Act 3

Scene 3

King: I don't like Hamlet, so I'm sending him with you. Hurry.
Guildenstern: Okay.  It is our duty to protect the citizens.
Rosencrantz: Every life is bound to the king.  Therefore, it's his duty to keep everyone safe.  If the king dies, Denmark dies with him.  Other things will occur if you die.  The whole country sighs if the king sighs.
King:  Hurry.
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern: We will hurry.
Polonius:  Hamlet's on his way to visit his mother.  I will hide behind the tapestry on the wall.  There I will eavesdrop. I know she will get to the bottom of Hamlet's dilemma. Mothers tend to not tell everything that goes on between her and her son. That's why I need to be there.
King:  Thank you. The worst thing you could do is kill your brother. I want to pray, but I can't. Guilt still takes me over and I put praying aside. If my hands were covered with blood, not all the rain from heaven could turn them white again. What good is mercy? What good is prayer? I'll look to the future and pray for something different. What should I pray for? Forgiveness for murdering my brother? Should I give up my crown, my queen, and my ambition?  Others get away with this, why can't I? I guess what comes around goes around. The more I tried to get out, the more I get wrapped into it. Help me, angels! Bow, stubborn knees, and heart be soft, so I can pray.
Hamlet: I will kill him now, while he is praying. If I do it now, he goes to heaven and I am revenged.  This is doing good for Claudius. He took my father without giving my father his last rights, and didn't kill him on a religious day. How my father is judged now, only God knows. Up, sword, because I am putting you away. When he is drinking, swearing, or gambling I'll will trip you up and send you straight to hell. My mother waits so you can pray now, but you will die eventually.
King: Praying, but not meaning it, is no good.