John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
1528 William Shakespeare 1564-1616 John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 1528 |
| AUTHOR: | William Shakespeare (1564–1616) |
| QUOTATION: | I am thy father’s spirit, Doom’d for a certain term to walk the night, And for the day confin’d to fast in fires, 1 Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature Are burnt and purg’d away. But that I am forbid To tell the secrets of my prison-house, I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood, Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres, Thy knotted and combined locks to part And each particular hair to stand an end, Like quills upon the fretful porpentine: 2 But this eternal blazon must not be To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O, list! |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Hamlet. Act i. Sc. 5. [text] |
| WORKS: | William Shakespeare Collection. |
| Note 1. ”To lasting fires” in Singer. [back] |
| Note 2. ”Porcupine” in Singer and Staunton. [back] |