Hello Jlroyal,
In the line “But thou wouldst not think how ill all’s here about my
heart” Hamlet is talking to Horatio and expressing his feelings of
uneasiness and apprehension concerning the fencing match he has
accepted to have with Laertes. (Hamlet - Act V, Scene II)
Below I will provide you with a number of references with short
excerpts where you will gather a further understanding of Hamlet’s
line.
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According to Shakespeare Online, Hamlet is expressing a feeling of
apprehension about the fencing match that he has accepted to fight
with Laertes.
“Orsic tells Hamlet that the King requests him to fight Laertes in a
fencing match. (..) Hamlet accepts the challenge, believing that it
is indeed only a friendly match. He does expresses a hint of
apprehension "thou wouldst not think how ill all's here about my
heart" but he dismisses it, telling Horatio that he is prepared to die
if fate commands it so.”
Shakespeare Online
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plots/hamletps.html
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This line can be interpreted as a sense of foreboding that Hamlet has
concerning the fencing match.
“Indeed, it is shortly thereafter that Hamlet reveals his sense of
foreboding to Horatio: "But thou wouldst not think how ill all's here
about my heart." (..) “Again, this seems to be reflected in his
discourse with Horatio soon thereafter. Here it is perhaps not so much
his actual mood that changes but we see again an attempt to quickly
dismiss his darker thoughts: "But thou wouldst not think how ill all's
here about my heart. But it is no matter."
Greenspun Family Server
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0012Kh
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Hamlet is having uneasy feelings.
“On hearing the news, Horatio expresses his concern for Hamlet's
safety. Hamlet assures him that he has been practicing fencing since
Laertes left for France. Although Hamlet concedes an uneasy feeling,
he dismisses it as trivial. Horatio urges his friend to follow his
instincts and postpone the match; in the end, however, Hamlet is
determined to participate.”
Pink Monkey Booknotes
http://www.pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/monkeynotes/pmHamlet50.asp
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Presentiment:
“When Laertes challenges Hamlet to a fight Hamlet tells Horatio he is
suspecting something wrong will happen. Hamlet - "I shall win at the
odds; but thou wouldst not think how ill alls here about my heart. But
it is no matter..." http://www.geocities.com/starbuck819/CowboyBebop/Hamlet.html
Hamlet Scene Summaries:
“The courtier, Osric, comes to inform Hamlet that the King has made a
wager on Hamlet’s fencing abilities. He has bet that Laertes could not
get three hits more than Hamlet in twelve rounds of fencing. The King
has sent for Hamlet to have him settle the bet. Hamlet eventually
goes, although his intuition warns him, “but thou wouldst not think
how ill all’s here about my heart.”
Halifax Regional School Board
http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/engramja/hamlet/hamlet_scene_summaries.htm#5.2
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Premonition:
In the last part of the play we have, Hamlet's feeling that his
enemies are plotting his death, and will certainly achieve it: we have
his premonition, "But thou wouldst not think, how ill all's here about
my heart." [Act V, ii.]
http://www.sourcetext.com/sourcebook/library/winstanley/hamlet/7.htm
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From the article Multiplicity of Meaning in the Last Moments of Hamlet
by John Russel Brown:
“Towards the end of Hamlet, the hero tries to share his own sense that
a bloody spur is about to probe to his very "heart": Thou wouldst not
think how ill all's here about my heart; but it is no matter (V.ii)
http://hamlet.gnostika.com/critics/crit_brown.htm
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“Hamlet's passion likewise recedes almost from view not only in the
virtual disappearance of evocative allusions but more ominously in his
growing awareness of the imminence of passion's death: "How ill all's
here about my heart". (5.2)
http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:GylGr8u2zTsJ:www.metrostate.edu/cgi-bin/troxy/lproxy.cgi/URL-muse.jhu.edu/journals/new_literary_history/v033/33.3stevenson.html+%22*+*+*+*+*+*+*++*+*+*+*+*++ill+all%27s+here+about+my+heart%22+*+*+*+&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
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From the Hamlet Case Study Room:
“So by the end, he anticipates the death that will allow him to escape
from his mistakes and free himself to the Heaven as Hamlet says to his
friend Horatio before the fatal fencing encounter: Thou wouldst not
think how ill alls here about my heart- but it is no matter.”
http://damoo.csun.edu:8888/11733
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You may read Hamlet - Act V, Scene II at Bartleby
http://www.bartleby.com/70/4252.html
Search Criteria:
Hamlet “But thou wouldst not think”
“But thou wouldst not think how ill all’s here about my heart”
Hamlet - Act V Scene II
I hope this helps! If anything is unclear with my answer, please ask
for clarification.
Best Regards,
Bobbie7-ga |
Request for Answer Clarification by
jlroyal-ga
on
15 Sep 2003 02:41 PDT
Thing is, the line appears in Norton Shakespeare (which is what I'm
reading) exactly as I typed it in my question: not "how ill all's" but
"how all here about my heart", etc. The rest is the same. I've been
looking online and everything seems to suggest that my text is faulty,
although I haven't seen a corrections list for my text or anything
referring to an error.
Seems like Hamlet's saying that he has some negative sense of the
outcome of the fencing match.
Norton generally provides good explication of Elizabethan English,
but here neither provides a comment regarding the source text or one
about the language. So, which text were you using?
|
Clarification of Answer by
bobbie7-ga
on
15 Sep 2003 08:47 PDT
Hello again jlroyal,
Here is a graphic image where you may see that the word “ill” is
omitted. (Scroll down to the bottom left hand side of the webpage)
Hor: You will lofe this wager, my Lord
Ham. I doe not thinke fo, fince he went into France,
I haue beene in continuall practice; I fhall winne at the
oddes: but thou wouldeft not thinke how all heere about
my heart: but it is no matter
Hor. Nay, good my Lord
http://dewey.library.upenn.edu/sceti/printedbooksNew/index.cfm?TextID=hamlet_f1&PagePosition=29
The source of the above is:
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of
Denmarke. From Mr. VVilliam Shakespeares comedies, histories, &
tragedies : published according to the true originall copies. London:
Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed. Blount, 1623. In Horace Howard
Furness Memorial (Shakespeare) Library. Folio PR2751 .A1.
http://dewey.library.upenn.edu/sceti/printedbooksNew/index.cfm?TextID=hamlet_f1&PagePosition=1
Here is another graphic image of the line taken from the University of
Pennsylvania’s Etext library where the word “ill” is omitted.
http://oldsite.library.upenn.edu/etext/furness/hamlet1623/280.html
Project Gutenberg has a copy of Hamlet where the word “ill” is omitted
as well.
Hor. You will lose this wager, my Lord
Ham. I doe not thinke so, since he went into France,
I haue beene in continuall practice; I shall winne at the
oddes: but thou wouldest not thinke how all heere about
my heart: but it is no matter
Hor. Nay, good my Lord
http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext00/0ws2610.txt
However, Project Gutenberg also has a copy of Hamlet where the word
“ill” is included.
Gutenberg: Hamlet
http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext99/1ws2611.txt
Bartleby’s copy includes the word “ill" as well.
http://www.bartleby.com/70/4252.html
You are correct in saying that it seems like Hamlet is saying that he
has some negative sense of the outcome of the fencing match.
I hope this helps clear things up.
Best wishes
Bobbie7
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