Third Grade Flashback

"To be, or not to be, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to set arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, end them..."

In third grade, me and several other people in my English class (Becca, Mike) were all in Hamlet. Granted, we did not understand a thing that was going on, but I do still have that speech memorized. But anyway, I've learned a lot about Hamlet that I didn't learn by being in it in 2003.

Freshman year, I learned about Shakespeare's life and the Globe Theater and such, just like the rest of you probably did. I also learned about iambic pentameter, which I think is a good excuse for Shakespeare using so many random words. I mean, if you have to fit what you want to say in ten syllables with specific ones stressed, you're going to have to make some stuff up. Like, I know I couldn't do it.

This year, I learned about all the symbolism and puns and crazy stuff Shakespeare slips into his plays. I know for sure I didn't notice it then, and I missed out on some of it this time when I read, but there's definitely a ton of wordplay. Also a lot of humor that eight-year-old me missed out on. For example, Hamlet makes fun of Polonius after he kills him. Here's a website with a modern-day translation for you non-Shakespeare-loving English students out there.

King: Now, Hamlet, where's Polonius?
(Where's the corpse, you brat?)
Hamlet: At supper.
(Wouldn't you like to know?)
King: At supper! Where?
(Watch it, kid!)
Hamlet: Not where he eats, but where he is eaten...
(Guess how many worms he's feeding!)
King: Alas, alas!
(The guy was an idiot, but what can you do?)
Hamlet: A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.
(King becomes worm food, worm becomes fish food, fish becomes fisherman food. Ergo, fisherman chows down on royalty. Circle of life, sucker.)

Hamlet is just a twisted little genius, isn't he? Who comes up with stuff like that on the spot? I don't know, but taking a closer look at Hamlet has definitely made me appreciate Shakespeare's writing a lot more.

Oh, and if you were wondering, I was Horatio in the play. :)
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