a word from our sponsors
See the new shakespeare.com. This feature, while it still provides useful information, is no longer maintained.
Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries & Replies From Everyone Else 3.15.97: Top | Help
...because Shakespeare didn't. Very few of his plays have consistent
time schemes. Major inconsistencies appear all over the place.
The fact that some scholars recognize Hamlet to be 30 years old
could very well be just another one of those inconsistencies. His soliloquies
hardly denote a 30-year-old mentality. There's very little evidence
in Hamlet's own language to suggest that he's any older than his late
teens or early 20's. I personally don't know how old he is (although I
strongly suspect a younger age), but I wanted to put this forth for
consideration, because I believe it's important to recognize that
Shakespeare is not the Bible. Shakespeare didn't concern himself
with insignificant details. Consequently, he made mistakes.
The *characters* were most important to him. In short, one can say that Hamlet
is 18 and make an equally compelling argument as others who say
he is 30.Posted by Horatio on March 25, 1997 at 21:46:51
In Reply to "Thirty is a dangerous age, Cynthia" posted by Hamlet on March 21, 1997 at 11:29:08
Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries & Replies From Everyone Else 3.15.97: Top | Help