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"cracked"
Wordplay
Act 2,
Scene 2
Lines 414-424

An explanation of the pun on “cracked” in Act 2, Scene 2 of myShakespeare’s Hamlet.

[Enter four or five Players.]

Hamlet

You are welcome, masters, welcome all. I am glad to see thee well.
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 “cracked” two possible meanings:

  • When a boy actor reaches puberty, his voice “cracks” and he is no longer able to perform the female roles.
  • But this can also describe a gold "piece", or coin, which contains the portrait of a head surrounded by a ring. If someone has chipped away enough gold that the ring is “cracked,” not forming a complete circle, then the coin is no longer valid currency—it is “uncurrent.”