"The rest is silence": Musical Notation, Nihilism, and Ambiguity
"The rest is silence." When Shakespeare scholars write about Hamlet's last words, more often than not, their focus is that Hamlet is being serious, even nihilistic. Too few critics and scholars consider that Hamlet is making a musical pun for Horatio (and for theater audiences) with his last breath: The rest (in musical notation) is silence. Hamlet is, after all, not only the son of King Hamlet and Queen Gertrude, but also the spiritual offspring of Yorick the fool. His first words in the play involve a sarcastic pun: His uncle Claudius calls Hamlet his son, and Hamlet says he is “too much in the sun.” (1.2.69) [1] He makes fun of Polonius, who deserves it: POLONIUS: What do you read, my lord? HAMLET: Words, words, words. POLONIUS What is the matter, my lord? HAMLET Between who? POLONIUS I mean the matter that you read, my lord. HAMLET Slanders, sir; for the satirical rogue says here that old men have gray beards, that their faces are wrinkled,...