The Hamlet Project

This line seems to end the beat of the post show high that Hamlet’s riding. He’ll change the subject right after this.
As the end of a beat, really the end of a joke, this line falls a little flat.
It’s not clear what Horatio is trying to do with it. Just simply saying “You could have just said Ass?”
Is that all? Complaining about Hamlet’s verse making skills? Teasing him somehow?
None of it is actually very funny. In fact, this line may just be stating what was probably obvious to a contemporary audience..

It makes me think of the guy who played Horatio in the first production of Hamlet I did right out of school. He was a sweetheart – a generous, kind, well-intentioned guy. He was also Very Literal and would often not really get the joke. He was a little behind the joke curve.
We found out towards the end of the run that he suffered from some brain damage after a fall and that suddenly explained a lot.

He’ll always be the first Horatio I think of, though.
And in his mouth, this sort of flat response would be exactly right
-a joke that isn’t a joke-
a bit of repartee
that isn’t really repartee