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All Site ContentHamletAct 2Scene 2
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"Nay, that follows not"
Wordplay
Act 2,
Scene 2
Lines 404-413

An explanation of the double meaning in the phrase “that follows not” in Act 2, Scene 2 of myShakespeare’s Hamlet.

Polonius   

If you call me Jephthah, my lord, I have a 
daughter that I love passing well.

Hamlet

Nay, that follows not.    

Polonius 

What follows then, my lord? 

Hamlet   

Why, 
"As by lot, God wot," 
and then you know, 
“It came to pass, as most like it was." 
The first row of the pious chanson will show you more;
[Several actors approach]
 for look where my abridgments come.

This line has a double meaning:

  • You didn’t draw the correct conclusion from what I said.
  • You didn’t recite the next line of the ballad (which Hamlet then proceeds to do).