Under their royal bedcoverings
(in a bed we’ll hear much more about in subsequent scenes)
I bet this is a familiar command
From King to Queen.
What her response might be to this instruction is dependent on
What brought these two together.
If the crackle between them
Was audible, if you could almost see his touch on her arm
Rocket through her like an earthquake,
If royal dinners had previously been torture for them
Back before they were partnered
With their knees accidentally brushing under tables and
Curious fingers seeking
Under the safety of surfaces – –
Then the sounds that followed this instruction
Would be heard nowhere in this play,
Only in the rooms safe from their subjects.
If this king persuaded this queen
With politics and rational words,
If he posited it all as good for the nation
Or threatened her with consequences
The sound might be similar but
it would be hollow and manufactured.
Or maybe he just wants her to follow him.
The Hamlet Project 