The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 8.0550.  Friday, 9 May 1997.

From:           Andrew Walker White <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date:           Thursday, 8 May 1997 12:25:46 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: 8.0536 Q: Multiplying Time in Othello
Comment:        Re: SHK 8.0536 Q: Multiplying Time in Othello

This is a late reply, I've been busy on the diaper detail, so unable to
log in:

As for the use of multipliers in telling time, others may have already
mentioned Ophelia's "Twice two months, my Lord" in Hamlet.  This is a
crucial detail, in that it mentions in passing that the Prince's mad-act
has been going on for some time, perhaps as long as two months, before
R&G are summoned to court and the Players arrive.  Chronologies are very
useful in constructing the logic of scenes, and Othello and Hamlet are
prime examples.  Whether they mattered much to Shakespeare's audiences,
however, I couldn't say-in the hubbub and chaos of the pit, I'd bet the
groundlings could care less how much time has really passed on stage.

As for "Der Bestrafte Brudermord", I read that Poel produced it in
Edinburgh as a satire of Hamlet, and it met with great success.
Certainly looks like a burlesque (what with Hamlet ducking between two
pistols, and Ophelia chasing after a most unwilling Osric ...)

Andy White

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