Several distinctive forms are used to express the range of emotions which include regret, grief, sorrow, lament, and remorse. Some are intensified by being used in conjunction with an emphatic word or phrase, or can be preceded by O or Ah. A number are used in the Nurse’s report of Tybalt’s death (RJ III.ii.37,ff) and Gertrude’s reaction to Ophelia’s madness (Ham IV.v.27,ff).
| Item |
Location |
Example |
| alack, ’lack |
AYL IV.iii.53 |
Alack, in me what strange effect |
| alack the day |
RJ III.ii.39 |
Alack the day! he’s gone, he’s killed |
| alack for woe |
R2 III.iii.70 |
alack for woe / That any harm should stain so fair a show! |
| alas |
Ham IV.v.37 |
Alas, look here, my lord |
| alas the day |
AYL III.ii.212 |
Alas the day, what shall I do with my doublet and hose? |
| ay me |
Ham III.iv.52 |
Ay me, what act |
| ’lack |
Cym IV.ii.374 |
’Lack, good youth! |
| out alas |
Tit II.iii.258 |
out alas, here have we found him dead |
| well-a-day |
MW III.iii.93 |
O well-a-day, Mistress Ford |
| weraday |
RJ III.ii.37 |
Ah, weraday! He’s dead |
| well-a-near |
Per Chorus.III.51 |
The lady shrieks and, well-a-near, / Does fall in travail |
| woe |
Ham II.ii.500 |
But who, ah woe!, had seen the mobled Queen |
EXCLAMATIONS