#Ben Crystal

[capricorn-0mnikorn]

"For she may strew dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds" (making a fresh argument for my 'Ophelia was murdered' interpretation of Hamlet)

Three-years-and-change ago, I wrote a post with my conspiracy theory literary interpretation that Ophelia was murdered. A couple weeks ago, I was tagged in another post about "The Tragedy of Hamlet," and that brought me back to my chosen hill to die on.

In this post, I'll focus on Gertrude herself, and on the iambic pentameter, because

A) The rhythm of English has not changed in the last 400 years, and B) We know Shakespeare himself wrote it that way on purpose.

Now, Shakespeare used iambic pentameter to direct the pacing of a scene, depending on context (I'm basing this on the work of Shakespearean actor and scholar Ben Crystal; see the link at the end to a video where he demonstrates how this works):

If an actors line was shorter than ten syllables, followed by a full line, that could tell the other actor in the scene exactly how long to pause and do some nonverbal reaction before speaking (the unspoken syllables are there, they're just silent).

If two, or more, lines add up to exactly ten syllables, that could tell the actors to pick up the pace, and answer without pausing

If each line is less than ten syllables, but more than ten when added together, Tell the actors to speak over each other / "step on each other's lines.

And Shakespeare uses all three variations in Act 4, scene Five.

In dialog lines of irregular length, I'll indicate silent syllables with "-_" for each iamb, and I'll underline the when the overlapping syllables blend to make a clean line of iambic pentameter. Then I'll write out the shared & overlapping dialog as though they were lines of verse, showing the stressed syllables in bold.

I hope that's clear (or will quickly become so).

First: Act 4, scene Five (MIT.edu) opens in the middle of things, with a Walk-and-Talk that would make Aaron Sorkin proud:

QUEEN GERTRUDE: I will not speak with her. -_ -_ HORATIO and Gentleman: [Insert astonished blinking man GIF here] Gentleman: She is importunate, indeed distract: Her mood will needs be pitied. QUEEN GERTRUDE: What would she have?

Her moods will needs be pit- What would she have?

Okay, so hearing that Ophelia is "acting up" certainly got the queen's attention, eh? She doesn't even wait for Gentleman to finish the last word of his line (Also: she's being told that a teenage girl is really upset that her dad's dead. And Gertrude's response is to snap: "What does she want?" Really?! Yikes).

The unnamed Gentleman goes on to describe how Ophelia is speaking of her dead father and vaguely alluding to conspiracies, that her speech is basically word salad, but her "winks and nods" give the impression that she's speaking in code.

Gentleman: [concluding] Indeed would make one think there might be thought, Though nothing sure, yet much unhappily. HORATIO: 'Twere good she were spoken with; for she may strew Dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds.

Though nothing sure, yet much unhapi-'Twere Good she were spoken with; for she may strew Dange-rous conjectures in ill-breeding minds.

Finally, Gertrude says: "-_ -_ -_ Let her come in."

Horatio and the Gentleman are talking over each other, in their efforts to sway the queen. I get the feeling this attempt has been going on for some time; it may have started with: "She's really sad about her father. she could use some support in dealing with grief.." But the argument that finally sways Gertrude is: "She's a potential threat to Claudius's Power."

Shakespeare wrote the line about the threat she posed in a completely different meter. Instead of giving that line a scansion of: "de-dum, de-dum, de-dum, de-dum, de-dum," he's given it the rhythm of "Dum-de-de, dum-de-de, dum-de-de, dum," which makes it stand out from the rest of the scene. That's another red underline Shakespeare is giving us.

The longish pause could have come at the end of her line, but I think it makes more sense to have her hesitate before agreeing to see Ophelia.

Exit Horatio to go fetch her. Then:

To my sick soul, as sin’s true nature is, Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss: So full of artless jealousy is guilt, It spills itself in fearing to be spilt.

As I noted in my previous post, these are two rhyming couplets -- the only "plain dialog" in the scene that rhymes (other than Ophelia's songs, but they rhyme because that's what song lyrics do), and not even in Shakespeare's usual way of rhyming alternate lines.

Now what, pray tell, could the queen be feeling so guilty about (that she absolutely, positively, does not want Ophelia to find out)?

That Ophelia's father died because of something she had asked him to do? Quite possibly. But Ophelia already knows her father has died, and the queen expressing regret about it would not likely make the queen appear guilty.

Maybe Ophelia doesn't know, however, that her father was in the queen's chamber when he was killed, and the queen is afraid Ophelia would get the wrong idea. But whatever sin Gertrude is trying to hide, it's probably not that she's cheating on Claudius with Polonius so soon after the wedding (unless that's exactly it. I doubt it, though. Polonius is basically a walking-talking plot point).

At first, I thought she felt guilty about the fact that her own son (and Ophelia's boyfriend) was the murderer, and that's the secret she doesn't want Ophelia to find out. That's reasonable. That's what any halfway decent person would worry about, to protect the heart and mind of a young woman that's almost family.

But then, between Ophelia's first confrontation with the queen and her "Flower Speech," Leartes breeches Elsinore's defenses, and leads a raging mob (those ill-breeding minds in which dangerous conjectures have already been planted) to the doors just beyond Stage Left, and:

Leartes: Where is my father? Claudius: Dead. Gertrude: But not by him.

Where is my father? Dead. But not by him.

I said it in my earlier post, and I'll say it again, here: Gertrude literally does not skip a beat to defend Claudius, even when that puts her own son at risk. Doesn't stop to think about it, even for a breath.

If Queen Gertrude didn't hesitate to risk Hamlet's life. I doubt she'd be overly worried about risking Ophelia's opinion's of his character (especially since appeals to speak to her at all didn't sway her until Horatio mentioned Ophelia' threat to civil order). And yet, Shakespeare very deliberately underlined and circled the point that Gertrude is holding a deep secret guilt, and that she's afraid to speak to Ophelia, lest she let something slip.

(Also, when going back to the scene, to check something, I noticed something my mind skipped over, before: The Danish Rabble promise Leartes not to let anyone come in while he's in the room negotiating with Claudius. And yet, they're heard off-stage saying: "Let her come in" just as Ophelia reenters to give her "Flower Speech" while her brother is there. So while Leartes has been in France, Ophelia has clearly been gaining the respect of the Common Folk in the meantime. Which, to my mind, suggests this "madness" has been going on for a while, and is not a sudden reaction to deliberate or accidental poisoning. Which further suggests to me that she is simply better at "Putting on an antic disposition" than Hamlet is.)

So, all that is why Queen Gertrude started to appear very suspicious in regards to Ophelia's death.

But what's the secret Gertrude is so afraid Ophelia will find out? I think :

Claudius's legitimacy to the Danish Throne depends on the courtiers and common people Believing that he and Gertrude agreed to wed after consoling each other in their shared grief over losing a darling husband and beloved brother.

Queen Gertrude had done a "Lady Macbeth," and it was actually her idea for her first husband to have a final, forever, nap in the royal garden.

She's afraid Ophelia will figure that out. After the coded language of the Flower Speech, I think she's worried that Ophelia has already figured it out, and so gives her a little shove into the river, before she can spread that idea any further.

-----

*Starting here, in a 2014 presentation on Shakespeare's use of language (celebrating Willy Shakes's 450th birthday), Shakespearean actor and scholar Ben Crystal demonstrates how Iambic Pentameter shows us how Shakespeare wanted the dialog to be paced in The Tragedy of Macbeth (sorry, not sorry, not superstitious). A bit later, he and his acting friends demonstrate overlapping iambic pentameter when Hamlet and Leartes fight at Ophelia's grave.

[crystal-moon-101]

Finally finished off the final alien to Crystal 10's aliens based Ben's original playlist. Welcome her celestialsapien form, Nyx!✨

[rockybloo]

Here are all the main key players in Beanstalked aka the Fabled Five and most of the Briar Patch Town residents.

To read up on all them including what each other their Bookmarks are or general bios OR if you just wanna learn more about Beanstalked in general, I have a neat little Neocities Beanstalked webpage for explorin'.

[shaunashoochiebae]

could’ve made more but i was #toolazy

[there-are-many-ways-to-smile]

You think in a future episode of Yellowjackets, they'll do a "What if" dream/opening scene of the plane not crashing and the team playing in the championship, Ben meeting up with Paul and throw in a little scene with Travis and his family.

And then it'll glitch back to reality.

[warningsine]

[nataliesscatorccio]

you guys see it too though, right?

[permertesacker]

[crystal-moon-101]

Instead of sleeping, I got too invested with my sketches and ended up making the final batch! So here be the last of Crystal 10's classic playlist aliens (Minus a certain celestial) Haosi Namoinu (Crashhopper), Gallinipper (Stinkfly), Geb (Armodrillo), Changeling (Ditto), Enenra (Gutrot), Triskelion (Cannonbolt) & Squonk (Spitter)💙

[danisbrainrot]

I MUSTT KNOW if you have any thoughts about the yellowjackets being in a hunger games au!!!

ok, I don't know how to group my thoughts so I'm just gonna put them all here:

laura lee: wouldn't kill anyone, obvy, but also I think everyone would find her too sweet to kill. she'd die naturally, like eating the wrong berries or something. I don't think she'd last long (first to die in the show = first to die in the hunger games).

lottie: she wouldn't kill anyone either I don't think, she'd form an alliance but would piss someone off like taissa or shauna and they'd probably kill her. she wouldn't be good at hunting or gathering and would heavily rely on her alliance with van, gen, melissa and mari.

natalie: we already know she's a hunter. she would just convince one of the sponsors to buy her a gun and before you know it, bam! bam! bye bye people she doesn't like. I could see her being one of the victors, but secretly I think shauna could kill her.

shauna: we already know she's violent, so I think she'd kill everyone and anyone if it came down to it. she's a career if I'm being honest (love you though shauna 🫶). she'd ally with taissa and jackie (ofc) and would struggle with who to kill in the end, but at the end of the day, she'd still finish them off, she'd just feel real bad about it. she's the butcher, she'd feed herself and her allies off of the traps she'd set, or supplies she'd kill people for and would live the longest, honestly. I could see misty killing her (for revenge on natalie, of course).

jackie: this girl is USELESS. she wouldn't survive past the bloodbath if it weren't for shauna. would die of hypothermia in the arena because she doesn't know how to start a fire to save herself (and likes sleeping in snow for some reason???) she was pissing everyone off at one point, so she'd definitely be everyone's target. there's no universe I think she could win these games (unless shauna came to her senses).

misty: this woman is a cold hearted killer, and she's a healer. she'd definitely win, imo. she'd ally up with natalie (who hates it, but like, misty could help her with injuries, why wouldn't she try and keep her alive? no other reason, totally.) this girl is totally feral, though. she'd kill without hesitation. and she'd cover it up so well that the viewers at home would be wondering if she actually killed them or not.

van: would die for taissa and lottie. I've already told you who she'd ally up with, but she'd leave them in a second if taissa asked. she'd be a good gatherer, enough to survive. we've seen van, she's a killer when she wants to be, and she can't die. so maybe she could win 🤭

taissa: would die for van (and maybe shauna). her sleep walking would kill quite a few people. she'd gather plants and stuff, but her main goal is looking after shauna because we see how protective she is of her (and who wouldn't be? shauna shipman is the loml!) would heal shauna and van's injuries to the best of her abilities.

javi: he'd survive purely by hiding and stealing supplies. would die from falling in the lake though :(

travis: he's not making it past the bloodbath, sorry not sorry. he pisses everyone (or maybe just me) off by being so emo. if he didn't die in the bloodbath, he'd die because he doesn't know what he's doing and he wouldn't be a sponsor favourite.

mari: allied with lottie and them. EXCELLENT gatherer! would kill someone but only if she was in a pack with the girlies 🤭. she'd make her berry juice and get everyone drunk.

akilah: according to the hunger games simulation, she's the real winner (and vicious) but I think she'd starve and start hallucinating, so maybe she wouldn't last very long.

crystal: allied with misty, but is immediately killed after the bloodbath by her (bonus points if misty pushes her off a cliff).

gen: allied with lottie's cult group. would help mari gather. don't know much about her honestly, but I think she'd be somewhat helpful. would be killed first by mari or van probably.

melissa: same as gen, tbh.

ben: dead in the bloodbath. with his missing leg and how useless he is throughout the entire series, I wouldn't blame the girls if they just got rid of him asap.

the antler queen spirit: the president snow of this au.

[jade-la-crystal]

Happy ace visibility day:D

Here's a redesign of my asexual necrofriggian I made last year's pride month

[stabtunes]

y’all i js finished yellowjackets (bc i always take large breaks in between watching shows then binge them within a day or two) and i am NOT OKAY!!

[jollyreginaldrancher]

I just want to see what would happen if teen Misty was faced with the task of actually killing somebody herself. She's seen things die and watched people die due to their own actions. She's let nature take one of them and she's done everything she can to keep it from taking others. She doomed a child to his death and pushed and pushed and accidentally caused someone else's death. But she's never actually performed the task herself and I just want to see how that would go and how it would change her as a person.

Would she shut down and force herself to do it? Could she actually do it on purpose? She's done it on accident. She's snapped and had a fight with someone that ended in their death but her hands never pushed her off the cliff or sliced into someone or beat or poisoned or actively killed some person. The intent wasn't there like it was with Natalie and her dad. Natalie's dad died when she wanted him dead and even if she didn't physically shoot him with her own hands she feels this responsibility, that it was her fault he died and she's responsible and she killed him and I just.. everyone that Misty killed was accidental. She never intended to kill Crystal or anyone else (teen Misty) and I am sure at some point she is going to have to kill somebody, probably for the good of the team -or at least that's how she will justify their death, like she's justified all the hard and bad things she's endured so far- and I just want to see that moment when she clicks and crosses that moral event horizon or whatever and clicks into adult Misty.

I think it will be coach. The way the show has positioned them with her investing her everything into keeping him alive because they needed him, and them no longer needing him, but in fact being hampered by him now, I think it's setting them up for her to kill him. I think Natalie will have some part in it too. Perhaps it will be her decision or she will command it but I think ultimately it will be Misty that takes his life.

[pernillecfcw]

The Chelsea boys 💙