Both Uses of
dismal
in
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
- —let me see, let me see:—
The rugged Pyrrhus, like th' Hyrcanian beast,—
it is not so:— it begins with Pyrrhus:—
'The rugged Pyrrhus,—he whose sable arms,
Black as his purpose, did the night resemble
When he lay couched in the ominous horse,— Hath now this dread and black complexion smear'd
With heraldry more dismal;†Scene 2.2dismal = depressing or gloomy
- The sight is dismal;
And our affairs from England come too late:
The ears are senseless that should give us hearing,
To tell him his commandment is fulfill'd
That Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead:
Where should we have our thanks?†Scene 5.2 *
Definition:
of terrible quality or depressing; or dark and dreary (as when bad weather blocks the sun or when it is drizzly)