2B or not 2B
Sep 19th, 2007 by abi
Hmmm. An interesting thought just hit me. Recently on the radio I heard someone* read out a Spike Milligan poem. It goes like this:
Said Hamlet to Ophelia,
“I’ll do a sketch of thee.
What kind of pencil shall I use,
2B or not 2B?”
Is very, very funny.
The person presenting the program said it was fun because it was poking fun at the literary elite or something like that. This makes no sense. To find it funny you need to have knowledge of Hamlet (and pencils). I think because it’s funny she thought that’s why it was poking fun at the ‘literary elite’ …because if we like Hamlet we don’t have a sense of humour (although it’s a very witty play, so I don’t understand that).
I just don’t happen to believe ‘Hamlet’ is the preserve of a humourless elite. It has something in it of relevance to everyone. And fortunately due to Shakespeare’s high place in our shared culture everyone will get the joke…
Oh dear. I think the world makes less and less sense. The more I think, the less certain I am.
*The incomparable Samuel West, actually.
