Preparing to Read Infinite Jest: "To Be or Not To Be" or "Brush Up Your Shakespeare"

Hamlet at Project Gutenberg (if you want to read it for free)

The novel derives its name in part from a line in Hamlet, in which Hamlet refers to the skull of Yorick, the court jester:

HAMLET

Let me see. (takes the skull) Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne me on his back a thousand times, and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. —Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs? Your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now to mock your own grinning? Quite chapfallen? Now get you to my lady’s chamber and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favor she must come. Make her laugh at that.—Prithee, Horatio, tell me one thing.

So, I was going to reread Hamlet to be in it while reading IJ, but decided I didn't have to when I came upon this website, Enjoying "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare. In this website you will find:

• The play broken down scene by scene
• The major themes in the play broken down and analyzed
• Background information to the story of "Hamlet"
• Links to various clips and teaching tools

The only thing this website is missing are the various ways that Shakespeare's play relates to the novel Infinite Jest and for that you can go to Infinite Jest & Hamlet:similarities from Library Thing and there's some more stuff here...just so you know I don't know if there are any *spoilers* or not because I didn't read either site too thoroughly, just in case there were, you know...*spoilers*.

Another site that has been beyond helpful as I've been reading is The Infinite Jest LiveBlog:

I'll be doing my best to call out whatever Hamlet Sightings I notice. It’s safe to assume our updated Hamlet is Hal (also, not safe to assume he is a stand in for David Foster Wallace), who opens the book with a mysterious freak out at a rigged college application interview. Can’t say much more without giving away way too much, but pay attention to this chapter. It’s, well, riddled with with important clues about what happens in the rest of the book, and even the smallest things are deliberate.

And, he has so far, all I have to do is ctrl-f "hamlet" and then read the parts that pertain to the pages I've read thus far to see what he believes are Hamlet connections. Love it!

And, if you're looking to watch Hamlet, THE GUARDIAN gives us the top ten in 2010 to choose from or you can just look at my lovely collage above...Ethan Hawke as a modern day Hamlet with the setting in New York City? Yes, please.

Oh! And, if you are reading with us and haven't read the opening post or joined up, here it is!

Et Tu, Brute?

A stream of consciousness approach to William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

by your friendly neighborhood Sophomore English teacher

It's the end of the school year, we've administered (and didn't do that bad, might I add) the English II End of Course exam. The kids are done, we're done...what better time to introduce Julius Caesar?!

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I've always had an affinity for Brutus, thought Marc Anthony was as manipulative as Cassius and I wondered how a woman could kill herself by swallowing hot coals. Julius Caesar is not my favorite Shakespeare play. I much prefer the comedies especially Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew and The Merry Wives of Winsor, which I got to see performed by The Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican in London. Alex Jennings played Hamlet in well, Hamlet and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing at the Barbican alternating roles by the weekday...you know "Monday I'm the Prince of Denmark, Tuesday I'm sarcastic and hilarious". He still one of the top 10 Hamlets of all time, and, it's not just me that says that! I learned the word 'cuckhold' from The Merry Wives of Winsor. I learned the word 'anachronism' from Julius Caesar...why does a clock strike? Julius Caesar is not my favorite history, I much prefer any play that has the character Falstaff.

"The better part of valor is discretion"

Why is the play called Julius Caesar, he dies right in the middle...maybe it should be called Brutus. Or Pushover Women, I still can't get over the whole hot coal thing...Portia also stabs herself in the thigh, to show her loyalty to her husband, of course! NOT my favorite female character!

I really need to go to London, I saw that there are guidebooks made for visiting London with your kids, I don't think my kid is old enough to enjoy it yet, though.

If I got to teach Romeo and Juliet, I'd show the DiCaprio movie as it makes my heart sing! When I was student teaching we read Julius Caesar and did a review game for the test called "Et Tu, Shoote?" It was a basketball game. We also read Antigone. Now Antigone, that's some female character!

And, there's a fun acting project at the end, it's going to be a blast.

"I absolutely LOVE this cover!"

Six Word Saturday #2

My life in six words
Celebrating All That Is William Shakespeare!

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Want to play along? All that's necessary to participate is to describe your life (or something) in a phrase using just six words. For more information, try clicking here. Feel free to explain or not explain. Add an image, a video, a song, nothing. The full list and linky can be found here. And, here's where I found it.