Chapter 2; Exercise 9
Bonner-Johnson  4/30/12

The question: Take up the argument. Is Hamlet aphasic? Argue either case. 
Shakespeare's Hamlet surely had problems. Some say he was obsessed with being overweight, because the first lines he speaks in the play when alone on the stage in Act II, Scene 2, are:
O! that this too too solid flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew.

Case 1:  Actors often portray characters.  What actors say can be taken literally or figuratively. Authors also use the voice of characters to portray a specific character trait or personality.  Who knows whether or not in this case Shakespeare was not using Hamlet to impersonate another character to achieve a specific goal?  In fact, in the New York Times article published on December 9, 1877 the same argument was presented: Was Hamlet fat and old? Firstly, the argument is that the line "He's fat and scant of breath" does not occur in the early text of Hamlet of 1603.  If it does not appear in the early text, when was it placed in the text and why? According to the argument, Shakespeare made Hamlet impersonate Burbadge who was the leading actor of the time.  Evidently, Burbadge was fat and not that Hamlet was fat.  This argument seems to be the most convincing because the author has the ability to use the voice of his character to reflect a certain character trait or personality.

Case 2:  Hamlet was not aphasic.  Aphasic syndromes are an acquired disorder of language due to brain damage.  Hamlet didn't have any type of brain damage.  Although, he was seen as " mad '' by those around him.  He used rules of syntax and his language was semantically coherent when spoken. Therefore, he did not have Wernicke's aphasia which is demonstrated by language that is semantically incoherent.   This is essentially creative writing by Shakespeare, the author.   The meaning of an expression is not always obvious. Meanings may be obscure in many ways but it does not necessarily mean that there is a problem.  The passage from Act II, Scene 2; Was it spoken on purpose?  It was.