| Yorick | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Yorick |
|
First Appearance |
Hamlet (1599–1601) |
|
Created by |
William Shakespeare |
Origin[]
The Young Lord Hamlet (1868) by Philip H. Calderon, which shows Hamlet as a child, riding on the back of Yorick
Yorick is an unseen character in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. He is the dead court jester whose skull is exhumed by the First Gravedigger in Act 5, Scene 1, of the play. The sight of Yorick's skull evokes a reminiscence by Prince Hamlet of the man, who apparently played a role during Hamlet's upbringing:
"Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs? Your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar?"(Hamlet, V.i)
It is suggested that Shakespeare may have intended his audience to connect Yorick with the Elizabethan comedian Richard Tarlton, a celebrated performer of the pre-Shakespearean stage, who had died a decade or so before Hamlet was first performed.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Yorick from before January 1, 1931 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Theatrical Appearances[]
- Hamlet (1599–1601)
- Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (1891)
- Ambleto by Francesco Gasparini (1706)
- Amleto by Domenico Scarlatti (1715)
- Amleto by Gaetano Andreozzi (1792)
- Amleto by Franco Faccio (libretto by Arrigo Boito) (1865)
- Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (1868)
Public Domain Film Appearances[]
- Le Duel d'Hamlet (France 1900)
- Hamlet (France 1907)
- Hamlet (Italy 1908)
- Hamlet (UK 1910)
- Hamlet (Denmark 1910)
- Amleto (Italy 1910)
- Hamlet (UK 1913)
- Hamlet (Italy 1917)
- Oh'Phelia (UK, 1919)
- Hamlet (Germany 1921)
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Stories by Famous Authors #8