- A Few Character Names in the Early Versions of Hamlet
- The Character Montano, in Hamlet, and Polonius’ Famous Advice.
The German translation of Hamlet, discovered in the
18th century, includes several strong indications that the original
English manuscript from which it was translated was written around 1589. The
evidence also indicates that the text was closer to the English 1st
Quarto than to any other of the extant English versions.
Some of the correspondences are as simple as the name of the
character who advises the King and Queen in the play and who is also the father
of the character Ophelia. In the German play, his name is Corambus. In
the 1st Quarto it is Corambis. The difference in spelling might
be explained by the fact that the translator innocently considered it only a
name, thus properly corrected it to end in –us. The author of the play
may instead have intended an attack on the motto of the Baron Burghley, Cor
Unum Via Una (“Undivided Heart, Undeviating Course” or more literally “Of
one heart, one course”). Coram bis implies “two-faced” or a second
public face. Especially together with cor ambis which can imply a heart
that can go either way (think ambi-dexterous). What is clear is that the
character known as “Polonius” in later versions of the play was Corambis/-us
in earlier versions of the play, a German translation from one giving strong
evidence that the English original was written in 1589 or shortly thereafter.
As I have shown, in the book, nearly all of the differences
between the German translation and the extant English texts, can be shown to be
the result of abridgement to reduce playing time. As I have pointed out in a
short essay regarding the origin of the character name “Ophelia,” it was all
but certainly taken from Jacopo Sanizzaro’s highly popular volume of eclogues
entitled Arcadia.
Some might argue that there is insufficient evidence to state
with any certainty that the name comes from Sannazaro, no matter that the old
Italian poet was highly popular among the Court and University writers of
Shakespeare’s time. That argument fails once it is considered that one of the
interlocutors in her eclogue is named Montano. That, of course, is the name in
the first quarto of the character who became Reynaldo in the final texts of Hamlet.
That the names of two characters would appear both in a prospective source for
a text under evaluation goes beyond coincidence.[2]
While Montano does not appear in the German translation, it
is explained by the fact that the role is not essential to the action of the
play. It would be high on the list of
excisions in order to reduce run time. His scene was cut. That it does appear
in the 1st Quarto but not in
subsequent versions suggests that it was an earlier genuine version not a bad
quarto.
Philip Sidney was not the only English poet influenced by
Sanazzaro. Nor were only English poets influenced. Jorge Montmayor imitated the
Arcadia very closely in his poem Diana. It must be admitted that
Montmayor not only borrowed the name Montano but gave the character a
far greater role. Shakespeare was influenced by all three of these poets, English,
Italian and (Portuguese writing in) Spanish — arguably more by Montmayor’s La
Diana Enamorada.
Given this, the 1st Quarto — whether transcribed
by a member of the audience during a performance (i.e. bad) or pirated
from a legitimate manuscript or perhaps even printed with permission — had to
come from an earlier version of the play. Whether it is a complete text, a
fully correct text, or no, it is a text that preserves for us an earlier
version that would later be considerably revised toward what we consider the definitive
version.
The clues as to the origin of the 1st Quarto
hardly end with character names. There has already been a two hundred year
history of studying the question. It is one of the knottiest matters in Shakespeare
scholarship and has been interrogated under the most powerful of metaphorical heat
lamps. Still it has not confessed many of its secrets.
Returning to the character Montano, Oxfordians may
have a particular interest in another possible connection. Queen Elizabeth and
William Cecil greatly valued their German special ambassador-at-large
Christopher Mundt. Mundt had been trusted with missions large and small during
each Protestant English reign beginning with that of Henry VIII. He constantly reported
on various affairs on the European mainland.
Mundt’s correspondence with the English nobility was
extensive. Many wrote his surname “Mont”. Many of the letters to and from him
were written in Latin, in which he was styled Christophorus Montius.
In one instance, at least, Mundt passed along a quasi-personal
letter from the Landgrave of Hesse, in Germany, enquiring whether the Queen
would pay to have one of his sons educated in England. Apparently, she had invited
his son to be a high-ranking foreign exchange student of sorts. I have yet,
however, to find a letter between he and Cecil on any such personal matter as
passed between Corambis and Montano. It
is unlikely that such personal matters between Cecil and the agents of the Royal
Court, interleaved in official correspondence, would be saved into official
records.
[1] Purdy, Gilbert Wesley. Back When Ophelia Jumped Off a Cliff: the Hamlet of 1589. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09WC94FGW
[2] “Shakespeare’s
Character Names: Shylock, Ophelia, etc.” Virtual Grub Street, July 13, 2021. https://gilbertwesleypurdy.blogspot.com/2021/07/shakespeares-character-names-shylock.html
Also at Virtual Grub Street:
- The Death of Sir Edward Vere, son of the 17th Earl of Oxford and Anne Vavasour. May 8, 2022. “Mr. Sedgwick wrote to me for a prayer for Sir Edward Vere.”
- How Shakespeare gave Ben Jonson the Infamous Purge. November 7, 2021. “Of course, De Vere could not openly accuse Jonson of having outed him as Shakespeare.”
- More on Thomas North as Shakespeare and author of Arden of Feversham. June 14, 2021. “This is also the reason why the title pages included the address of the shop that was selling the book.”
- A 1572 Oxford Letter and the Player’s Speech in Hamlet. August 11, 2020. “The player’s speech has been a source of consternation among Shakespeare scholars for above 200 years. Why was Aeneas’ tale chosen as the subject?”
- Check out the Shakespeare Authorship Article Index for many more articles and reviews about this fascinating time and about the Shakespeare Authorship Question.
- Check out the Letters Index: Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford for letters related to Edward de Vere and the Shakespeare Authorship Question.
1 comment:
Ir look like thorough, important research into Hamlet's 'developmental' history. So many contemporary facts to be taken into account, specifically those vis a vis burghley cq the Cecils. Oxford knew the dangers of the turf he was operating upon very well. He needed truth out, for himself and for us, posterity
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