Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's death The memory be green, and that it us befitted

1. Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's death The memory be green, and that it us befitted To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom To be contracted in one brow of woe, Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature That we with wisest sorrow think on him, Together with remembrance of ourselves. Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen, The imperial jointress to this warlike state, Have we, as 'twere with a defeated joy,-- With an auspicious and a dropping eye, With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, In equal scale weighing delight and dole,-- Taken to wife: nor have we herein barr'd Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone With this affair along. For all, our thanks. Now follows, that you know, young Fortinbras, Holding a weak supposal of our worth, Or thinking by our late dear brother's death Our state to be disjoint and out of frame, Colleagued with the dream of his advantage, He hath not fail'd to pester us with message, Importing the surrender of those lands Lost by his father, with all bonds of law, To our most valiant brother. So much for him.

2. Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's death The memory be green, and that it us befitted To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom To be contracted in one brow of woe, Claudius adopts a sad, mournful tone here. He immediately acknowledges the loss that he and the kingdom of Denmark have suffered – and in doing so links himself and the kingdom. Here, he makes it sound as if he regrets the fact that they have to move on. He speaks slowly, and almost sighs the words.

3. Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature That we with wisest sorrow think on him, Together with remembrance of ourselves. Claudius introduces a contrast: the natural need to mourn, and the demands of self-interest. A note of practicality enters his voice – he makes moving on sound as natural as mourning, and as necessary.

4. Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen, The imperial jointress to this warlike state, On referring to Gertrude, Claudius sounds affectionate, even excited. He sees her as worthy of watching over a “warlike state.” She’s great!

5. Have we, as 'twere with a defeated joy,-- With an auspicious and a dropping eye, With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, In equal scale weighing delight and dole,-- Taken to wife: Claudius doesn’t let himself get carried away by his feelings for Gertrude – he brings sad back, and offers four different ways of conceptualizing the conflicting feelings that inevitably attend his ascension to the throne and his marriage to the Queen. Nevertheless, he’s satisfied as he finishes this thought.

6. nor have we herein barr'd Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone With this affair along. For all, our thanks. Claudius is quick to remind his guests that they have supported his marriage, at least implicitly – and so are complicit in it. He makes it clear that this is nothing to be ashamed of; instead, he praises his audience for their support, he makes it sound like it reflects well on them. And he sounds genuinely grateful to them. The recent changes in Denmark are the result of group effort. He has not been acting alone.

7. Now follows, that you know, young Fortinbras, Holding a weak supposal of our worth, Or thinking by our late dear brother's death Our state to be disjoint and out of frame, Colleagued with the dream of his advantage, He hath not fail'd to pester us with message, Importing the surrender of those lands Lost by his father, with all bonds of law, To our most valiant brother. So much for him. King Hamlet is relegated to the past – he isn’t relevant to the present, the “Now.” Now Claudius gets down to business, to politics. His tone here is derisive: Fortinbras is a pathetic pest who has no idea what he’s up against, he’s a dreamer. And he’s easily dismissed. Claudius pretty much rolls his eyes throughout this speech, and so shows how confident he is, and how hard it is to intimidate him.