Classics Considered

by Marian H

What is a man…

What is a man,
If his chief good and market of his time
Be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more.
Sure, he that made us with such large discourse,
Looking before and after, gave us not
That capability and god-like reason
To fust in us unused. Now, whether it be
Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple
Of thinking too precisely on the event,
A thought which, quarter’d, hath but one part wisdom
And ever three parts coward, I do not know
Why yet I live to say ‘This thing’s to do;’
Sith I have cause and will and strength and means
To do’t.

Hamlet, Act 4
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Marian

Blogger, YouTuber, reader, and scribbler. I love classic literature, tea, and rain, preferably all at once.

7 responses to “What is a man…”

  1. Cyberkitten Avatar
    Cyberkitten

    I’m a sucker for Hamlets soliloquy , Act 3, Scene 1 – ‘To be or not to be…..’ Brilliant. Shakespeare was definitely genius. Only seen one of his plays on stage (Romeo & Juliet) which was spellbinding but enjoyed quite a few of the movie adaptations too. One day [grin] I’ll actually get around to *reading* his plays!

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    1. Cyberkitten Avatar
      Cyberkitten

      BTW – You might be interested in: This Is Shakespeare: How to Read the World’s Greatest Playwright by Emma Smith. I haven’t read it (yet) but I added it to my Wish List a while back..

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      1. Marian Avatar
        Marian

        Thanks! I’ll look it up.
        I’m not much of a Shakespeare fan, but yesterday I watched (all 4 hours of) Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet. Quite a good production, although I’m not surprised that others have abridged the script. 😉

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  2. mu Avatar
    mu

    brilliant choice for today’s world… S always has something apropos to say… about 25 years ago i read through everything that he wrote and it was enlightening to say the least; there’s not a bit of human nature that he didn’t have something to say about…

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    1. Marian Avatar
      Marian

      Yes! There were moments in Hamlet (like this one) that left me awe-inspired. Although not all of the play has aged well, overall I understand why his work is considered timeless.

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  3. mudpuddle Avatar
    mudpuddle

    the above is me; don’t know why it did that…

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    1. Sharon Wilfong Avatar
      Sharon Wilfong

      I am duly impressed, mudpuddle. And I agree. Shakespeare’s insight was unmatched.

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About Me

Hi, I’m Marian—I talk about classics, history, and other books on this blog, as well as on YouTube.

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