NO LONGER A JOKE

A dialogue from Hamlet:

It was that very day that young Hamlet was born, he that is mad, and sent into England.

Ay, marry, why was he sent into England?

Why, because he was mad, a’ shall recover his wits there, or, if a’ do not, ’tis no great matter there.

Why?

‘Twill not be seen in him there; there the [people] are as mad as he.

These lines used to elicit roars of laughter from English audiences. I both hope and fear that might not be the case right now…