Today’s Totally Random Line(s)
No, nor mine now. – [to Polonius] My lord, you play’d once i’ th’ university,
you say?
-Hamlet
Hamlet Act III, Scene ii, Line 104
Okay, well this is Hamlet, the person and the play. So if it’s confusing, well, that’s because it’s Hamlet, the person and the play. A bit earlier in this scene Hamlet’s talking alone with Horatio, the only person he trusts, and his sentences make sense. Nearly everything he says to anyone other than Horatio has riddles, or double entendre, or who knows what. Here’s the brief interchange with the king. King How fares our cousin Hamlet? Hamlet Excellent i’faith; of the chameleon’s dish: I eat the air, promise- cramm’d: You cannot feed capons so. King
I have nothing with this answer, Hamlet; these words are not mine.
Hamlet
No, nor mine now….
So, this is not an Early Modern English understandability problem; this is simply Hamlet speaking in riddles. Is it worth trying to figure out? Well, you can bet there’s something to be had in those words, because Will wrote them. How much time have you got? How much time have I got? I’m not retired yet, so I do have places to be eventually. To be honest, available time or not, I’m don’t think I’ve got the inclination right now to try to figure this out. So I’ll leave it to you. Good luck!
1 comment:
I feel like scholars who are well versed in Shakespeare couldn't even figure out those lines.
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