Painting of Ophelia by John WaterhouseWhen I started Hamlet, I was pleasantly surprised. Not just that it wasn't as difficult to read as rumors had led me to believe, but that I truly and thoroughly began to enjoy it. I was horrified at the actions of the new King and angry at the Queen for being so fickle and hasty in her marriage to her dead husband's brother, sharing many of the same sentiments as Prince Hamlet. But the character I really felt empathy with was Ophelia. Kind of ironic, since my sister's blogger name is Ophelia, eh?
As I sat nestled between two couch cushions with the lengthy tome "The Complete Works of Shakespeare" in my lap, I stumbled across my favorite line. Laertes (Ophelia's brother) has just given Ophelia advice on how to deal with a love-struck Hamlet. Laertes is an amazing brother, by the way.
Laetres- Farewell, Ophelia, and remember well what I have said to you.
Ophelia- 'Tis in my memory locked, And you yourself shall keep the key of it.
I don't know why I was struck so much by the line. It gave me a feeling of keeping safe something valuable, I suppose. In this case it was Laertes' brotherly advice. I thought to myself, I could stand a little more advice-keeping/locking/I-don't -know in MY memory... And then of course , I came across this verse in Luke that I've read many times, just have not processed fully.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.-Luke 12:34
I'm not sure I can quite vocalize the connection I felt between the Hamlet quote and the Scripture verse. Perhaps it's that when I lock something in my memory, it becomes treasure, which means it is what my heart has chosen to protect. Which brought me to the thought of hiding the Word in my heart.
I'd already had an urge to begin a blog, and now I had an idea of what I wanted it to be. My Locket- A place to write things I lock in my memory and hold in my heart.
As I sat nestled between two couch cushions with the lengthy tome "The Complete Works of Shakespeare" in my lap, I stumbled across my favorite line. Laertes (Ophelia's brother) has just given Ophelia advice on how to deal with a love-struck Hamlet. Laertes is an amazing brother, by the way.
Laetres- Farewell, Ophelia, and remember well what I have said to you.
Ophelia- 'Tis in my memory locked, And you yourself shall keep the key of it.
I don't know why I was struck so much by the line. It gave me a feeling of keeping safe something valuable, I suppose. In this case it was Laertes' brotherly advice. I thought to myself, I could stand a little more advice-keeping/locking/I-don't -know in MY memory... And then of course , I came across this verse in Luke that I've read many times, just have not processed fully.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.-Luke 12:34
I'm not sure I can quite vocalize the connection I felt between the Hamlet quote and the Scripture verse. Perhaps it's that when I lock something in my memory, it becomes treasure, which means it is what my heart has chosen to protect. Which brought me to the thought of hiding the Word in my heart.
I'd already had an urge to begin a blog, and now I had an idea of what I wanted it to be. My Locket- A place to write things I lock in my memory and hold in my heart.
1 comment:
Oh that's a pretty picture, I LOVE John Waterhouse's art! So much better than most of the pre-raphaelites with their red-haired long-necked contorted-fingered blood-lipped women...ie Rossetti! haha.
I liked Hamlet too, I had just read The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams [and loved it] and noticed so many phrases from Hamlet in PD--all over the place--really quite neat.
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