Wednesday, October 19, 2005

The never changing questions....

Okay I am a nerd when it comes to liking old literature that makes some people go "eh? what does that mean?"

But you can see with this quote, how the questions we ask ourselves, have not changed, from one of my favorites, Hamlet, Act III:

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 take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?--To die,--to sleep,--
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to,--'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die,--to sleep;--
To sleep! perchance to dream:--ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despis'd love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would these fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,--
The undiscover'd country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns,--puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?

If you want to read it in a "modern" translation?

http://www.lynchmultimedia.com/hamlet_pbook3chpt1.html

:-)

7 comments:

starbender said...

Hear Here!!!

Unknown said...

Egads! I am not the only fan of Hamlet.

:-)

Hooda Thunkit (Dave Zawodny) said...

What where?

I guess you'd have to be a real fan to work through the Olde English.

Flashback to my Junior year English Lit. class...

Or, are you trying to mock my Gilligan's Island theme song post by counter-posting Hamlet in retaliation Lisa?

:-)

Unknown said...

Nope, I really do like Hamlet, especially that Act.

Yes, I am strange but you already knew that. At least I am very good company.

:-)

Hooda Thunkit (Dave Zawodny) said...

I'm not sure, but I think that I may have been insulted (or figured out).

It's hard to be insulted by truly clever people though...

:-]

Unknown said...

I'd never insult you, tease you? Yes...

:-)

Cyberseaer said...

I wasn't a fan of Shakespeare until I saw the movie of Al Pacino directing a group of actors doing Richard III. It was great. Not only did it show the play, but it was like a course in how to watch Shakespeare. I forgot the name of the flick. Then I saw the modern setting of "Romero and Juliet" in LA but the script was in the old english. After about ten minutes of listening it, I understood what was going on. Now when I hear girls who want to find their Romeros, I want to ask, "Why? You want to die young moroon?"

I might just read more Shakespeare later on. Just don't hold your breath. ;)