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All Site ContentHamletAct 3Scene 4
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"preaching to stones"
Allusion
Act 3,
Scene 4
Lines 118-123

An explanation of the allusion in the phrase “preaching to stones” in Act 3, Scene 4 of myShakespeare’s Hamlet.

Hamlet

On him, on him! Look you how pale he glares! 
His form and cause conjoined, preaching to stones,    
Would make them capable. [To Ghost] Do not look upon me,
Lest with this piteous action you convert
My stern effects. Then what I have to do
Will want true color — tears perchance for blood.

Hamlet is making a reference to Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem, accompanied by a group of boisterous followers. When someone suggested to Jesus that he quiet the crowd, he replied that even if he makes them be silent, the stones would still cry out his praises.  Hamlet is saying that the ghost’s appearance (“form”) and mission (“cause”) would even make the stones “capable” (of responding).

(Jerusalem Jerusalem, James Tissot, c. 1886-1894)