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"lie in your lap..."
Double Entendre
Act 3,
Scene 2
Lines 106-115

An explanation of Hamlet’s bawdy wordplay in Act 3, Scene 2 of myShakespeare’s Hamlet.

Hamlet

[To Ophelia]  Lady, shall I lie in your lap?

Ophelia

No, my lord!

Hamlet   

I mean, my head upon your lap. 

Ophelia

Ay, my lord.

Hamlet   

Do you think I meant country matters?

Ophelia

I think nothing, my lord.

Hamlet   

That's a fair thought to lie between maids' legs.

Ophelia

What is, my lord?

Hamlet   

“Nothing.”    

Ophelia

You are merry, my lord.

Hamlet’s wordplay here makes use of several double meanings, making his banter with Ophelia take a decidedly bawdy turn:

  • He offers to “lie” in Ophelia’s “lap,” and when she refuses, he assures her he meant only to rest his head there.
  • When he asks if she thought he meant “country matters,” his phrase could refer to something rural and unsophisticated, or it could allude to a derogatory term for women.
  • And finally, when Ophelia says, “I think nothing,” nothing is also a sexual pun, which is why Hamlet says it's a “fair thought.”