The Klingon Hamlet: the Restored Klingon Version (Star Trek: All Series) - Softcover

An astonishing effort on the part of the leading Klingon scholars of today, telling a story of blood, honour and vengeance in true Klingon tradition. With the English-language version printed on the left and the Klingon on the right, this best-known of Shakespeare's plays, a tour-de-force of Elizabethan theatre, can now be read and understood in the great warrior tongue even by non-Klingon speakers. As General Chang (Christopher Plummer) was heard to remark in the movie Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country: "Shakespeare is better in the original Klingon." Building on the groundwork of linguist Marc Okrand, author of The Klingon Dictionary, who constructed a fully spoken language out of what began as little more than a background prop, the Klingon Language Institute in Flourtown, Pennsylvania, is dedicated to the study and teaching of Klingon as a living tongue. Translating the great works of literature, Hamlet among them, is central to their philosophy of education and discovery.

"You have not experienced Shakespeare, until you have read him in the original Klingon". Thus speaks Chancellor Gorkon, in the film Star Trek "RM" VI: The Undiscovered Country "TM". For some viewers the line produced hearty chuckles and knowing nods. Among others it served as inspiration....

-- from the Foreword

For too long, readers throughout the Federation have been exposed to The Tragedy of Khamlet, Son of the Emperor of Qo'nos, that classic work of Klingon "TM" literature, only through inadequate and misleading English translations. Now at last, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Klingon Language Institute, this powerful drama by the legendary Klingon playwright, Wil'yam Shex'pir, can be appreciated in the elegance and glory of its original tongue.

This invaluable volume contains the complete text of the play, along with an English translation for easy consultation and comparison. In addition, an incisive introduction explains the play's crucial importance in Klingon culture, while copious notes illustrate how the debased English version diverges from the original, often distorting and even reversing the actual meaning of the verses.

Khamlet, the Restored Klingon Version, is a work that belongs in the library of every human who hopes truly to understand what it means to be Klingon.