HAMLET [aside] Thy state is the more gracious, for ’tis a vice to know him. He hath much land, and fertile. Let a beast be lord of beasts and his crib shall stand at the king’s mess. ’Tis a chough but, as I say, spacious in the possession of dirt.
OSRIC Sweet lord, if your lordship were at leisure I should impart a thing to you from his majesty.
HAMLET I will receive it, sir, with all diligence of spirit. (5.2.71-78)
Hamlet switches mode immediately, into satirical obfuscation, mocking Osric’s formality (and, sometimes, his camp). (Hamlet can still play, can still turn, and turn again.) In reply to Horatio’s baffled protestation that no, he doesn’t know Osric at all, Hamlet says, well, lucky you, except he doesn’t; thy state is the more gracious, for ’tis a vice to know him. Scope for loading vice and know with queer knowingness, or homophobic insult, depending on how Osric’s being played (it can be a cheap laugh). He hath much land, and fertile, he’s rich alright, by the look of him, suggesting that Osric is opulently dressed, and not just in comparison with the scholar and the scruffy prince. (But is he a gentleman? might be an additional sneer; he’s got the land, but has he got the class?) Let a lord be lord of beasts and his crib shall stand at the king’s mess: if a man’s got enough money (and the insult’s developed, not just land but livestock, now, is imagined as the source of Osric’s apparent wealth and status) the king will welcome him in to dinner, his manger at the top table, no questions asked. It’s all, always, about the money. ’Tis a chough, a jackdaw, chattering away, a fool, but, as I say, spacious in the possession of dirt. Landed gentry; what a joke.
Osric can pause while he fails to understand (or does understand?) how comprehensively he’s being mocked and insulted, and then presses on: sweet lord (can be ironised?) if your lordship were at leisure I should impart a thing to you from his majesty. Have you got a moment, your highness? I’ve got a message from the king! So Hamlet switches again, into pompous, mocking courtesy: I will receive it, sir, with all diligence of spirit. Can’t WAIT to hear it, LOVE a message from the king, SUPER keen to hear what he has to say!
