RALPH: Polonius is understandably confused by Hamlet's words — and he's not the only one. Sarah? We might need some help with these lines.

SARAH: Certainly, Ralph. These lines are probably intentionally obscure, and would have likely baffled Shakespeare's audience as well. But let's do our best. "For if the sun breeds maggots in a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion...". Carrion usually means dead flesh or meat, but it can also have a sexual connotation, meaning female flesh. So "good kissing carrion" could mean flesh that's good enough to kiss. He's saying a dead dog is a good, even appealing, breeding ground for maggots.

RALPH: And he's also saying that the sun breeds maggots, or at least this was a common belief at the time — and it makes intuitive sense: after all, meat left out in the hot sun rots faster.

SARAH: Then Hamlet appears to abruptly change topic — he interrupts himself to ask if Polonius has a daughter - but in fact he's actually making a crude insult. Hamlet acts as if the word carrion, which can also mean flesh in a lewd, sexual way, reminds him of Polonius's daughter Ophelia.

RALPH: Hamlet continues — "let her not walk in the sun: conception is a blessing, but not as your daughter may conceive".

SARAH: There's a play here on the two senses of the word conception: first, there's the sense of intellectual conception, the mental operation of having an idea — and this is a blessing. Then, there's the sense of biological conception as leading to pregnancy — which would not be a blessing, at least for an unmarried young woman like Ophelia.

RALPH: So then, to put it all together: Polonius should not let Ophelia walk in the sun, that is, not go out unchaperoned in public, or she might conceive a child, just as maggots breed in sunlight.

SARAH: There's also a subtle reference here to the fact that Ophelia is in danger of getting pregnant from Hamlet himself — the sun is a symbol traditionally associated with royalty, and, of course, Prince Hamlet is the "son" of old King Hamlet.