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Yorick's Afterlives: Skull Properties in Performance

Borrowers and lenders, 2011-04, Vol.VI (1) [Peer Reviewed Journal]

Copyright Borrowers and Lenders: The Journal of Shakespeare and Appropriation Apr 2011 ;EISSN: 1554-6985

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  • Title:
    Yorick's Afterlives: Skull Properties in Performance
  • Author: Williamson, Elizabeth
  • Subjects: Drama
  • Is Part Of: Borrowers and lenders, 2011-04, Vol.VI (1)
  • Description: Hamlet's address to Yorick's skull is at the heart of the Shakespearean canon, but is often conflated with the equally famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy in act 3, scene 1. This article reasserts the importance of the skull property by examining its afterlife on the modern stage, arguing that the use of real human remains in productions of Hamlet reveals a strong desire on the part of actors and theatergoers to be part of a kind of sacred lineage. The play text makes it clear that we can never be entirely sure whose skull it is that the gravedigger hands to Hamlet; it might be that of the prince's jester, a great lady, or a horse thief. The use of actual skulls -- many of which have their own complicated life histories -- as stage properties underscores the transgressive potential of the scene and testifies to the theater's ambivalent relationship to narratives of transcendence.
  • Publisher: Athens: Borrowers and Lenders: The Journal of Shakespeare and Appropriation
  • Language: English
  • Identifier: EISSN: 1554-6985
  • Source: Freely Accessible Arts & Humanities Journals
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