Oh, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!—From Act III, scene i of `Hamlet.
The courtier’s, soldier’s, scholar’s, eye, tongue, sword,
Th' expectancy and rose of the fair state,
The glass of fashion and the mould of form,
Th' observed of all observers, quite, quite down!
And I, of ladies most deject and wretched,
That sucked the honey of his music vows,
Now see that noble and most sovereign reason
Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh;
That unmatched form and feature of blown youth
Blasted with ecstasy. Oh, woe is me,
T' have seen what I have seen, see what I see!
I love this kind of work, and I buy into the notion that vowels carry the emotion, while the consonants anchor the intellect, in the English language. Ophelia is all about emotion, isn't she, as counterpoint to the brooding, philosophical Hamlet. Actress Ellie Turner must be grateful to have a voice coach like Jeannette Nelson working with her, and she was getting there nicely with her monologue of this well-known passage by Ophelia.
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