Shakespeare: Protean Plays Final
Tyler Stoltenberg
English 339: Special Topics
Professor Wendy Wall
June 2008
The Klingon Hamlet Translation of this Scene
"va Do'Ha' yorIq. yIntaHvIS vISov, Horey'So
("Alas, poor Yorick!- I knew him, Horatio")
Changes made in English translation:
"whoreson fellow" translates into "smooth forehead person" this is a big insult for Klingons, who value and are proud of their forehead ridges.
"A pestilence on him for a mad rouge" becomes "may vicious bugs chew him."
"flagon of Rhenish" is changed to "pitcher of boiling worm wine."
"those lips that I have kissed" translates to "the chin which I have bitten"
"let her paint an inch thick" strangely becomes "even if she underwent a thousand cosmetic surgeries"
"Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander till he find it stopping a bunghole" transforms into "couldn't the dreaming mind track down a little dirt from Kahless's wonderful corpse to find it plugging up a vat of liquor?"
This is another example of this scene in pop culture and the fact that it is depicted on the cover speaks to the popularity of that image. The changes to the text made by the editors of this translation to make the play "more Klingon" shed a new light on some of the lines, but most of the meaning is retained. This is another fun example of Shakespeare in pop culture reaching out to new audiences.
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