SHAKESPEARE: Hamlet (Act I)

A few years ago there was a television program called Gilligan’s Island. Several people were stranded on an island for a long time. So they decided to put on a musical play to cheer up one of the castaways. What does that have to do with Shakespeare? Now we know that they took music from Bizet’s Carmen and set it with these words: neither a borrower or a lender be; do not forget, stay out of debt. Years later that music and these words still come rushing back when we read the lines: Neither a borrower nor a lender be… And many readers want to yell out, hey, I know that line! It’s from Gilligan’s Island! Shakespeare would be amused. And if he were alive today Shakespeare may very well enjoy watching episodes of Gilligan’s Island himself. He was that kind of writer.

In this play, for example, we find Lord Polonius giving advice to his son Laertes. Laertes is a young man leaving to go abroad, not much different from a modern student leaving home to go away to college; maybe as a foreign exchange student. Polonius starts off his speech with a short introduction: …my blessing with thee! And these few precepts in thy memory See thou character. Here’s one of the biggest problems for modern English readers of Shakespeare. We know the meaning of all the words. But somehow they don’t seem to go together. And these few precepts in thy memory See thou character. What does that mean in plain English? If we want to get the full eloquence and depth of thought from Shakespeare, then we have to stop and think. Polonius is giving his son some fatherly advice. Here’s one of his “precepts”: Give thy thoughts no tongue, Nor any unproportioned thought his act. Here’s another one: Beware Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in, Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee. And we’ll take one more: Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel...

When Polonius says these few precepts in thy memory See thou character what he means is this. Son, I’m going to give you some good advice. I want you to remember these precepts while you’re away from home. Not only do I want you to remember them, I want you to put them into practice. I want you to use these few precepts to mold your permanent character. So first of all, Give thy thoughts no tongue, Nor any unproportioned thought his act. Don’t blurt out the first thing that pops into your head. A grown man should know how to hold his tongue. Guard your thoughts and don’t go around doing things without first thinking about what you’re doing. Don’t go off half-cocked and get into fights. And here’s some advice about fighting: Beware Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in, Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee. Don’t go looking for a fight. But once you’re in one, finish it. Make sure the other guy knows not to mess with you again. And what if there’s more than one guy? You’re going to need some help. In a good bar fight make sure you’ve got some buddies you can count on. And Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel. Once you’ve got some solid buddies who will stick with you, make sure you stick with them. Polonius gives more advice and ends with a famous quote: This above all: to thine ownself be true. This needs no translation. Each reader must personally decide what it means to be “true to myself.”

Gilligan is a long way off from Hamlet. But Hamlet is classic Elizabethan drama; and Gilligan’s Island is, in its own way, classic American sitcom. In one classic episode of Gilligan’s Island these two classics briefly cross paths. What would Shakespeare think about that? He might like it. He might point out that “I once wrote a play about some castaways on an island. I think I called it The Tempest. But tell me a little more about this Gilligan character.”