While Hamlet ruminates

So what is a "bodkin," anyway?

If God had not "fix'd his canon 'gainst self-slaughter," depriving Hamlet of the option of killing himself with an unburdened conscience, the Dane might have done the deed with "a bare bodkin."

There is scholarly disagreement over whether the word refers to a small pin or a dagger. While it might be assumed that "dagger" would seem the more appropriate interpretation, many scholars make the powerful argument that Hamlet is ruminating on his ability to kill himself so easily, with something as small and nondescript as a pin.

Displayed here is a photograph of a 17th century English silver bodkin from London that is in Agecroft Hall's collection. It has a spiral twist end terminating in a hand clutching a heart. It has engraved on its side "I.P. - Vertu + Passeth + Riches." Bodkins had a variety of uses, primarily in making holes for cloth or as hairpins, or in this case probably as a gift, a token of affection.  Whether it would have done the job for Hamlet is anyone's guess.