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mike thomas
07-18-2010, 06:28 AM
O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers;

a 2 s 2


what numbers?

anyone?

Sapphire
07-18-2010, 07:45 AM
I've read Hamlet recently, but I have to admit that most of it is a mystery to me: I get the story, I get the drift of it all, but to analyse one line like you're trying to do now is quite beyond me

However (:p), I can tell you how I read it. The part you quote is from a love-letter, written by Hamlet, to Ophelia. It is preceded by these lines:
Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love
Now ther is no mention of numbers in here, but it does show what Hamlet tries to say: He loves her. To say that, these 4 lines would have been enough, but in talking about numbers he goes even higher: he doesn't only love her, he loves her BEST.

that I love thee best, O most best, believe it.
Now, what I think - but I might have a too mathical mind for this all - is that Hamlet says he can not put in numbers how he feels about her. He can not say he loves her a thousand times more than any other woman or something like that. He can just say he loves her, and he loves her best. That is all there is to it...

I hope this makes some sense to you :) And I hope somebody with more knowledge on the matter will answer: I'm just a first time reader of Shakespeare!

Gladys
07-18-2010, 07:47 AM
O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers;

Numbers that would encapsulate the physics and psychology of Hamlet’s world.


'Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.
'O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers; I have not art to reckon my groans; but that I love thee best, O most best, believe it. Adieu.

blank|verse
07-18-2010, 08:16 AM
He means he is bad at writing poetry - it is nothing to do with maths.

The 'numbers' in question relate to how many syllables there are in each line of poetry.

I would suggest if you are studying Hamlet that you buy a decent book which should have things like this glossed either at the foot of the page or the back. If you're in the UK, look out for the Arden edition, or the Penguin one is good and a bit cheaper, amongst others (Oxford and Cambridge editions also).

mike thomas
07-23-2010, 04:28 PM
Thanks everyone for input.

I think he's tired of counting all the things he feels about her.

Beewulf
07-27-2010, 11:17 PM
Thanks everyone for input.

I think he's tired of counting all the things he feels about her.

While I'm happy you made a decision, it's unfortunate that you did not follow the entirely correct explanation that blank/verse offered. Though now out of fashion, the use of the word "numbers" to describe metrical feet in a line of poetry was common in English during the late 1500s. In Love's Labor's Lost (1598) Shakespeare uses "numbers" as a synonym for lines of verse, and the character of Longaville condemns his inability to turn his passion into poetry in a way that mirrors Hamlet's frustration. Longaville says,

I fear these stubborn lines lack power to move:
O sweet Maria, empress of my love!
These numbers will I tear, and write in prose.

Gladys
07-28-2010, 04:06 AM
From the definition of number given in Dictionary.com:

10.___numbers,

a.___a considerable amount or quantity; many: Numbers flocked to the city to see the parade.
b.___metrical feet; verse.
c.___musical periods, measures, or groups of notes.
d.___numbers pool ( def. 1 ) .
e.___Informal . the figures representing the actual cost, expense, profit, etc.: We won't make a decision until we see the numbers.
f.___Obsolete . arithmetic.


Who would have guessed? :rolleyes: