The glass of fashion, and the mould of form,
The observed of all observers,[b 1] quite, quite down!
And I,[a 1] of ladies most deject and wretched,
That suck'd the honey of his music[a 2] vows,
Now see that noble[a 3] and most sovereign reason, 165
Like sweet bells jangled out of tune,[a 4][b 2] and harsh;
That unmatched form and feature[a 5][b 3] of blown youth
Blasted with ecstasy;[b 4] Oh, woe is me,
To have seen what I have seen, see what I see![a 6][b 5]
Re-enter King and Polonius.
King. Love?[a 7] his affections[b 6] do not that way tend; 170
Nor what he spake, though it lack'd form a little.
Was not like madness. There's something in his soul
O'er which his melancholy sits on brood;
And I do doubt the hatch and the disclose[b 7]
- ↑ 162. observed of all observers] Perhaps meaning honoured by all who pay the marks of honour, a common meaning of observer.
- ↑ 166. tune] The Q misprint time occurs in F, Macbeth, IV. iii. 235.
- ↑ 167. feature] the whole shape or cast of the body, as frequently in Shakespeare.
- ↑ 168. ecstasy] see ii. i. 102.
- ↑ 169. see!] Elze supposes that Ophelia withdraws to seek her father, returns at line 186, and is immediately sent away.
- ↑ 170. affections] emotions or passions.
- ↑ 174. disclose] Steevens quotes The Booke of Huntynge, Hawkyng, Fishing: "First they ben eges, and after they ben disclosed haukes." See V. i. 309.