"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.
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*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.
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Webby's Promise - A Hatchetfield Villanelle
The Queen in White spins her fragile, new Web
The Witchwood contains an old magic spell
Woven through the trees lies spider's silk thread
Whispers from the tree-people, lives long dead
To sing songs to prophets whose dreams they quell
The Queen in White spins her fragile, new Web
Townsfolk are filled with a deep fear and dread
Called to worship by the clanging of bells
Woven through the trees lies spider's silk thread
Though time has past, the soil is still stained red
Fueled by the poor souls the town had to sell
The Queen in White spins her fragile, new Web
Soft moss on which weary seers lay their head
Creatures hide in caves, a safe place to dwell
Woven through the trees lies spider's silk thread
Seep into the ground where blood has been bled
Stand, protector, over the gates to hell
The Queen in White spins her fragile, new Web
Woven through the trees lies spider's silk thread
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What makes a house a home?
What makes a chair a throne?
Why do dogs love bones?
Why do broken women end up alone?
Why does some pain leave scars?
How is the sun a burning star?
Why do the heartbroken end up at bars?
Why are women from Jupiter and men from Mars?
Why does death come in twos?
When presented with 2 options, why choose?
What becomes of a singer who only sings the blues?
Why must you never buy your lover shoes?
-
How is it that when love evades me, my fail safe reacts
How am I confidently able to tell my pro tem soulmate that I am never coming back
How can the grass look so green on the other side that it oozes money
Why do the jokes about me ruining my life if I leave actually sound funny
Why are my kids depending on my happiness when I don't have any left
Can someone help me find my worth and self respect
Is it a question without a question mark
Are you really twin flames when there never was a spark
Are you just terrible at matters of the heart
Do you specialize in scribbling lines and call it art
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When love lays me on the ass here comes a helping hand?
The other end of a man who says he understands?
Sells me the dream that he will wipe my tears away?
Holds me up and holds me down so that I would want to stray?
I stand up and grab the hand ready to experience what I never knew?
I always end up biting off more than I can chew?
What is the difference between fire and the flame if they are the same hue? 
Here comes the next guy right on cue?
What's the difference between a question and a statement? 
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"Dare I Wonder?"
April 19 2024
I guess you don't cry out, so loud, like me.
If you so wish, conceal your baffling thought,
and hide your tears within a lofty sea.
Well, must you represent who you are not,
and will I ever know just who you are?
Perhaps your silence speaks with greater force,
A quiet strength that needs no boastful sound.
Your heart may chart a wiser, truer course,
Your hidden truth, the real must be profound.
And what if I can never feel your real?
Will you be able to uncover mine?
This doubt I bear, can it begin to heal?
My friend, is this where I should draw the line?
I can only imagine why you hesitate. You leave me room to shove my own heart forward, trusting yours will too.
The path ahead may bring us closer still,
If hearts dare dream, a brighter day they will.
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