The Klingon HamletFor too long, readers throughout the Federation have been exposed to The Tragedy of Khamlet, Son of the Emperor of Qo'nos, that classic work of Klingon™ literature, only through inadequate and misleading English translations. Now at last, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Klingon Language Institute, this powerful drama by the legendary Klingon playwright, Wil'yam Shex'pir, can be appreciated in the elegance and glory of its original tongue. This invaluable volume contains the complete text of the play, along with an English translation for easy consultation and comparison. In addition, an incisive introduction explains the play's crucial importance in Klingon culture, while copious notes illustrate how the debased English version diverges from the original, often distorting and even reversing the actual meaning of the verses. Khamlet, the Restored Klingon Version, is a work that belongs in the library of every human who hopes truly to understand what it means to be Klingon. |
From inside the book
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Page xiv
... (Romeo and Juliet), The Trader from Delviy Adu (The Merchant of Venice), Lir the King (King Lear), One Dreams in the Middle of the Hot Season (Midsummer Night's Dream), and the play the reader currently has on his viewscreen.
... (Romeo and Juliet), The Trader from Delviy Adu (The Merchant of Venice), Lir the King (King Lear), One Dreams in the Middle of the Hot Season (Midsummer Night's Dream), and the play the reader currently has on his viewscreen.
Page xvi
... not to be” soliloquy; if Klingons had to single out one soliloquy above all others, it would be “'Tis now the very witching time of night,” at the end of III 2, a speech which expresses the Klingon drive towards revenge masterfully.
... not to be” soliloquy; if Klingons had to single out one soliloquy above all others, it would be “'Tis now the very witching time of night,” at the end of III 2, a speech which expresses the Klingon drive towards revenge masterfully.
Page 4
Well, good night. ... us to watch the minutes of this night; That if again this apparition come, He may approve our eyes and speak to it. ... again assail your ears, That are so fortified against our story What we have two nights seen.
Well, good night. ... us to watch the minutes of this night; That if again this apparition come, He may approve our eyes and speak to it. ... again assail your ears, That are so fortified against our story What we have two nights seen.
Page 6
What art thou, that usurp'st this time of night, Together with that fair and warlike form In which the majesty of buried Denmark Did sometimes march? by heaven I charge thee, speak! It is offended. See, it stalks away!
What art thou, that usurp'st this time of night, Together with that fair and warlike form In which the majesty of buried Denmark Did sometimes march? by heaven I charge thee, speak! It is offended. See, it stalks away!
Page 10
... The bird of dawning singeth all night long: And then, they say, no spirit dares stir abroad; The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike, No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm; So hallow'd and so gracious is the time.
... The bird of dawning singeth all night long: And then, they say, no spirit dares stir abroad; The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike, No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm; So hallow'd and so gracious is the time.
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How fun to have a parallel edition with the English text of Hamlet on the left page and the corresponding Klingon text of Khamlet on the right page! Then in the back are the textual notes because when the humans stole the work for themselves, they made various changes to fit peculiarities of human culture. Face it, humans are wimps compared to Klingons! And humans have no sense of operatic drama.
As far as the story goes, this is a tale in which nearly all of the characters are supposed to be noble, but most of the deaths are dishonorable. How can these schemers and back-stabbers even claim to be Klingon? They have no place in Sto-vo-kor!
Fortunately, there are a few deaths that are glorious and honorable. They stir the heart.
Another fun part of reading this play is that so many of the speeches and archaic phrases have come into the collective memory of a large number of people. Even the human version has a certain amount of memorable verses. School children should memorize these and their elders should review them often. Modern readers should pepper their conversation with terms such as "Odds bodkin!" Our lives would be so much the richer.
Do you want a book that will be worth the time you spend on it, even though it takes you away from weapons practice and other worthwhile activities? Then this is a book you should read.
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Common terms and phrases
batlh Bernardo Black chaH chaq chav chay Claudius Clown comes dead death Empire Enter Exeunt Exit eyes father Federation follow friends Gertrude ghaH ghaHvaD ghertlhuD ghIlDeSten give Guildenstern Hamlet Horatio Hamlet Hamlet Horey'So Hamlet Hamlet oSrIq Hamlet Polonius Hamlet hand hath head hear heart heaven Hegh Hoch hold Horatio Hamlet Horatio Horey'So Hamlet Horey'So joHwI king Klingon Laertes latlh leave look lord madness Marcellus Marcellus Hamlet marSe'luS matter means molwI mother naDev nature never night Ophelia ovelya pagh play Player polonyuS Hamlet polonyuS qar'a qatlh queen Reynaldo Scene seems soul speak tell Terran thee thing thou tlhaw'DIyuS true tugh
Popular passages
Page 176 - tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come: the readiness is all: since no man has aught of what he leaves, what is't to leave betimes?
Page 64 - I have of late — but wherefore I know not — lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of exercises ; and indeed it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory ; this most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, — why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours.
Page 80 - That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself might his 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 undiscover'd country, from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of?
Page 82 - Get thee to a nunnery ; why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners ? I am myself indifferent honest ; but yet I could accuse me of such things, that it were better my mother had not borne me ; I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious ; with more offences at my beck, than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in.
Page 36 - Murder most foul, as in the best it is; But this most foul, strange and unnatural. HAMLET. Haste me to know 't, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge.
Page 34 - I could a tale unfold whose lightest word Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood, Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres...
Page 32 - Why, what should be the fear? I do not set my life at a pin's fee; And for my soul, what can it do to that, Being a thing immortal as itself?
Page 164 - I loved Ophelia: forty thousand brothers Could not with all their quantity of love, Make up my sum.
Page 170 - Why, man, they did make love to this employment; They are not near my conscience; their defeat Does by their own insinuation grow: Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes Between the pass and fell incensed points Of mighty opposites.
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Klingon Hamlet Star Trek |
| Author | Lawrence Schoen |
| Publisher | Simon and Schuster, 2001 |
| ISBN | 0743406729, 9780743406727 |
| Length | 240 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |