“Oh wow, it’s a full house, the theater’s packed tonight! And I think I see the drama critic for the Mew York Times in the front row!”
Sender-inner Diane B. shares her two kittens after a recent trip to the vet: “Humboldt up front with Nebula in the background giving me the evil eye.
I hope they’re doing Hamlet’s Cat!
Hamlet’s Cat’s Soliloquy
from Hamlet’s Cat
by William Shakespeare’s Cat
To go outside, and there perchance to stay
Or to remain within: that is the question:
Whether ’tis better for a cat to suffer
The cuffs and buffets of inclement weather
That Nature rains on those who roam abroad,
Or take a nap upon a scrap of carpet,
And so by dozing melt the solid hours
That clog the clock’s bright gears with sullen time
And stall the dinner bell. To sit, to stare
Outdoors, and by a stare to seem to state
A wish to venture forth without delay,
Then when the portal’s opened up, to stand
As if transfixed by doubt. To prowl; to sleep;
To choose not knowing when we may once more
Our readmittance gain: aye, there’s the hairball;
For if a paw were shaped to turn a knob,
Or work a lock or slip a window-catch,
And going out and coming in were made
As simple as the breaking of a bowl,
What cat would bear the household’s petty plagues,
The cook’s well-practiced kicks, the butler’s broom,
The infant’s careless pokes, the tickled ears,
The trampled tail, and all the daily shocks
That fur is heir to, when, of his own free will,
He might his exodus or entrance make
With a mere mitten? Who would spaniels fear,
Or strays trespassing from a neighbor’s yard,
But that the dread of our unheeded cries
And scratches at a barricaded door
No claw can open up, dispels our nerve
And makes us rather bear our humans’ faults
Than run away to unguessed miseries?
Thus caution doth make house cats of us all;
And thus the bristling hair of resolution
Is softened up with the pale brush of thought,
And since our choices hinge on weighty things,
We pause upon the threshold of decision.
From Poetry For Cats, The Definitive Anthology of Distinguished Feline Verse by Henry Beard, published in 1994 by Villard Books, an imprint of Random House, Inc
http://bertc.com/subfour/truth/hamcat.htm
That’s fabulous. I have his French for Cats book. “Things that are not, strictly speaking, toys but which nevertheless have great play value…” is a running joke in my group.
Love this. New for me.
Same here!
I think The Bard of Avon would not have objected to this adaptation of his text, which I find fantastic. After all he had a pretty good sense of humour if his comedies are any indication.
Thank you for sharing this!
Someone has adapted the Star Wars scripts into Shakespeare. Yoda (no, not yoga, you stupid autocorrect) is funny enough in standard. Shakespeare is hysterical.
Or perhaps these guys are in the musical Cats. Would very much like to snorgle either or both of them.
Lethally cute.
Little one in the back looks like he’s getting ready to cross his arms. Someone is in for it.
stick your nose right here to snorgle Nebula’s tummy
Oh what a beautiful belly. Thanks for the view, Diane.
they’re soooo beautifulll. if they were “mine” (everybody knows that no man can really own a cat) I’t wouldn’t get anything done…
Love that soliloquy! Thanks for posting
Kittens have the best faces!