Had I but time,—as this fell sergeant, death, / Is strict in his arrest,—O, I could tell you,— / But let it be.
Act V, Scene 2 · Hamlet
Context
Dying, Hamlet begins to tell Horatio and the onlookers what has happened, but stops himself, saying there isn't enough time before death arrives.
Analysis
Personifying death as a 'fell sergeant' who is 'strict in his arrest' borrows legal language—the sergeant (a law officer) enforces the warrant without mercy. This makes death sound both official and inescapable, a bureaucratic functionary rather than a mystery. The interrupted syntax '—O, I could tell you,— / But let it be' enacts the very interruption death causes: Hamlet's sentence breaks off mid-thought, showing time running out in real time.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that Shakespeare dramatizes mortality as interruption—the broken-off sentence and the image of death as an arresting officer show how death doesn't wait for closure or explanation, cutting off speech and meaning alike.