Polonius comes to Hamlet passing the message that Queen Gertrude would want to speak to him. Hamlet confuses Polonius with the cloud’s shape of camel, weasel, and whale.
These three animals are not randomly selected, but all contain four letters within the name Hamlet. Hamlet must amend the missing letters to gain the nature of each animal before coming to the trap set up by Polonius and Claudius, which Hamlet’s mother Gertrude does not know.
Hamlet would need camel’s endurance, weasel’s shrewdness, and whale’s richness to fulfill his revenge “by and by.” He will gain these natures after meeting his mother. The word mother contains the missing letter t, h, m that Hamlet needs.
Hamlet’s seemingly mad words show the method of Shakespeare or Sidney anagram, which is the best or only way to reason Costard’s enigma and egma in Love’s Labour’s Lost.
Dialogue
Polonius. [Act 3, Scene 2]
My Lord; the Queen would speak with you, and
presently.
Hamlet.
Do you see that Cloud?
that’s almost in shape like a Camel.
Polonius.
By the Miss,
and it’s like a Camel
indeed.
Hamlet.
Methinks it is like a Weasel.
Polonius.
Hamlet.
Or like a Whale?
Polonius.
Hamlet.
Then will I come to my Mother, by and by1:
They fool me to the top of my bent.
I will come by and by2.
Polonius.
I will say so. [Exit.]
Hamlet.
By and by3, is easily said.
Leave me, Friends:
’Tis now the very witching time of night,
When Churchyards yawn, and Hell itself
breathes out
Contagion to this world. Now could I drink
hot blood,
And do such bitter business as the day
Would quake to look on. Soft now, to my
Mother:
Oh Heart, loose not thy Nature;
let not ever
The Soul of Nero, enter this firm bosom:
Notes
*Cloud? that’s almost in shape like a Camel: Cloud can shape various animals; similarly, letters
can spell various words, which is the principle of Sidney anagram. The word cloud can spell could, cold, clod, loud, and more. Cloud
is printed as clowd and cloude in the 1623 folio.
*by the Miss: a hint to anagrammatize a targeted word by finding
its missing letters.
*like a Camel indeed: Camel is famous for its endurance of heavy burdens.
Camel can spell Hamlet by letter h and
t in mother. Camel in The Tragedy of Coriolanus:
Junius
Brutus.
Than
Camels
in their War, who have their Provand
Only
for bearing Burthens,
and sore blows
For
sinking under them.
*backed like a Weasel: Weasel is famous for its shrewdness. Weasel can spell
Hamlet by letter h, m, and t in mother. Weasel in The Life of Henry
the Fifth:
Bishiop
Ely.
For
once the Eagle (England) being in prey,
To
her unguarded Nest, the Weasel (Scot)
Comes
sneaking, and so sucks her Princely Eggs,
*Very like a Whale: Whale is an animal of great size with rich
valuables. The shape of whale is far from weasel or camel. Whale can spell Hamlet
by letter m and t from mother. Whale in The Merry Wives of Windsor:
Alice
Ford.
What
tempest (I trow) threw this Whale, (with so many Tuns of oil in his belly)
*Then will I come to my Mother, by and by: Hamlet with the nature of camel, weasel and whale, can
now come to the trap set up by Claudius and Polonius. By and by has the usage
of presently, in order, or one
after another. This phrase appears three times
in this dialogue.
*the top of my bent. I will come by and by: Bent has the
usage of a curved form, inclination,
or bowing. The name Hamlet is bent to come over the spelling of
letters in forming new words. Name of the three animals will complete Hamlet’s
name “by and by” (in order) after the meeting of Hamlet and his mother.
*By and by, is easily said: To solve the crux of camel-weasel-whale by and by is
easily said but hard to be done.
*Heart, loose not thy Nature: a hint that Hamlet would need (“loose not”) the nature
of the three animals for his revenge. Loose and lose are mixedly used in the 1623
folio.
*let not ever the Soul of Nero, enter this firm bosom: Nero murdered his mother who remarried after Nero’s
father died. Hamlet’s “firm bosom” here is contrary to varying shapes of the three
animals, a hint that he has a firm subject behind his seemingly mad words. This
line affirms that Hamlet will not murther his mother as she
assumes to be, but will free her from Claudius’ constraint.