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Claudius brings the conversation to a swift close and hurries the two courtiers along on their mission. Whatever Rosencrantz’s intent, talk of the ruinous death of kings has most likely reminded Claudius of his brother’s murder–thereby setting up his guilty soliloquy below.

Oscar Asche as King Claudius (postcard). Via Emory

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Still more evidence of the close working relationship between the King and Polonius, who appears to be his most trusted advisor–a man whom he respectfully or gratefully addresses as “dear my lord,” and allows to brief him late in the evening.

Polonius and Claudius from the BBC’s Hamlet, 2009

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The Arden Shakespeare (Third Series, p. 328) notes that this could mean either “in addition [to Gertrude]” or “from an advantageous position.”

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tinct: tint, stain.

Hamlet has forced his mother to a painful self-awareness. On the association of the color black with sin, compare Claudius’s line in the previous scene:

O wretched state! O bosom black as death!

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“Bosom” here means “heart,” “inner spirit.” Compare Gertrude’s cry in the following scene:

O Hamlet, speak no more:
Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul;
And there I see such black and grained spots
As will not leave their tinct.

The association of the color black with death and mourning also recalls Hamlet’s preference for mourning wear:

‘Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black…

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Shuffling: maneuvering, trickery.

Harold Bloom notes, in Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human (1998, pp. 385-86):

“Shuffle,” to Hamlet, is a verb for thrusting off “this mortal coil,” where “coil” means “noise” or “tumult.” “Shuffling,” for Claudius, is a verb for mortal trickery …. “There is no shuffling there,” [he] yearningly says of a heaven in which he neither believes nor disbelieves.

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These are among the most famous lines of the play. Richard’s desire to indulge in stories of tragic kings is grandly self-pitying–almost an eager reflection on his own mortality. It could also be compared to Shakespeare’s fascination as a storyteller with doomed kings and queens, and the bystanders they draw into their tragedies. See Hamlet 3.3:

The cease of majesty
Dies not alone; but, like a gulf, doth draw
What’s near it with it.

The contemporary American poet Joshua Mehigan alludes to these lines in the title of his poem “Sad Stories.”

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Gracious: a term of respect, similar to “Your Grace.”

bestow: situate, position (as above). This word returns in a darker context in 3.4.

Again Polonius is “directing” those around him, including the King himself–positioning them on stage (you can almost hear him yelling, “Places!”) and giving his daughter a prop to hold. (We learn in 3.2 that he dabbled in acting as a university student.) Hamlet does a great deal of this himself, both with the Players and the other characters. It’s possible to view the King and Polonius metaphorically as a pair of directors or playwrights “plotting” against Hamlet, who plots against them in turn. Hamlet’s plan to “catch…the King” by means of a play sets up this reading.

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closely…hither: just sent for Hamlet to come here.

Among the scene’s minor mysteries: why do the King and Polonius send Gertrude away? And why does Gertrude so readily “obey”? Do the men believe they can judge Hamlet’s behavior better than his own mother? Is she uncomfortable with the plot? Do the three of them consider spying unbefitting of a queen, whereas the king and his counselor are “lawful espials”?

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In fact, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern will prove of little use to the King from now on. Hamlet does not need further encouragement to enjoy the Players: the next scene finds him literally running the show and setting his trap for Claudius. Later in the scene he will totally outwit his former friends as they attempt to “play upon [him]” and gain information on the King’s behalf.

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