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All Site ContentHamletAct 2Scene 2
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"French falconers"
Simile
Act 2,
Scene 2
Lines 414-424

An explanation of the “French falconers” simile in Act 2, Scene 2 of myShakespeare’s Hamlet.

[Enter four or five Players.]

Hamlet

You are welcome, masters, welcome all. I am glad to see thee well.
Welcome, good friends. [To a young actor] Oh, my old friend!
Thy face is valanced since I saw thee last. Com'st
thou to beard me in Denmark? [To a young boy actor] What,
my young lady and mistress! By'r lady, your ladyship is nearer
heaven than when I saw you last, by the altitude of a chopine. 
Pray God your voice, like a piece of uncurrent gold, be not
cracked within the ring.  [To all]  Masters, you are all 
welcome. We'll e'en to't like French falconers — fly at
anything we see. We'll have a speech straight. Come, give
us a taste of your quality. Come, a passionate speech.

In this simile, the actors are willing to take on any script given them, just as falcons are trained by their French owners to attack any prey in sight.