What a Piece of Work is Man! (2E)
I posted the following story on Newsvine more than 8 years ago.
“What a Piece of Work is Man!”, is something Hamlet says in Shakespeare’s play by the same name. I first heard these words in a song from the musical Hair. Something about the words in this piece resonated with me. Pondering them, I realized they express something about my sentiment toward mankind. I doubt my interpretation of these words is what Shakespeare had in mind. Nonetheless, I am posting them here for you to consider.
First, here is what Hamlet said…
I have of late — but wherefore I know not — lost all my mirth,
forgone all custom of exercises;
and indeed it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame,
the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory,
this most excellent canopy, the air, look you,
this brave o’erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire,
why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors.What a piece of work is a man!
How noble in reason, how infinite in faculties,
in form and moving how express and admirable,
in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god!The beauty of the world, the paragon of animals!
And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?Man delights not me —
no, nor woman neither,
though by your smiling you seem to say so.
Next is my response… in my meager attempt to emulate Shakespearean language…
What a piece of work is a man!
What a piece of work indeed! We are clever enough to contrive how to transport men to the moon and bring them back alive and well; but not wise enough to see that we are changing the world so rapidly that the survivability of all life is threatened. We introduce one marvelous gadget and potion after another; and when we discover unanticipated and undesirable side effects from our inventions we devise yet another new thing as the remedy.
Our highly developed brains have been so effective at bringing us the comfort and security that was so scarce for the predecessors of our species that now we are overrunning the planet and stressing it beyond its capacity to support us.
The beauty of the world, the paragon of animals
It is a beautiful world… marvelous in all its variety, grandeur, and subtlety! How sad that we try to put ourselves above the community of animals. We grant ourselves “dominion” over the animals and the resources of this planet, and then… we trample it all… saying, “Anything serving mankind trumps the needs and rights of animals.” — Nobel in reason??? Not by my reckoning!
and yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?
This quintessential planet is but a speck of dust in the vastness of the universe… and it is the only speck of dust we have to live on.
We want to believe we have the wits and the means to invent whatever may be necessary to fulfill our wildest dreams. But so many of those dreams ignore our responsibilities… to ourselves, to future generations, and to all the creatures of this planet. We must learn to discipline ourselves… or perish!
Well… there you have it… my thoughts on our circumstances expressed through my interpretation of Shakespeare’s words. I’m sorry to offer such a dismal perspective. Perhaps you can hear my disappointment or even a bit of shame in my words. Yes… I am disappointed and ashamed of my own species. There are quite simply too many of us doing too much stuff! That is the root cause of just about every serious problem we face on this planet today. There are many good things mankind has done, and I do not mean to diminish the value of those things. But we are leaving such a mess for coming generations. To those generations, I offer my apology for the selfish thoughtless actions of my generation.
A last word from Mal… You know Mal is generally a pretty cheerful character, and Mal will continue to be so in spite of the gloomy perspective of his human alter-ego…
[ Mal loads his 8-track tape collection onto his travois… straps the travois to his back… picks up his Nikon and heads off to find some interesting photos to shoot… ]
