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All Site ContentHamletAct 2Scene 2
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"valanced", "beard"
Wordplay
Act 2,
Scene 2
Lines 415-424

An explanation of the pun on "valanced" and “beard” in Act 2, Scene 2 of myShakespeare’s Hamlet.

Hamlet

Welcome, good friends. [To a young actor] Oh, my old friend!
Thy face is valanced since I saw thee last. Com'st
thou to beard me in Denmark? [To a young boy actor] What,
my young lady and mistress! By'r lady, your ladyship is nearer
heaven than when I saw you last, by the altitude of a chopine. 
Pray God your voice, like a piece of uncurrent gold, be not
cracked within the ring.  [To all]  Masters, you are all 
welcome. We'll e'en to't like French falconers — fly at
anything we see. We'll have a speech straight. Come, give
us a taste of your quality. Come, a passionate speech.

This pun gives "valanced" three possible meanings:

  • with a curtained border
  • with a beard
  • being so "valiant" as to "beard" (insult) Hamlet

And it gives “beard” two possible meanings:

  • facial hair
  • to confront or insult, which is something a “valiant” person would do