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Do I need to introduce Hamlet? Really?

Well, since I have a few minutes free between crises at work, but not the energy to tap out iambs on my desk to make sure my post scans okay, I'll give a Very Brief Rundown. :-)

and_eggs is, of course, the Prince of Denmark. He's -- what, fellow Shakespeare-geeks, about thirty? Not any older than that, possibly a little younger. He had been a student at the university in Wittenberg (Germany), where among his friends were Horatio,

ah_rosencrantz, and

mydearguil, but returned home following the death of the king. His mother married his uncle, her brother-in-law, shortly afterward, which upset Hamlet even more than his father's death. He was in love with

bythebrook, the daughter of one of the new king's advisers, but she rejected him, causing him to reject her, and the whole thing went to hell. He accidentally killed her father, she went mad and drowned in the river, her brother Laertes (home from his own university in France for his own father's funeral) challenged Hamlet to a duel. (The king, Hamlet's uncle, sent him to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who carried secret instructions to the English king that Hamlet was to be killed. Hamlet managed to Foil His Plan and get off the boat, first having switched out the secret messages for ones that told the English king to kill the messengers -- which is why Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. (Body count: 5 so far.)) Hamlet and Laertes fought; the king tried to poison Hamlet, but poisoned the queen instead; Hamlet and Laertes swapped swords at one point so they were both stabbed with Laertes' poisoned blade; Hamlet killed the king, whose fault the whole thing was; and Hamlet, after a long speech, died. (Body count: 9.)

That's the canon. For purposes of this game, this Hamlet has the following characteristics:

not mad, but not precisely sane either. In modern times, he'd probably be medicated.
genuinely did love Ophelia -- he wasn't just messing with her.
did not, repeat DID NOT, have an Oedipal complex. Affair with his mother: RIGHT OUT.
couldn't quite sort out his feelings for Horatio, though. Until and unless we get a Horatio of our own in here, what I'm working with is this: Horatio is at least half in love with Hamlet, and Hamlet knows it. He might love Horatio a little in return, but can't reconcile this with his love for Ophelia, which consumes him. He's not above leading Horatio on a bit -- let's face it, Hamlet's kind of a jerk -- but isn't always toying with him. Give me that man that is not passion's slave, and I will wear him in my heart's core, ay, in my heart of hearts, as I do thee.
death of Polonius: really was an accident.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: not an accident at all, but probably a rash decision. He was stung by their betrayal. Sorry about that, lads.
(important) has not read Hamlet. (Also hasn't read R&G, though he might enjoy that. [g]) bythebrook has read the play, and she had the bar give and_eggs a copy Monday evening, but he hasn't looked at it. Yet.
has no idea that he's speaking in verse.

Hrrm. Is there anything I'm forgetting? Feel free to badger me. Anyone have questions? Comments? Couplets?

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badgerbadgerbadgerbadgerbadgerbadgerbadgerbadgerbadgerbadgerbadgerbadgermushroommushroom

It has been toooo long since I've read Hamlet, and my Shakespeare is amongst the books lost to the black hole of my mother's house. *cries*

Congratulations, Rami, you are now an honorary Thread S. Badger.

Solemn rites will come later.

Hamlet-mun, I adore you and do not understand how you have the energy for iambs.

Aww, thanks!

Normally, the iambic pentameter thing is no big deal. Count to ten, make sure it doesn't sound ridiculous. (I talk to myself a lot. Good thing I live alone.) (Granted, I've caught a couple lines of twelve and a couple of eight, always after I hit "post comment", of course, and after someone had already replied, too late to fix it -- but shoot, even Shakespeare's stuff doesn't scan ALL the time. [g]) But this week, man, there have been times I can't get from the beginning of a sentence to the end -- speaking! -- without needing a nap. Trying to bring the blank verse this week would be a disaster.

This would have been the ideal week to have Hamlet speaking in prose. But I haven't even been able to stay awake long enough to play, once I get home in the evening. :-(

AFRICAN SNAKE!

did not, repeat DID NOT, have an Oedipal complex. Affair with his mother: RIGHT OUT.

TESTIFY, BROTHA!