Hebenon

Hebenon (or hebona) is a botanical substance described in William Shakespeare's tragic play Hamlet.

The identity and nature of the poison has been a source of speculation for centuries.

Hebenon is the agent of death in Hamlet's father's murder; it sets in motion the events of the play.

Writers from Shakespeare's time to the present have speculated about the identity of hebenon.

[4] John Updike's retelling in the novel Gertrude and Claudius identifies the poison as "the juice of hebona," which "combines the essences of yew and henbane, with other ingredients inimical to the blood's humors.

Der Kronenräuber ("The Crown Thief": Claudio [sic] Murders His Brother, King Hamlet , By Pouring Poison into His Ear as He Lies Sleeping in the Garden) ( Johann Heinrich Lips and Henry Fuseli , 1806)