An ode from Hamlet, III. I. (56)


Betch'a didn't know that Hamlet foresaw the invention of agility!
Thank you to Jane Tatam for raising the tone of Agilitynet!

Agility Version

To be midi or not to be: that is the question:/

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer /

The slings and measures of outrageous inches,/

Or to take arms against a sea of judges,/

And by opposing end them?

To shrink: to creep;/

No more; and by a creep to say we bend /

The jump height and the thousand natural leaps/

That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation/

Devoutly to be wished. To shrink, to creep;/

To creep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub./

For in that creep to mini height what dreams may come/

When we have shuffled off Ring Four,/

Must give us pause. There's the respect/

That makes calamity of so high jumps;/

For who would bear the whips and scorns of judges,/

The show manager's wrong, the proud scrimer's contumely,/

The pangs of disprized rosettes, the Kennel Club’s delay.

 

Original

To be or not to be: that is the question:/

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer/

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,/

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,/

And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;/

No more; and by a sleep to say we end/

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks/

That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation/

Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep;/

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub./

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come/

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,/

Must give us pause. There's the respect /

That makes calamity of so long life;/

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,/

The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,/

The pangs of disprized love, the law's delay.

 

Cartoons: ©1990 J. Weston Walch, Publisher. Shakespeare Made Easy

About The Poet
Jane Tatam
took up agility about three years ago, starting out with her over-sized Papillon Mr. Bumble. She then got herself an under-sized Papillon Mr. Pickwick before graduating to poodles, Sergeant Buzz Fuzz, now aged two and Mister Jaggers, now eight months old.

She trains at Buckland Agility under Carol Smith whose considerable help has assisted in making Buzz a Senior dog. She also trains at Cannington ATS, just outside Bridgwater, where she does her level best to give a few lessons, too.

In 'real life' she runs her own business as a publishing consultant.

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