Alcala 1958

Th e mat ch contin ues ,but Lae rtes, though still fen cin gwith all the ski ll he can com­ mand, ha s been taken com ple telyoff guard by Hamle t's sur pri sing ag ili ty an d prec i­ sio n. Th e Pr inc e is the agg res sor , and Laertes , unable to def end him sel f,adm its, thi s tim e wit hou t wa itin g for the judge's cal l, that he has been hit again . Th e spo rts drama is all ten sion now. Cla udi us and Lae rtes can on ly gla nce at ea ch oth er hel ple ssly . Th e Queen has take n the poison eddrink int ended for Ham let. As the third bou t be gin s, Lae rtes knows that the mat ch mus t be end ed qu ick ly, that hi s onl y chan ceis a foul blow. Th e opp ort unity com es whe n the fo ils are loc ked andOsr ic dec lare sthe third bou t a dra w. At thi s poi nt the act ion ha s been vari­ ou sly inte rpreted on the st ag e. 32 Laer tes, bet wee n bou ts, should tou ch Hamle twith the poi son edtip wh en the Pr inc e'sgua rd is dow n. Th en Hamle t drops hi s own foi l, sna tch es the wea pon of Lae rtes and pau ses 32 Anothe rinter preta tion, used in the scre en ver­ sion , is for Laert es, duri ng a rest perio d, to touc h Hamlet's arm with the pois one dfoil whi le the Prin ce has his back turne d. Haml et then con tinu es the mat ch, kno cks the foil from Laerte s' hand , puts his foot on the foil and hand s his own foil to Laert es. ues, h tes, i g ll - , l tely l t's rising il ty i- . i e sor, , self, its, t iti g j ge's ~ . t i ius te l l s ly. e let. i s, tes i ly, ce l . unity es ils and i s . i s - u l e. 32 tes, n ts, amlet ed i e's . l t l, t es tes s 32 t er et tion, - , es, , l ' l c . es , nocks ' , s es.

sar donic allywh ile Lae rtes can do no thi ng but pick up the blunte d fo il. Hamle t the n att ack s fie rc ely , and the hel ple ss bu t tre ach erous Lae rte s, unabl e to cop e with Hamle t's sk ill, is run thr oug h, as Hamle t, now a dy ing ma n, wi ns the ma tch as he ha d predict ed. This is no t on ly the end of the spo rts drama , but vir tua lly the en d of the pla y. After fin all y ga in in grev eng eon hi s uncle , Hamle t ou tliv es Cla udius an d Lae rtes by a ma tter of mi nu teson ly. Ho rat iohelps him to the thr one and the re, now King for a moment, Hamle t spe aks hi s dy ing wor ds. Ha d he liv ed , he would "h av epro v'd mos t roy all y." 33 Ha d hi s fat he r'smur der ne ver bee n com­ mit ted , he would ha ve retu rned to hi s bel oved Un ive rsi ty,ther e to ful fill hi s own con cep tio nof the Re nai ssa nceman : Wha t a pie ce of work is a ma n! how no ble in re as on ! how in fin ite in fac ul ty! in form an d mo vin g how ex pr ess an d ad m ir ab le ! in ac tio nhow lik ean an ge l!in ap pr eh en sio n how lik e a g o d / 34 33 V, ii, 409. 33 I I, ii, 315-319. nically il t ing t il. t s cely, t e l s erous tes, le t's ill, h, l t, i g , ed. l t , t l y . l y i i g e l , l t li es i te tes l . tio , i g t, l t i s. , e ' al y." 33 r's - , d ed i rsity, fil s tion is ance : t f ! rw l ! !&o fi ite ulty! i g es irable! wn l! enswn how d! 33 H I,

J. Patrick Henry "A ssumi nga per fec tdicho tom ywith no oth er choic e,wh ichwould you choose : Awa r tha t mi gh t des troy civ ili za tio nas we kno w it ; or comple te sur ren der and cap itu lati onto wor ld comm un ism ?" Ac co rd ing to a lett er in Na tiona l Revie w , Jan . 4, 19 58 , a gradu ate ass ista nt in the Po lit ica lSc ienc edep artm entof No rthwes ternUn ive rsi typos ed thi s qu est ion to hi s cla ss of 40 bu dd ingyo un ginte llec tua lsand got 38 sur ren der ersand two fig hte rs. Th e sam e quest ion pos ed to an Am eric an Lite ratu re cla ss of 40 budd ing youn g int elle ctu als at the Col lege fo r Men , Un ive rsi ty of San Die go , got 39 fig hte rs and one surren der er. He , a victim of pos twa r-combat fat igu e,wou ld ha ve flun ked the cou rse an yw ay . —Pa ul Bu rto n. atricl ing f t to y i e, w i : A t y tion ; l te der i lation l unism?" According ti.a al evi w, . , ate t l ical ce ent estern i rsity ion ing g ll tuals derers r . e io i an re ing g ll ctuals l , i rsity go, rs derer. , r-c bat i e, l ay. -Paul rt n.

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