Sunday 7 September 2008

Living in a Bilingual World (Aria)


To sound, or not to sound--that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of letters

And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep--
No more--and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That non-sound is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep--
To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud letter's contumely
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,
When it itself might its quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those non-sounds we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus muteness does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprise of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action. -- Soft you now,
The fair Spanish 'h'! -- Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered.

Copyright 2008

8 comments:

  1. Okay. You are entirely TOO witty!! I love this Hamlet soliloquy. And what a clever twist you gave it. I especially like this last part:

    Thus muteness does make cowards of us all,
    And thus the native hue of resolution
    Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
    And enterprise of great pitch and moment
    With this regard their currents turn awry
    And lose the name of action. -- Soft you now,
    The fair Spanish 'h'! -- Nymph, in thy orisons
    Be all my sins remembered.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, the poor Spanish 'h', the eternal conundrum is: shall we drop it, or not? You see, it doesn't sound!

    Greetings from London.

    ReplyDelete
  3. La pobre H, tiene su importancia en la lengua. No se escucha pero ahi esta!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bueno, lena, me parece que quieren hacerle como a la "h" portuguesa y desaparecerla. Yo no se si la extran-aria, si eso pasara. Ya la palabra "ahogar" no seria la misma. "Aogarse" sin "h"? Que va, yo necesito ese segundo aire antes de hundirme!

    Saludos desde Londres.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Creo que la H, de alguna forma queda, porque tiene un valor intangible.

    ;)
    tony.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ojala, asere, ojala! Por mi, formaria un comité para salvarla y preservarla.

    Saludos desde Londres.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This post solidifies my love of your blog and general view of life.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks a lot, alena.

    Greetings from London.

    ReplyDelete

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