Hamlet's Blackberry

I heard a program on npr yesterday that was an interview with the author (William Powers) of Hamlet's Blackberry, a book about being connected all the time through our various electronic devices. Since I had written a major paper over the summer about the progess of our media from early oral to today's electronic media, I was very interested in this.

Portable Notebooks of the Renaissance
One of the interesting things in the interview was the discussion of "tables." Tables (writing tables, writing tablets, table books) were a PDA of sorts used to jot down musings or other writings in the Renaissance. These tablets contained specially treated paper leaves that could be wiped and reused. I totally missed this information in my paper and am kicking myself but better late than never I suppose when it comes to learning.

Hamlet's PDA
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, one notable line is when Hamlet learns of his father's killer's identity from his father's ghost. According to Powers (2010), "Hamlet is so overwhelmed by this news, this new piece of information, that he's not sure what to do with it. So Hamlet reaches into his pocket and pulls out his 'tables.'"
The following is from the play ("Hamlet by William Shakespeare: Act 1. Scene V," n.d.):

"HAMLET
O all you host of heaven! O earth! what else?
And shall I couple hell? O, fie! Hold, hold, my heart;
And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,
But bear me stiffly up. Remember thee!
Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat
In this distracted globe. Remember thee!
Yea, from the table of my memory
I'll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,
That youth and observation copied there;
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmix'd with baser matter: yes, by heaven!
O most pernicious woman!
O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!
My tables,--meet it is I set it down,
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain;
At least I'm sure it may be so in Denmark:

Writing

So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word;
It is 'Adieu, adieu! remember me.'
I have sworn 't."

About Tables
Tables were first made in Germany around 1527, and later in England. These were made of blank treated paper or parchment. Some sources mention the material to be a kind of stiff paper made from donkey skin and treated with plaster and varnish (Apostolakou, 2009).


References
Apostolakou, L. (2009, December 16). Portable Notebooks and Writing Technology: The Use of Writing-Tables in the Renaissance. Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. Retrieved September 07, 2010, from http://www.suite101.com/content/portable-notebooks-and-writing-technology-a180436

Hamlet by William Shakespeare: Act 1. Scene V. (n.d.). The Literature Network: Online classic literature, poems, and quotes. Essays & Summaries. Retrieved September 07, 2010, from http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/hamlet/6/

Hamlet [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved September 7, 2010, from http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/storage/hamlet.jpg&imgrefurl=http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2008/6/1/to-print-or-not-to-print.html&usg=__Sez7P-lJZF2IXVhNGs_gQ84zG3I=&h=363&w=355&sz=135&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=OfC8LC8Uik0hhM:&tbnh=149&tbnw=140&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhamlet%27s%2Bwriting%2Btable%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1162%26bih%3D530%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=805&vpy=170&dur=72&hovh=227&hovw=222&tx=122&ty=75&ei=5H-GTJHuJMOB8ga3zI3UAw&oei=5H-GTJHuJMOB8ga3zI3UAw&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=11&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0

Powers, W. (2010). Hamlet's Blackberry: a practical philosophy for building a good life in the digital age. New York: Harper.

Powers, W. (2010, July 20). 'Hamlet's BlackBerry': To Surf Or Not To Surf? : NPR. NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. Retrieved September 07, 2010, from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128364111