Shakespeare Treasure Hunt
I’ve been re-reading Hamlet recently. I originally picked up the book to find a quotation and inevitably got drawn in. Spending the afternoon with my nose in a book allowed me to discover all kinds of hidden gems: beautifully crafted passages that I’d rushed in previous readings.
In this re-reading of Hamlet, I was struck by Claudius’ two short lines at the end of Act 3, Scene 3:
My words fly up, my thoughts remain below.
Words without thoughts never to heaven go.
The poetry here is magnificent! But, why have I never noticed it before? Perhaps I’ve always concentrated on the preceding action which is dominated by a key moment in Hamlet’s indecision. By the time Hamlet exits, I’m ready to scurry off with him because he has already filled my head with questions. For some reason, I’ve always skimmed the final lines of the scene – until now!
This is what I love about Shakespeare! There’s always something new to discover. Even scenes you know well still hide something beautiful.
So, I’m now on a Shakespeare treasure hunt: I’m going search “around” those big, important speeches and closely re-read those often cut scenes. Have you discovered any little gems recently? Please do share your “snippets” with me and join the treasure hunt.
Photo © NYPL Digital Gallery
Comments
Thank you for including your personal observations/activities on the site: it’s becoming much more engaging because of it.
Myself: I’m amazed by the short but powerful “too, too solid flesh” monologue. He begins by stating what all listeners will value as a truthful statement; that his father has been dead two months. Then he corrects himself and says, no less than 3 times, that the period of time is but one month. But who would agree with the one month statements? Yet, instead of seeing a madman who can’t discern real from fiction, we see a person who reacts just as we might.
“hidden” gems!?
Try Wolseys “farewell to my greatness”speech from Henry VIII
or Henry IVs’thoughts on “sleep” and “the cares of a king”.
The list is endless i.e. Clarences last words before the “malmsley butt” in Richard III. etc etc.
Dear Lee,
I also have been rereading Hamlet, in my case looking carefully at the Claudius scenes, and also have had a snippet moment, not with great poetry exactly, but with a Polonius comment in 2.2 which shook me to the core: “I have a daughter, have while she is mine”. This hit me like a thunderbolt. Having two daughters, or had while they were mine, a lifetime of experience was suddenly in front of me. Great stuff, eh?
HELLO TO ALL,
THERE IS NOT ONE DIAMOND OF ETERNAL FIRE THAT ONE CAN PICK AS THE BEST IN SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS.IMAGINE A REAL AND DEVASTATING THUNDERBOLT IN THE DARK NIGHTS OF WINTER AND READ THIS IN HAMLET.” THERE IS PROVIDENCE IN THE FALL OF A SPARROW” SUPERBH!
A hidden gem from Hamlet? Shakespeare’s lines, ‘I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space/Were it not that I have bad dreams.’
They are not only beautifully expressed but perennially relevant, for our own seemingly secure private world may be shattered anytime by fears of, for instance, losing our jobs or a disaster to a loved one. This is surely yet another example of Shakespeare writing for all time.
This isn’t exactly a hidden gem — it’s not a quote or anything… But here’s something that I absolutely love about this play, and that not many pay much attention to:
Hamlet hangs out with pirates. (Act 4, Scene 6) Isn’t that cool?