My father’s spirit in arms! All is not well; / I doubt some foul play: would the night were come! / Till then sit still, my soul: foul deeds will rise, / Though all the earth o’erwhelm them, to men’s eyes.
Act I, Scene 2 · Hamlet
Context
Alone again after his friends exit, Hamlet reflects on the ghost's appearance and voices his suspicion that his father's death involved foul play.
Analysis
The certainty that 'foul deeds will rise' uses the verb 'rise' to echo the ghost's own rising from the grave, linking hidden crime to inevitable revelation. The personification of deeds as active agents—they will rise on their own—relieves Hamlet of agency: he doesn't have to uncover the truth because it will uncover itself. This passive construction hints at the delay to come.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that even Hamlet's vow of investigation contains the seeds of delay—he imagines truth revealing itself rather than being actively pursued, foreshadowing his pattern of waiting for external proof rather than acting on suspicion.