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All Site ContentHamletAct 1Scene 3
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"brokers"
Wordplay
Act 1,
Scene 3
Lines 120-131

An explanation of the wordplay on “brokers” in Act 1, Scene 3 of myShakespeare’s Hamlet.

Polonius 

You must not take for fire. From this time  
Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence;
Set your entreatments at a higher rate
Than a command to parley. For Lord Hamlet,
Believe so much in him that he is young,
And with a larger tether may he walk
Than may be given you. In few, Ophelia, 
Do not believe his vows, for they are brokers
Not of that dye which their investments show,
But mere implorators of unholy suits,
Breathing like sanctified and pious bawds
The better to beguile. This is for all —

In this moment of wordplay, “brokers” can be read two ways:

  • middlemen, go-betweens
  • pimps who manage sex workers