(Regained)
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Here is the Visconti-Sforza Fool card. When Hamlet rushed into Ophelia's room, she described his appearance as follows. ~~~"... his doublet all unbraced, No hat upon his head, his stockings fouled, Ungartered, and down-gyved to his ankle, Pale as his shirt, his knees knocking each other, And with a look so piteous in purport As if he had been loosed out of Hell To speak of horrors, he comes before me. ~~~ Looking at the poor fellow in the picture, his jacket is open, which would correspond to a doublet being unbraced. He doesn't have a hat on. His stockings look worse than fouled, they appear torn. His stockings are ungartered. They're not down to his ankle, but are below the knee. His face is rather pale, although not as pale as his white shirt. His knees are close together, although it's hard to say if they're knocking. His facial expression is strange, but whether he looks as though he's seen Hell, I couldn't say. The picture provides an interesting comparison to Ophelia's description. I believe it's safe to say that if Hamlet had rushed into Ophelia's room looking anything like that, she would have been quite shocked. Ophelia didn't mention Hamlet having feathers on his head, or carrying a pole. However, the author would only use details that he found useful. The cards cannot be taken as exact illustrations for Hamlet. The feathers on the head, in this card picture, are classic symbolism for a fool, that he's "feather headed" or a "birdbrain." The pole would probably be for carrying a bundle, the way an itinerant fool would do. I offer this card as being suggestive in relation to what Ophelia said about Hamlet, although it is obviously not an exact picture. It is also a point generally overlooked that while Hamlet is the hero of the play, he is, at the same time, "The Fool" in Hamlet. |
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