SHAKESPEARE

Alternative title

Four Groans

Synopsis

A Radiolab podcast which offers a meditation on what happens after the moment of death, as Shakespeare envisions it.

In the 1623 Folio, published after Shakespeare’s death, Hamlet’s final line "the rest is silence" is followed by a half line made up of a single repeated syllable - O,O,O,O. which is omitted from many modern editions. Author Ron Rosenbaum speaks of how the ‘four groans’ show us what is ‘on the other side of consciousness’. Actor Mark Rylance, interviewed in New York, believes that actors made the addition to the Folio. He speaks of how and why he incorporated the four groans into his portrayal of Hamlet and gives illustrations of his different motivations in delivering the line and varying the tone and tempo.

Language

English

Country

United States

Medium

Radio

Recording date

12 Aug 2009

Transmission details

(Channel: WNYC)

Duration

7 mins

Credits

Contributor

Mark Rylance; Ron Rosenbaum

Additional Details

Production type

Documentary/Educational/News

Plays

Hamlet; Two Noble Kinsmen, The

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

death; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); textual analysis; Folio editions

Notes

General

Radiolab is a radio programme produced by WNYC, a public radio station in New York City, and cast on public radio stations in the United States. The show is nationally syndicated and is available as a podcast. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, it focuses on topics of a scientific and philosophical nature. The show attempts to approach broad, difficult topics such as "time" and "morality" in an accessible and light-hearted manner and with a distinctive audio production style [Wikipedia].

Textual information

Professors Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor in William Shakespeare: The Complete Works. Compact edition (Oxford, 1988) are defenders of the Folio text and believe that the ‘four groans’ are the work of Shakespeare’s final revision.

Reviews

The Radiolab podcast is available at: http://www.radiolab.org/blogs/radiolab-blog/2009/aug/12/14-the-four-groans.

Coyle, Martin ‘O,O,O,O Hamlet Again’ http://www2.lingue.unibo.it/acume/acumedvd/Essays%20ACUME/AcumeCoylefinal.pdf (accessed 11/2011).

Production Company

Name

WNYC

Web

https://www.wnycstudios.org/ External site opens in new window