Infinite Jest: The Comedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

Summary

This cartoon (illustration 15) appeared in the London Evening Standard on 16 March 2001. It is, I suppose, instantly recognizable as a reference to Hamlet: we know this from the man's costume, the fact that he is holding a skull, and the caption, which is clearly a parody of 'To be or not to be' (Hamlet 3.1.56). If someone were to come across this cartoon in the archives of the Evening Standard in say fifty or one hundred years' time, it would still be obvious that it is a reference to Hamlet.

What would by then need annotation is the immediate context of the cartoon: one would need to explain that the figure represents Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the time, and that the cartoon was published during a period when there was widespread speculation that he would call a General Election on 3 May. One would need to explain further that the object he is holding is the skull of a sheep and that the reason why he was being indecisive about the date was the epidemic of foot and mouth disease which was sweeping the country during the Spring of 2001: apart from the extent to which the election might have been seen as an unnecessary distraction at a time of national crisis, there was the practical consideration that the movements of both politicians and voters would be restricted. On the other hand, postponing the election would send a negative message to potential business investors and tourists.