Misconceived Words
Here is a list of words, and some phrases, found in the Hamlet dialogue that deserve special attention. In some cases the word, or phrase, has been misinterpreted, historically, in other cases the word has been missed completely, historically, and in still other cases, well, it's simply that the word or phrase is worth inclusion.
The words are presented in the order in which they appear in the dialogue. The line where the word appears is quoted. Links are provided, to the line as it appears in the course of the Scene, and to the regular Note for that line. The spelling will be modernized, if necessary, unless the original spelling appears to have significance. I usually include a brief comment.
Here is an alphabetic list of the words and phrases included on this page:
A: abate, answered, antique disposition, arture; B: beautified, bord, brainish, button;
C: caviary, chapes, charge, chief, Claudio, closely, clouds, Clown, coil, compound mass, confession, continent, cooled, courage;
D: Danskers, days, debate, defense, delated, delicate, detected, devise, dild, dintier, dove; E: eale, expostulate, extent;
F: flaxen, friendly; G: gig, greenly; H: heave, a kissing hill, hems, heyday;
I: idle, imagion, imports, Index, inform against, innovation, inseamed, invected; J, K, L: love;
M: mabled, main, malhechor, massen, Master's, mobled, moth, mount; N: naked, neighbor room, not, nothing; O,
P: pale, pansies, picked, picture, poll, precisely, prefared, pregnant, process; Q, R: relish, resty, replication, Robin, rosemary;
S: Saint Charity, sallied, satire, scand, sendal, sere, set, shroudly, siege, sith, sleaded pollax, solidity, Steward, sty;
T: thought, threescore thousand, toy, Truepenny, twenty thousand, twice; U: unanviled; V,
W: wanton, wary, wisest, wormwood; X,Y,Z.
Contents
Scene 1
sleaded pollax
Scene 1#072 He smote the sleaded pollax on the ice.
Note at Scene 1#01-072
The odd spelling of sleaded pollax provides multiplicity of meaning and a kind of word puzzle.
moth
Scene 1#122 Horatio: A moth it is to trouble the mind's eye;
Horatio uses "moth" to mean "an unpredictable thing."
Scene 2
delated
Scene 2#038 Of these 'delated' articles allow;
Note at Scene 2#02-038
Claudius uses delated to mean "related" or perhaps "denunciatory."
cooled
Scene 2#079 'Tis not alone my inky cloak, cooled mother,
Note at Scene 2#02-079
Hamlet uses cooled to mean "insensitive."
chapes
Scene 2#084 Together with all forms, moods, chapes of grief,
Note at Scene 2#02-084
Hamlet uses chapes to mean "coverings."
sallied
Scene 2#02-131 Hamlet: Oh, that this too too sallied flesh would melt,
Note at Scene 2#02-131
Sallied is from 'sally' ("to rush forth, as in making an attack.") Hamlet means he feels attacked by the rush of unhappy events.
wary
Scene 2#135 How wary, stale, flat and unprofitable
Note at Scene 2#02-135
In this case, wary is the adjective form of "ware." Hamlet uses wary to mean "for sale" / "mercenary," like wares for sale in a shop.
satire
Scene 2#142 Hyperion to a satire; so loving to my mother,
Note at Scene 2#02-142
Hamlet uses satire to produce a combined meaning of both "satyr" and caricature / mockery.
Scene 3
main
Scene 3#031 Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal;
Note at Scene 3#03-031
By main voice Laertes means the voice of the King.
courage
Scene 3##069 Of each new-hatched, unfledged courage; beware
Note at Scene 3#03-069
Polonius uses courage to mean "man of spirit," a high-spirited fellow. Courage is "spirit." "Spirit," then is "soul," and a soul is a person. It's a little word puzzle from Shakespeare.
chief
Scene 3#078 Or of a most select and generous, chief in that.
Note at Scene 3#03-078
Polonius uses chief to mean "lead" (the verb.) A chief is a leader, therefore "to chief" is "to lead."
love
Scene 3#080 For love oft' loses both itself and friend,
Note at Scene 3#03-080
Polonius's tongue slips when he thinks of the Biblical saying, "the love of money is etc." Shakespeare used this for a kind of "omen."
Scene 4
shroudly
Scene 4#001 Hamlet: The air bites shroudly, is it very cold?
Note at Scene 4#04-001
Shroudly is a Shakespeare coinage that means "like a shroud of death." Hamlet says the frigid air envelops him like a death shroud.
eale
Scene 4#038 From that particular fault; the dram of 'eale'
Note at Scene 4#04-038
The word printed eale in the Second Quarto can be interpreted as meaning both "evil" and "ail," i.e "ailment," simultaneously.
arture
Scene 4#091 And makes each petty arture in this body
Note at Scene 4#04-091
Arture is a Shakespeare coinage meaning "joint."
imagion
Scene 4#096 Horatio: He waxes desperate with imagion.
Note at Scene 4#04-096
The word imagion is a Shakespeare coinage from 'image' + '-ion,' and Horatio uses it to mean "the result, or consequence, of the image (of his father.)"
Scene 5
unanviled
Scene 5#081 Unhouseled, disappointed, unanviled,
Note at Scene 5#05-081
By unanviled the Ghost means his mettle was not properly "smithed" for him to go to Heaven.
Truepenny
Scene 5#166 Hamlet: Ha, ha, boy, say'st thou so, art thou there, Truepenny?
Note at Scene 5#05-166
It is important to know that Truepenny refers specifically to the character Tom Truepenny in the play Ralph Roister Doister.
antique disposition
Scene 5#189 To put an antique disposition on,)
Note at Scene 5#05-189
Hamlet uses antique disposition to mean "old personality," the personality of an old man. He is saying that sometimes he likes to pretend to be old. That is, in fact, what the phrase "anticke disposition" means in the original Second Quarto publication, no matter what else you have ever heard or read about it.
Scene 6
Danskers
Scene 6#008 Enquire me first what Danskers are in Paris,
Note at Scene 6#06-008
The word Danskers means "persons of Danzig (Gdansk,) Poland." It is a mistake by Polonius, for amusement. Polonius, literally the "Polish man," who is a Dane, mistakenly refers to Poles as he's trying to speak of Danes.
Scene 7
sith
Scene 7#006 Sith nor the exterior, nor the inward man
Note at Scene 7#07-006
Shakespeare used sith for its "snaky" sibilance as Claudius speaks.
threescore thousand
Scene 7#077 Gives him threescore thousand crowns in annual fee,
Note at Scene 7#07-077
It is important to know that threescore thousand is the correct number, because it helps lead to an important conclusion.
expostulate
Scene 7#092 My Liege and Madam, to expostulate
Note at Scene 7#07-092
Polonius thinks that expostulate refers to presenting one's postulates.
beautified
Scene 7#119 "Beautified" is a vile phrase, but you shall hear;
Note at Scene 7#07-119
Polonius idiotically thinks Hamlet has written that Ophelia is beautiful because she uses cosmetics.
pregnant
Scene 7#220 Polonius (aside): Indeed, that's out of the air; how pregnant sometimes
Note at Scene 7#07-220
By pregnant Polonius means "productive" (of meaning,) apropos.
extent
Scene 7#234 Hamlet: My extent good friends; how dost thou, Guildenstern?
Note at Scene 7#07-234
Hamlet uses extent to mean "valued."
button
Scene 7#238 We are not the very button.
Note at Scene 7#07-238
Guildenstern uses button to mean the emblem or ornament on the front of a cap.
sere
Scene 7#321 are tickled at the sere, and the Lady shall say her mind freely, or the
Note at Scene 7#07-321
The word sere means "dry" humor.
innovation
Scene 7#328 of the late innovation.
Note at Scene 7#07-328
Innovation means the change in government from King Hamlet to Claudius.
resty
Scene 7#332 Hamlet: How comes it? Do they grow resty?
Note at Scene 7#07-332
Hamlet uses resty to mean lethargic.
friendly
Scene 7#412 we'll into it like friendly falconers, fly at anything we see;
Note at Scene 7#07-412
By friendly Hamlet means excessively friendly, that is, indiscriminate, uncritical, or promiscuous.
caviary
Scene 7#418 the million; it was caviary to the general, but it was, as I received
Note at Scene 7#07-418
Hamlet uses the adjective form of "caviar."
mabled
Scene 7#481 First Player: But who, ah woe, had seen the mabled Queen . . .
Note at Scene 7#07-481
The Player uses mabled to mean "hurriedly dressed," or "hurriedly wrapped."
mobled
Scene 7#482 Hamlet: The mobled Queen.
Note at Scene 7#07-482
Hamlet mishears the Player's word as mobled, based on "moble," and meaning "moved good."
Scene 8
closely
Scene 8#033 For we have closely sent for Hamlet hither,
Note at Scene 8#08-033
Claudius uses closely to mean "privately," that is, he has summoned Hamlet for a private audience.
coil
Scene 8#073 When we haue shuffled off this mortal coil,
Note at Scene 8#08-073
Hamlet uses coil to mean "shell," casting the human body as a "shell" for the soul.
evocutate
Scene 8#124 evocutate our old stock, but we shall relish of it; I loved you not.
Note at Scene 8#08-124
Hamlet uses evocutate as an antonym of "inoculate."
gig
Scene 8#146 you one face, and you make yourselves another; you gig & amble,
Note at Scene 8#08-146
BOOKMARK here, reexamine this
Scene 9
detected
Scene 9#081 And 'scape detected, I will pay the theft.
Note at Scene 9#09-081
By 'scape detected Horatio means Claudius escaping even though his guilt has been detected.
idle
Scene 9#082 Hamlet: They are coming to the play. I must be idle,
Note at Scene 9#09-082
By idle Hamlet means he must appear to be unoccupied, not busy.
twice
Scene 9#115 Ophelia: Nay, 'tis 'twice'... two months, my Lord.
Note at Scene 9#09-115
Ophelia lisped the word "two," making the sound of twice, which she immediately corrects.
malhechor
Scene 9#123 Hamlet: Marry, this munching malhechor, it means mischief.
Note at Scene 9#09-123
Hamlet uses malhechor to mean "bad actor" = wrongdoer.
wormwood
Scene 9#165 Hamlet: That's wormwood.
Note at Scene 9#09-165
By wormwood Hamlet probably means "an antidote to a poisoning."
invected
Scene 9#238 With Hecats ban thrice blasted, thrice invected,
Note at Scene 9#09-238
Lucianus uses invected to mean abused with words, evil magic words that is, thus "cursed."
Scene 10
scand
Scene 10#080 That would be 'scand.'
Note at Scene 10#10-080
The word "scand" is Old English, and in this context it means "a shame" or "a disgrace." It is correctly printed in the Second Quarto.
relish
Scene 10#097 That has no relish of salvation in it;
Note at Scene 10#10-097
Hamlet's word relish is best understood from its root meaning of "aftertaste."
Scene 11
solidity
Scene 11#054 O'er this solidity and compound mass
Note at Scene 11#11-054
Hamlet uses solidity to refer to the state of Gertrude's heart. He is calling her hard-hearted, as opposed to tender-hearted. Contrary to what you might see elsewhere, it is not a reference to the earth.
compound mass
Scene 11#054 O'er this solidity and compound mass
Note at Scene 11#11-054
By compound mass Hamlet means the heaviness of Gertrude's compounded sins in her soul. So, with the phrase "solidity and compound mass" Hamlet refers to Gertrude's heart and soul.
Index
Scene 11#058 Hamlet: . . . that roars so loud, and thunders in the Index!
Note at Scene 11#11-058
The word Index means the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, which is the Roman Catholic list of forbidden books. Hamlet uses Index figuratively to mean "forbidden acts" that he supposes Gertrude has done.
picture
Scene 11#059 Look here upon this picture, and on this,
Note at Scene 11#11-059
It is important to understand that when Hamlet says picture he is pointing to a pictorial arras hanging in Gertrude's room.
heave, a kissing hill
Scene 11#065 New lighted on a heave, a kissing hill;
Note at Scene 11#11-065
Hamlet does say a heave, a kissing hill. That is not a misprint in the Second Quarto.
heyday
Scene 11#075 The heyday in the blood is tame, it's humble,
Note at Scene 11#11-075
By heyday (in the blood) Hamlet means the "high spirits" (of passion,) which of course occur in youth, and diminish as one ages.
inseamed
Scene 11#100 In the rank sweat of an inseamed bed
Note at Scene 11#11-100
Hamlet uses inseamed in the sense of pieces of cloth sewn together. He means Gertrude's bed being inseamed to Claudius's, to make one bed from two.
sty
Scene 11#102 Over the nasty sty.
Note at Scene 11#11-102
Hamlet uses sty as a euphemism for Hell.
pale
Scene 11#137 Hamlet: On him, on him! Look you, how pale he glares;
Note at Scene 11#11-137
Hamlet uses pale to mean "wide-eyed." Pale eyes are wide eyes, that show the whites well.
wanton
Scene 11#199 Pinch wanton on your cheek, call you his mouse,
Note at Scene 11#11-199
By wanton Hamlet means playfully.
neighbor room
Scene 11#229 I'll lug the guts into the neighbor room;
Note at Scene 11#11-229
It is vitally important in following the action of the play to understand that by neighbor room Hamlet means the King's Room.
Scene 12
brainish
Scene 12#011 And in this brainish apprehension kills
Note at Scene 12#12-011
By brainish Gertrude means that Hamlet hallucinated, that he reacted to something from within his brain, rather than from the real, external world.
answered
Scene 12#017 Alas, how shall this bloody deed be answered?
Note at Scene 12#12-017
Claudius uses answered to mean "legally defended."
wisest
Scene 12#040 Come, Gertrude, we'll call up our wisest friends,
Note at Scene 12#12-040
Clausius uses wisest to mean "most creative," or "most inventive."
Scene 13
replication
Scene 13#012 to be demanded of a sponge, what replication should be made by
Note at Scene 13#13-012
Hamlet uses replication to mean "retaliation."
Scene 14
tender
Scene 14#041 Which we do tender, as we dearly grieve
Note at Scene 14#14-041
Claudius uses tender to mean "offer."
set
Scene 14#066 Pays homage to us, thou mayest not coldly set
Note at Scene 14#14-066
Claudius uses set to mean "serve," as in setting a dish on a dinner table.
process
Scene 14#067 Our sovereign process, which imports at full,
Note at Scene 14#14-067
Claudius uses process to mean "writ."
Scene 15
debate
Scene 15#027 Will not debate the question of this straw;
Note at Scene 15#15-027
Hamlet uses debate to mean "only talk about."
inform against
Scene 15#034 How all occasions do inform against me,
Note at Scene 15#15-034
Hamlet uses the phrase inform against to mean "shame."
precisely
Scene 15#043 Of thinking too precisely on the event -
Note at Scene 15#15-043
By precisely Hamlet means "analytically."
charge
Scene 15#049 Witness this army of such mass and charge,
Scene 15#15-049
Hamlet uses charge to refer to the "weight" of the military force.
delicate
Scene 15#050 Led by a delicate and tender prince,
Note at Scene 15#15-050
Hamlet uses delicate to mean "mortal," i.e. subject to being hurt or killed. (Shakespeare tells us this with the word "mortal" three lines later.)
twenty thousand
Scene 15#062 The imminent death of twenty thousand men,
Note at Scene 15#15-062
Hamlet uses twenty thousand as a figure of speech to mean "a great many."
continent
Scene 15#066 Which is not tomb enough and continent
Note at Scene 15#15-066
By continent Hamlet means "land area."
Scene 16
hems
Scene 16#006 There's tricks in the world, and hems, and beats her heart,
Note at Scene 16#16-006
The Gentleman uses hems to mean "equivocates."
nothing
Scene 16#008 That carry but half sense; her speech is nothing,
Note at Scene 16#16-008
Nothing is "naught," so the Gentleman means her speech is naughty.
thought
Scene 16#013 Indeed would make one think there would be thought,
Note at Scene 16#16-013
The Gentleman uses thought to mean "grief."
toy
Scene 16#019 Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss,
Note at Scene 16#16-019
Gertrude uses toy to mean "idea," something the mind plays with.
sendal
Scene 16#027 And his sendal shoon.
Note at Scene 16#16-027
Sendal is a kind of silk. Ophelia uses sendal shoon to mean "silk slippers."
imports
Scene 16#028 Gertrude: Alas, sweet Lady, what imports this song?
Note at Scene 16#16-028
By imports Gertrude means "brings out."
not
Scene 16#040 Which bewept to the grave did not go
Note at Scene 16#16-040
The word not is aside.
dild
Scene 16#043 Ophelia: Well good 'dild' you;
Note at Scene 16#16-043
Ophelia's word is actually "dildo."
Saint Charity
Scene 16#058 (sings): By Gis and by Saint Charity,
Note at Scene 16#16-058
Saint Charity was one of the daughters of Saint Sophia.
greenly
Scene 16#079 For good Polonius' death - and we have done but greenly
Note at Scene 16#16-079
Claudius uses greenly to mean "recently."
clouds
Scene 16#085 Feeds on this wonder, keeps himself in clouds,
Note at Scene 16#16-085
With the phrase in clouds Claudius means Laertes has stayed out of his sight, instead of presenting himself to Claudius upon his return, as Laertes should have done. There is an implicit son/sun pun. A sun in clouds is out of sight.
dove
Scene 16#173 (speaks): Fare you well, my dove!
Note at Scene 16#16-173
Ophelia acts releasing a dove. The sight of a dove in flight is a good omen.
Steward
Scene 16#178 It is the false Steward that stole his Master's daughter.
Note at Scene 16#16-178
By false Steward Ophelia means "lying Hamlet."
Master's
Scene 16#178 It is the false Steward that stole his Master's daughter.
Note at Scene 16#16-178
By Master's daughter Ophelia means "Jesus's daughter."
rosemary
Scene 16#180 Ophelia: There's rosemary, that's for remembrance; (pray you love,
Note at Scene 16#16-180
Ophelia saved the rosemary from Polonius's funeral to give to Laertes since he wasn't there.
pansies
Scene 16#181 remember;) and there is pansies, that's for thoughts.
Note at Scene 16#16-181
Ophelia also saved the pansies from Polonius's funeral to give to Laertes since he wasn't there.
Robin
Scene 16#188 (sings): For bonny sweet Robin is all my joy!
Note at Scene 16#16-188
Robin is Ophelia's pet name for Hamlet. Shakespeare adapted the line from Greensleeves.
flaxen
Scene 16#196 Flaxen was his poll,
Note at Scene 16#16-196
Flaxen is yellowish, pale yellow. Yellowing of the skin is common in death, and can even be an indicator that death has occurred.
poll
Scene 16#196 Flaxen was his poll,
Note at Scene 16#16-196
Poll means "head," and in this case, particularly the skin color of the head.
Scene 17
bord
Scene 17#024 they much too light for the bord of the matter;
Note at Scene 17#17-024
The word bord means "the side of a ship."
Scene 18
mount
Scene 18#030 Stood challenger on mount of all the age
Note at Scene 18#18-030
Laertes uses mount to mean a pedestal, for mounting a statue.
Claudio
Scene 18#043 They were given me by Claudio; he received them
Note at Scene 18#18-043
The name similarity is because Claudio is an offstage stand-in for Claudius, to handle the letters. The name Claudio derives from the Latin gens name "Claudius."
naked
Scene 18#054 Claudius: 'Tis Hamlet's character. "Naked?"
Note at Scene 18#18-054
By naked Hamlet means "without my clothing." The pirates stole his fancy ambassadorial garments.
devise
Scene 18#056 Can you devise me?
Note at Scene 18#18-056
Claudius uses devise to mean "tell."
siege
Scene 18#082 Of the unworthiest siege.
Note at Scene 18#18-082
King Claudius uses siege to mean "throne."
confession
Scene 18#104 Claudius: He made confession of you,
Note at Scene 18#18-104
Claudius's line means, "He said he had to admit about you..."
defense
Scene 18#106 For art and exercise in your defense,
Note at Scene 18#18-106
Claudius primarily means that Lamord spoke in defense of Laertes, that is, as Laertes's advocate.
abate
Scene 18#126 A kind of wick or snuff that will abate it,
Note at Scene 18#18-126
Claudius uses abate to mean "extinguish."
prefared
Scene 18#171 And that he calls for drink, I'll have 'prefared' him
Note at Scene 18#18-171
Claudius uses prefared to mean "prearranged as fare for."
cull-cold
Scene 18#184 But our cull-cold maids do dead-men's-fingers call them.
Note at Scene 18#18-184
By cull-cold maids, Gertrude means the "modest kind" of maids.
Scene 19
Clown
Scene 19#000-SD (a Clown Sexton and a Clown Deputy enter)
Note at Scene 19#19-000-SD
The second Clown is a deputy of the coroner's court.
dintier
Scene 19#060 Hamlet: 'Tis even so; the hand of little employment hath the dintier sense.
Note at Scene 19#19-060
Dintier is the correct word, meaning "more sensitive," "more easily impressed."
massen
Scene 19#075 about the massen with a sexton's spade; here's fine revolution and
Note at Scene 19#19-075
The word massen means the "house," of the dead.
picked
Scene 19#116 have took note of it: the age is grown so picked, that the toe of the
Note at Scene 19#19-116
Hamlet means "socially mixed up" when he says picked, like layers of soil becoming jumbled together when a pick is used for digging.
days
Scene 19#119 Clown Sexton: Of the days in the year, I came to it that day that our last king,
Note at Scene 19#19-119
When the Clown Sexton says days in the year he means calendar dates, such as July 4.
Scene 20
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