The Hamlet Project

I like the note from the Riverside edition that suggests that this is the way a king would announce himself. I might need a little context and evidence to fully believe it…but even if it’s not a solid note, I think it would be helpful in saying this line.

It is a bear to speak. Like – to contemporary ears it is so extreme and the style of it is so different than the rest of the play. It’s almost camp to announce yourself this way. It is I, Emily the American! It’s just…yeah, hard to make it authentic.

To think of it as an announcement of kingliness, though, does make it more possible. To step forward as if for my coronation rather than just campily announcing myself.