An attempt to understand Boris Pasternak's poem 'Hamlet'

This week, I would like to focus on a poem 'Hamlet' by Boris Pasternak, the Russian poet and novelist. The poem appearing at the end of Dr Zhivago novel is written from the point of view of his fictitious character, Yuri Zhivago.

In the novel Yuri Zhivago is also a poet who lived before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.

According to the novel, Yuri is carefully watched by the communists and was considered a threat to those who were in power and the society. Though there is no direct reference to Shakespeare's character, Yuri Zhivago is very similar in personality to 'Hamlet' in many respects.

Hamelt
The rumbling has grown quiet. I walk out on the stage.
Leaning against a door jamb,
I try to catch in a distant echo
What will happen in my lifetime.

At me is aimed the murkiness of night;
I'm pinned by a thousand opera glasses.
If only it is possible, Abba, Father,
May this cup be carried past me.

I cherish your stubborn design
And am agreed to play this role.
But now a different drama is underway;
This time, release me.

But the order of the acts has been determined,
And the ending of the journey cannot be averted.
I am alone; all drowns in pharisaism.
To live life is not to cross a field.
(Translated by Eleanor Rowe)

The poem open up with a description of an actor walking onto the stage to perform, (the assumption is actor performing the role of Hamlet.) The audience quiets down, waiting for the show to begin. The actor leans on a doorjamb and listens to a distant echo, reflecting what has occurred during his lifetime.

This description can be a comparison to Hamlet listening closely to the ghost of his father for the advice on what should be done to avenge the murder of his father.

"The twilight of the night" was the time when Hamlet talked with the ghost, and once it began getting brighter the ghost disappeared. Hamlet is left pondering what the future may hold.

This scene could also relate to the events in Dr. Zhivago. During the time of the revolution in Russia, Yuri Zhivago impatiently waited to see how everything would turn out and in the process he lost his family and lover Lara.

Apparition

Pasternak who was well-known as a translator of Shopkeeper's work into Russian, in this poem he re-establishes how Hamlet is aware of his future and makes it seem as if Hamlet knows exactly what will happen in future.

Ever since the apparition of the ghost, Hamlet gives up his own will to do what the ghost of his father asks of him. The phrase, "But, the predestined plot proceeds...," portrays a picture of an actor who no longer wants to play his role, but has only one script to follow.

In line 10, the words "am agreed to play this role" evidently compare life to a staged play. It can also be viewed as a comparison to Act 3 Scene 2 of Hamlet, when Hamlet puts on a play as a "mousetrap" for King Claudus.

The word "pharisaism" again, brings the religious theme into this poem. In some translations, word "pharisaism" has been translated as hypocrisy. Just as Jesus was disgusted with the Pharisees, so was Hamlet with the deceitfulness of King Claudius and so was Yuri Zhivago with the propaganda of the communists.

And finally, Hamlet's famous soliloquy, "To be or not to be...," comes to mind when Pasternak states, "To live life is not to cross a field". For the last line, Pasternak chose a Russian proverb (which literally means "to live a life is not as easy as crossing a field") to give a simple ending to an otherwise very complex poem.

In this phrase, Pasternak sums up the whole meaning of the poem. In both, the poem and the play, life is portrayed as a task with many obstacles along its journey. Yuri Zhivago similar to Hamlet has suffered during his lifetime while trying to remain true to himself.

In the end of the play, Hamlet welcomes a challenge from Laertes, even though he senses that something is foul. Hamlet meets his death with courage and integrity. As an answer to his own question, "To be or not to be...," in Act 5 Scene 3 Hamlet says "Let be," and welcomes his destiny, no matter what it may bring!

Controversy

Boris Pasternak's poem has recently generated controversy over its conflicting English versions. (There are several English versions of the poem 'Hamlet' that opens the poetic cycle in the novel Doctor Zhivago.).

Although the poem was, in fact, revealed the rotten nature of the then prevailing communist system, then Russian authorities regarded it as a poem which captures their essence and 'fortunes of the era' until different interpreted to the poems were provided by critics.

"For two centuries the Russian intelligentsia have regarded "Hamlet" as a reflection of their own essence and historical fortunes. The changing interpretations of Shakespeare's tragedy by Russian critics, writers, painters, composers, theatre artists, etc., mirror with extraordinary precision the evolution of Russian society and culture."

Elena Glazov Corrigan, an American academic and a Russian scholar writing to Oxford Journal, entitled "Forum for Modern Language Studies", Vol. XXX, Issue3 (Pp. 219-238) writes in defending the poem:

" There is a genuine paradox at the heart of Pasternak's later work, particularly Doctor Zhivago, and it concerns the Russian poet's use of Hamlet.

Since thepoem 'Hamlet' opens the poetic cycle of Doctor Zhivago, this central placement, as well as the poetic text itself, proclaims the symbolic and even the emblematic role that Hamlet's figure is given in the novel.

However, the novel itself appears to offer no clear support for the centrality for this symbol: Hamlet is never mentioned, and the emphasis remains opaque."

Whatever the critics may say, the universal appeal of the poem hasn't changed.