Multiplicity of Meaning in the Last Moments of Hamlet
© Connotations 2.1 (1992): 16-33
N.B. For purposes of citation, page numbers of the printed version are inserted in square brackets.
Multiplicity of Meaning in the Last Moments of Hamlet
JOHN RUSSELL BROWN
Elizabethan and Jacobean tragedies have had an even more durable life than comedies. Especially at the Globe Playhouse, a varied audience crowded to see the rise and fall of kings, or the working out of revenge and passion. They watched horrific stories concluding with an ultimate test in which the hero, and sometimes the heroine, faced violence and disaster. Death came in many forms, but always brought with it a revaluation of the hero 's life as means of support were taken away: the individual was separated from his or her fellows, endured loss and escalation of pain, and was exposed to intense scrutiny. The audience was invited to judge the hero 's response and ultimate resource. Perhaps these tragedies were so popular because they offered audiences an opportunity to assume the role of God, the all-knowing assessor who had long been the exclusive possession of remote and authoritative clerics: they could watch as man suffers, and so judge his ultimate worth. In the words of John Webster, writing his first tragedy in 1612 (partly in imitation of Shakespeare):
. . . affliction
Expresseth virtue, fully, whether true,
Or else adulterate. (The White Devil I.i.49-51)1
Death brought a final truth-telling. In his second tragedy, a couple of years later, Webster 's heroine is told in the very first scene:
. . . believe 't
Your darkest actions--nay, your privat 'st thoughts--
Will come to light. (The Duchess of Malfi I.i.314-16)2
The coming to light of a man 's "privat 'st thoughts" is what Shakespeare implied as he explored the possibilities of tragedy in Julius Caesar, [page 17] a chronicle play concluding in numerous deaths, and gave his most thoughtful character words which liken the protagonists to horses who are judged for resources of spirit in
N.B. For purposes of citation, page numbers of the printed version are inserted in square brackets.
Multiplicity of Meaning in the Last Moments of Hamlet
JOHN RUSSELL BROWN
Elizabethan and Jacobean tragedies have had an even more durable life than comedies. Especially at the Globe Playhouse, a varied audience crowded to see the rise and fall of kings, or the working out of revenge and passion. They watched horrific stories concluding with an ultimate test in which the hero, and sometimes the heroine, faced violence and disaster. Death came in many forms, but always brought with it a revaluation of the hero 's life as means of support were taken away: the individual was separated from his or her fellows, endured loss and escalation of pain, and was exposed to intense scrutiny. The audience was invited to judge the hero 's response and ultimate resource. Perhaps these tragedies were so popular because they offered audiences an opportunity to assume the role of God, the all-knowing assessor who had long been the exclusive possession of remote and authoritative clerics: they could watch as man suffers, and so judge his ultimate worth. In the words of John Webster, writing his first tragedy in 1612 (partly in imitation of Shakespeare):
. . . affliction
Expresseth virtue, fully, whether true,
Or else adulterate. (The White Devil I.i.49-51)1
Death brought a final truth-telling. In his second tragedy, a couple of years later, Webster 's heroine is told in the very first scene:
. . . believe 't
Your darkest actions--nay, your privat 'st thoughts--
Will come to light. (The Duchess of Malfi I.i.314-16)2
The coming to light of a man 's "privat 'st thoughts" is what Shakespeare implied as he explored the possibilities of tragedy in Julius Caesar, [page 17] a chronicle play concluding in numerous deaths, and gave his most thoughtful character words which liken the protagonists to horses who are judged for resources of spirit in
Bibliography: 13 (1960): 31-47. 24. Arden Edition, ed. J. C. Maxwell (London: Methuen, 1953, 1961). 25. Arden Edition, ed. Brian Gibbons (London: Methuen, 1980). Responses to this article: * Dieter Mehl, "Hamlet 's Last Moments: A Note on John Russell Brown," Connotations 2.2 (1992): 182-185 * Maurice Charney, "The Rest Is Not Silence: A Reply to John Russell Brown," Connotations 2.2 (1992): 186-189. * Holger Klein, "Hamlet and After," Connotations 3.1 (1993): 56-59. Brown 's answer to the responses by Mehl and Charney: * John Russell Brown, "Connotations of Hamlet 's Final Silence," Connotations 2.3 (1992): 275-86