The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 16.1604 Saturday, 24 September 2005
[1] From: Bill Arnold <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date: Thursday, 22 Sep 2005 12:58:43 -0700 (PDT)
Subj: Re: SHK 16.1586 Hamlet an Allegory
[2] From: Steve Roth <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date: Thursday, 22 Sep 2005 13:34:35 -0700
Subj: Re: SHK 16.1556 Hamlet an Allegory
[1]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Bill Arnold <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date: Thursday, 22 Sep 2005 12:58:43 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: 16.1586 Hamlet an Allegory
Comment: Re: SHK 16.1586 Hamlet an Allegory
V. K. Inman writes, "Having been a soldier, actually a Marine, in
Vietnam in 1969-70, I recall the challenge differs as regards which side
of line the soldier is approached from. If approached from within
friendly lines in times of combat, the challenge indeed may be, 'Who
goes there?' If, however, certain rustlings are heard from outside the
lines the challenge usually consisted of, 'Di di mau (get out of here)
M----er F---er,' followed by a grenade and a magazine of ammo. V. K.
Inman Lt. Col. USMC Ret."
Very good point! And I will relate this to Hamlet, Act I. When in the
USAF on a SAC base [to be unnamed, but overseas, in the 1950s during the
cold war] I did guard duty one night with several others inside a wire
fence perimeter with a dark treed forest outside, and one of the guards
was hollering, "who goes there," and emptied his M-14 into the dark
night when the intruder hit the fence. The next morning they found a
dead horse. In the case of Hamlet, we do overlook the nature of guard
duty and the extreme edginess of those on watch. We note in Act I that
there was fear, anxiety, sword play with a spirit, and from it all came
the entire premise for the climax and resolution of the drama as things
unfolded. I am reminded of the concept of *Watch* in the NT which
Shakespeare was amply familiar with, and the edginess of those on watch
for their moment with ultimate truth: fear of the Unknown, fear of the
Nature of Spirits, and fear of Death!
Bill Arnold
http://www.cwru.edu/affil/edis/scholars/arnold.htm
[2]-------------------------------------------------------------
From: Steve Roth <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date: Thursday, 22 Sep 2005 13:34:35 -0700
Subject: 16.1556 Hamlet an Allegory
Comment: Re: SHK 16.1556 Hamlet an Allegory
Gabriel Egan:
>"If the Round or any other Officer come to search to watch &
>Sentinels, when he doth first heare or see them approch, let him
>so soone as he doth perceive them, demand with a lowd voice,
>Qui va la? Who goes there?"
I've seen this before, but found it less than useful because I find the
first "he" to be decidedly ambiguous. Ambiguous to the point that I'm
not completely sure which side Gabriel is arguing here.
I think that "he" most likely refers to the sentinel, who's standing
still. On hearing the approach of the officer making the rounds, the
sentinel should say "who's there?"
If that's right, we still have a conundrum. Are there other similar
sixteenth-century passages that shed light?
An anonymous commentator who the MLA Variorum editors take to be George
Henry Lewes concluded in 1847 that Barnardo's call is fairly simply
explained (though Lewes spends far too many words explaining it): he is
afraid that the ghost is approaching, so a he calls out.
http://www.leoyan.com/global-language.com/ENFOLDED/output4.php?file=HWORKS0000/HW-3-4cn.xml
Saying that Hamlet is an allegory, by the way, is like saying that a
jaguar (organic or mechanical) is a bicycle.
Steve
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