Is sicklied o'er with the pale
cast of thought
...
And it is
in
this that he differs
from all the other Shakespearian
heroes, all of whom are, more or
less, impulsive men. Is it with Ham–
let only a question of tempera–
ment? Is there not
to
be seen in
his irresolutions, in the 'to
be
or
not to be,' the effect of his long
sojourn as student
in
Wittenberg?
I have often wondered about this
and have already written of it.
What part did the teaching he
heard in Germany play? Who were
the teachers of those days that, be–
fore Kant and Schopenhauer, in–
vited the students to metaphysical
speculations, and perhaps put in
doubt the reality of the external
world? What doctrines were taught
in those days
in
German univer–
sities that encouraged
in
Hamlet
this predisposition to inaction?
Doubtless I am not the first to pose
this question; I should like to know
whether it has been answered."
I did not know whether the
question had ever been posed or
answered. I said that very likely
Belleforest and Montaigne had
more to do with
Hamlet
than any
German influences. But that day,
at any rate, Montaigne told Gide
nothing about
Hamlet.
I phrased
my final question:
"You speak of predisposition to
inaction? Yet Hamlet does act. At
BACK ISSUES OF PR
now available at reduced prices-
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D
JANUARY 1948: Arthur Kostler-London Letter: Mercel Proust- Filial
Sentiments of a Perricide.
D
FEBRUARY 1948: Mery McCerthy-The Cicerone: Seul Bellow-A Letter
from Spain: Robert Wershow-The Gangster al Tragic Hero.
D
MARCH 1948: Delmore Schwertz-The World is a Wedding: Rene
Leibowitz-Schonberg and Strevinsky.
D
APRIL 1948: Andre Melreux end Jemes Burnhem-The Double Crisis (a
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MAY 1948: Philip Rehv-Disillusionment and Socialism: Josephine Herbst
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JUNE 1948: Jeen·Peul Sertre-Communism and Literature: Leslie Fiedler
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JULY 1948: Jeen Cocteeu-The Human Voice: Henneh Arendt-The
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o
SEPTEMBER 1948: Jeen Stefford-The Bleeding Heart; Hens Meyerhoff–
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OCTOBER 1948: V. S. Pritchett-The Future of English Fiction; Mario Prez
-Hemingway in Italy, Elizebeth Hardwick-Faulkner and the South Today.
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