Hamlet Without the Potholes

From the ''Shakespeare Without the Potholes'' Series

Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book Hamlet Without the Potholes by Jerry Rubin, Xlibris US
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jerry Rubin ISBN: 9781462807352
Publisher: Xlibris US Publication: July 18, 2000
Imprint: Xlibris US Language: English
Author: Jerry Rubin
ISBN: 9781462807352
Publisher: Xlibris US
Publication: July 18, 2000
Imprint: Xlibris US
Language: English

The series "Shakespeare Without the Potholes" is intended to provide updated versions of all of the 37 generally recognized plays of William Shakespeare. The series makes the plays more accessible to students encountering Shakespeare for the first time; it provides an easier reading experience by modernizing some of the outdated vocabulary and grammar, and by revising many of the more difficult passages that in the original can be understood, if at all, only by careful scanning of a footnote, and sometimes not even then. The alterations retain the meter and maintain almost all of the poetic substance.

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

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The series "Shakespeare Without the Potholes" is intended to provide updated versions of all of the 37 generally recognized plays of William Shakespeare. The series makes the plays more accessible to students encountering Shakespeare for the first time; it provides an easier reading experience by modernizing some of the outdated vocabulary and grammar, and by revising many of the more difficult passages that in the original can be understood, if at all, only by careful scanning of a footnote, and sometimes not even then. The alterations retain the meter and maintain almost all of the poetic substance.

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

More books from Xlibris US

Cover of the book Ruby Garner- Part 1 by Jerry Rubin
Cover of the book Modern Day Psalmist by Jerry Rubin
Cover of the book Oh, That Pig by Jerry Rubin
Cover of the book Jesus Keeps Singing over Us by Jerry Rubin
Cover of the book Dr. Donna, D.D.S. by Jerry Rubin
Cover of the book One Soul by Jerry Rubin
Cover of the book The Letter by Jerry Rubin
Cover of the book The Haunted Weekend of Graduation Return's by Jerry Rubin
Cover of the book Autumn by Jerry Rubin
Cover of the book Ozain Mystery of the Congo and Yoruba by Jerry Rubin
Cover of the book The Karnad Chronicles by Jerry Rubin
Cover of the book Lipstick and Absinthe by Jerry Rubin
Cover of the book The Life Portraits of Henry Clay by Jerry Rubin
Cover of the book From My Heart by Jerry Rubin
Cover of the book For Senior Officers Only by Jerry Rubin
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy