Ask Shakespeare

Hamlet: “This bodes some strange eruption to our state.”

In the haunting opening scene of Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy Hamlet, the night watchmen of Elsinore are confronted with a chilling apparition – the ghost of the recently deceased King of Denmark. As this specter from the grave stalks the battlements, Horatio, one of the watchmen, utters the ominous line: “This bodes some strange eruption to our state.”

This quote encapsulates the sense of foreboding that pervades the play, hinting at the turmoil and upheaval that will soon engulf the Danish kingdom. Horatio’s words are a harbinger of the chaos and violence that will erupt from the unnatural disruption of the social order, foreshadowing the tragic events that unfold.

Shakespeare’s choice of the word “eruption” is particularly evocative, conjuring images of a volcanic upheaval – a sudden, violent, and destructive force that cannot be contained. This metaphor aptly captures the impending explosion of conflict and tragedy that will rock the foundations of the Danish state. The use of the adjective “strange” further heightens the sense of unease, suggesting that the coming upheaval will be unprecedented and unsettling, defying the natural order of things.

The quote also reflects the play’s central theme of appearance versus reality. The ghost, an unnatural and inexplicable phenomenon, represents the hidden truths and deceptions that lurk beneath the surface of the Danish court. Horatio’s words acknowledge that this supernatural visitation portends a revelation of secrets and a disruption of the facade of normalcy that has been carefully maintained.

Moreover, the quote resonates with the play’s exploration of the corrupting influence of power and the fragility of human institutions. The “state” that Horatio refers to is not merely the physical kingdom but also the social, political, and moral order that underpins it. The impending “eruption” foreshadows the breakdown of this order, as the pursuit of power and the consequences of past actions unravel the fabric of Danish society.

In a broader sense, Horatio’s words speak to the universal human experience of confronting the unknown and the unsettling. The appearance of the ghost represents the intrusion of the inexplicable into the realm of the familiar, challenging our understanding of the world and forcing us to grapple with the mysteries of existence. Horatio’s quote captures that moment of uncertainty and trepidation, when we sense that the foundations of our reality are about to be shaken.

As the play unfolds, the prophetic weight of Horatio’s words becomes increasingly apparent, with each subsequent act revealing new layers of deception, betrayal, and tragedy. Yet, in this single line, Shakespeare encapsulates the essence of the drama to come, inviting the audience to embark on a journey into the depths of human nature and the consequences of our actions.

Original Passage

[shakespeare_explorer passage=”MARCELLUS.
Peace, break thee off. Look where it comes again.

Enter Ghost. .

BARNARDO.
In the same figure, like the King that’s dead.

MARCELLUS.
Thou art a scholar; speak to it, Horatio.

BARNARDO.
Looks it not like the King? Mark it, Horatio.

HORATIO.
Most like. It harrows me with fear and wonder.

BARNARDO
It would be spoke to.

MARCELLUS.
Question it, Horatio.

HORATIO.
What art thou that usurp’st this time of night,
Together with that fair and warlike form
In which the majesty of buried Denmark
Did sometimes march? By heaven I charge thee speak.

MARCELLUS.
It is offended.

BARNARDO.
See, it stalks away.

HORATIO.
Stay! speak, speak! I charge thee speak!

[[ExitGhost.] ]

MARCELLUS.
‘Tis gone, and will not answer.

BARNARDO.
How now, Horatio! You tremble and look pale.
Is not this something more than fantasy?
What think you on’t?

HORATIO.
Before my God, I might not this believe
Without the sensible and true avouch
Of mine own eyes.

MARCELLUS.
Is it not like the King?

HORATIO.
As thou art to thyself:
Such was the very armour he had on
When he th’ambitious Norway combated;
So frown’d he once, when in an angry parle
He smote the sledded Polacks on the ice.
‘Tis strange.

MARCELLUS.
Thus twice before, and jump at this dead hour,
With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch.

HORATIO.
In what particular thought to work I know not;
But in the gross and scope of my opinion,
This bodes some strange eruption to our state.MARCELLUS.
Good now, sit down, and tell me, he that knows,
Why this same strict and most observant watch
So nightly toils the subject of the land,
And why such daily cast of brazen cannon
And foreign mart for implements of war;
Why such impress of shipwrights, whose sore task
Does not divide the Sunday from the week.
What might be toward, that this sweaty haste
Doth make the night joint-labourer with the day:
Who is’t that can inform me?”]