Excerpt from act i, scene 1, in hamlet by william shakespeare

in this excerpt, three soldiers discuss their sighting of the dead king's ghost.

horatio
stay! speak, speak! i charge thee, speak!

[exit ghost.]

marcellus
'tis gone, and will not answer.

bernardo
how now, horatio! you tremble and look pale:
is not this something more than fantasy?
what think you on't?

horatio
before my god, i might not this believe
without the sensible and true avouch
of mine own eyes.

what is the most likely meaning of the word avouch in this scene?

a. truth

b. story

c. right

d. question

truth.

Explanation:

The word "avouch" is an old-fashioned word, which means "truth".

In Act 1, Scene 1, two Bernardo, an officer and Marcellus, a watchmen, asks Horatio, a friend of Prince Hamlet, to stand guard with them that night because they have seen the apparition and they want to show him too. But Horatio, do not belie them until he sees that apparition with his very own eyes. In the excerpt the ghost that appears to all three men was the apparition of the deceased King of Denmark.

When, Horatio saw the ghost with his own eyes he believed that it is the ghost of the deceased king. And states:

"Before my God, I might not this believe

Without the sensible and true avouch

Of mine own eyes."

meaning, Horatio would not have believed this (swearing to God), if he truly and sensibly (in his senses) had seen the ghost with his own eyes.

the meaning of the phrase fnch clear means it is understandable and readable.