#elsinor

Starshine with Kronenborg Slot in the background. It was Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet.

A HORACIO

Amigo, pasó el tiempo de guitarras y plumas, de síndicos, y duelos de risa por un quítame allá... de bodegones, y pipas en chapeo, de la banal euforia que pavoneábamos.

Ya está aquí, tierno amigo que la mínima maula diquelas, y que partes las jícaras con garbo, Horacio caro, espanto y gloria de los matutes, que juras y blasfemas toda la Biblia en verso...

ya está aquí entre nieblas del burgo de Elsinor algo de menos gusto, voto a brios, que la dulce Ofelia, aquella niña bonancible y pasmada:

¡el fantasma altanero, el fantasma! Su mano mandato impone, su ojo fucila, su pie truena... ¡Y ya no ha modo —ay— de aplazarlo a mañana!

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À HORATIO

Ami, le temps n’est plus des guitares, des plumes, Des créanciers, des duels hilares à propos De rien, des cabarets, des pipes aux chapeaux Et de cette gaîté banale où nous nous plûmes.

Voici venir, ami très tendre qui t’allumes Au moindre dé pipé, mon doux briseur de pots, Horatio, terreur et gloire des tripots, Cher diseur de jurons à remplir cent volumes,

Voici venir parmi les brumes d’Elseneur Quelque chose de moins plaisant, sur mon honneur, Qu’Ophélia, l’enfant aimable qui s’étonne.

C’est le spectre, le spectre impérieux! Sa main Montre un but et son œil éclaire et son pied tonne, Hélas! et nul moyen de remettre à demain!

Paul Verlaine

Elsinor.

A fixation of mine is to try to figure where Act IV, scene iv of Hamlet takes place. My copy says "A Plain in Denmark" (as do most of the versions I see online), but that makes no sense because as you can see, Elsinor has its own substantial harbour (probably why they put the castle there in the first place). The ship Hamlet takes to England would literally be in the back yard. OpenSource Shakespeare has it "Near Elsinor", which makes more sense. Hamlet runs into the Norwegian captain as he's headed down to the boat, while the captain is on his way to the castle to deliver the request from Fortinbras. The army would be in ships (or more likely across the Øresund in Helsingborg waiting to get on ships), because you can't get from Norway to Poland over land (well you can, but it wouldn't involve going through Denmark and it would add about 3000 miles to your journey).

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