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1、Chapter1:MEDIEVALHAMLETGAINSAFAMILYIGNORANCEABOUTthelostplaythatwasperformedontheEnglishstagesomeyearsbeforeShakespeare'sHamletmakesitallthemoreimperativetocomparehisplay--traditionallytheconflationoftwotexts,thequartoof1604andfolioof1623--withthestillearliernarrativeversionsofthehero'sstoryth
2、atdosurvive.ThisprocedureatleastapprisesusoffeaturesnotwhollyoriginaltoShakespeare,evenifitleavesusonlywithintelligentguessesastotheinterveningcontributionsofanUr-Hamlet.1Comparisonwiththeearliernarrativesalsoyieldsapositiveunderstandingofwaysinwhichtheplayismodern,andparticularlywhyHamlet'sfa
3、mily--alittlemorethankin,iflessthankind--seemstoussomodern.Forgoodmeasure,Shakespearebuiltintohisplayasecondfamily,thatofPolonius,posednovel-likeforintermarriagewiththeyoungergenerationofthefirst.Theword"family"inoursenseofparentsandchildrenwasnewinthesixteenthcentury.Shakespearerarelyusesthew
4、ordatall,andneverinitsmodernsense.YethisHamletreadslikeatextbookontheconjugalandpatriarchalfamily.ThepresentstudyisconcernedwithHamletinhistory,moreespeciallyHamletsofthelastfourcenturies.Wasthere,intheotherdirectionoftime,ahistoricalHamletwithamotherandfatherwholivedanddiedaviolentdeathsixcen
5、turiespriortoShakespeare'stime?Thedifficultyofansweringthisquestion--apartfrommydifficultyofcollapsingamillenniumintoafewpages--isthatveryoldhistoriesdefymodernbelief.ThuswhenAm-leth,intheearliestextantchronicleofHamlet'sstory,travelstoEnglandandsomehowintuitstheEnglishking'ssecrets(withoutrec
6、oursetomagic),weseemtobereadingofanexerciseofwitthatneverwas,thoughthechronicledoesnotdistinguishbetweenthisfeatandothersmoreplausible.LikespeculationsabouttheUr-Hamlet,thequestforthehistoricalHamletisboundtobefrustratingcomparedtotheexperienceofsuspendingdisbeliefintheplay,forShakespeareisamo
7、ngthoseartistschieflyresponsibleforour(high)standardsofverisimilitude.Notoriously,itisShakespeare'sHamletwhosounmistakablylivedthatwecanengageinlongdebatesabouthischaracter.Eventheghostintheplay,whodoesnotariseintheoldstory,seemsalltooh
