Hamlet Without the Potholes: From the ''Shakespeare Without the Potholes'' Series
By Jerry Rubin
()
About this ebook
Reading one of Shakespeare's plays is like driving down a broad and beautiful highway lined with gorgeous sights, observing, as one passes, the wide range of human types and situations; but unfortunately the road is marred by potholes small and large -- archaic words, phrases and grammar, words whose meanings have migrated during the course of 400 years, and passages that are difficult or impossible to comprehend. Sometimes these involve mythological references, or references to customs that an Elizabethan would be familiar with, but to a modern reader are largely unintelligible. Many students who embark on the trip do not complete it, or else vow never to undertake another. There are four alternatives -- driving straight through, but the drive is then a bumpy one; detouring around each pothole by consulting a footnote, but the drive is then full of distractions; filling in the potholes oneself by becoming erudite in Elizabethan grammar, vocabulary, mythology, customs and circumstances, but the drive is then laborious; or using the services of a pothole-fixer, who may indeed use asphalt instead of concrete, but who attempts to provide a smooth, continuous and pleasant journey. The latter is the task this series undertakes.
In the more famous or the more soaring speeches a lighter hand is used, sometimes retaining archaic contractions ('Tis nobler in the mind ....). Such words as thou, thee, thy, thine have mostly been replaced by modern counterparts.
There are many individual words that have shifted meaning in the 400 years since Shakespeare wrote his masterpieces. Some have developed a meaning nearly the opposite of the original - for example, in Elizabethan days, 'merely' meant 'utterly' or 'totally'; 'timeless' meant 'untimely'; 'presently' usually meant 'at once'. "I shall attend his majesty presently" does not mean "I'll be there in a little while", but rather "I'm on my way". Other words have shifted their meanings somewhat less, but quite enough to induce puzzlement - 'approve' meaning 'prove'; 'modern' meaning 'commonplace'. Such variations in meaning contribute to a bemused reaction on the part of the uninformed reader - a sense that while he or she may understand the gist of the play, there are some strange things being said that don't seem to compute. With small potholes, the sense of not quite understanding can exist just under the conscious level; one is distressed by the dim intuition that something has been missed, even while the eye skims over troublesome passages without focusing on what is being misunderstood. But there are also massive potholes (some of which may be the result of copying errors in the 17th century), that feel more like hitting a brick wall. Consider
"He that a fool doth very wisely hit
Doth very foolishly, although he smart,
Not to seem senseless of the bob. If not,
The wise man's folly is anatomized
E'en by the squandering glances of the fool."
-- As You Like It, Act 2, Scene 7
Once having figured out who is 'hitting' whom (the fool is doing the gibing, though the rules of Elizabethan grammar would seem to allow for either), some readers might be able to parse this passage after a few passes, making reasonable gu
Jerry Rubin
Jerry Rubin is a lover of Shakespeare who grew concerned when he found that esteemed friends and associates preferred reading Stephen King novels to Shakespeare's plays, claiming to be put off by the difficulties of the texts. Shocked by this revelation, he has spent several years producing the "Without the Potholes" series.
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Hamlet Without the Potholes - Jerry Rubin
HAMLET,
PRINCE OF DENMARK
by William Shakespeare
Made Accessible by Jerry Rubin
Dramatis Personae
Claudius king of Denmark
Hamlet son to the late, and nephew to the present king
Polonius lord chamberlain
Horatio friend to Hamlet
Laertes son to Polonius
Lucianus nephew to the king
Voltimand, Cornelius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Osric courtiers
A Gentleman
A Priest
Marcellus, Bernardo officers
Francisco a soldier
Reynaldo servant to Polonius
Players
Two Clowns grave-diggers
Fortinbras prince of Norway
A Captain
English Ambassadors
Gertrude Queen of Denmark, and mother to Hamlet
Ophelia daughter to Polonius
Lords, Ladies, Officers, Soldiers, Sailors, Messengers, and other
Attendants
Ghost of Hamlet’s Father
Scene: Denmark
Act 1, Scene 1
Elsinore. A platform before the castle
Francisco at his post. Bernardo enters
Bernardo
Who’s there?
Francisco
No, answer me; stand, and reveal yourself.
Bernardo
Long live the king!
Francisco
Bernardo?
Bernardo
Yes.
Francisco
You have arrived precisely on your hour.
Bernardo
It has struck twelve; go on to bed, Francisco.
Francisco
My thanks for this relief. It’s bitter cold,
And I am sick at heart.
Bernardo
Has your watch been quiet?
Francisco
Not a mouse stirring.
Bernardo
Well, good night.
If you should meet Horatio and Marcellus,
The partners of my watch, tell them to hurry.
Francisco
I think I hear them. Stand, ho! Who is there?
Enter Horatio and Marcellus
Horatio
Friends.
Marcellus
And loyal subjects of the Dane.
Francisco
Why then, good