"The players cannot keep counsel"
Wordplay
Act 3,
Scene 2
Lines 131-136
Ophelia
[Enter a Player as Prologue.]
Hamlet
Ophelia
Hamlet
This moment of wordplay means that this line can be read in two ways:
- They cannot keep a secret; the actors will reveal the plot of the play.
- They cannot take advice; the actors are not following Hamlet’s instructions.