Notes on Shakespeare and Hamlet's "hobby horse" remark
Karin Thomson of the Shakespeare Institute Library recently shared a helpful blog post by Karin Brown about #Shakespeare, seasonal festivals (like the May pole and May festival, on May 1st), and references to the "hobby horse" that turn up in various plays . If you were confused when Hamlet says, "O, the hobby horse is forgot," this is helpful. Or copy and past this link into your browser: https://silibrary1.wordpress.com/2014/05/01/shakespeare-may-day-and-the-hobby-horse/ It's also perhaps a bit strange or scandalous (or at least a cause of some cognitive dissonance) as it seems to imply that Hamlet refers to his dead father, King Hamlet, as the hobby horse. Excerpt: ~~~~~~ [...] The Rev. Dyer describes the horse as: … formed by a pasteboard horse’s head, and a light frame made of wicker-work to join the hinder parts. This was fastened round the body of a man, and covered with a foot-cloth which nearly reached the ground and concealed the legs of ...