A touch, a touch, I do confess.

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Laertes is not a man used to losing.

There are those who think he’s letting Hamlet get those first two points. They think maybe it’s a way to get that poison Claudius has into him. But I really don’t think Laertes wants to let Claudius kill Hamlet – not because he doesn’t want Hamlet dead, he does – but because he wants to do it himself. I think Laertes is losing because he is distracted by his own ulterior motives, and the complex situation and also by his need to win. I think he is genuinely surprised to be losing here. I think he has to concede the point but he really doesn’t want to. And it’s probably fuel for the fire that leads him to jump out of line a bit and let the formality of the game go out the window. He’s losing. The only way to get his sword into Hamlet is to go a little loose cannon and attack.

Of course it could be played other ways. But this way makes the most sense to me and certainly has the most layers.

What say you?

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After the last point was contested, Hamlet takes the question directly to Laertes first. He could have continued to ask for judgement from the outside authority but he goes to Laertes first. It’s a nice move, really. Or at least interpersonally sharp. Better to get the point from Laertes himself – keep the fight between them, rather than the outside authorities.

Ultimately none of it REALLY matters – they’re all gong to to die in a few moments – but at least – if, in death, we have to watch our last moments over and over, Hamlet won’t have to do a lot of wincing about his behavior.

Another hit.

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For an underdog, for a guy who everyone said would lose, for a guy that the odds were adjusted for because everyone was so sure he wasn’t good at this, he’s doing really well.

Even Laertes has to confess he’s doing alright. And I don’t think Laertes is letting him win. Laertes has good reason to want to be the hitter not the hittee.

Come.

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Hamlet begins the round/bout every time. It’s not until Laertes decides to go ahead and just kill him that he initiates any fighting and his “Have at you now!” is hardly an official beginning of a round. It’s not an invitation to play or an announcement or even, really, directed to Hamlet. It feels more like words used to power his own sword.

But Hamlet’s beginnings, like this one, are invitations, are starts to the bouts, each time.

Set it by awhile.

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This is something that is perfectly reasonable to do with a glass of wine. There is no reason to hurry to drink it. It’s not like ice cream. It’s not going to melt. And unless it’s like, champagne or a white that really needs chilling, which seems unlikely in Denmark in this period before refrigeration or iceboxes, it can only be made better by sitting for a bit. Claudius trying to insist on Hamlet having a drink in the middle of an athletic event could be seen as suspicious by anyone looking for it. I mean – we know why Claudius wants Hamlet to drink that wine and it IS suspicious. Wine is for spectators not athletes.

I’ll play this bout first.

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A bout is related to about which comes from the sense of a roundabout. The circularity is in all of them. A bout is also called a round. I think this is to do with it completing a circuit in each section.

About isn’t always round – sometimes if someone is, say, skipping about, they’re traveling all over the place, not necessarily a circle.

And when we ask what a story is about, we’re not necessarily thinking of a summary as a circle. There is a great deal more circularity under our language than I realized.

Give him the cup.

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I’m not an athlete but I think most people engaged in sport wouldn’t be inclined to drink wine in the middle of it, not if they were trying to win.
There are lot of great places for wine drinking: parties, weddings, funerals, showers, watching shows, even watching sports – but I’ve never seen anyone stop in the middle of a fight or game or duel or race to take a sip of wine. Marathon runners will stop for some water or Gatorade but wine? Nope. It’s interesting that Claudius thinks this wine poisoning bit is going to work – because almost anyone would be likely to refuse it in the midst of a bout.

Hamlet, this pearl is thine.

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What was the prep on this pearl and how did it go down?

First – is it actually a pearl or just some poison pressed into a pearl shape?

Or is it actually a pearl – but the poison has been applied to it somehow – like it’s been dipped in some poison coating, like a strawberry dunked in chocolate but less tasty and more deadly. Is it maybe a hollowed out pearl? Like a jewel with a hole drilled into it and then filled with poison. Or a souvenir Claudius picked up somewhere – a little pill pearl – a pearl that opens and holds compounds of any sort – could be aspirin. Making it a little headache pearl, not a murder weapon.
And whatever the case, someone would have had to do the crafting – the dipping or filling of the pearl.

In all likelihood, this is not a task to trust to someone else – so whatever the method, Claudius probably did it himself.

And since he did some other poisoning before this play even began, he seems to have an affinity and a skill for this sort of thing.

It makes me think of the Queen in Cymbeline – practicing her poisoning skills on small animals.

This is probably what Claudius did for fun before he became king.

Stay; give me drink.

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Are Laertes and Claudius in a little competition over who gets to kill Hamlet? Like, Laertes here is ready to get back to the fighting, which gets him closer to his kill. And Claudius will not let the moment pass without this drink. Both of them must have adrenaline coursing thorugh them – they must be pretty amped up. They’re both ready to kill him at any moment. I wonder if it’s a factor in Laertes losing these points to Hamlet – he’s so focused on the murder game. And Claudius, too, who is normally so smooth, somehow cannot find a way to prevent Gertrude from drinking the poison – which, apart from killing his wife, who he maybe loves, also will spoil his plans and reveal them, too.

If I were directing this show, I’d probably explore a scene before this fight where Laertes and Claudius get themselves psyched up for this. Playing adrenaline coursing through you is not really possible but it is a huge part of having a body and what you do.