The Klingon Hamlet
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| The Klingon Hamlet | |
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| Author | William Shakespeare(original story) |
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| Original title | Hamlet Prince of Denmark: The Restored Klingon Version |
| Translator | Nick Nicholas Andrew Strader |
| Cover artist | Phil Foglio |
| Country | United States of America |
| Language | English / Klingon |
| Genre(s) | Science Fiction |
| Publisher | Pocket Books |
| Publication date | February 2000 |
| Media type | Paperbook |
| Pages | 219 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-9644345-1-2 |
The Klingon Hamlet (full title: The Tragedy of Khamlet, Son of the Emperor of Qo'nos) was a project to translate William Shakespeare's play Hamlet into the invented language Klingon of the television series Star Trek.
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[edit] Impetus
The impetus for the project came from a line from the motion picture Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country in which the Klingon Chancellor Gorkon stated:
| “ | You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon | ” |
The play was translated over several years by Nick Nicholas and Andrew Strader of the Klingon Shakespeare Restoration Project, with feedback and editorial assistance from Mark Shoulson, d'Armond Speers, and Will Martin.
[edit] Plot
The original English version of the play appears alongside its "original Klingon" translation. The "original Klingon" version has been variated to reflect the play's history as originating from a Klingon source. Reference sections in the book show some literal translations of the Klingon body text.
[edit] Style
According to a disclaimer, the project is written in a satirical style implied by Chancellor Gorkon's quote.-- that Shakespeare was actually a Klingon writing about the attempted coup of the Klingon empire. This is implied because the plot is based on predominately Klingon themes and motifs as opposed to human themes and motifs, which were considered too primitive in comparison to the story of Hamlet during the time period in which it is set. The notion that Shakespeare was a human writing during Renaissance times was only introduced after the United Federation of Planets instigated a large propaganda campaign in order to rally people against Klingons. Since Star Trek VI was designed to be a metaphor for the Cold War, the Klingon's claim to Shakespeare is a reference to trends in Soviet propaganda, which often claimed that Slavic peoples created many things that the West held dear.
[edit] Publication
The Klingon Language Institute (KLI) printed and published a limited edition hardback version in 1996, entitled Hamlet Prince of Denmark: The Restored Klingon Version (ISBN 0-9644345-1-2)[1]
Star Trek publisher Pocket Books published the work as a trade paperback (ISBN 0-671-03578-9) in 2000.
