Sonia Ferrer

What does green mean?

            In Hamlet, there are a variety of different word usages that differ from what one would interpret them as meaning today. For example, the word green is used throughout the play, as are different terms that refer back to the word green, such as herbs. What significance does this have? Today, the word green is usually used to describe the color of something, but, for the most part, in the play, it is not. For example, in the beginning of "Hamlet", the king states, "Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's death/ The memory be green, and that it us befitted/ To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom... (I.ii. 1-3)." Here, the definition that is used today to define green does not make sense. In the OED a different definition was given for it. It states, "Unaltered by time or natural processes, fresh, new. a. Of a wound: Recent, fresh, unhealed, raw (OED, Internet database. s.v. "green," 10a)." This definition makes more sense in the context of the sentence. In other words, what the King is stating is that King Hamlet's death is fresh, therefore, their emotional state has not been healed yet. Another instance of green in the play is the following, "Affection? Pooh! You speak like a green girl,/ Unsifted in such a perilous circumstance./ Do you believe his tenders, as you call them? (I.iv. 100-102)." In this passage, Polonius is speaking to his daughter Ophelia about her thoughts on Hamlet. Again, the usual definition for green does not fit here, nor does the other definition that was given. The OED gave yet another definition. This definition is as follows, "to detect any signs of gullibility (OED, internet database. s.v. "green" 2h)." Again, this definition does make sense in the sentence. In other words, Polonius is telling Ophelia that she is gullible for believing that Hamlet truly feels something for her.

            Here are two instances in which the word green has a very different meaning from what one uses today. Also, the word green is symbolism of something, and that is jealousy. The OED states that, "...the eye of jealousy (OED. Internet database. s.v. "green" 3a)." So, green symbolizes jealousy, which is a recurring theme throughout the play. The King was jealous of King Hamlet; therefore, he killed him and married his wife. So, the presence of green may be foreshadowing events to come.

Melissa Ramirez

Green

            William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet Prince of Denmark” is a play based on the idea of revenge and tragedy, full of puns and a substantial amount of word play.  Many of the words and phrases used in the play are rife with meaning, many of their etymological origins pointing towards meanings the modern reader would otherwise normally overlook.  Many of these meanings and origins are important in that they often hint towards an important and general theme or event that will occur later in the play.

             A striking example of word having more meaning occurs early in the play with the new King of Denmark, Claudius, speaking of the former King of Denmark’s recent death: “Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death / The memory be green, and that it us befitted / To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom / To be contracted in one brow of woe…” (I. ii. 1 – 4)  Green, according to the Oxford English Dictionary when used in the context of Claudius’ speech, means, “of immaterial things, esp. the memory of a person or event,” (OED, 2nd ed., s.v., “green,” 6b) directly referring to the memory itself of King Hamlet’s death.  Working hand-in-hand with this definition, green can also mean “Unaltered by time or natural processes; fresh, new,” (OED, 2nd ed., s.v., “green,” 10) which elaborates on Claudiuus’ point of Hamlet’s green memory being a fresh and new loss for Denmark.

            However, the word green carries with it many more meanings that are integral to the play and are indicative of the characters and nature of Claudius and Hamlet.  Green can also mean “Of flesh, fish: Freshly killed or taken; unsalted; uncured; undried. Of meat: Uncooked, underdone, raw,” (OED, 2nd ed., s.v., “green,” 9b) underscoring the violence and usurpation of the former king’s throne.  It is revealed later that Claudius murdered Hamlet in order to secure his seat on the throne.  His use of the word green in his opening introductory speech as king speaks of the violence and murder that led him to his position and also on the newness of the old King’s tragic memory.

            More importantly, the word green can also apply to the nature “Of a wound: Recent, fresh, unhealed, raw,” (OED, 2nd ed., s.v. “green,” 10a) which corresponds directly to young Hamlet’s emotions as he deals with the death of his father only to find that his mother has remarried his uncle who now sits on the throne of Denmark.  Hamlet’s emotional wounds are raw and unhealed, —his father’s ghost urges him to enact revenge, to right the wrongs done unto him. Like Francis Bacon said, “This is certain, that a man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green, which otherwise would heal and do well,” Hamlet is a student in this school of thought.  His emotional wounds are fresh and unhealed, kept green by the motivation of revenge.

On Green

 “Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death the memory be green.” (1.2.1)

            Upon first reading this phrase I was struck by the possible alternate readings of the word “green” and how those different interpretations respond to the greater themes of the play.  The plain meaning of its use in this phrase is to imply that the memory of the old king’s death is recent and fresh.  Here simply is a reference to the greenness of grass and newly grown buds. 

            However, the correlation of the word “green” with the death of the old king brings forth more possibilities of interpretation.  For example, though at this point in the play we do not yet know of the treacheries committed by the current king, this use of “green” could refer to the jealousy that the audience will come to realize was a key motivation for the murder.  The brother was jealous of the king’s power and wife and thus poisoned him.  Thus the memory of him is not only fresh, but the memory of him for the speaker of the line, the current king, is fraught with memories of jealousy.  The use of the word “green” could also foreshadow the anger that Hamlet feels towards his uncle and the revenge that he seeks.  Gangrenous wounds and other wounds that will not heal are often described as green.  And as professor Mazzio discussed in class in reference to the nature of revenge in Titus Andronicus, the seeking of revenge is the kind of wound that does not heal.  It is open and sore.  Thus here already are three possible readings of the word “green”. 

            There are also interpretations of the word “green” that are more tied to the play itself and not necessarily directly correlated to the death of Hamlet’s father or this line.  The word “green,” in that it is tied to the idea of freshness and youth, touches one of the key themes of the play.  Hamlet with all his angst and anger is a poster boy for the word “youth.”  Ophelia too is too frail, too young.  Thus perhaps the use of the word “green” in this case is meant to remind us of the greater theme of youth in the play. There is also the idea of green as being premature, and unformed.  Hamlet’s anger at his mother is that she married his uncle so soon after his father’s death.  He views her actions as premature and thus insensitive.  The idea of being “green” can also refer to the idea of not only being young, but being naive and gullible.  Are their characters who fit this criteria?  Perhaps the queen can be characterized as gullible in that she fell for the uncle’s act.  She was naive enough to believe him.

            All the above interpretations are in the oxford English dictionary in addition to one that I had always associated with the color yellow.  The OED brings up the correlation between jaundice and the word “green”.  It also discusses the color “green” in reference to rotted meat and the “green sickness.”  Perhaps then we can say that the use of  “green” refers to the rotting of the state.  The diseased Denmark.

            Of all these interpretations, the only one which does not appear to have been in usage when Shakespeare was writing was the idea of jealousy.  I could not actually find a reference to this meaning in the etymology section of the OED.  Is this really that new of an interpretation or did I just look over the section?