In refutation, I've found my favorite (so far) joke in the Bard: Act III, Scene 2 of Hamlet, the bit about Guildenstern, Hamlet, and the pipe. Gertrude has sent Tweedlecrantz and Guildendee to check on why Hamlet Jr. is acting so crazay. Our goth protagonist asks Guildenstern to try playing a recorder.
HAMLET
GUILDENSTERN
HAMLET
![[Comments]](/nb//themes/Default/comments.png "13 comments")
(13) Tue Aug 02 2005 23:06 (Sumana) The Right To Bear Fardels:
During a recent summit The Poor Man made some nonsensical remark denying that there's any humor in C.S. Lewis or Shakespeare. One of those half-drunk "contrarian = sophisticated" bits of bollocks.
GUILDENSTERN
In the four-hour Kenneth Branagh version this little rant is especially breathtaking.
I know no touch of it, my lord.
It is as easy as lying. Govern these ventages with your
fingers and thumbs, give it breath with your mouth, and it will
discourse most eloquent music. Look you, these are the stops.
But these cannot I command to any utt'rance of harmony. I
have not the skill.
Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me! You
would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would
pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my
lowest note to the top of my compass; and there is much music,
excellent voice, in this little organ, yet cannot you make it
speak. 'Sblood, do you think I am easier to be play'd upon than a
pipe? Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me,
you cannot play upon me.
- Comments:
Posted by Brendan at Wed Aug 03 2005 06:15
Oh dear. Your favorite joke in Shakespeare is a pun?
Posted by Sumana at Wed Aug 03 2005 07:33
a) Screw you.b) What's yours?c) Again, screw you.
Posted by Brendan at Wed Aug 03 2005 08:03
I regret to say that I agree with The Poor Man, to some extent. The only joke in Shakespeare is two people who look like each other. It's not really a funny joke.There is one great metahumor joke, however: it goes "exeunt, followed by a bear."
Posted by Sumana at Wed Aug 03 2005 08:21
Wodehouse mentions that "followed by a bear" bit in one of the Jeeves & Wooster stories.Your inability to find the humor surprises and saddens me. Oh well.
Posted by Brendan at Wed Aug 03 2005 09:49
On reflection, I come off here as attempting to denigrate Sumana or her taste, rather than Shakespeare. In which case I did it wrong.
Posted by Sumana at Wed Aug 03 2005 10:55
Thanks for clarifying, Brendan. Sorry for snapping at you.In other deprecations: cars depreciate too fast.
Posted by caleb at Thu Aug 04 2005 06:36
There's a pretty funny line in Hamlet when Polonius describes the actors (granted, its humor does sort of depend on delivery...):Pol. The best actors in the world, either for tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical, historical-pastoral, tragical-historical, tragical-comical-historical-pastoral, scene individable, or poem unlimited [(okay, and the second part of the line isn't funny.]
Posted by Sumana at Thu Aug 04 2005 07:06
I like that line too, and [SPOILERS!] the banter Hamlet puts up against Claudius's "Now, young man, where's Polonius?" interrogation. Very Law & Order.
Posted by John at Thu Aug 04 2005 11:26
Sumana:Sorry to hear about your recent "accident." Hope you are ok.
Posted by Riana at Thu Aug 04 2005 12:52
Oh please!1. A Midsummer Night's Dream, "I shall enact Wall!"2. the Gatekeeper's speech about alcohol in Macbeth 3. the naughty sonnet employing double meaning of "Will" 4. COME ON! HE HAS AN ASS'S HEAD! (another great stage direction: "Enter Bottom with the Ass Head.")I majored in English pretty much purely because it meant I got credit for reading utter smut. (cf. Chaucer)
Posted by Riana at Thu Aug 04 2005 12:54
Oh! And!Ham. Lady, shall I lie in your lap?
Ophe. No, my Lord.
Ham. I mean, my Head upon your lap?
Ophe. Aye, my Lord.
Ham. Did you think I meant country matters?Posted by Sumana at Thu Aug 04 2005 15:15
I imagine that Brendan in this thread feels the way I do among evangelists of HURD or Fox News.
Posted by Susie at Fri Aug 05 2005 07:30
I took a Shakespeare class in college, and we acted out the play-within-a-play in A Midsummer Night's Dream with someone being Wall. After that, we never could remember each others' actual names and just called each other "Wall" and "Lion" (I got to roar).