Alcala 1958

Th is cer tai nly gi ve s sig nif icantme an ing to Ham let'sex cla mat ion : Be gin ,mur de re r;pox , leave th y dam ­ nab le faces and be gi n. 16 There is sti ll one mo re sid e to Ham let. Pop ula r an d per son ab leleader, stud ent of phi loso phy ,co achof drama ticswou ld seem to be ver sat ilit yen ou gh . But the complet e man, from ancie nt Gr eec e onward , did not rest with inte llec tual achi evement.Ham let's other quali tie sare fu lly supplem ent ed by his ph ysi cal de xte rit y.In modern col leg e parlan ce he wou ld be cal led a star ath lete , pro bab lycap tai nof hi s fen cin gteam . Th rou gho utthe Re naissance, me n of the ari sto cra cyoft en car rie dswords and were gen erally exp ert swo rdsme n. A fen cin g mat ch at that time mi gh t well have be en con sid ere dch ild 's pla y, almost lik e a dre ss rehear sal for du ell ing in earnes t. Even so, since a rap ier wa s us ed wtih out a butt on and wi th a blu nte d poi nt, fen cer s wor e brea stpla te, sku llca p and mail glo ves . Un­ prot ecte d part s of the bod y were open to jarrin g thru sts. It wa s no parlo r divers ion. In 1600 thr ee me tho ds of fenc ingwere in vo gu e:the swo rd and buckler , ahol dov er from me die val wa rfare; the rap ier an d gl ov e; and the rapier and da gg er . 27 Th e rap ier and da gg er we re the mo st pop ular in Shakes pea re' stim e and are fre quent ly use d in sta ge pro ducti on sof Sha kes pea re. Mauric eEva ns fav ors them for the last bou t on ly ;in the scr een ver sionLau renceOl ivi er hel d the two we apo nsthroug hou t. The fen cin g ma tch in the play is, of course , on ly pre sum abl yan ath leti c event and act ual lya Machia ve llia n 28 plot , planne d by Cla udi us to dis po seof Ham let by me ans of a sha rp- tipp ed fo il, wh ich is als o po isoned . In the eve nt of fai lur e Ham let's drink is likew isedil ute dwith po iso n. 2 6 III, ii, 262-264 . 27 Dover Wils on disc usse s the se meth ods and the match itse lf. 28 At lea st, Eliza beth ans would have calle d it Mac hiav ellia n,sin ce Mac hiav elli's The Pri nce was at that time asso ciated with stag e sub­ terf uge and intrigue. t inly s i t i g l 's ation: i , rderer; , - l in. 26 l t. r able l phy, c tics tility gh. l e t e , ll t al achievement. l ' ties l e ted c l dexterity. e ce l , ly t in i g . g ut t , l racy i d l n. i g t ered c 's , sal l i g c m t. i , s t l te, ll p . - t d sts. ion. I ds i g e: t , i val f ; glove; and the rapier and er. 27 i peare's l e tly tion o e re. f i e l ; e ce n ho t. i g , ably a l ic eve t an l y iavellian i s e l -ti ed , i i e . e l ' ise d i . 6 nr. . r \V ~ s s l . , ans l\l i el ian, {' I i el i's c - i

From the buil d-up given to the ma tch be tween Ham let and Lae rtes , the Prin ce wou ld be the und erd og in mod ern spo rts termi nol ogy , and hi s sco rin g of al l the poi nts bef ore the tra gic inte rrup tion wou ld be term ed an ups et. For Lae rtes ha s ret urn ed from France wit h suc h a fin e reputa tionas a swo rdsm an that he is ma de fav or ite in the wa ger ing. Ham let's ski ll seems unk nown. Som e wee ks pre ced ing ,he ha d told Rosencrantzan d Gui lden ster ntha t he had "fo reg oneall cust om of ex ercis e." 29 Bu t imm edi ate ly bef ore the mat ch he is qu ite confid entof vic tor y,as he remarks to Ho ra tio : . . . sinc e he (L a erte s)went int o Fr an ce , I ha ve be en in con tinua l pr ac tic e;Isha ll w inat the od ds ? 0 Th e ma tch is read y to be gin as the cou rt wa tch es. Osr ic, the fop pis hcou rtie r, seems to be the prin cipa l jud ge, sin ce he pre sen ts the foi ls and cal ls thehits. Th e two youth ful con test ant stry seve ral foi ls for we igh t, and when Laer tes makes hi s sel ect ion , on ly Cla udi usamong the sta ge spe ctat ors knows tha t thi s part icula rfo il is shar p and trea ted with po iso n;the oth ers are wit nes sin gwha t the y hope will be an ex cit ingath leti c con ­ tes t. Bu t the spec tato rs bey ond the foot ­ ligh ts, the thea tre audie nce, know tha t Hamle tis defen din ghi s lif e. Th is is spo rts drama in the trues t sens e. As the mat ch ope ns, Laer tes fen ce s fur iou slyas part of the pla n to tire Ha mlet ; aft er sev era l pass esHam let cla imsa hi t and ask s fo r judgmen t,wh ich com es for thwi th : A h it ,a ve rypal pab leh it ? 1 Th e King, eve n in thi s open ing bou t, is so imp res sedwith Ham let' s skillthat , fea rfu l les t Lae rtes will not sco re a hit at all , no w pro poses a toas t and ask s Hamle t to drink . But the Pr inc e,like an y exp eri en ced ath let e, ho lds off a wh ile and ask s foranothe rbo ut ; ye t, jud gin g from the Qu een 's remark , he is bre ath inghe av ily . II, ii, 308. 3"V, ii, 220-222. 31V , ii, 292. 53 ee l t , ce l og inology, g i tio . t e t tio an ite ing. l ' n. ing, tz st n t one e." 29 iately before i e t y, atio: . L ertes) ce, t ual tice; sha e s. 30 t es. 0 i , i h r, i l , l l l t e ful ts t l l t, t i , iu l rs i r il ted i n; l ing i g a l ic - . r - ts, i nce, l t i g . i t se. t e i sly a l · l a e l nd t, t with: it, ry le hit. 3 i t, ed l ' kill f l l t , t . i e, erienced l te hold off a while and a k for another b t; , i g 's , t ing h ily. 29 0 •