Hamlet’s tables. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I dove into this piece. I didn’t really know what the title referred to when it mentioned his “tables”. Honestly, I thought it may have had something to do with a set of “informational” tables, such as spread sheets, that were compiled in order to aid with the study of Hamlet as a whole. As I read, I found out that the tables were actual physical writing implements that were used during Shakespeare’s time. I could just imagine a small, pocket-able, portable piece of equipment and I found myself astounded. These people we thought to have “inferior” methods of media, compared to our modern day technology, actually created advanced pieces of technology that are so similar to ours its mind boggling. Not to mention that Shakespeare mentioned them in his play. This means that these erasable tablets were not just some once in a blue moon concept that only a few people had, but that they were items used on a regular basis by different people from different walks of life. Of course, these people had the common strand of literacy in common but, none the less, this product was a relatively common piece of equipment. Yet there were tables popular among the more elite and monetarily well endowed as well, just as in modern times. Where one person may just have a cell phone with a note taking ability and another, more affluent person may have a fully functioning palm pilot; the same was the case in Willies time. It all boils down to accessibility, convenience, and what one is willing to part with to get them.
The way in which the tables were used interested me as well. Full thoughts and concepts were not put down on these tiny placards, but instead, table users simply put down snips of ideas for later contemplation when these thoughts were transferred to a common book. This truly reminded me of myself. When I write, there are times that I will just hop on the People Mover down town with my note book and write full, beautiful comments on life. There are other times when I can sit in the park all day and not come up with one intelligent or articulate thing to say. Such is inspiration: fleeting and fickle. But on those days when my mind is all but empty I’ll venture to write just a few words or phrases and leave them to marinate between the pages. I have found many a comment or strategically place words sitting in a journal or notebook that have flowered into full songs, stories or poems. This is because, for me, sometimes literary art is the hardest thing to force.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think the most frustrating thing about Kastan's article was the lack of synonymy. It's just tables, tables, tables everywhere, until you pretty much think he's talking about furniture. At least, until to you realize it's a book, an erasable tablet (oh looky, a synonym).
ReplyDeleteI'll admit that spreadsheets did not come to my mind. "Hamlet's Accounting." Now there's an article we should read.
But to be serious, I agree with you. I found the whole concept of writing tables (and their sister commonplace books) uniquely fascinating. I can't help but relate. I write a lot of things in my journal, commentary on my day, quotes I like, passages from books I'm reading, to recipes, and shopping lists. Which, I will grant, is not the true spirit of commonplacing. More like a refuse heap for my varied thoughts. But I've always found, in looking back on what I write, that tinge of honesty that inspires more writing. Connections, inspirations, poetry. I guess, in the end, my journal is just my brain on the page. Haphazard as that may be.
It is good to see that other people, too, have to let their thoughts "marinate between the pages."
One thing that came into mind when reading about Hamlet's Tables is my digital voice recorder. I do a lot of driving and I'm always on the go when it comes to my line of work. My voice recorder allowed me accessibility to a memory enabling device that functioned as did the tables of renaissance England. For safety reasons this worked great when I was driving but also it was practical to simply press a button and say a couple of words into a machine that would later remind me to perform certain tasks and to complete or build on ideas and thoughts. For me this is a lot easier than punching keys on a phone or PDA device and more accessible and durable than writing things in a journal or on paper. The voice recorder was my table.
ReplyDelete