Scene First.
The King, Polonius, Lords And Ladies Of The Court, Pages And Guards, Then The Queen.
Claudius is standing on the royal platform, and surrounded by all the lords of the court.
THE CHOIR.
Mourning gives way to joyous songs!
Celebration day! a day of joy!
We greet with drunkenness,
O king, your glorious hymen!
The queen enters the stage and bows on the first steps of the throne.
THE FOLLOWING OF THE QUEEN.
Hi, oh beloved queen!
May love finally dry your tears!
On your steps the charmed crowd
Sow the palms and the flowers.
The king receives from Polonius's hands a crown which he places on the forehead of the queen.
THE KING.
O you, who was my brother's wife,
In crowning your forehead for the second time,
I obey the wishes of the Danes!
Before their will my pain must be silent;
Be grace and be gentle
Sovereign power!
Be my wife, O you who was my sister!
THE CHOIR.
God protect the king! - God protect the queen!
QUEEN, low, with anxiety.
I do not see my son!
KING, down.
Silence! - be queen!
THE CHOIR.
Mourning gives way to joyous songs!
Celebration day! a day of joy!
We greet with drunkenness.
O king, your glorious hymen!
Fanfares. - The bells are ringing. The court is retiring after the King and the Queen. - Hamlet appears at the bottom and slowly descends on stage.
Scene II.
Hamlet, alone.
Vains regrets! - ephemeral tenderness! ...
My father falls under the blows
Blind and jealous destiny! ...
Two months have just passed ... and my mother
Is on the arm of a new husband!
- These are the eternal tears!
A few days have taken everything away!
O woman! ... you're named
Inconstancy and fragility!
Scene III.
Hamlet, Ophelia.
OPHÉLIE.
My lord ...
HAMLET.
Ophelia!
OPHÉLIE.
Alas! your soul, prey
To eternal regrets, - condemn our joy! ...
And the king, I am told, has received your farewells! ...
You are fleeing this court, you are leaving! ...
HAMLET.
Ophelia!
OPHÉLIE.
Why are you looking away?
What dark despair drives you away from these places?
Should I think that your heart is forgetting me?
HAMLET.
No, I attest the heavens!
I am not one of those whose soul
Know how to forget in a day
The sweet oaths of love! ...
I do not have the heart of a woman.
OPHÉLIE.
Ah! cruel! - Ophelia deserved
That you do this injury to him?
HAMLET.
Forgive, dear creature!
I do not accuse you! - Your chaste and pure soul
Reveal in your beauty! ...
- Ah! doubt of the light,
Doubt of the sun and the day,
Doubt of the heavens and the earth,
But never doubt, never my love!
OPHÉLIE.
Alas! Hamlet, that same love
Could not hold you back!
Would you like to run away,
If you loved me as much as I love you?
HAMLET.
No, I did not run away from you!
I fled human inconstancy! ...
Your image calm and serene
Had loneliness accompanied my steps.
But your presence comforts me,
tears are less bitter by the love wiped away.
And that's enough of a word
To hold me at your feet! ...
- Ah! doubt of the light,
Doubt of the sun and the day,
Doubt of the heavens and the earth
But never doubt, never my love!
OPHÉLIE.
- Star bursting with light,
Who on our foreheads were born,
Spirit of the heavens and the earth,
Be witnesses of his love!
Scene IV.
Hamlet, Ophelia, Laerte.
LAERTE.
Hi to Prince Hamlet.
HAMLET.
May God keep you in joy!
Ophelia's brother is mine.
LAERTE.
My lord,
I come to take leave of you and my sister.
OPHÉLIE.
You're moving away? ...
LAERTE.
The king sends me,
At the court of Norwege, and I'm leaving tonight.
OPHÉLIE.
Alas! already the day is running away! ...
LAERTE, in Hamlet.
For my country, as a faithful servant,
I have to fight and I have to exile myself;
But if death strikes me one day far from her,
Your friendship will console her.
Pressing Ophelia gently in her arms.
She is my pride and my life!
Next to her, replace me;
To your heart I entrust it,
And leave me to your faith! ...
Ready to leave a beloved sister,
It's up to you alone that I let the care
His honor and fame! ...
Protect it when, I'll be far!
She is my pride and my life!
Next to her, replace me;
To your heart I entrust
And leave me to your faith!
HAMLET (holding out his hand)
The love that makes my life
Must answer you for my faith!
OPHELIE, in Laertes.
May your heart to his trust!
As in you in him, I have faith!
Several servants and pages go to the bottom. - Noise of feast.
LAERTE, moving away.
Prince, the king is waiting for me to let me know
His wishes. - Farewell.
OPHELIE, in Hamlet.
Do not you follow us?
It's time for the feast ...
HAMLET.
I do not want to appear there.
In Laerta.
God preserve you, Laertes, and guide your steps!
They are separating. - Ladies and lords go to the feast. - A troop of young officers enters the scene behind them.
Scene V.
The Chorus, then Horatio and Marcellus.
THE CHOIR.
Narge of sadness!
drunkenness
Hunting for today
Boredom!
The pleasure invites us!
Life
Have happy moments
Only a time!
Well crazy who dreams and cries,
When time
Rush the course
Days!
Horatio, entering with Marcellus and addressing a group of young lords.
We seek, messeigneurs, Prince Hamlet.
HALF CHORUS.
Why?
What do you want from him? ...
MARCELLUS, in a low voice, with fear.
Both last night,
On the rampart, where an icy wind whistles,
We saw the specter of the late king!
HALF CHORUS, laughing.
Risible vision! - Lie and spell!
MARCELLUS.
No, I tell you. - At the late king the ghost looked like!
HORATIO.
What does he want us? - God protects us!
MARCELLUS.
It's up to us to warn Prince Hamlet tonight!
Horatio and Marcellus move away.
CHORUS, cheerfully.
Narge of sadness!
drunkenness
Hunting for today
Boredom!
The pleasure invites us!
Life
Have happy moments
Only a time!
Well crazy who dreams and cries,
When time
Rush the course
Days!
The officers go out. - Change on sight.
Second Table
The Esplanade. - In the background, the illuminated palace. - It's night. The moon is veiled by thick clouds.
Scene First.
The theater is empty for a few moments. - The snow is falling. - Horatio between monitoring Marcellus.
Horatio, Marcellus, then Hamlet.
HORATIO.
Will he? - Will we see the spectrum reappear?
MARCELLUS.
That's where he spent the other night in front of us.
HAMLET, entering the stage.
Horatio! is not it?
HORATIO.
Is it you, my lord?
HAMLET.
Yes. - I thought I recognized
The voice of Marcellus and yours. - Why
Did you look for me? - What do you want from me?
MARCELLUS.
Your eyes will undoubtedly penetrate this mystery,
Monseigneur, and it is God who leads us to us! ...
At this place, the other night ...
HAMLET.
Well?
HORATIO.
We saw the shadow of your father!
HAMLET.
Of my father! ...
HORATIO.
Yes, lord, I saw it with my eyes!
At his appearance, I shuddered with terror!
His gaze was fixed and his gait slow ...
Three times he has passed, grave and silent.
HAMLET.
O terrible prodigy! - O ominous omen!
HORATIO.
He was pale in face!
HAMLET.
At what time did the ghost appear?
MARCELLUS.
At midnight.
HAMLET.
At this place?
HORATIO.
At this place.
MARCELLUS.
Suddenly the rooster crowed; the shadow vanishes.
HAMLET.
Without speaking?
HORATIO.
Without speaking.
HAMLET.
O heaven! my blood is freezing!
what do we fear from those we lose,
If they loved us on the earth?
Why shake in front of my father's specter?
He may come back; - wait!
HORATIO AND MARCELLUS.
Wait!
Noise of music in the palace. - Far gun shots.
HAMLET.
Here the shadow and the mourning, there the gay feast!
The king taunts death and braves fate!
We hear the time ring.
HORATIO.
Listen: midnight rings.
MARCELLUS.
It's time!
HORATIO.
Look: here it is ...
The spectrum appears.
HAMLET.
I'm shivering!
HORATIO AND MARCELLUS.
Angels of heaven, defend us!
HAMLET.
God! I feel my knees bend
Scene II.
The same, the Specter.
HAMLET, speaking to the spectrum.
Infernal specter! - Revered image!
O my father! ... oh my king!
Answer, alas! to my weeping voice!
Talk to me! ... talk to me!
MARCELLUS AND HORATIO, apart.
My heart is frozen with terror!
HAMLET.
Why, answer, out of the cold earth
Where I saw you go down inanimate,
Why suddenly stand up, O mystery!
The diadem at the forehead and all armed?
Infernal specter! - Revered image!
O my father! ... oh my king!
Finally, answer my teary voice!
Talk to me! ... talk to me!
The spectrum signals to Horatio and Marcellus to move away.
HORATIO.
He beckons us; he orders us
To give him the place.
HAMLET.
Friends, obey.
MARCELLUS.
Punish me heaven if I abandon you!
HAMLET.
Go away!
MARCELLUS AND HORATIO.
Lord! ...
HAMLET.
Enough! ...
I fear nothing for my immortal soul!
Go away! I want it! ... His name is!
HORATIO AND MARCELLUS, apart.
God watches over his days!
Let's stay near here to help him!
They go out.
Scene III.
Hamlet, The Specter.
HAMLET.
Speak, here we are alone.
SPECTRUM.
Listen to me.
HAMLET.
I listen.
SPECTRUM.
I am the soul of your father ... A divine power
Tear me at the fires below and put me on your way
To dictate yourself your duty.
HAMLET.
Speak, I submit to your holy will,
SPECTRUM.
Ah! if your heart keeps me a pious memory,
Avenge me, avenge me!
HAMLET.
Good Lord!
SPECTRUM.
Strike without fear
And without mercy! ... It's time to punish him!
HAMLET.
What crime do I have to avenge, what culprit to punish?
Noise of music in the palace, happy fanfares, distant cannon shots.
SPECTRUM.
Listen: he is the one we celebrate;
It is him whom they proclaimed king!
My diadem is on his head,
And no one remembers me!
We hear the wind blowing.
But by the morning breeze
The folds of my shroud are already raised;
It is time to fulfill my fatal mission;
I have to hurry.
HAMLET.
Finish, finish!
SPECTRUM.
Adultery has defiled my royal home!
And he, to better push through his betrayal,
Spying on my sleep and enjoying the hour,
On my sleeping lip poured poison!
HAMLET.
Just God!
SPECTRUM.
Avenge me, my son! ... avenge your father
Do not wait to strike the hour of repentance!
Your mother, however, turns away your anger;
Let's abandon it to heaven to punish it!
HAMLET, WITH DESPERATE.
O my mother! ... my mother! ...
SPECTRUM.
Dawn will be born in heaven ... a cruel law
Reminds me! ... goodbye so! ... Remember! ... remember!
He moves away.
HAMLET, pulling his sword.
Holy shadow! - vengeful shadow!
I will fulfill your wish!
light! ... oh sun! ... glory! ... love! ... sweet drunkenness!
God! ... I remember! I remember! ... farewell!
The ghost, before disappearing, stops at the bottom, the hand extended towards Hamlet. - Horatio and Marcellus return to the scene and stand in the shadows, motionless and terrified. New fanfares. Festive music and distant cannon shots.
Second act
First Table
The gardens of the palace.
Scene first.
OPHELIE, alone, entering the stage, a book in her hand.
His hand since yesterday did not touch my hand!
He is troubled at my sight, he flees at my approach! ...
In his eyes I read like a reproach!
What happened? - what a sudden change! ...
After a silence.
But no, I'm ungrateful ... and I insult him!
Do not think about it anymore ... Let's resume my reading.
She reads.
I.
"Adieu," said he, "have faith!
My heart loves you; - Love me!"
- Vain oaths! frivolous promise!
Everything is forgotten, here below,
Everything disappears and flies away! ...
His heart does not love me anymore ... alas!
Scene II.
Ophelia, Hamlet.
Hamlet crosses the back of the theater.
OPHÉLIE.
Here it is! - To these places, is it me who attracts?
Hamlet sees Ophelia and stops.
He saw me! ...
Hamlet takes a few steps towards her.
He's coming ... he's coming! - Let's pretend to read:
She reads.
II.
"In you, cruel, I had faith!
I loved you ... love me! "
- In vain tears! sad madness!
The ungrateful can not hear me!
He flees me! he is forgetting me!
Farewell! it is better to die, alas!
Observing Hamlet.
He keeps silence!
Hamlet hurried away.
He takes his steps elsewhere! ...
Hamlet goes out.
Scene III.
OPHELIA, alone.
Ah! this book has said true ... oaths have wings!
In the heart of infidels
Nothing can remember them!
They pass with the dawn!
The day that sees them bloom,
Also sees them fly away! ...
When from his confession my soul drunk
Forgot to listen to them,
Eternal stars, azure light,
He made you witnesses of the sworn faith ...
It's not about you that you had to doubt!
Ah! the oaths have wings!
In the heart of infidels
Nothing can remember them!
They pass with the dawn!
The day that sees them bloom,
Also sees them fly away!
Scene IV.
Ophelia, The Queen.
THE QUEEN.
I thought I was near finding you my son. - Why
These tears in your eyes? ... speak! answer me!
Do you know the secret of the disorder that agitates it?
What did he tell you? ...
OPHÉLIE.
Nothing ... He flees me; he avoids me!
THE QUEEN.
The love he swore to you ...
OPHÉLIE.
O superfluous oaths! ...
Alas! Hamlet forgets me! - Hamlet does not love me anymore!
Falling at the feet of the queen.
Queen, far from the court, suffer my exile;
It is to God that I want to ask for an asylum ...
QUEEN, raising her.
You, go! - No ... he loves you! ... he gave you his faith!
You did not lose his tenderness!
This unknown obstacle that arises and stands
Between your hearts, - comes neither from him, - nor from you.
Ophelia looks at the queen in astonishment.
Do not leave, Ophelia!
It's a mother who begs! ...
I hope only in you to heal his madness,
Or disarm his heart! ...
Ah! do not leave! ... I'm afraid! ...
In his darker look
I saw lightning!
He seemed to follow a shadow
Invisible in the air! ...
I call him ... he shudders!
He contemplates my terror ...
He repels with horror
The hand I give him! ...
I'm afraid!
Do not leave, Ophelia!
It's a mother who begs! ...
I hope only in you to heal his madness,
Or disarm his heart!
Ah! do not leave! ... I'm afraid!
OPHÉLIE.
Your words chill my soul!
Who can against a mother excite the wrath
On Hamlet? ...
The queen hides her head in her hands.
I will obey, madame;
I will not leave.
THE QUEEN.
The king is coming! ... leave us!
Ophelia goes out.
Scene V.
The Queen, The King.
THE KING.
The soul of your son is forever troubled,
Mrs! ... It's done with his weak reason! ...
THE QUEEN.
The truth perhaps in his eyes unveiled! ...
THE KING.
No, thanks to heaven! ... no hint! ...
THE QUEEN.
Alas! ... God spares me shame
To have one day to report
To the son that my arms carried,
The execrable package,
Cursed and hated,
Whose remembrance pursues me and overwhelms me!
THE KING.
He knows nothing, I tell you.
THE QUEEN.
And me?.
Have I been able to forget this past full of dread? ...
As at his supreme hour,
Under the embrace of death,
I saw it before us, by a last effort,
Stand up menacing and pale.
As I see it again! ...
THE KING.
Queen, speak below!
Of those who are no longer do not mention the shadows
Let them rest in their dark dwellings.
The dead do not wake up!
THE QUEEN.
They wake up! ... they stand up.
They chase us, they urge us!
Pale, bloody, ready to punish!
Present, always present to our memory! ...
THE KING.
What mad terror seizes your soul?
O weak heart! ò woman!
You are losing us both!
Silence! - I want it!
THE QUEEN.
All sweet cursed! - Both
Never wretched! ...
Scene VI.
The same, Hamlet.
THE QUEEN.
My son! ...
KING, advancing towards Hamlet.
Dear Hamlet! ...
HAMLET.
Sire.
THE KING.
Call me your father.
HAMLET.
Sire, my father is dead.
THE KING.
His memory is dear to me,
Hamlet. - It is in his name that I extend my hand.
HAMLET.
His is inert and icy!
His memory is well erased;
No one will know his name tomorrow! ...
THE KING.
My son ...
HAMLET.
I am Hamlet.
He takes a few steps to get away.
THE QUEEN.
You were looking for Orphélie?
HAMLET, stopping.
I'm looking for it.
THE QUEEN.
She is young and beautiful.
HAMLET.
The beauty,
Youth, one day will have taken everything away!
THE KING.
From this sweet knot already if your heart is loosened,
Who's holding you back? - Routes France and Italy,
And our wishes will follow you on these foreign edges
HAMLET.
Yes, see in the sky these light clouds,
Like a silver nave opening its white sails ...
I would like with them to travel in the air,
In the middle of the stars,
In the midst of lightning! ...
THE KING.
Foolish wishes!
Party music outside.
Listen, Hamlet, this festive noise!
Get out of your dream finally and straight up your head! ...
THE QUEEN.
May I comfort your soul by my care!
HAMLET, changing his tone suddenly.
By my faith, you will witness
From a new show that is prepared for you
I brought in these gardens
A troop of people of rare skill:
Jesters, mimes and baladins,
Who will play before you their role in conscience.
THE KING.
Let it be done tonight according to your desires;
We leave you, Hamlet, the care of our pleasures.
Down to the queen.
He does not know anything.
QUEEN, aside.
I'm afraid! ...
The king and queen go out.
HAMLET, following them with his eyes.
My father, patience! ...
Scene VII.
Hamlet, Horatio, Marcellus The Comedians.
MARCELLUS.
Here are the histrions summoned by you, lord.
HAMLET.
May they be welcome at Elsinore Palace,
THE CHOIR OF COMEDIANS.
Princes without appanages,
Paladins,
Ladies, lords and pages,
Buffoons and baladins,
At the feet of your Highness,
We humbly
Our talents, our address,
And our devotion!
HAMLET, aside.
It is by believing to see again stand up the victim
That more than one murderer has confessed his crime! ...
Turning to the actors.
This is what I expect from you; second me!
The queen is worried and her son is extravagant;
To amuse the court and distract the king,
You will see us tonight the Murder of Gonzaga.
I'll tell you the moment to pour the poison,
And you only have to follow my lesson!
Changing of tone.
In the meantime, celebrate!
Drink, laugh, sing! - Hey! pages, wine!
Out of there, my friends, everything is wrong, everything is futile!
I myself will hold you!
Pages bring wine and cups.
THE COMEDIANS.
Thank you, my lord,
It's for us too much honor!
HAMLET, grabbing a cup.
O wine, dispel the sadness
Which weighs on my heart!
To me dreams of drunkenness,
EL the mocking laughter!
THE COMEDIANS.
Nothing beats sweet drunkenness
May a good wine pour us to the heart!
HORATIO AND MARCELLUS.
He hopes in vain to drown in the drunkenness
The cruel concern that troubles his heart.
HAMLET.
Life is dark!
The years are short;
In our beautiful days
God knows the number!
Everyone, alas!
Door here below
His heavy chain:
Cruel homework,
Long despair
From the human soul! ...
Carrying the cup to his lips.
Far from us
Black omens!
The wisest
Are the crazy!
O wine, dispel the sadness
Which weighs on my heart!
To me dreams of drunkenness
And the mocking laughter!
O liquor
enchantress,
Pour the drunkenness
And forgetfulness in my heart!
He goes out. The actors follow Horatio and Marcellus. Change on sight.
Second Table.
Large hall of the lit palace for a party; on the right, the royal throne; on the left, platform for the courtyard.
Danish market.
Entrance of the king, the queen, Polonius, Ophelia, then Hamlet, followed by Horatio, Marcellus, and the whole court.
HAMLET, sitting at the feet of Ophelia, staring at the king and the queen.
Belle, let us
To take place
At your knees.
OPHELIE, in a low voice.
Prince, your eyes terrify me and freeze me!
On a sign from the king, everyone takes their place on the platform; trumpet calls announcing the performance. - The curtains of the bottom part and reveal a small theater at the back of the room. - The torches turn pale. - Bright light on the little theater.
HAMLET, down to Marcellus.
Here is the moment! - fix your eyes on the king;
And if you see him turning pale, tell me.
Pantomime
An old king, with a crown on his forehead, slowly enters the stage, leaning on the arm of a theater queen whose features and clothes are those of Queen Gertrude.
HAMLET, his eyes fixed on the king, explains the various movements of the actors as the mime drama executes.
It's old king Gonzaga and queen Juniper ...
In this solitary place she guides her steps ...
Sweet oaths of love that we do not hear,
Escape from his lip ...
The king gives in to sleep and falls asleep in his arms ...
But look, here come
The tempting demon, the traitor! ...
A new character appears on the small theater. - His face and his costume are those of the king.
He approaches ... he holds the poison!
The queen, whose treacherous voice
Egara the weak reason,
Give him a homicidal cut! ...
He grabs it ... and, without fear,
Pour death into the heart of the king! ...
It's done! ... God receives his soul!
And he, the murderer, calm and still standing,
At the face of the day, take the golden crown
And put her on her infamous forehead! ...
Rushing on the steps of the royal platform and suddenly standing up in front of the king.
Sire, you are turning pale! ...
KING (rising)
Hunt, hunt from here
These vile histrions!
THE QUEEN.
God!
The curtains of the little theater are closed again. The courtiers rise up in disorder and crowd around the king.
HAMLET, aside.
My doubt is cleared up!
Feigning madness.
Hit the murderer! knock the wretch!
You saw him! ... it was he who poured the poison!
THE CHOIR.
What's he saying? What a transport misplaces his reason!
THE QUEEN.
Hamlet! ... my son!
OPHÉLIE.
Lord!
HAMLET.
Treason! treason?
Let's take the death of the king by the death of the culprit! ...
Advancing towards the king and dismissing the courtiers who surround him.
Here it is! ... look! ... do not you see it? ...
He insults the sky! ... He braves God himself!
And the forehead girded with the royal diadem! ...
Extending the hand to tear off the crown from the king's forehead.
Down with a lying mask! ... vain crown, down!
Horatio and Marcellus seek to train Hamlet.
THE CHORUS, THE QUEEN, OPHELIA.
O mortal offense!
Blind dementia
Who chills all our hearts of fright!
In his mad rage,
He braves, he outrages
The holy majesty of the king!
THE KING.
O mortal offense!
Strange dementia
Who chills all the hearts of fright!
In his mad rage!
He braves, he outrages
The husband of his mother and his king!
HAMLET, continuing to feign madness
O wine, dispel the sadness
Which weighs on my heart!
To me dreams of drunkenness
And the mocking laughter! ...
ALL.
O mortal offense!
Blind dementia
Who chills all the hearts of fright!
HAMLET, laughing with brilliance.
Ah! ah! ah! ...
THE KING.
Torches! ... torches! ... Follow me!
Hamlet falls into the arms of Horatio and Marcellus. The king hastily leaves, followed by the queen and the whole court.
Third Act
A room in the queen's apartment. - In the background, the portraits at the foot of the two kings. - A prie-Dieu. - On a table, a lit lamp.
Scene first.
Hamlet, alone.
I could hit the miserable,
And I did not do it! ... What is I waiting for?
Why still delay in punishing the culprit? ...
And why leak time?
Turning to his father's portrait.
Alas! what are you now, O my father!
After a long silence.
To be or not to be ... O mystery!
Die! ... to sleep! ... dream! ...
Ah! if I were allowed, to go find you,
To break the link that binds me to the earth! ...
But after? ... what is this unknown country
Where does not a traveler yet come back? ...
To be or not to be ... O mystery!
Die! ... to sleep! ... dream maybe! ...
Listening.
We come!
Seeing the king appear.
The king!
Hiding behind a tapestry.
Ah! it is God who delivers you to me!
Scene II.
The King, Hamlet, hidden.
THE KING.
It was in vain that I thought I was escaping remorse! ...
To my brother's destiny, alas! I feel like!
He has entered the eternal life,
And I delivered my soul to eternal death! ...
HAMLET, aside.
He offers himself to my dagger!
He slips into the shadows and stands at the back with the dagger in his hand.
THE KING, kneeling before the prie-Dieu.
I implore you, O my brother!
If you hear me, if you see me,
Soothes anger
Of him who judges kings!
HAMLET, aside, stopping at the moment of striking the king.
He prays!
THE KING.
Ah! vain efforts! - Foolish hope!
He collapses with despair at the feet of the prie-Dieu
My voice and my eyes go to heaven; my thought
Ramp on the ground! ... alas!
God does not listen to me! ...
I implore you, O my brother! ...
If you hear me, if you see me,
Soothes anger
Of him who judges kings!
He falls to his knees.
HAMLET, aside.
No! no! ... repentance could save his soul! ...
It's not kneeling,
It is in the intoxication of the throne that the infamous
Must fall under my blows!
He throws his dagger and hides behind a tapestry.
THE KING.
What ghost did I see passing in the dark night?
O terror! ... I saw it! ... Polonius! to me!
Scene III.
The King, Polonius, Hamlet, hidden
Polonius.
Sire, why these cries?
THE KING.
There, I saw, like a shadow,
Skip the specter of the late king!
Polonius.
Take back your spirits and calm your terror!
Keep that in front of all a word we tranisse!
Hamlet, aside, with terror.
Polonius is his accomplice!
Polonius trains the king.
Scene IV.
Hamlet, alone; then Ophelia and the Queen.
HAMLET.
He, accomplice of the king! - Polonius! ... God!
Why did I hear that execrable confession!
He falls down in a chair. - Enter Ophelia and the queen.
THE QUEEN.
Here it is! ...
Apart.
I want to finally read in his thoughts!
Approaching Hamlet.
Dear Hamlet ...
Hamlet gets up.
By my care and by order of the king,
The altar is prepared ...
Showing him Ophelia.
Here is your fiancee.
Hamlet turns away his eyes without answering.
OPHELIA (aside)
He is silent! ... His gaze turns away from me!
HAMLET, aside.
O torture! - O torture!
The package to punish his father was an accomplice!
THE QUEEN.
We are waiting for us; ... come!
HAMLET, with brilliancy.
On me fall the heavens
Before this fatal hymen is fulfilled!
OPHELIA, taking refuge in the arms of the queen.
What's he saying? ...
THE QUEEN.
What dark fire sprang from his eyes!
HAMLET, with a painful and bitter accent.
Go to a cloister, go, Ophelia!
And may your heart ever forget
This dream of a day!
Mad who of Hamlet can believe himself loved!
My soul is marble and remains closed
To the sighs of love!
THE QUEEN, staring at Hamlet's face with a fixed look.
What! my son, charming features,
The look of your fiancée,
And his confession and your oaths
Have they come out of your thinking?
HAMLET.
I can not find anything in my icy soul.
OPHELIA (with resigned sadness)
This promised love on his knees
Whose I did all my glory,
And this ring given by you,
I must, alas! do not believe it?
HAMLET.
From these sweet memories I lost my memory!
Apart.
The horrible truth has risen between us!
OPHELIA, presenting him with his ring.
If you do not love me anymore, take this pledge!
HAMLET.
Ophelia! O happiness fainted!
Taking the ring and breaking it.
Courage!
QUEEN, to Ophelia.
He's crying while pronouncing your name!
- He remembers! - he loves you! ...
HAMLET.
No!
Go to a cloister, go, Ophelia!
And may your heart ever forget
This dream of a day!
Mad who of Hamlet can believe himself loved!
My soul is marble and remains closed
To the sighs of love! ...
OPHELIA (aside)
Dark bewilderment! strange madness!
Glory, honor, virtue and grace,
Everything happens in one day!
Here is this Hamlet who loved me so much!
Forever, alas! his soul is closed
To dreams of love!
QUEEN, aside.
His merciless hand repels Ophelia!
Cruel lie or dark madness! ...
I tremble!
Doubt invades my alarmed soul!
His anger, alas! did not calm down
In front of so much love!
HAMLET.
My soul for ever is closed to love.
QUEEN, aside.
What fatal suspicion has broken his love?
OPHÉLIE.
Farewell joy and happiness! ... goodbye dreams of love!
She goes out hiding her tears. - Hamlet and the queen remain alone.
Scene V.
Hamlet, The Queen.
THE QUEEN, after a long silence.
Hamlet, my pain is immense!
Anger, even more so than dementia,
Seems to break into your speeches! ...
But leave Ophelia! ... forget your loves! ...
For pity, go to a mother's advice
Who can be powerless to protect your days!
You have seriously offended your father ...
HAMLET.
Who offended my father? ...
THE QUEEN.
What did you say?
HAMLET.
Deadly and cursed memory! ...
QUEEN, trembling.
Hamlet! ...
HAMLET.
Relentless remembrance!
THE QUEEN.
Your language is of a fool!
HAMLET, taking a step towards the queen.
And yours is a culprit!
QUEEN, backing down to Hamlet.
My son, remember who I am! ...
HAMLET.
I have them!
You are my mother! ... the Queen! ...
The one that a mad love drives
To the brother of her husband! ...
The queen wants to go away; Hamlet blocks his passage.
Oh! you will not run away! ... you will stay, ma'am! ...
In a threatening tone.
In the depths of your soul
Dare to plunge your eyes, and recognize yourself!
THE QUEEN, still moving back to Hamlet.
Do you want to kill me, great God! ...
HAMLET.
Me! ... No, my mother,
I do not anticipate the judgments of heaven!
Committing a parricide is also criminal
What to kill a king to marry his brother!
QUEEN, with terror.
Kill a king! ...
HAMLET.
That's what I said! ... Well!
You stop talking? you do not answer anything? ...
Ah! that your soul without refuge
Cry on the homework betrayed!
You are no longer in front of a son,
Curl up in front of your judge!
THE QUEEN.
No! ... be my strength and my refuge!
I shudder, alas! I shudder!
That the tenderness of my son
Protect me in front of my judge!
Suppliant.
Look! ... the pain misleads my reason!
My son! I reach out to you my desperate hands! ...
HAMLET.
Your hands have shed the poison!
THE QUEEN.
Heaven itself has pity on the weeping mothers!
HAMLET, showing the two portraits to the queen.
Hold! look up at these portraits! ... here.
The two brothers, madame! ...
Indicating the portrait of his father.
Right here
Serene grace and beauty;
Courage, faith, sovereign virtues
Who are the majesty of kings! ...
She was your husband of old! -
Showing the other portrait.
There, all the crimes of the earth!
Artifice, fear, murder and adultery
All gathered in him! ...
Here is your spouse today!
This is the chosen heart of yours!
That's the monster, the pervert,
Like the demons of hell,
What you gave as successor to another!
THE QUEEN.
Thanks, my son! save me!
HAMLET.
No no! ... To defend yourself, call your king!
THE QUEEN, prostrate before Hamlet.
Forgive, alas! your voice overwhelms me!
Do you want me to die in despair!
Hamlet! ... do not be implacable!
Your mother at your feet crawls by crying!
HAMLET, with ever increasing fury.
This assassin! ... this miserable
Replace my father! O Almighty God! ...
Weep! ... I am inexorable! ...
I have before my eyes a veil of blood! ...
The Queen has seized Hamlet's hands and crawls at his feet Hamlet pushes her away; she falls head over heels on the cushions of a bed of rest.
QUEEN, with despair.
Ah! ...
The lights suddenly pale; the shadow stands behind the couch and reaches out to Hamlet.
THE SHADOW.
My son!
HAMLET, backing away wildly.
God! ... eternal powers!
Angels of heaven, cover me with your wings! ...
Spoken! - what do you want from me?
THE QUEEN.
Death mence! ...
The shadow advances towards Hamlet who recoils before her.
HAMLET, falling at the foot of the prie-Dieu.
Shadow terrible and dear,
Do you come to awaken the anger
Of an ungrateful son and without virtue? ...
Oh! spoken! ...
THE SHADOW.
Remember! ... but spare your mother! ...
THE QUEEN.
Why are you looking in the void? ... With whom
do you think to speak! ...
She crosses the theater and approaches Hamlet.
HAMLET, extending his hand toward the shadows.
Him! him! ...
Ah!look away! ... leave me my courage!
Crying would soften that swollen heart of rage! ...
No! ... no tears! ... some blood! ...
THE QUEEN.
My son!
HAMLET.
The! ... in front of me! ...
The! ... do you see it? ...
THE QUEEN.
No! ... you freeze me from fright!
The shadow is slowly moving away.
HAMLET.
Do not you hear anything? ...
THE QUEEN.
No! ... nothing! ...
HAMLET.
This spectrum! ... this shadow! ...
But look here! ... silent and dark,
He goes away! ... he is crossing your doorstep! ...
The doors are opened in front of the shadow, which turns on the threshold and extends its hand again towards Hamlet.
THE SHADOW.
Remember! ...
The shadow disappears; the doors close again.
THE QUEEN.
In the name of heaven, Hamlet, hunt for your thought
This insane vision! ...
HAMLET.
No! do not believe me foolish! ... My fury
has subsided at my father's voice!
Repent! ... pray! ... sleep in peace, my mother!
He goes away and goes out; the queen follows him with her eyes.
THE QUEEN.
terrible night! O night of terror and horror!
She falls helpless at the foot of the prie-Dieu.
Fourth Act
A shady country site with tall trees. - At the bottom a large lake dotted with green islands and bordered with willows and reeds. - The day rises and brightly illuminates the whole landscape.
Scene first.
A troupe of young Danish peasants enters the scene with the sound of oboes and tambourines.
CHOIR.
Here is the laughing season,
The sweet month of nests and roses!
The sun is shining on the horizon,
And our doors are no longer closed!
For the fields leave the house;
Here is the laughing season! ...
Everything comes alive and smiles, everything sings and radiates.
The long nights gave way to long days;
Hard work succeeds loves! ...
Let's celebrate the happy spring crowned with anemone!
Here is the laughing season,
The sweet month of nests and roses!
The sun is shining on the horizon,
And our doors are no longer closed!
For the fields leave the house;
Here is the laughing season!
The sweet month of nests and roses!
Ballet.
Spring Festival.
Scene II.
The Chorus, Ophelia.
Between Ophelia, wearing a long white dress and strangely capped with flowers and lianas intertwined in her loose hair.
OPHÉLIE.
To your games, my friends, allow me, of grace,
To take part! ...
The peasants look at her with surprise and surround her.
No one has followed me!
I left the palace at the first light of day ...
Already the bird was singing in the woods around ...
The morning breeze was shaking the leaves
A long thrill of love! ...
The tears of the night the earth was wet
And the lark, before dawn awake,
hovered in the air ...
making them sign to approach.
But you, why do you speak low
Do not you recognize me?
Hamlet is my husband, ... and I am Ophelia!
THE CHOIR.
Ophelia!
OPHELIE, in a low voice, addressing the girls around him.
Listen: - a sweet oath binds us!
He gave me his heart in exchange for mine ...
And if someone tells you that he flees me and forgets me,
Do not believe it! ... do not believe it! ...
THE CHOIR.
May he always be faithful
As you always are beautiful,
It is the wish of our hearts, oh noble young lady!
OPHELIA, with sadness.
If he betrayed his faith, I would lose my reason!
Cheerfully.
Do you share my flowers! ...
Has a girl.
To you this humble branch
Of wild rosemary ...
To another.
To you this periwinkle ...
And now, listen to my song:
I.
Pale and blonde,
sleeps under the deep water
Willis with a fiery look!
May God keep the
lover lingering,
In the night, at the edge of the blue lake!
With sadness.
Happy the bride
In the arms of the bridegroom!
My soul is jealous
Of so sweet happiness!
II.
The siren,
Draws and leads
Under the azure lake asleep!
The air is sailing!
Farewell, white star!
Goodbye, heaven! ... goodbye, sweet friend! ...
Happy the bride
In the arms of the bridegroom!
My soul is jealous
Of so sweet happiness!
Ah! ...
She finishes her song with vocalizations mingled with laughter and sobs, then drops herself on a mound of grass and signals to the choir to get away.
CHORUS, with compassion.
She cries and laughs in turn!
His reason has fled without return!
The chorus goes away sadly.
1. The role of the choir, in these two scenes, can be sung by the artist of the choir or mimed by those of the dance
Scene III.
Ophelia, alone.
After a long silence, she gets up, looking around, and runs to the back of the theater.
Ah!... here it is! I think I hear it!
To punish him for making himself wait,
White Willis, water nymphs.
Hide me among your reeds! ...
She leans over the edge of the water, leaning with one hand on the branches of a willow and the other spreading the reeds.
"Ah! Doubt of the light,
Doubt of the sun and the day ...
She slips gently between the reeds and disappears little by little in the water.
Doubt of heaven and earth,
But never doubt ... never of my love! "
One sees her floating for some time in her white dress. - Then his body is carried away by the current, and one still hears his voice repeating weakening more and more:
Never!... never!
Fifth Act
The Elsinore Cemetery. - Some funerary stones under cypresses. - On the right, a chapel. At bottom the town of Elsinore and the sea, illuminated by the last rays of the setting sun.
Scene first.
Bone hunters, then Hamlet.
FIRST FOSSOYEUR.
I.
Lady or prince, man or woman,
Descend to the dead;
The earth takes the body,
May God receive the soul!
Everything is vain here:
Love, wealth and glory!
Everything is vain here,
except the pleasure of drinking!
Life is in the wine!
They drink. - Hamlet appears at the bottom and stops.
II.
Young or old, brown or blonde,
everyone will have his turn!
The night succeeds the day,
It is the law of this world!
Together.
Everything is vain here:
Love, wealth and glory!
Everything is vain here,
except the pleasure of drinking!
Life is in the wine!
HAMLET, aside, at the back.
As death becomes easily familiar!
Their song, that's their prayer!
Approaching.
Why did you unseal this stone?
FIRST FOSSOYEUR.
For someone who will follow superfluous regrets.
HAMLET.
His name?
SECOND FOSSOYEUR.
We were told, I do not remember.
They are moving away.
Scene II.
HAMLET, alone.
O stay of nothingness! O dead ones that I knew!
Sitting on a grave.
The fatigue weighs down my steps, the cold wins me!
I wander for two days through the campaign
To escape the murderers!
Yes, the king in my blood wants to appease his rage
He gets up.
Provided that Horatio receives my message! ...
His friendship will serve my purposes!
I was able to postpone them without my forgetting them:
I have not forgotten anything! ... no ... not even Ophelia! ...
Poor child, whose love, like a poisonous poison,
has withered youth and troubled reason!
I.
Like a pale flower
Eclose at the breath of the grave,
Under the blows of misfortune,
Sad and broken, - it succumbs!
II.
By my cruel refusal,
His soul, forever desolate,
Aspires only to heaven,
Where his reason has vanished! ...
From my fatal destiny she suffers the law! ...
With pain.
Ophelia! Ophelia! ... alas! forgive me!
Listening.
But who walks in the shadows?
Laertes enters the scene wrapped in a coat. - Hamlet walks his meeting.
Scene III.
Hamlet, Laerte.
HAMLET.
Horatio
LAERTE.
Laertes!
HAMLET.
Laertes!
LAERTE.
You shuddered,
Prince! ... Where does it come from in the hand of a friend
Your hand has not opened?
Yes, I'm back. The King
has confided to me certain message which
he had surprised in passing;
And it's not Horatio! ... It's me!
HAMLET.
Well! what do you want? - What interest guides you?
LAERTE, with brilliance.
You ask me, perfidious?
Do you think I am deceiving you by your pretended sweetness?
Speak, Hamlet, what did you do with Ophelia?
Hamlet turns away his head without answering.
O my sister!
O dear child! O eternal pain!
Could I believe, alas!
When I held that fraternal hand,
Hamlet did not love you!
HAMLET, wanting to go away.
Laertes, may Heaven protect you!
LAERTE, blocking his way.
Hamlet hopes to
escape without shedding my blood!
HAMLET.
Your blood! No, the crime of the father
must not fall on the innocent son!
LAERTE.
What crime? what are you saying? ... To cover your perjury
Will you still look for a cowardly sham?
HAMLET.
Ah!why throw yourself in front of my blows?
I said too much ...
He draws his sword.
Die, then!
LAERTE.
May God judge us!
They cross the iron, a funeral march is heard behind the scenes. - Both stop and listen.
HAMLET.
Hold on! listening! ...
What is this step noise?
LAERTE.
The procession, no doubt.
HAMLET.
Who is dead? answer!
LAERTE.
Alas!
Hamlet does not know it?
Laertes puts the sword back in the sheath. Hamlet retreats step by step as he approaches the procession and hides behind a mausoleum.
Scene IV.
Hamlet, Laerte, Lords, Young Girls, Jacks carrying torches, then King and Queen, then Shadow. - The procession descends on stage. - A chorus of girls dressed in white precedes the parade bed where Ophelia lies dead.
CHORUS OF YOUNG GIRLS.
As the new rose
fades to the breath of the autans,
she died young and beautiful,
In his first day of spring!
The king and the queen close the procession. The parade bed is placed in front of the doors of the chapel.
HAMLET, rushing on stage and spreading the veil covering Ophelia's body.
Ophelia! ...
QUEEN AND KING
Hamlet! ...
THE CHOIR.
God!
HAMLET, with despair.
Dead! Ice! ...
Falling kneeling near the lifeless body of Ophelia.
O crime!
O their black plots deplorable victim
It's done! ... I'm losing you! ...
Getting up.
No! No! .. O Key God
Unite us! ... I die!
He turns his sword against himself. Horatius and Marcellus rush towards him to stop his arm.
ALL.
Sky! ...
THE SHADOW, appearing at the bottom among the tombs.
Hamlet! ...
HAMLET.
My oath!
Together.
THE CHOIR.
O terror! Terror! ...
It is the shadow of the late king who stands before us,
Terrible and menacing!
What misfortune on our foreheads will descend from heaven?
HAMLET.
Yes, tremble with terror! ...
It is the shadow of the late king who stands before us,
Terrible and menacing!
It is time to obey the wills of heaven!
THE KING AND THE QUEEN.
O terror! horror!
It's him! it's him! ... I see standing before my eyes,
His ominous shadow! ...
I read in his eyes the will of the heavens!
LAERT, MARCELLUS, HORATIO.
O terror! horror! ...
It is the shadow of the late king who stands before us,
Terrible and menacing!
Death itself obeys the wills of heaven!
THE KING.
Thanks! ...
THE QUEEN.
Pity! ...
THE SHADOW.
The time has passed! ...
You, my son, make your work begun!
HAMLET.
Ah!so force my arm to pierce her breast!
Guide my shots! ...
He walks towards the king, his eyes fixed on the shadow.
THE KING,
Ah! ...
He falls to the heart struck by Hamlet's sword.
THE QUEEN.
God! ...
THE CHOIR.
The king! ...
HAMLET.
No, the murderer! ...
The murderer of my father! ...
THE SHADOW.
The crime is atoned! ... the cloister is waiting for your mother!
Together.
THE KING.
O God! I die cursed! Hell opens for me!
THE SHADOW.
Live for your people, Hamlet! it is God who makes you king!
THE QUEEN.
I succumb! I die! O God! forgive me!
HAMLET.
My soul is in the grave, alas! and I am king!
HORATIO AND MARCELLUS, pulling the sword.
Long live Hamlet! ...
LORDS AND SOLDIERS.
Long live Hamlet!
ALL THE CHORUS.
Long live Hamlet, our king!