ПРАВИТЕЛЬСТВО РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ
фЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ ГОСУДАРСТвЕННОЕ Бюджетное
ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ
ВЫСШЕГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ
«Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет» (СПбГУ)
Выпускная квалификационная работа аспиранта на тему:
Анализ лингвокультурологических функций тематической группы слов
условий жизни в пьесе “Гамлет” У.Шекспира
Linguistic and cultural analysis of “living conditions” word-group in “Hamlet”
by William Shakespeare
Образовательная программа «Германские языки»
Автор:
Аббас Антсар Ахмед
Научный руководитель:
к.ф.н., доцент, кафедры английской
филологии и лингвокультурологии
Мячинская Эльвира Ивановна
Рецензент:
к.ф.н., доцент, Заведующая кафедрой
английского языка № 1 Санкт-петербургского
государственного экономического университета
Набирухина Анна Вадимовна
Санкт-Петербург
2018
1
Abstract: The paper is dedicated to textual and cultural analysis of several
elements of the word-group “living conditions” in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Housing conditions are represented by the key word castle and includes
elements describing outer and inner elements. Their functional load is defined
through the action of the play. The second group of clothing is discussed
within the context of Elizabethan rules and traditions as well as its function as
description of the characters in the play.
To put the study in the general frame of English vocabulary, words under
study are looked up in popular dictionaries and older meaning is compared
with the new development where possible.
Аннотация.
Настоящее
исследование
посвящено
изучению
текстового
и
лингвокультурологического значения двух сегментов тематической группы
«условия
жизни»
в
пьесе
У.Шекспира
«Гамлет».
Тема
«жилище»
представлена лексему «замок» и включает как наружные, так и внутренние
элементы. Их смысловая нагрузка выясняется через анализ действия пьесы,
связанного с описываемыми локациями. Вторая группа – «одежда»
исследуется в контексте жизненных правил Елизаветинской эпохи, а также в
связи с описанием персонажей пьесы. Для создания более общей картины
исследуемые лексемы просматриваются по надежным словарям для
выяснения значения и его эволюции там, где это возможно.
Ключевые слова: Гамлет, анализ текста, условия жизни, жилище, замок,
одежда, Елизаветинская эпоха
Key-words: Hamlet, textual analysis, living conditions, housing, castle, clothes,
Elizabethan age
2
Introduction:
The aim of this study is the linguistic and cultural analysis of the textual elements
that describe living conditions in the text’s play of Hamlet. As well as to compare
these elements under study with the present day meanings presented in different
English dictionaries. Finally the general overview gives a certain idea about the
lifestyle in Elizabethan era.
Living conditions or lifestyle is an inherent aspect of human existence, changing in
time together with the evolution of human civilization. No wonder that the notion
or concept of living conditions is the subject of study for various academic fields,
such as ethnography, sociology, art history, cultural studies etc. Linguistics is not
an exception in its interest to the living conditions word-group or thematic field,
mostly because it requires a multifaceted analysis allowing for semantic, functional
or linguo-cultural approach. This inter-subjectivity and importance of the topic
demonstrates scientific relevance of the present study.
The aim of the study is to define the role of the group in question in the text of the
play, in the action of the play, in the frame of the cure of the period and to see its
incorporation in reliable present-day dictionaries. This requires the use of several
methods of analysis, semantic, contextual, constructing the textual meaning
through the function in the action of the play, projecting the general cultural
information (of Elizabethan era) upon the use in the play.
We see the linguistic novelty, or our achievement in the fact that this combination
of the thematic group, the play by Shakespeare, the elements of Elizabethan time
all together has not yet been studied in a complex way.
We can classify the “living conditions” concept as it is presented in the play in the
following lexical sets: housing, clothing, food and drinks, dishes and utensils,
tools, weapon, musical instruments, customs. Each may be further divided into
subsets, some groups being more representative than others. Housing contains
3
types of buildings (ex. Castle), adjacent structures (ex. platform, orchard), inner
division (ex. hall, chamber, closet), interior decoration (ex. Arras, mirror) and
furniture (table, shelf). Clothing may be male and female, it also includes headgear and footwear, it may be military ammunition or actors’ costumes.
Out of the long inventory we have chosen for our presentation two groups: housing
and clothing.
These lexical sets have different roles in the play and allow for various
interpretations. Some semantic segments are actually discussed by the characters in
the play, thus indicating their cultural functions in the society of the period, which
contributes a lot to the general cultural and linguistic aim of this research. Others
are only indicated in the stage remarks and require semantic and textual
reconstruction. In other words, lexemes under study are closely linked with
situations – in the text, in the life of the time. They continue to be linked with
situations of present-day use because Shakespeare is one of the most read and
staged authors both in England and worldwide. The reference between the word
form and its meaning may have changed, words may have become obsolete or
different in meaning, or moved to the lexical periphery, or remain as dialectal
words. There is a relevant quotation from David Crystal
“It is a commonplace that Shakespeare gives us a remarkable picture of the range
of social situations in Elizabethan England. What is less often remarked is that
each of these situations would have linguistically distinctive. Just as today we have
scientific, advertising, and broad casting English, so then there was legal, religious,
and courtly English — to name just a few of the styles which are to be found. In
addition to archaisms and neologisms, hard words and easy words, there is speech
representing different degrees of formality, intimacy, social class, and regional
origins. In short, we encounter in the plays by William Shakespeare most of the
language varieties of Early Modern English.”.[Crystal 2008:22]
4
Crystal gives a general overview, which is relevant for our research only in part,
but during my analysis I kept in mind the scope of possibilities and found some in
my material as well.
1. HOUSING
Mentioned in the play are four types of lexemes that can be attributed to the
heading Housing:
1. The building proper: castle, house
2. External attachments to the castle: platform, orchard, churchyard
3. Internal parts of the castle: rooms, halls, stairs, a closet, a passage, a chamber
4. Furniture and interior decoration: table, shelf, arras, bed, etc.
Here, in this paper we are not discussing the fourth section: furniture and interior
decoration as this topic has been studied in detail in [Мячинская 2016]
1.1. Types of buildings:
1.1.1. The Castle:
A) The Castle in cultures and time:
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East in the
past. Usually it is designed as private fortified residence of lords or nobility. This is
distinct from palace, which is not fortified.
During approximately 900 years that castles were built, they developed a great
variety of forms and acquired many different features. Some traits are typical and
are always present in the structure of a castle, such as curtain walls or arrow slits
that were commonplace for defense and privacy. In its evolution, the castle as an
5
architectural type became much safer, offered better protection, more defendable
and more comfortable.
Nowadays, castles are designed for prestige, for fantasy, and to embellish a
romantic view of the premises where rich people enjoy their life. Castles of old are
still there, belonging to kings, queens, the highest upper classes. Some castles are
open for public, at least on certain days, so that we can envision their real structure
and imagine the life that used to flow inside their walls. Castles, for that reason, is
something quite realistic and do not need much theoretical reconstruction.
B) “Castle” in Dictionaries:
The word castle is defined in English dictionaries as a large building or set of
buildings fortified for defense; with thick, high walls built to protect people during
wars and battles. Built mostly of wood or masonry, castles were located on a raised
site and were sometimes surrounded by a ditch or moat. In the past, especially in
the Middle Ages a castle was built by a ruler or a king or a prince and it was the
strongest part of the fortifications of a medieval town.[Cambridge, Collins, Oxford
dictionaries]
C) The Castle in Shakespeare’s Hamlet:
The scene of action in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is Elsinore Castle. On the front page
after the list of characters it is stated: Scene: Elsinore (even without “castle”) and
then repeated in stage remarks before almost every act, sometimes designated as
“The same”. No description of design, size or decoration of the castle is given in
words, yet it is one of the most famous places in the world as it houses the great
tragedy of prince Hamlet, the tragedy of murder, incest, revenge and madness (real
or feigned). Elsinore has become famous together with the phrase ‘Hamlet, prince
of Denmark”. It is not just a geographical name but an important element of human
culture, history, a symbol and a legend. But this is what the name has become,
6
because originally it was a geographical name which Shakespeare chose for certain
reasons.
The name of Elsinor was not the real name of the castle; the real name was
Kronborg and Kronborg is the Anglicized name of the surrounding town of
Helsingør. Despite its strategic importance, Kronborg castle was built to be both a
fortress and a palace. Its richly decorated facade, with colorful stonework and
carvings was popular during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance era. Helsingør,
losing its initial h-sound gave Elsinore. The main aims for choosing ‘Elsinore
Castle’ are that William Shakespeare wants to correlate real places, real events
which were in the United Kingdom with the plot of the play. On the other hand
Shakespeare wants to create a suitable castle for the play’s theme that deals with
treachery and revenge, a play in which it seems almost impossible for the hero’s
revenge to know exactly what is true and what is not. [whc.unesco.org]
1. 2 External parts attached to the castle: platform, orchard, graveyard
1.2.1 The Platform
The first stage remark of the play1:
1) “Elsinore. A platform before the castle. Francisco at his post. Enter Bernardo”.
[1,1]
In another edition of the play:
2) “ Elsinore Castle, The platform of the watch. Enter Bernardo and Francisco, two
sentinels (from opposite directions).” [ (1968) 1,1]
The existence of different versions of the text is not an unusual thing, deviations
are small and do not affect the meaning, It is a well=known fact that Shakespeare
did not write down his plays, he staged them. The English term for the author of a
1 In examples from 2010 the year of publication is not mentioned in brackets.
7
play - playwright – means a master, a creator of plays, a worker, of the same
pattern a shipwright or wheelwright. So it was normal that the author had no
written, registered version of a play. Actors, spectators, friends may have recorded
aural performances in writing. Hence the famous (or notorious) controversial
discussion of Shakespeare’s authorship. Anyway, we discuss variations when it is
appropriate.
Two sentinels are explicitly indicated in the second version, and from the
conversation between Francisco and Bernardo [1,1], we understand that they are
both guards perform their duties; they are the watch. This makes clear that the
platform serves a military function, which agrees with the definition of a castle as a
buildings fortified for defense.
The platform is mentioned in Hamlet many times; why is it important? The word
platform is very important in the play because it has several functions for the plot.
English dictionaries define a platform as ‘a flat surface that is raised higher than
the floor or ground and that people stand on when performing or speaking.’ So
function of platform is to perform, to present, to speak, to send a message to the
audience. [Cambridge, Collins, Oxford dictionaries]
William Shakespeare mentioned this word many times in his play; at the beginning
he wants to show a real warlike purpose of the castle by the presence of sentinels
on their guarding duty. Armed soldiers are there at the platform to fight enemies if
they appear and protect people living in Elsinore castle.
Another function in the next scene is to show the first appearance of the ghost of
Hamlet’s father, and the first meeting between father and son.
The last function which is very important is to discover the truth, the truth of how
Hamlet’s father died, and this encounter between them plays a great role in the
play.
8
The action of the platform is accompanied by circumstantial descriptions which
can be deduced from the speech of the guards: darkness, cold, calmness, isolated
place, midnight)
3) “the air bites shrewdly; it is very cold…it is nipping and an eager air…I think it
lacks of twelve”.[1,4]
Thus Shakespeare created a proper atmosphere for the ghost appearing.
Each fragment of action on the platform in this play presents a certain concept and
we can see that the play of Hamlet is full of human concepts; there is fear and
suspicion in the first appearance: both the guards and Hamlet are afraid of the
ghost, their suspicion, especially Hamlet’s who wants to know what the ghost
wants from him. There is pain and shock; Hamlet is shocked to pain by the
betrayal of his uncle. When he learns that Claudius killed his father to get the
throne and his mother in addition, he is ready for revenge: he makes up his mind to
avenge his uncle. There is also loyalty: Hamlet’s loyalty to his father and Hamlet's
friends’ loyalty to him. So each stage of action on the platform teaches us – readers
and spectators- a lot about life, shows various sides of human experience. In my
view, this play is the plot of our life now, all of us live through the same
experiences of fear, suspicion, love, betrayal, loyalty, revenge and courage.
1.2.2. Orchard:
Orchard is defined in English dictionaries as “an area of land where fruit trees but
not orange trees or other citrus trees are grown. [Cambridge, Collins, Oxford
dictionaries]
There are very few medieval pictures of orchards, but documents reveal that they
were often bounded by walls, hedges, wattle and sometimes by moats. The orchard
in “Hamlet” is not a scene of actual action; it is part of the ghost’s story.
9
4) “Now, Hamlet, hear.'Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung
me” [1,5]
Evidently the orchard is part of the Castle, most probably an annex.
The ghost reveals that he was murdered by his brother, when he slept in his
orchard. Old Hamlet had his life, his crown and his queen stolen from him all at
once. He died without a chance to pray or take the last rites, so that now, instead of
being in heaven, he is burning in the fires of purgatory.
“Shakespeare displays the betrayal of humanity and how it took place, through
presenting the orchard with the sleeping King (Hamlet’s father) as a kind of
innocent and peaceful state. It is worth mentioning that Claudius is described via
the metaphor of the serpent, through the deceit of the serpent, through using
imagery designed to evoke the Biblical Garden of Eden where, in the Book of
Genesis. It also reminds of the murder of Abel by his brother Cain in Genesis.
These Biblical allusions would have resonated deeply with Shakespeare’s
audiences,
imparting
even
greater
gravity
to
the
ghost’s
story”.
[cor.coursehero.com].
1.2.3. The churchyard
The churchyard (graveyard, cemetery) is the scene of action in act [5, 1] following
the stage remark: “The same, a churchyard.” The same refers to the previous act
where the place of action is Elsinore, which means that the churchyard is also part
of the castle, outer part, another annex.
In the play it is not a quite place, not an abode of eternal peace and tranquility.
A churchyard is a place where two most extreme opposites – life and death- meet.
In “Hamlet” this scene is also full of controversy. Two gravediggers, sextons,
(called for some reason clowns in the play) are engaged in the wittiest conversation
full of puns, jokes and unusual ideas. They represent a social class completely
10
different from the high class people inside the walls of the castle, i.e. low working
class. Shakespeare is a great master of social linguistic discrimination and
identification; he uses different vocabulary, idioms, grammar, even syntax and
rhetoric means to show the social status of his dramatic characters. To have people
speaking the way the two gravediggers speak required a place like a graveyard.
Shakespeare exploits its potential as an appropriate location for out-of-the-ordinary
things, thoughts and words to the full.
To counter-balance their easy talk and merry singing, they are digging a grave for
Ophelia, the saddest moment of the play - two opposites come together. And again,
in their jocular manner they are discussing the essence and implications of
committing a suicide.
Hamlet appears on the site returning from his interrupted voyage to England
together with Horatio, a true friend. The atmosphere of the graveyard puts him in a
mood of meditation about the fickleness of human life, about vain ambitions of
people, who will ultimately find themselves in a grave, “meat for worms”.
Hamlet changes his usual conversational style, lapses into “legal verbiage with
punning effect to emphasize the irony of the macabre situation” [(1968) 5, 1] or, to
the contrary, uses slang and colloquialisms.
5) "A politician, a courtier, my Lord Such-and-such all go to “my Lady Worm’s,
chapless, and knocked about the mazzard with a sexton’s spade" [5, 1]
Chapless – without the lower jaw, mazzard – head (slang)
Here he pronounces the famous phrase,
6) “Alas, poor Yoric! I knew him, Horatio" [5,1].
But more important than the change of his linguistic behavior in agreement with
the situation of the churchyard, of course, are his positivist materialistic
11
philosophical stances on the futility of human grandeur and on the eternal order of
things governing the world.
7) "Alexander [the Great, of Macedonia] died, Alexander was buried, Alexander
returneth to dust; the dust is earth; and of the earth we make loam; and why of
that loam (whereto he was converted) might they not stop a beer barrel?" [5,1]
The churchyard in “Hamlet” is a place where emotions run wild, bare and blazing;
where words that could not be said elsewhere are pronounced. Hamlet speaks of
his love for Ophelia:
8) "I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not (with their quantity of love)
Make up my sum." [5,1].
This is followed by Hamlet’s most passionate monologue on his love (lines 245285).
Thus, the churchyard in the play is not merely a location, where sorrow is,
typically, expressed; here it is a concentration of opposing forces, a burning pot of
emotions, not actually relevant for the development of the plot, containing little
action as such.
1.3. Parts of buildings, such as room, chamber, closet, hall:
1.3.1. Room:
William Shakespeare mentioned the word room in the play of Hamlet about 12
times, each time with a different import, a different significance.
The lexeme “Room” is defined in Oxford English Dictionary as “A part or division
of building enclosed by walls, floor, and ceiling”. [oxf.oxforddictionaries.com]
In Collins dictionary the word room is defined as “a countable noun: is one of the
separate sections or parts of the inside of a building. Rooms have their own walls,
12
ceilings, floors, and doors, and are usually used for particular activities. You can
refer to all the people who are in a room as the room”. [coll.collinsdictionary.com]
1.3.2:
A) Room of state:
In the play the word room appears in the stage remark to scene 2 of the first act
with an attribute “a room of state in the castle”.
In another edition of the play [Wright and LaMar 1959] this same stage remark
reads, “Elsinore castle, An audience chamber”. So, it is evident that a room of
state, an audience chamber are synonyms to a great hall.
A great hall is defined in English dictionaries as a “main room of a royal palace
and castle in medieval times”. [Cambridge, Collins, Oxford dictionaries]
Apparently a room of state denotes a great hall for various activities, discussions,
negotiations and for receiving guests. The word-group audience chamber is more
informative, though audience, judging by the contents of the scene in the play,
simply means talks of the King or with the King, “in the presence of the monarch”.
What is clear from the comparison of the three word-groups is that room, chamber
and hall are synonyms and, at least in this situation, do not carry any connotations
or differences in their lexical meaning. What may differentiate them is their
distribution within their collocations, i.e. they are hardly interchangeable in the
combination with the attribute.
Shakespeare didn’t describe this room; nothing is said about its design, size, there
is no indication of furniture.
9) “[A room of state in the castle]. Flourish. Enter the King, Queen, Hamlet,
Polonius, Laertes, Voltemand, Cornelius. Lords and attendants”[I,2]
13
The remark mentions quite a number of people in this room; it must be a place of
big size, which means it is not a simple room but it’s a great hall, a great hall in
castles in medieval time. A significant word here is Flourish. It is a musical piece
of very energetic and loud sound that is played by trumpets to indicate somebody
or something of very great importance appearing or (here) departing. This stresses
the solemnity and significance of the situation in the room of state,
In the Middle Ages, as well as in later times, at the times of Shakespeare the great
hall is the main room of royal palaces, castles or in a large manor house, and in the
country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries. Great halls were found
especially in England, Scotland and France, but there were similar rooms also
found in some other European countries. At the time, the room would simply have
been referred to as the "hall" unless the building also had a secondary hall, but the
term "great hall" has been prevalent for surviving rooms of this type for several
centuries to distinguish them from the others type of hall found in post-medieval
houses.
More stage remarks at the beginning of a scene, (four times) indicate “a room in
the castle” (2:2, 3:1, 4:1, 5), without further details about these rooms. The type or
purpose of a particular room may be deduced from the action that is taking place
there. The most demonstrative example for this is [3:3]; “a room in the castle” here
denotes the chapel. The author describes the king when he is praying alone in this
room.
The place where a king or queen can pray may be a chapel, especially in a castle
like this and at the time of the action of the play. A small room, usually decked out
in the same way as a small medieval church, may serve for that purpose.
This room (in 3, 3), and what is happening in it, are very important factors in the
play, for two reasons. Firstly, the king is confessing in his crime and asking
forgiveness. Secondly: Shakespeare shows the exchange of roles of the King and
Hamlet. Hamlet is in a strong position because he has found a suitable moment to
14
avenge for his father when his uncle is busy with confessing and asking
forgiveness. Usually when a person wants to confess in a prayer and ask
forgiveness he is here at his weakest moments. But, at the same time, he is clearing
of his sins, his soul is no longer as dark as it used to be, which makes his position
stronger. Hamlet rejects the idea of revenge for this very reason: after confession
his uncle’s soul will not go to hell [Abbas2017]. Thus Hamlet is in the weak, he
cannot follow his intention. All this fills a neutral notion of “a room in the castle”
with intensive and complicated meaning, as if an empty vessel is filled with strong
ale.
Linguistically, we notice that all the uses of the word room in the text have the
same conceptual meaning as a space enclosed by walls, floor and ceiling, but they
are different in pragmatic meaning which depends upon the action in the play.
1.3.3-Hall:
The word hall is defined in English dictionaries as:
a) An entrance; the room just inside the main entrance of a house, apartment, or other
building that leads to other rooms and usually to the stairs:
b) a building; a building or large room used for events involving a lot of people.
[Cambridge, Collins, Oxford dictionaries]
William Shakespeare mentions hall in the text of the play four times, he uses hall
as entrance and as a building room. Shakespeare mentions a hall as an entrance
three times, in [5, 2]. Shakespeare doesn’t mention details that may indicate a hall
as an entrance or as a room, the situation of each usage shows if it was an entrance
or a room.
In the stage remark to [5, 2] a “hall in the castle” indicates a room where Horatio
and Hamlet are in a small space not enough to accommodate a group of people.
15
Remarkable is the use of the words a hall in the castle in the stage remark to [3, 2],
a scene, where the visiting actors are going to perform presenting a play on the
murder of Gonzago.
10)
“Sound a flourish. Enter Trumpets and Kettledrums. Danish march. Enter
King, Queen, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and other Lords
attendant with the Guard carrying torches”[ 3,2]
This is the most pompous and impressing appearance of the characters in the
whole play and the most numerous attendance. The acting to be performed by the
players is the pinnacle of the action in “Hamlet” – prince Hamlet is to know
whether the Ghost was telling the truth and the King is a murderer. All this
indicates to the size and grandness of the hall and equals it to the Audience
chamber in 1.2.1
1.3.4. Chamber:
English dictionaries define chamber as a room designed and equipped for a
particular purposes, a room in a private house, especially a bedroom(archaic or
poetic).[ Cambridge, Collins, Oxford dictionaries]
Bed Chambers in Elizabethan times
The room in the castle called the Lords and Ladies Chamber, or the Great
Chamber, was intended for use as a bedroom and used by the lord and lady of the
castle - it also afforded some privacy for the noble family of the castle. This type of
chamber was originally a partitioned room which was added to the end of the Great
Hall. The Lords and Ladies chamber was subsequently situated on an upper floor
when it was called the solar. The Solar gave more than privacy than a chamber
more and was more isolated. There the lords could be alone and away from noise,
hustle, bustle and cooking smells.[ cast.castlesandmanorhouses.com]
16
William Shakespeare mentions the word chamber in the text of his play two times;
“lady’s chamber” and "chamber".
11)
"now get you to my lady's chamber and tell her, let her paint an inch thick,
to this favor she must come." [5,1]
12)
"will you do this, keep close within your chamber." [4,5]
1.3.5. Closet:
The word closet in English dictionaries is defined as a cupboard or a small room
with a door, used for storing things, especially clothes. [Cambridge, Collins,
Oxford dictionaries] But Shakespeare uses it to denote a small private room. In
Elizabethan age, this word referred to a larger room in which a person could sit and
read in private; but now refers to a small room in general. In Elizabethan England,
such a private retreat would most likely be termed a closet, the most recent in a
series of developments in which people of means found ways to withdraw from the
public life of the household as it was lived in the late medieval great hall.
[cast.castlesandmanorhouses.com]
Shakespeare mentions this word in his play two times: one in “queen’s closet” [3,
4] and second one in “Ophelia’s closet” [2, 1], in both cases using the word closet
to denote a private room not just used for sleeping but for reading or performing
various activities. The reason behind that is that Shakespeare focuses on
conversations between Hamlet and his mother and Hamlet and Ophelia. In the first
case, in her private place, he revealed the truth of his mother. She had sinned
mightily in marrying her husband’s brother and Hamlet had discovered how his
father died. It was somewhat a sensitive and personal case, it was not suitable for
Hamlet to reveal this in other parts of Elsinore castle.
In the second case Hamlet revealed his love to Ophelia in her closet, also in her
private place.
17
1.3.6. The Chapel:
A chapel is defined in English dictionaries as a small building or room used for
Christian worship in a school, prison, hospital, or large private house. [Cambridge,
Collins, Oxford dictionaries]
In older times the room in the castle called the chapel was intended for prayer and
used by all members of the castle household. A chapel was commonly close to the
great hall. It was often built two stories high, with the nave divided horizontally.
The lord's family and pillars of society sat in the upper part and the servants
occupied the lower part of the chapel. Today, the owners of many castles and
manor houses will allow people to get married in their castle chapels with the
reception then taking place in the castle. [ cast.castlesandmanorhouses.com]
William Shakespeare mentions the word chapel in [4, 2] when Rosencrantz asked
Hamlet about Polonius’s body in order to bear it into the chapel to make a funeral
ceremony and bury the body.
The notion of housing is changing through times, in design, size, shape and even
names of rooms. Rooms of the old are largely recognizable by their modern
counterparts in more modest homes. Kitchens are still kitchens.
The main reason behind this is cultural development. For example, bed chambers
now are known as bedrooms; halls have become entrance halls and dining rooms
have taken over one of their main functions. Solars, cabinets have become sitting
rooms, libraries and dressing rooms. Ice houses have been replaced by
refrigerators. Despite these changes each of them still has the same conceptual
meaning across times and across cultures. Bedrooms still carry the same purpose
for sleeping and kitchens for cooking food,…etc.
2. CLOTHING
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2.1. Clothing in the English culture from 14th to 16th century:
Simon Newman is a writer in history of middle Ages, he describes the clothing
which worn by men and women in the Middle and Renaissance times differed
depending on the occupation, social standing, and climate. In most of Europe the
winter months can be very cold, particularly in damp and drafty stone castles and
poorly houses. Because of the changing climate, most individuals in medieval
Europe dressed in layers through winter and summer. [the.thefinertimes.com]
Despite the differences and variety in appearance of clothing which depend on the
different social class these are still unified by the themes of practicality.
The style of clothing of Elizabethan age is frequently found in Shakespearean
English, a lot of terms are still in use nowadays with essentially the same meaning
(such as apron, hat, cuff, garters, skirt, stockings).
The outfit worn by both men and women in that era were not made of one single
garment. In fact, various pieces together formed the entire outfit. Men and women
were not allowed to wear whatever they liked. It did not matter how wealthy they
were- the color, fabric and material of their clothes were dictated by their rank,
status or position and this was enforced by the English law. These laws about
clothing in the Elizabethan era were called “Sumptuary laws” or “the Status of
apparels”. These laws were designed to maintain the strict class structure which
had started in the early medieval era with the Feudal system. Fashion played a
major role during the Elizabethan age; it reflects the cultural function of the
English society at that time. One's rank and social status affected the kind of
clothing one wore. The higher the rank, the more choice of clothes, materials, and
colors was available to a person. People who belonged to the lower rank of society
wore clothing made of materials like wool, sheepskin, and linen. They were not
allowed to wear the materials of high ranks clothes. The colors that could be worn
by them were brown, beige, yellow, orange, russet, green, gray, and blue. Women
at that time had to wear gowns, hats, collars, corsets, underwear, ruffs and shoes,
19
while men at that time usually wore doublets, breeches, collars, underwear, hats,
ruffs and shoes. [eli.elizabethan-era.org.uk]
2.2 Clothing in the play of Hamlet:
In the text of “Hamlet” the clothing aspect concerns mainly male outfit and
describes pieces of clothing from top to footwear; words of general meaning
belonging to the same semantic field as the head-word are also used. This lexical
set has different roles in the play and allows for various interpretations.
2.2.1 General/overall
The following text is Ophelia’s description of Hamlet’s appearance in his state of
mental or emotional disturbance.
13)
“My lord, as I was sewing in my closet, Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all
unbraced; No hat upon his head; his stockings fouled,
Ungartered, and down-gyvèd to his ankle;
Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other”[1,2]
This description gives some information concerning what element of attire men of
the time wore. He wore a doublet, which is the chief upper garment worn by men
from the 15th to the 17th century. It was a close-fitting, waisted, padded jacket
worn over a shirt. Also he wore stockings, a thin close-fitting piece of clothing that
covers a woman’s leg and is worn by men in the past, also known as hose,
especially in a historical context. He also wore a shirt, which is a garment having
sleeves and worn on the upper part of the body, often under a coat, jacket, or other
garments and is typically worn by a man. That is exactly a male outfit in the
Elizabethan time; here we notice that the fashion of that time and this lexical set
have a cultural and linguistic role in the play.
20
Hamlet in this text does not look like a prince of Denmark: there is no hat on his
head, his shirt is unbuttoned, and his stockings are dirty, undone, and down around
his ankles. He violated laws of clothing at that time, and this is cultural role. In this
text Shakespeare shows the English culture by statuses apparels laws, these laws
don’t allow for everyone to wear whatever he wants, and that is the point, Hamlet
wants to rebel against his society, he thus reflects his psychological disorder, his
mourning, sorrow and sadness of his father death and his anger at his uncle and his
mother.
In the English Language Culture dictionary, there is an enlargement of the
definitions of this word-set with present-day meanings. Some words were used in
the past or specific period and now we don’t use them, for example stocking in the
past was used both by men and women, now we can see it used only by women,
and only for certain, very specific uses by men. A bonnet in the past was used by
men, women and children and through time changed in shape and became mainly
used for infants. That change depends on many circumstances like development of
fashion. The development of our daily life from being complex to becoming easier
is also relevant; with modern facilities life has become more comfortable than it
used to be in the older times.
2.3. Headgear:
Caps and hats were an essential part of clothing for men in the Elizabethan age and
played an important role in the fashion of the day and developed quickly through
times. In the past caps and hats together with other garment of a certain type
indicated a person’s job or station in life or a position in the society. The taller the
hat the more important the man.
In the play, lexemes of this type are often to be found in figurative, metaphorical
and idiomatic use.
21
14)
“Antiquity forgot, custom not known, The ratifiers and props of every
word—They cry, “Choose we! Laertes shall be king!” Caps, hands, and
tongues applaud it to the clouds: “Laertes shall be king, Laertes
king!””[4,5]
“Caps” stands together with hands and tongues instead of a “head” because a
tradition of throwing head gear into the air by people of the crowd to express their
delight, admiration, to greet passionately is meant here. So, the use is not exactly
figurative but it means a contextual shift from the material objective meaning to an
abstract meaning of ‘delight”.
15)
“A very ribbon in the cap of youth, Yet needful too, for youth no less
becomes the light and careless livery that it wears than settled age his
sables and his weeds, importing health and graveness.” [4,7]
English dictionaries define cap and hat as a soft flat covering of the head that has a
curved part sticking out at the front (a peak or visor) and is worn especially as part
of a uniform: an officer’s cap or a head covering which is a sign of your position.
The word hat is defined as a covering for the head, typically having a wide flat
bottom part and a higher central part. Hat brims were often turned up and fastened
to the crown with a jeweled brooch or other ornament. Hat bands using scarves
made of expensive fabric such as silk were often used as a form of decoration.
In 1571 a law was passed which ordered everyone over the age of six to wear a
woolen cap on Sundays and holidays in order to help England’s wool trade. The
upper classes were excused from obeying this law. In my view it was because wool
was allowed only for lower ranks of society. So it’s not suitable for a person of
upper rank to wear a hat or other items of clothes made of wool.
Shakespeare mentions the word hat in act 4 scene 5. In the collocation a “cockle
hat”: adorned with a cockle shell, a symbol of pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James
of Compostela.
22
16) “How can you tell the difference between your true lover and some other?
Your true one wears a pilgrim’s hat and a pilgrim’s sandals and staff.” [4.5]
A hat in this case indicates something pure, mortal.
The last item is bonnet.
It is defined in dictionaries as a type of a hat which has ties under the chin, worn
by babes and women in the past or a flat brimless cap worn by men. Some
dictionaries mention that this type of hat is worn by men and boys in Scotland,
especially soldiers. Before the 17th century this word for male headgear was
replaced by cap in English except in Scotland. [eli.elizabethan-era.org.uk]
17) “I will receive it, sir, with all diligence of spirit. Put your bonnet to his right
use. ‘Tis for the head.” [5,2]
2.5. Military attire:
Scene 1 and 2 of the first act give material for understanding the role of military
attire in the play – all connected with the appearance of the Ghost.
“A figure like your father, Armed at point exactly, cap-a-pe,”
“’Tis very strange.”
“Arm’d, say you?”
“Arm’d my lord.”
“From top to toe?”
“My lord, from head to foot.”
“O, yes, my lord; he wore his beaver up.”
“My father’s spirit in arms. All is not well.
I doubt some foul play. Would the night were come!
Till then sit still, my soul. Foul deeds will rise,
23
Though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men’s eyes.” Hamlet [1, 2]
Military attire must be important for the times of the play but Shakespeare gives no
particular description of it. Instead, he mentions it in connection with the ghost
several times. “He is armed at point”, which means “fully armed”,
“his beaver is up” = visor of his armor, this, evidently means that he is not ready
for a battle but for a talk. That he is armed from head to bottom, or, in French, capa-pe is significant for the character as they stress it several times. Here, we also get
a commentary to the importance of this description as Hamlet expects the Ghost to
speak of deadly things –“foul play”: treachery, murder. Of course, these are
elements of the plot of the play, but it is demonstrative that Shakespeare chooses to
describe a military form to introduce the topic.
2.6. Mourning clothes:
Also we can notice that William Shakespeare mentions a unique cultural concept
that exists across the world and times, that is the concept of mourning see [Abbas
2018]. Mourning is described clearly in the text; it is noticeable that Shakespeare
described mourning dresses only with Hamlet. He wears nighted colour and inky
cloak. Hamlet reflects his sorrow and sadness for his father’s death in many scenes,
18)“tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, nor customary suits of solemn black,
nor windy suspiration of forced breath, no, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
…..these indeed seem”[1.2.].
Hamlet shows to the Queen that with all symbols of sadness and sorrow neither
his black clothes, his heavy sighs, his weeping, his down cast eyes nor any other
display of grief can show what he really feels, all these things seem like grief
inside him and these clothes are just a hint of it.
Hamlet reflects cultural perspective of the concept of mourning by his dark
clothes,
24
19)“Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off, and let thine eye look like a friend
on Denmark.”[1.2.]
Hamlet’s mother asks him to stop wearing these black clothes, and be friendly to
the king. He cannot spend his whole life with his eyes to the ground remembering
his noble father. Thus, clothing here not only reflects the Christian tradition of
mourning (a cultural aspect) but also is a sign of very serious psychological state of
the main characters and their confronting opposition.[ Abbas 2017; Abbas 2018]
To conclude:
Introducing elements that refer to the housing lexical subset, Shakespeare gives
very few, if at all, details or description. Yet, they acquire a place of significance in
the perception of the reader or spectator because the names, the lexemes, the
notion get prominence because of the dramatic action that is taking place within
the described localities. Words get flesh through the developments of the plot,
while the plot may develop in this or that particular way in the appropriate
surroundings.
Clothing, on the other hand, very much agrees with the Elizabethan dressing rules,
and carries importance in the play through the reference to the standards of the
epoch. In the text, clothing plays an important role as an indication of this or that
psychological sate of the characters or their status and position.
Shakespeare mainly characterized male outfit and described pieces of clothes from
headgear to footwear.
Overall, William Shakespeare concentrated on royal and noble lifestyle and cared
less about poor and peasants lifestyle, still introducing some of the low rank
characters and some elements of their life (soldiers, gravediggers).
25
There are some Shakespearian terms that seem archaic nowadays; there are lot of
terms that are still in use nowadays with essentially the same meaning; there are
quite a few that have changed their meaning and are not archaic at all.
References:
1. Мячинская Э.И, Статусность материально-предметной лексики в
трагедии Шекспира «Гамлет» // Англистика XXI века: Сборник статей
по
материалам
VIII
научно-методической
международной
конференции, посвященной памяти профессора С.В.Воронина. СанктПетербург,
20-22
января
2016
г.
–
СПб:
Университетские
образовательные округа, 2016, сс.373-376
2. Abbas, Antsar Ahmed, The religious perspective of William Shakespeare
thought in texts of the tragedy of Hamlet, prince of Denmark//,
Современные проблемы гуманитарных наук в мире. Сборник научных
трудов по итогам международной научно-практической конференции.
No 4. г. Казань 2017. 68 с, 22-25.
3. Abbas, Antsar
Ahmed, “Mourning” in
dictionaries,
cultures and
Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’// Англистика XXI века, в 9-я всероссийская
научно-методическая конференция, Санкт-Петербург, 24-26 января 2018
г. (in print)
4. Crystal, David, ‘Think on my words’ exploring Shakespeare’s language,
2008, Cambridge university press, New York, Page 221.
Electronic resources:
26
1. Www.castlesandmanorhouses.com
2. www.coursehero.com
3. www.thefinertimes.com
4. www.elizabethan-era.org.uk
5. Www.Hamletsecnen.dk
6. Www.shakespearstudygiude.com
7. Www.sparknotes.com
Sources:
1-(1959) Shakespeare, William, the Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark,
Washington Square Press, 1959
2-(1968) Shakespeare, William, the Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark. New
York: Washington Square Press, 1968
3-(2010) Shakespeare, William, the Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark, English
Fiction Collection. 2010
List of Dictionaries:
1. Longman dictionary of English language and culture 1999
2. Cambridge dictionary, http://dictionary.cambridge.org
3. Collins English dictionary, http://www.collinsdictionary.com
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4. Oxford dictionaries, https://en.oxforddictionaries.com
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