Hamlet, Prince of Denmark & Piglet, Friend of Pooh

By and by Piglet woke up. As soon as he woke he said to himself, "Oh!" Then he said bravely, "Yes," and then, still more bravely, "Quite so." But he didn't feel very brave, for the word which was really jiggeting about in his brain was "Heffalumps." What was a Heffalump like? Was it Fierce? Did it come when you whistled? And how did it come? Was it Fond of Pigs at all? If it was Fond of Pigs, did it make any difference what sort of Pig? Supposing it was Fierce with Pigs, would it make any difference if the Pig had a grandfather called TRESPASSERS WILLIAM? He didn't know the answer to any of these questions . . . and he was going to see his first Heffalump in about an hour from now! Of course Pooh would be with him, and it was much more Friendly with two. But suppose Heffalumps were Very Fierce with Pigs and Bears?

Wouldn't it be better to pretend that he had a headache, and couldn't go up to the Six Pine Trees this morning? But then suppose that it was a very fine day, and there was no Heffalump in the trap, here he would be, in bed all the morning, simply wasting his time for nothing. What should he do? And then he had a Clever Idea. He would go up very quietly to the Six Pine Trees now, peep very cautiously into the Trap, and see if there was a Heffalump there. And if there was, he would go back to bed, and if there wasn't, he wouldn't. So off he went. At first he thought that there wouldn't be a Heffalump in the Trap, and then he thought that there would, and as he got nearer he was sure that there would, because he could hear it heffalumping about it like anything. "Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear!" said Piglet to himself. And he wanted to run away. But somehow, having got so near, he felt that he must just see what a Heffalump was like. So he crept to the side of the Trap and looked in. And all the time Winnie-the-Pooh had been trying to get the honey-jar off his head. The more he shook it, the more tightly it stuck. "Bother!" he said, inside the jar, and "Oh, help!" and, mostly, "Ow!" And he tried bumping it against things, but as he couldn't see what he was bumping it against, it didn't help him; and he tried to climb out of the Trap, but as he could see nothing but jar, and not much of that, he couldn't find his way. So at last he lifted up his head, jar and all, and made a loud, roaring noise of Sadness and Despair . . . and it was at that moment that Piglet looked down. "Help, help!" cried Piglet, "a Heffalump, a Horrible Heffalump!" and he scampered off as hard as he could, still crying out, "Help, help, a Herrible Hoffalump! Hoff, Hoff, a Hellible Horralump! Holl, Holl, a Hoffable Hellerump!" And he didn't stop crying and scampering until he got to Christopher Robin's house. (Winnie-the-Pooh chapter 5)

This scene occurs toward the end of the fifth chapter of A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh. It shows us Piglet, “a very small animal” wondering how to handle a potentially frightening situation, coming up with a plan that seems foolproof to him at the time of its conception, and being set back by reality—which he had no way of taking into advance consideration, and which he did not stick around long enough to investigate thoroughly. We have here a character whose indecision is fueled by his apprehensiveness; someone who is introspective and thoughtful without those deep and complex thoughts necessarily being connected to reality as it actually exists. Someone rather a lot like Hamlet.   A similar train of thought and events transpire as Hamlet cogitates on the news, delivered by the supposed ghost of his father, that his uncle murdered his father to gain the throne. Presented with evidence that might convince another, Hamlet is obsessed with gaining further proof before committing himself to action. Rather than sneaking out at night to see what he can see as Piglet did (which is how he gained this information in the first place) Hamlet creates a situation which he believes will show him what he needs to know.

Hamlet : …I’ll have these players Play something like the murther of my father Before mine uncle. I’ll observe his looks, I’ll tent him to the quick. If ‘a do blench, I know my course. The spirit that I have seen May be a [dev’l] and the [dev’l] hath power T’ assume a pleasing shape, yea, and perhaps, Out of my weakness and my melancholy, As he is very potent with such spirits, Abuses me to damn me. I’ll have grounds More relative than this – the play’s the thing Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King. (II, ii 594-605)

However, not unlike Piglet and his smart-sounding-at-the-time plan to check the trap early in order to feign illness in the morning if necessary, Hamlet also thinks he sees what he fears, but it’s not exactly as he expected. And he panics. Hamlet [explaining to Ophelia what is happening in the play he has staged] : ‘A poisons him i’ th’ garden for his estate: His name’s Gonzago, the story is extant, and written in very choice Italian. You shall see anon how the murtherer gets the love of Gonzago’s wife. Ophelia : The King rises. Hamlet : What, frightened with false fire? Queen : How fares my lord? King : Give me some light. Away!                                                                                                                                             Exeunt all but Hamlet and Horatio

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