I chuckled to myself while reading the first scene of Hamlet:
"Holla! Bernardo!"
"Say, what, is Horatio there?"
because really, Shakespeare was a homeboy.
Seeing it this way made my husband suddenly interested in what I was reading. We searched around for Shakespeare dictionaries online and found some resources but no answers as to where "holla" came from. The site: http://www.acepilots.com/bard/ws_word.html shows you a selected amount of Shakespearean words and sayings, provides definitions and also sites a few places they're used in his literature. The creator of the website refers to Alexander Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon, which supposedly sites every instance of every word and in its context. Quite the gem for us Shakespeare folk. I think I might want to look into getting me a copy of that book. It would be interesting to ponder on how housewife could go from meaning "hussy, prostitute" to the image of a humble, self-sacrificing mother. But then again, these days the word housewife is regressing to Shakespeare's definition with television shows like "Desperate Housewives" and "The Real Housewives of Jersey Shore" (...or something like that).
FYI: I also found another site with a broader selection of terms(http://absoluteshakespeare.com/glossary/a.htm) that might be more helpful as a quick reference in the future. Any other suggestions or sites you know of? Our textbook has a glossary, too.
I may have just revealed my complete amateur knowledge of Shakespeare/Old English/Latin or where ever the word comes from, but come on, “Holla”? Don’t try to tell me he just misspelled “hola.”
I'm an Art history fan, so while I was reading the last scene of Act 1 where Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus swear on their swords to keep the ghost of Hamlet’s father I couldn’t help but picture this painting…
Oath of the Horatii
"Holla! Bernardo!"
"Say, what, is Horatio there?"
because really, Shakespeare was a homeboy.
Seeing it this way made my husband suddenly interested in what I was reading. We searched around for Shakespeare dictionaries online and found some resources but no answers as to where "holla" came from. The site: http://www.acepilots.com/bard/ws_word.html shows you a selected amount of Shakespearean words and sayings, provides definitions and also sites a few places they're used in his literature. The creator of the website refers to Alexander Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon, which supposedly sites every instance of every word and in its context. Quite the gem for us Shakespeare folk. I think I might want to look into getting me a copy of that book. It would be interesting to ponder on how housewife could go from meaning "hussy, prostitute" to the image of a humble, self-sacrificing mother. But then again, these days the word housewife is regressing to Shakespeare's definition with television shows like "Desperate Housewives" and "The Real Housewives of Jersey Shore" (...or something like that).
FYI: I also found another site with a broader selection of terms(http://absoluteshakespeare.com/glossary/a.htm) that might be more helpful as a quick reference in the future. Any other suggestions or sites you know of? Our textbook has a glossary, too.
I may have just revealed my complete amateur knowledge of Shakespeare/Old English/Latin or where ever the word comes from, but come on, “Holla”? Don’t try to tell me he just misspelled “hola.”
I'm an Art history fan, so while I was reading the last scene of Act 1 where Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus swear on their swords to keep the ghost of Hamlet’s father I couldn’t help but picture this painting…
Oath of the Horatii …and wonder if there was a connection there. Horatio…Horatii? This painting depicts the three sons of Horatius swearing on their swords (held by their father) that they will defend Rome to the death…. Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus each hold out their swords and swear upon them. See what I mean? “Oath of the Horatii” by Jacques-Louis David was painted in 1784, while the first edition of Hamlet appeared long before then, around 1600. That throws out the thought of Shakespeare being inspired by this painting, but I guess it could be the other way around. In any case, it’s something worth considering and I’d love to begin looking at art inspired by Shakespeare and vice versa.
A quote to end on:Ghost: ….Remember me.Drama queen or not, Hamlet’s sorrow and desperation go so deep that they tap into the vein of love. A fellow classmate, Martin Michalek said HERE that Hamlet is “in love with his sadness”, which I think is genius on Shakespeare’s part. What emotion has been expressed and understood through as many outlets as love? Conjoining emotions of love, sorrow and a passion for hopelessness makes Hamlet’s soliloquies a twisted sort of romantic that is heart wrenching and warming at the same time. Take these words out of context and you’ve found the key to a woman’s heart, mine at least.
Hamlet: …Remember thee?
Yea, from the table of my memory
I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past
That youth and observation copied there,
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmixed with baser matter.
