William Shakespeare: Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

ACT V. 1. Scene I. A churchyard. (continued)

Hor.
Not a jot more, my lord.

Ham.
Is not parchment made of sheep-skins?

Hor.
Ay, my lord, And of calf-skins too.

Ham.
They are sheep and calves which seek out assurance in that. I
will speak to this fellow.--Whose grave's this, sir?

1 Clown.
Mine, sir.
[Sings.]
   O, a pit of clay for to be made
     For such a guest is meet.

Ham.
I think it be thine indeed, for thou liest in't.

1 Clown.
You lie out on't, sir, and therefore 'tis not yours: for my part,
I do not lie in't, yet it is mine.

Ham.
Thou dost lie in't, to be in't and say it is thine: 'tis for
the dead, not for the quick; therefore thou liest.

1 Clown.
'Tis a quick lie, sir; 't will away again from me to you.

Ham.
What man dost thou dig it for?

1 Clown.
For no man, sir.

Ham.
What woman then?

1 Clown.
For none neither.

Ham.
Who is to be buried in't?

1 Clown.
One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead.

Ham.
How absolute the knave is! We must speak by the card, or
equivocation will undo us. By the Lord, Horatio, these three
years I have taken note of it, the age is grown so picked that
the toe of the peasant comes so near the heel of the courtier he
galls his kibe.--How long hast thou been a grave-maker?

1 Clown.
Of all the days i' the year, I came to't that day that our
last King Hamlet overcame Fortinbras.