Go,
get thee to Yaughan; fetch me a stoop of liquor.
First Clown
Hamlet Act
V, Scene i Line 60
This is the graveyard scene from Hamlet. You know; Alas,
poor Yorick, I knew him well. Except that it’s Alas poor Yorick, I knew him, Horatio. Except that’s not today’s
line. But that is today’s scene. Today’s line is one gravedigger talking to the
other. Why are they listed as ‘clowns’? I dunno. If you watch Kenneth Branagh’s
version of Hamlet you’ll get the treat of seeing Billy Crystal perform this
scene, and this line. Believe it or not he does a super job with it. Robin
Williams has a small role near the end of this play as Osric too. It’s an
amazing movie.
Anyway, this is the graveyard scene, shortly before the Yorick
line and Hamlet and Horatio are watching and listening to the two
gravedigger/clowns. The latter spend the first part of this scene conversing as
they dig the grave for Ophelia. Ophelia, if you remember, drowned herself over
the lost love of Hamlet. Hamlet will find out for the first time, later in this
scene, that Ophelia is dead. Today’s Totally Random line is the last bit of
conversation between the gravediggers as Billy Crystal sends the other guy off
to get some liquor. I have no idea whether Yaughan is a person or a place, but
knowing Will it has some relevance or other.
So today’s line is nothing really special, but the scene as
a whole is pretty darn good. It’s sort of broken into three parts: the two
gravedigger’s conversing, Hamlet and Horatio conversing, and then a bit of a brouhaha
as the burial party of Ophelia arrive on the scene. As a whole there’s quite a
bit, but the first part, the two gravediggers’ part, is only about sixty lines.
So I’m going to give you that assignment for today. Here’s the link. Read it.
You’ll enjoy it. And picture Billy Crystal as the First Gravedigger. Good luck.
It's a picture of a fake headstone. Sorry, that's all I've got for tonight.
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