Alcala 1958

A cou rti er, a sch ola ran d a sol die r—the beau ide al of the Re nai ssa nce . On ly in momenta ry fla sh es is thi s sid e of Hamle t's nat ure rev eal ed in the pla y, principally in sce ne swith hi s sch ool fell ows. It is ev ide nt tha t Hamle t at the cou rt in Els ino re and Hamle t at the Unive rsi ty in Wi ttenberg were two diff ere nt and disti nctperson ali ties. Hamle t, in hi s fir st app ear anc e, is the on e dis cor dan tno te in all the pomp an d gra ndeur of the cou rt. He is rep elle d by hi s uncle 'sme nti onof "s on ,"he is irr itab le toward s hi s mo the r, he ign ore s the sou nd ad vic eof Cla udius onprotrac tedmo ur nin g fo r a dea d fat he r. Le ft alo ne, he brood son suici de and on hi s mot her 's inc ons tan cy. Th us far , no th ing of the hail -fel low-well- me t, popular ma n of the col leg e. But , wit h the entran ce of Ho rat io, the Hamle t of the Un iversi ty is sud denly rev eal ed . With gen uin e warmth he gre ets hi s sch oolfel low, addr ess es him as "mygood fri en d" and inq uir es at onc e about Wit ­ ten be rg. Th e two off ice rs, Ber nar do and Mar- cel lus , are the n rec ogn ize dbef ore Haml et ag ain menti on sthe Un ive rs ity : Ham. . . . Bu t wh at ,in fait h, ma ke you fromW it te nbe rg ? Ho r. A tru an t di sp os iti on ,good m y lo rd . Ham. I w ou ld not ha ve your en em ysa y so , Nor sha ll you do mi ne ea r tha t vio len ce To mak e it truster of your ow n re po rt Ag ain styour sel f:I know you are no tru an t.' Th is is Haml etas Ho rati oknows him, the ge nia l,per son abl e, dem ocrati c Pr inceof the rea lm, ob vio usly the adm ira tion of hi s sch ool fell ow s.An int ere stin gby- pro duct of the abo ve con ver sat ion is Ham let' s com ­ mentary on att end anc eat cla sse s. Ho rat io jok ing ly de sig na teshim self as a "tr uan t," ' I ,ii, 168-1 73. tier, r l ier-the l is ance. l t ry es l t's led , s lfel ows. t l t re t rsity erg t o dif erent istinct alities. l t, rance, t e r t. l 's tion , i le s r, s i e i s on te ning r. , s e 's tancy. , ing -f l o -wel - , l e. ce tio, l~t i ity nly led. i e t lf l ow, ad resse y " i es ~ - rg. rs, do , ized let i ons i rsity: . . at, i , ittenberg? Hor. A truant dispositi.on, good my wrd. . l y , ll t . ce e f rt i st self: re t.' is let tio the l, s able, democratic i ce o , usly i tion lfel ows. sting ct sation l 's - tendance s. tio i ly ates t," I, .

afr aid to let the Pr inc e out of hi s sig ht, but who hid es hi s war ine ss and fea r in fac ile lan guage: For you r int ent In goin g back to school in W itt en be rg , It is mos t ret rogra deto ou r de sir e. 3 Th is traditiona l"m elancholy Da ne ," so lon g associat ed wit h the pla y's pro duc tion, is har dly the Ham let of the Unive rsi tyof Wit tenber g. No r is he the Hamle t who welcome s hi s scho olfe llow Ho rat io or even hi s fal se col lege frie nds ,Ros enc ran tz and Gui lden ster n. An d he is no t the Ham let who gre ets the player s, wh o rev ise s and dir ect s the play -wit hin- the- play ,who qu ips wit h Po lon ius and the Gr ave digger ,who fen ces aga ins t Lae rtes wit h dex ter ity and pre cis ion . Th is oth er Hamle t, the Pr ince who was stud ent at the Unive rsi ty, has seld ombeen giv en the atte ntio nhe des erv es. Just two short mont hsbefor ethe open ing of the play, Ham let had been cal led back to Elsi nore from the Un iversi ty of Witt en­ berg. Th e you ng Pr inc e and studen t at that time was not the dou r, almostpee vis h mis ant hro pe who app ear s in the sec ond sce ne . Th is ear lier Hamle t is dep icte d for us by Oph elia , just aft er hi s vio len t out­ bur st in the first part of Ac t III, the sce ne in wh ich he con signs her to a nunne ryand inv eig hsaga ins tall woma nki nd. Opheli a be lie ves him to be ma d and, aft er he leaves , she recalls the Hamle t who mus t ha ve been known and admi redby hi s fellow stud ents at the Univ er sit y: 0 wh at a nob le mi nd is he re o'er - th rown . Th e cour tie r's , sch ola r s,so ld iers, ey e, ton gu e,sw or d; Th e ex pe cta ncyan d rose of the fair sta te , Th e glass of fash ion an d the mo ld of form, Th e ob se rv edof all ob se rv er s. . . 4 i e , s i es il age: it enberg, It grade ire. 3 is iti l el ncholy , ed ' ction, l l t rsity o t berg. l t s liel o tio friends, tz stern. l t t s, is s e ts hin-the-play, i ius dig er, s i t tes ity cision. i l t, i ce rsity, ti n h es. ths e i g l i ity - i e t , l ost i rope s . i l l t i d li , t - st part of Act I ch he consigns her to a nunnery and i hs i t kind. l ves , , l t ired ts ersity: l n. e tier's, o/, r's, l ier' e, e, rd; e ct ncy f te, e , f sl,,i, f , o r ed of rvers .. 4 3 J, • 3 1 , ii, 112-114. III, i, 159-163.

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