The Huck Finn Soliloquy

Following last week's post is a further discussion of the Hamlet Soliloquy in Huck Finn.  The passage was the subject of a 1969 article by E. Bruce Kirkham in the Mark Twain Journal ("Huck and Hamlet:  An Examination of Twain's Use of Shakespeare."  Vol. 14, Summer, pp. 17-19).  Prof. Kirkham begins with an analysis of the soliloquy, comparing each line to the original Shakespearean texts (Hamlet, Macbeth and Richard III).  He continues with a discussion of variations between them, explaining why it might be that these differences occur.  He believes that Twain was purposeful in his selection of source lines and in the changes that he made.  He presents Twain's passage in translated modern English, read as an "original composition."

Prof. Kirkham's thesis is that the soliloquy parallels a thread running through Huck Finn.  Each of the sources within the soliloquy embodies themes of action and inaction.  We have seen this previously in Hamlet.  Its protagonist knows what he must do, but he fails to act.  Huck has the same issue in Twain's book.  He debates the morality of helping Jim to escape.  "Society tells [him] he should not; humanity tells him he should."  Upon hearing the soliloquy, which urges "action at all costs in all situations," and seeing Jim returned to slavery, Huck decides that it is time to act.

As Prof. Kirkham concludes, the soliloquy serves as more than mere comic relief.  It "serves to point up an important theme in the story."

Hamlet and Huck Finn

Where best to find references to Shakespeare's masterpiece than in Mark Twain's masterpiece?  In revisiting the latter's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, I ran into the former's Hamlet.  I don't know whether my subconscious remembered this confluence of literary icons from a previous reading of Huck Finn decades ago, but there it was, front and center in Chapter 21.

In lieu of retyping the relevant passage, I found the following breakdown on the Internet at http://jmohsen.weebly.com/shakespearean-allusions-in-huck-finn.html.  It was so well arranged that I copied it below.  The website includes further dissection of the soliloquy, including the original citations from each of the three Shakespearean works quoted.

Allusion in the Hamlet Soliloquy in Huck Finn

In Huck Finn, the King performs a creative version of Hamlet’s soliloquy, with allusions to three of Shakespeare’s play.  Below is the actual breakdown of the allusions, with a color code to understand the original text behind each allusion.

Key 
Hamlet’s Soliloquy

Other Hamlet
Macbeth
Richard III

Soliloquy
To be, or not to be; that is the bare bodkin
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would fardels bear, till Birnam Wood do come to Dunsinane,
But that the fear of something after death
Murders the innocent sleep,
Great nature's second course,
And makes us rather sling the arrows of outrageous fortune
Than fly to others that we know not of.
There's the respect must give us pause:
Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The law's delay, and the quietus which his pangs might take,
In the dead waste and middle of the night, when churchyards yawn
In customary suits of solemn black,
But that the undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns,
Breathes forth contagion on the world,
And thus the native hue of resolution, like the poor cat i' the adage,
Is sicklied o'er with care,
And all the clouds that lowered o'er our housetops,
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.
'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.
But soft you, the fair Ophelia:
Ope not thy ponderous and marble jaws,
But get thee to a nunnery- go!

created by Yvonne Hangsterfer and Jerome Mohsen (c) 2012

Uncovering Hamlet

In 2012, PBS aired a series entitled Shakespeare Uncovered.  The films each featured Shakespearean actors who described a particular play or plays.  The hour-long segment on Hamlet was hosted by David Tennant, who played Hamlet both on stage and in a film adaptation (see 2/23/14 post).  It was a brief and very enjoyable look at Hamlet, inside and out.

At the outset, Tennant attempts to discover what makes Hamlet appealing 400 years later.  Why is is that audiences and readers continue to flock to it and to rank it as Shakespeare's "best" play?  To answer these questions, Tennant uses a synopsis of the play to pace the film.  He visits with directors, actors and other authorities to converse with them about their experiences with the play.  Interspersed with these interviews and chats are clips from productions of Hamlet:  Olivier, Gibson, Jacobi and even Tennant, himself.

In addition to discussions about productions of the play, we are treated to glimpses of Hamlet-related artifacts.  A visit to the British Library yields a look at three original versions of Shakespeare's Hamlet:  the "Bad Quarto" (of which there are only two copies in existence), the "Second (Good) Quarto" and the "First Folio."  As Tennant reveals, those three volumes represent a worth of approximately 10 million pounds.  We also see an eerie prop held by the Royal Shakespeare Company--an actual skull bequeathed to the company for use as Yorick's skull.  It is an idea that was parroted in Slings & Arrows (see 1/1/14 post); I had no idea that it was based on fact.

Ultimately, the questions of Hamlet's popularity remain.  Jude Law, himself a Hamlet alumnus (see 9/16/13 post), broaches an answer.  He believes that people still love Hamlet because it deals with fundamental themes that we all must face:  "Why are we here?" and "What's the point?"  Those questions are timeless.

Ophelia To The Fore

While browsing used books in a local bookstore, I came across a title I could not resist:  Dating Hamlet:  Ophelia's Story.  The novel by Lisa Fiedler brings Ophelia to center stage.  Although the title and cover art were groan-inspiring, it was, if nothing else, another piece to add to my collection.  It ended up being an enjoyable read.

The novel takes place during the action of Shakespeare's play.  Ophelia narrates the work in first person, relaying her thoughts on that which is familiar to the reader of Hamlet.  It is an interesting touch in that it provides a new look at a classic through different eyes.

Where Dating Hamlet differs is in the plot.  Ophelia discovers early on that her father actually is not Polonius.  This information comes to her from the ghost of her mother, which visits during what reads as a drug-induced hallucination.  Ophelia and Laertes, we learn, were sired by the gravedigger, who had been intimate with their mother before her marriage to Polonius.  This changes considerably Ophelia's feelings for Polonius, especially after his death at Hamlet's hand.

Ophelia and Hamlet are romantically involved, but to a much greater degree than described in Hamlet.  This allows the plot to take a fantastic turn.  Ophelia, Hamlet and later Laertes all become part of a grand conspiracy:  to kill Claudius.  Their mutual plan involves antic dispositions and feigned madness.  In a twist taken from Mission: Impossible, the conspirators use poisons that mimic death in order to fool observers into thinking first that Ophelia has drowned.  She does not; it is part of the plan.  The poison is used to full effect in the duel scene, when Gertrude, Claudius, Laertes and Hamlet each "die."  Fortinbras arrives at Elsinore and is given a full recounting of the happenings by Ophelia, disguised as a young boy.  The bodies are carried away, some to be revived with the poison's antidote, one to be buried in the earth.

As the novel concludes, we are left with Ophelia and Hamlet debating where their journey should take them.  Several allusions to other Shakespearean works surface, eliciting smiles and perhaps a chuckle from the reader.  The work ends as a tragedy never would:  with characters living "happily ever after."

Hamlet Takes Ithaca

The Ithaca Shakespeare Company will present Hamlet as part of its 2014 summer season.  The performances will take place at Cornell Plantations during the month of July.  As summer vacation approaches rapidly, this is one destination that will be on my calendar.