Question

read this line from hamlet discussed in behind the curtain. no one set scenes more brilliantly and economically than shakespeare. consider the opening lines of hamlet: barnardo: whos there? francisco: nay, answer me. stand, and unfold yourself. barnardo: long live the king! francisco: barnardo? barnardo: he. in five terse lines shakespeare establishes that it is nighttime and cold (\unfold yourself\ means \draw back your cloak\), that the speakers are soldiers on guard, and that there is tension in the air. with just fifteen words, eleven of them monosyllables, he has how can the early modern english expression \unfold yourself\ be paraphrased to better understand its meaning? put your arms up turn around remove your cape explain yourself

Explanation:

In the context of the play Hamlet, when Francisco says "unfold yourself" to Barnardo, considering the setting (soldiers on guard at night), it is likely related to removing a cape (as capes were common clothing for soldiers and "unfold" could imply taking off the covering). "Put your arms up" and "turn around" don't fit the context of soldiers identifying each other. "Explain yourself" is a more modern - day meaning that doesn't align with the physical - action - based context of the scene (where visual identification might be needed due to darkness).

Answer:

remove your cape