Polonius
96
Madam, I swear I use no art at all.
That he is mad, 'tis true: 'tis true 'tis pity;
And pity 'tis 'tis true: a foolish figure;
100
But farewell it, for I will use no art.
Mad let us grant him, then: and now remains
105
That we find out the cause of this effect,
Or rather say, the cause of this defect,
For this effect defective comes by cause:
Thus it remains, and the remainder thus.
Perpend.
I have a daughter--have while she is mine-Who, in her duty and obedience, mark,
Hath given me this: now gather, and surmise.
Polonius: (Reading Hamlet’s letter to Ophelia)
116 'Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.
120 'O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers;
I have not art to reckon my groans: but that
I love thee best, O most best, believe it. Adieu.
'Thine evermore most dear lady, whilst
124 this machine is to him, HAMLET.'
This, in obedience, hath my daughter shown me,
And more above, hath his solicitings,
As they fell out by time, by means and place,
128 All given to mine ear.
Name: ____________________________________
Date: _________
Hour: ______
Practice Explications
Using the explication steps learned in the sonnet unit, please explicate the following speech from
Hamlet. Eventually you will explicate a speech for a summative, so please follow the steps--practice
makes perfect! If you need help, ask! You may also check the class website (sonnet unit). You will turn
this explication in for a formative grade.
**There are NO RETAKES on the summative, so now is the time to make mistakes on the translations!**
Explication Rubric
4: Exceptional: Meets all requirements for “Meets” in addition to:
 The translation has no major or minor mistakes in understanding
 The translation covers not just the main ideas and important details but also subtle details, including
(but not limited to): metaphors, double meanings, allusions, figurative language, comparisons,
poetic descriptions.
 Read as a whole, the translation is smooth and flows together as a separate piece.
 Translation follows the structure and syntax of original passage.
3: Proficient (Consistent):
 Every end punctuation mark is highlighted.
 The passage is divided into logical chunks using end marks and other punctuation.
 All “vocab” words are translated into synonyms using the appropriate definition for the
context.
 Figurative language/phrases are correctly interpreted within the context of the passage as a
whole.
o All verbs (as needed for clarification) are circled with 3 or fewer errors.
 Pronouns are identified with 3 or fewer errors.
 Direct translation is attempted for the entire passage.
 The translation shows understanding of the main ideas and details of the text with no major
misunderstandings.
 The translation is clearly in the student’s own words.
 The point of view of the translation matches that of the passage.
 The translation is written in complete sentences, except when the original passage is not.
2: Basic (Possible Problems): Translation may miss one or two process steps (italicized items) for
“Meets.” The translation shows understanding of the main ideas of the text, but may show
misunderstandings of details.
1: Limited (Serious Problems): Translation misses more than two process steps and shows only the
most basic understanding of the text.
0: Unacceptable: Translation does not use the process steps, or is completely inaccurate.