Alcala 1958

on ly at irre gular inte rva ls in the pla y. He is the Pri nce who so gra ciousl y we lcome s the player s in Act II ; who so cle ver ly ma kes Po lonius the butt of his jok es in Ac ts II and II I; wh o so ironic ally lose s ou t in the batt le of wit s wit h the Grave- digg er in Ac t V . But it is ess ent iall y in the sce nes with his clos est frie nd Ho ra tio that thi s othe r sid e of Ham let's nat ure is mos t trul y reveale d. Ho rat io, hi s fell ow stud ent , is the one man to whom Ham let can speak wit h per­ fec t assu ran ceand fre edom : Ham. Ho rat io, thou ar t e'e n as just a TflClTh As e'er my conv ers ati on co p'd wi thal . Ho r. O ,my de ar lor d,— Ham. Nay ,do not thi nk I fla tte r; For what ad va nc em en tmay I hope from thee Th at no rev enu e has t but th y good sp irits , To feed and clo the th ee ? . . . Give me tha t man Th at is not pass ion' s slave, an d I wil l we ar him In my hea rt's co re , a y , in my hea rt of he art, As / do the e. 7 Th is is again Hamle t of the Un ivers ity . Cannot one almost irr esis tib ly con clu de , the ge nu ineHaml et? Hypot het ica lthough the y ma y be , it is log ica l eno ugh to draw conclusio ns from the pla y, not onl y as to Ham let's per son alit y as a Un ive rsi ty stud ent , bu t even to hi s ac tiviti esther e. Wh at sub ject in the cur riculum would ha ve bee n of mos t fas cin ati onto Ha mlet ? An d, esp eci allyif Ham let wereliv ingtod ay , wha t would be hi s ext ra- cur ricu lar in­ ter est s? In Sha kespea re's da y an d lon g be fore, the col leg e cur ricu lum wa s, of cour se, 7 III , ii, 59-79. 49 intervals . i usly e s ; ly l i ; i al y l . ial y tio l ' l . tio, t, l - ce o : . rati.o, man ersation cop'd t al. . 0, ,- . , d t er; e ent t e irits, f d t ? . t t 's ' , , f rt, I e.7 is i t i sity. tibly l de, ine let? hetical , i l ns , l ' ality r ity t, i i ies . i ul m ation let? , ial y l ere i g t , -c rricular - ts? re's , l e i lu , e, 7J ,

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but Hamle t kn ows hi s frien d bette r, knows that he wou ld ne ve r cut clas ses exc ept for a ser iou s rea son . Th us by imp lica tion the Pri nce 's own standard s of atte nda nce are exp res sed . It is ob vio us tha t Hamle t is lon gin g to return to hi s co lle ge . Ev en wit h hi s false frie nds Ros enc rantz and Gui lden ster n,em­ ployed by the Kin g as spi es, Ham let is warm an d cordia l, at lea st bef ore he dis­ cov ers their tru e purpo ses . As with Ho rat io, the re is viv ac ity and sincer ity in Hamle t's gr ee tin g: My exc elle nt goo d friends! Ho w do st tho u, Gui ld en ste rn ?Ah, Ro sen crantz ! Go od lad s, how do ye bo th? 6 l r i s . li tio 's rds nce essed. i us l t i g ge. s rantz st rn, - g , l l, - ses. tio, ity ity t's ting: t i , C Uenstem? s crantz! Good lads, lw t 6

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DR. WALS H Th e idl e remark s an d badin ag e tha t foll ow are in the un ive rsa l tra dit ion of col leg e reu nio nand go od fell owshi p. Ham­ let for the mome nt is ga y and car efr ee, a bri ef pic tur e of so cia llif e at the Un iver ­ sit y. Bu t it is not for lon g. As soon as he rea liz es tha t the se two are par t of the Ki ng' s plot ag ain st him, Hamle t is ag ain cyn ica land mo ros e. The Hamle t of the Unive rsi tyreap pea rs 6 I I, ii, 228-2 30. s i age rsal itio l e i n s ip. - t e , e l - . . li es 's st , l t i l se. l t rsity rs 6 11, .