Barry Margolin wrote:
> In article <FsqdnfzdJrk4I5PVnZ2dnUVZ_uydnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
> "Steven L." <sdlitvin@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
>> Joseph Nebus wrote:
>>> The Conscience of the King
>>> The Plot:
>>> Kirk suspects the leader of a Shakespearean troupe is Kodos the
>>> Executioner, presumed dead for 20 years. (Tivo)
>> I think one thing that you missed, was that the plot of the episode
>> itself was cleverly structured to be parallel to Shakespeare's
"Hamlet".
>> And with the Karidian players performing Hamlet aboard the U.S.S.
>> Enterprise, we had a play within a play:
>>
>> Kirk ==> Hamlet
>> Dr. Leighton ==> The Ghost
>> Lenore Karidian ==> Ophelia
>> Kodos ==> Claudius
>> Anton Karidian ==> Polonius
>>
>> Like Hamlet, Kirk is wrestling with whether to act against Kodos ("to
>> be, or not to be"). Like Hamlet, Kirk arranges for a play to be staged
>> to expose the murderer. But the play that Kirk arranges is Hamlet, so
>> we end up with a play within a play within a play!
>>
>> So the plot of the episode roughly parallels the plot of Hamlet.
>
> And of course, there's the additional reference that the title of the
> episode is from a well known line from the play: "The play's the thing,
> wherein we'll catch the conscience of the King." Which describes what
> Kirk/Hamlet do in their respective stories.
You know, I saw that episode as a kid, and that whole thing went over my
head. Only after I read Hamlet in high school did I realize that
Roddenberry had indeed made a Trek episode out of the Hamlet story. It
probably went over the heads of a lot of other American viewers in 1966
too.
--
Steven L.
Email: sdlitvin@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
the NOSPAM before replying to me.
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