The Road / Cormac McCarthy

Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that.
You forget some things, don't you?
Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget.
Cormac McCarthy, The Road
"To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong." Joseph Chilton Pearce

"If you press me to tell why I loved him, I feel that this cannot be expressed,
except by answering: Because it was he, because it was I."
Michel de Montaigne, "Of Friendship"

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Hamlet

So I've been very curious about it. About him, actually. How he pretends to be insane after hearing that his father was murdered by his uncle. How clever of him, to act like he's mad but carefully choosing his words, like here:
POLONIUS: Do you know me, my lord?
HAMLET: Excellent well. You are a fishmonger.
Of course literally a fishmonger is someone who sells fish, but what Hamlet implies underneath means one who deals with flesh. He is slyly mocking the King's advisor in a double blow, first calling him a lowly salesperson, then as a dirty dealer.

I just picked up Hamlet a few days ago, and I can't wait to finish it. I had read it in Korean several years ago, had no idea what was happening, gave up, and thought it would be so much better to read it in Shakespeare's own language. So much better, yes, but so much more difficult because of his brilliance.
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