I realized when reading some of the works of Paracelsus that the allure of antiquated english writing is that words I don’t normally use or associate with each other in modern english are strung together in ways that are stunningly unpredictable. obsolete and archaic terms are joined to words I use every day. other phrases are intelligible only through guesswork and intuitive leaps, and some words sound like total gibberish. all of this has the impact of poetry, of a beautiful way of saying or seeing something. it’s interesting that yesterday’s technical language turns into today’s sublimity because of linguistic slippage and my own tendency to be fanciful and impressionable.

I think Shakespeare operates in the same way. I can’t possibly understand his impact on his contemporaries, especially across social classes, but in the present his use of language is evocative and surprising. I love being surprised. encountering the same vocabulary over and over again really takes it out of me.

Shakespeare’s use of language in Hamlet is the strongest part of the play, though. the scenario is not that compelling, and is in fact least interesting whenever Hamlet is onstage. he’s just a boring character. I expected there to be more scenes with Ophelia given the regularity with which I see her referenced and quoted in other media, but I think I understand why she is so popular despite appearing only briefly. her arc is the version of Hamlet’s that has emotional resonance. as the former king of Denmark burns in hell and mobilizes his spoiled and popularly-beloved son to take his revenge, Ophelia’s family, integrity, and sanity are reduced to so much more collateral damage. no element of the “to be or not to be” soliloquy is nearly as powerful as the simple phrase “sweets to the sweet” which Queen Gertrude utters as she spreads flowers on Ophelia’s coffin. as though proving my point, Hamlet shows up to the funeral just in time to turn it into buffoonish spectacle by wrestling Ophelia’s brother in her grave.

maybe if Shakespeare intended the grave-digging clown as a comparison for Hamlet’s own self-obsession I might think the plot was more interesting, but it doesn’t actually seem as critical as the analysis of Ophelia’s story might suggest. 

I love the way the words sound together. basically everything else is mid.