him. The oath is now
complete; and, when the Ghost commands them to swear the last
time, Hamlet suddenly becomes perfectly serious and bids it
rest. [In Fletcher's _Woman's Prize_, V. iii., a passage
pointed out to me by Mr. C.J. Wilkinson, a man taking an oath
shifts his ground.]

NOTE F.

THE PLAYER'S SPEECH IN _HAMLET_.

There are two extreme views about this speech. According to
one, Shakespeare quoted it from some play, or composed it for
the occasion, simply and solely in order to ridicule, through
it, the bombastic style of dramatists contemporary with
himself or slightly older; just as he ridicules in _2 Henry
IV._ Tamburlaine's rant about the kings who draw his chariot,
or puts fragments of similar bombast into the mouth of Pistol.
According to Coleridge, on the other hand, this idea is 'below
criticism.' No sort of ridicule was intended. 'The lines, as
epic narrative, are superb.' It is true that the language is
'too poetical--the language of lyric vehemence and epic pomp,
and not of the drama'; but this is due to the fact that
Shakespeare had to distinguish the style of the speech from
that of his own dramatic dialogue.

In essentials I think that what Coleridge says[259] is true.
He goes too far, it seems to me, when he describes the
language of the speech as merely 'too poetical'; for with much
that is fine there is intermingled a good deal that, in epic
as in drama, must be called bombast. But I do not believe
Shakespeare meant it for bombast.

I will briefly put the arguments which point to this
conclusion. Warburton long ago stated some of them fully and
cogently, but he misinterpreted here and there, and some
arguments have to be added to his.

1. If the speech was meant to be ridiculous, it follows either
that Hamlet in praising it spoke ironically, or that
Shakespeare, in making Hamlet praise it sincerely, himself
wrote ironically. And both these consequences are almost
incredible.

Let us see what Hamlet says. He asks the player to recite 'a
passionate