What "Remembrances" Hamlet gives to Ophelia?

Ophelia tells Polonius how Hamlet importuned her in her chamber in very detail. She describes his clothing, distance between them, positions of his two hands and her one hand. According to the description, Ophelia has one free hand while Hamlet importuned her.

Every word of Ophelia’s description can be well reasoned under the assumption that she masturbated Hamlet with her free hand. Hamlet’s clothes are off before the masturbation. “He comes before me” says Hamlet reaches climax in front of Ophelia.

Ophelia collects Hamlet’s semen and later asks him to marry her with the remembrances he left to her hand. Hamlet knows she carries Polonius’ child and tells her five times to go to a nunnery, a place for unwed mothers in Shakespeare’s time.

Dialogue

Polonius. [Act 2, Scene 1]

How now Ophelia, what’s the matter?

Ophelia.

Alas, my Lord, I have been so affrighted.

Polonius.

With what, in the name of Heaven?

Ophelia.

My Lord, as I was sowing in my Chamber,

Lord Hamlet with his doublet all unbraced,

No hat upon his head, his stockings fouled,

Ungartered, and down gyved to his Ankle,

Pale as his shirt, his knees knocking each other,

And with a look so piteous in purport,

As if he had been loosed out of hell,

To speak of horrors: he comes before me.

Polonius.

Mad for thy Love?

Ophelia.

My Lord, I do not know: but truly I do fear it.

Polonius.

What said he?

Ophelia.

He took me by the wrist, and held me hard;

Then goes he to the length of all his arm;

And with his other hand thus over his brow,

He falls to such perusal of my face,

As he would draw it. Long stayed he so,

At last, a little shaking of mine Arm:

And thrice his head thus waving up and down;

He raised a sigh, so piteous and profound,

That it did seem to shatter all his bulk,

And end his being. That done, he lets me go,

And with his head over his shoulders turned,

He seemed to find his way without his eyes,

For out adores he went without their help;

And to the last, bended their light on me.

Polonius.

Go with me, I will go seek the King,

This is the very ecstasy of Love,

Whose violent property foredoes itself,

And leads the will to desperate Undertakings,

As oft as any passion under Heaven,

That does afflict our Natures. I am sorry,

What, have you given him any hard words of late?

Ophelia.

No, my good Lord: but as you did command,

I did repel his Letters, and denied

His access to me.

Notes

*I was sowing in my Chamber: This scene is set to a gallery in the 1603 folio: “He found me walking in the gallery all alone.” Chamber is more private and suitable for this scene.

*Lord Hamlet with his doublet all unbraced, No hat upon his head, his stockings fouled, ungartered, and down gyved to his Ankle: Hamlet unclothes himself just enough to fit his act to importune Ophelia.

*As if he had been loosed out of hell: The ghost of old King Hamlet that possesses young Hamlet’s body is just loosed out of hell.

*To speak of horrors: he comes before me: Come has the usage of climax. Hamlet reaches climax in front of Ophelia.

*took me by the wrist: Positions of their three hands are specified. Ophelia has one hand free.

*the length of all his arm: They have an arm’s space for Ophelia to move her free hand between their bodies.

*he would draw it: Draw has the usage of to paint, extract, or pull. It’s Hamlet’s fantasy to have oral sex and to paint Ophelia’s face with his semen.

*At last, a little shaking of mine Arm: Ophelia feels Hamlet’s penis shaking a little as Hamlet reaches climax; or Ophelia shakes her arm to make Hamlet come.

*his head waving up and down: Head here indicates both Hamlet’s head and his penis head. Waving up and down of his head and penis is caused by ejaculation.

*a sigh, so piteous and profound: a sigh of intense relief after climax, which is pathetic by Ophelia’s hand.

*shatter all his bulk: to ejaculate; bulk indicates a load of semen.

*end his being: to reach climax as dying. This scene shows that Hamlet is unrelated to Ophelia’s pregnancy.

*I did repel his Letters, and denied his access to me: Ophelia repels Hamlet’s written letters, so the letter Polonius reads to Claudius and Gertrude cannot be from Hamlet.

Let has the usage of to shed liquid like blood or tear; letters may allude to semen. The line “denied his access to me” could mean Ophelia denies Hamlet entering her body in this scene.

1603 Quarto

In the 1603 quarto, this scene is set in a gallery. Hamlet uses only one hand to grasp Ophelia’s wrist. Unlike the 1623 folio, both have one hand free. Polonius and Ophelia are named Corambis and Ofelia in the 1603 quarto.

Corambis.

What what’s the matter my Ofelia?

Ofelia.

O yong Prince Hamlet, the only floure of Denmark,

Hee is bereft of all the wealth he had,

The Iewell that ador’nd his feature most

Is filcht and stolne away, his wit’s bereft him,

Hee found mee walking in the gallery all alone,

There comes hee to mee, with a distracted looke,

His garters lagging downe, his shooes vntide,

And fixt his eyes so stedfast on my face,

As if they had vow’d, this is their latest obiect.

Small while he stoode, but gripes me by the wrist,

And there he holdes my pulse till with a sigh

He doth vnclaspe his holde, and parts away

Silent, as is the mid time of the night:

And as he went, his eie was still on mee,

For thus his head ouer his shoulder looked,

He seemed to finde the way without his eies:

For out of doores he went without their helpe,

And so did leaue me.

The Choosing of Valentines

This 316-line poem by Thomas Nashe details a man called Tomalin whose experience with a prostitute Francis (as in the manuscript). At the beginning Tomalin cannot erect (“dead he lies . . . “wilt not stand”) and she masturbates him with her hand. He quits too soon and fails to safisfy Frnacis. She masturbates herself with a dildo.

The poem corresponds to some hidden scenes in Shakespeare’s plays, such as masturbation by hand and by mouth, personification of penis, and climax as death.

I kiss, I clap, I feel, I view at will,

Yet dead he lies, not thinking good or ill.

“Unhappy me,” quoth she, “and wilt’ not stand?

Come, let me rub and chafe it with my hand!” [132]

After Tomalin’s penis being raised, it acts like a wood to rub and prick and pierce her high and low.

She dandled it, and danced it up and down,

Not ceasing till she raised it from his swoon.

And then he flew on her as he were wood,

And on her breech did hack and foyne a-good; [144]

He rub’d, and pricked, and pierced her to the bones,

Digging as far as eath he might for stones;

Now high, now low, now striking short and thick;

Now diving deep, he touched her to the quick; [148]

However, he quits too soon, so she uses a dildo to satisfy herself.

“Oh not so fast,” my ravished Mistress cries,

“Least my content, that on thy life relies, [180]

. . .

“My little dilldo shall supply their kind:

A knave, that moves as light as leaves by wind;

That bendeth not, nor fouldeth any deal,

But stands as stiff as he were made of steel; [240]

Dilldo can be a wordplay of dill-do or dill-doe. Dill has the usage of to soothe or assuage; doe of a female animal. Dilldo is an instrument to assuage a female. The word dildo appears in Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale:

Servant.

He hath songs for man, or woman, of all sizes: No Milliner can so fit his customers with Gloves: he has the prettiest Love-songs for Maids, so without bawdry (which is strange,) with such delicate burthens of Dildos and Fadings: Jump-her, and thump-her;