A pharmacological appreciation of Shakespeare's Hamlet : on instillation of poisons into the ear / by David I. Macht.

  • Macht, David I.
Date:
[1918]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: A pharmacological appreciation of Shakespeare's Hamlet : on instillation of poisons into the ear / by David I. Macht. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Or whilst one is asleep, to take a quill And Mow a little powder in his ears: Or ope his mouth and pour quicksilver down.” Another reference to poisoning through the ears is found in a later passage in Hamlet, Act III, Scene 2, in connection with the re-enactment of the murder by the players under the direction of Hamlet. Here we read: “His name’s Gonzago; the story is extant, and writ in choice Italian.” A note in the Arden edition of Hamlet in connection with this passage says: “ In 1538 the Duke of Urbino married to a Gonzaga, was murdered by Luigi Gonzago, who dropped poison into his ear.” One other case of poisoning through the ears, of especial in¬ terest to us as medical men, is mentioned by Robert in his thesis on the Poisonings of the Middle Ages. It is well known that King Francis II of France died very suddenly; his death was supposed to have been due to poisoning, and the celebrated French surgeon, Ambroise Pare, was deliberately accused, of course without foundation, of having murdered the king by blowing a poisonous powder in his ear. It is very interesting to note that the original Hamlet story has no mention of instillation of poison into the ear.® In the Hamlet story by Saxo Grammaticus, HamlePs father is killed by his brother with a steel weapon. The instillation idea is original with Shakespeare and was probably suggested by the prevalence of the horrible form of homicide by poisons so common at the time and the toxic properties of the yew-tree and henbane which we have already discussed in detail. On the Absorption op Drugs and Poisons Through the Intact Ear In connection with Shakespeare’s passage which we have just discussed in detail, an interesting scientific question arises as to whether drugs or poisons can be absorbed through the intact external ear canal and drum into the general circulation and produce constitutional symptoms. During the past year the author has been engaged in the study of absorption of drugs [169]