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"horrid hent"
Context and Language Videos
Act 3,
Scene 3
Lines 83-92

An explanation on the wordplay of "horrid hent" in Act 3, Scene 3 of myShakespeare's Hamlet. 

myShakespeare | Hamlet 3.3 Language: Horrid Hent

Hamlet

But in our circumstance and course of thought,
'Tis heavy with him. And am I then revenged, 
To take him in the purging of his soul,
When he is fit and seasoned for his passage?    
No.
[He sheathes his sword.]
Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent.     
When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage,
Or in th' incestuous pleasure of his bed,
At game, swearing, or about some act
That has no relish of salvation in’t.
Video Transcript: 

SARAH: Hamlet makes some nice word play when he commands his sword to put itself away until a "more horrid hent". First, there's the alliteration with the double H: "horrid hent," and "hent" can also have a double meaning. 

RALPH: Hent can mean opportunity or occasion — I'll wait until Claudius has more horrid sins upon his head. But it can also means a physical grasp — I'll wait until I can grab my sword with more horrible intentions than just sending Claudius to heaven.