Pasternak Time: “Twelve versions of Hamlet” Twelve versions of Hamlet Were found among his papers. Workmanlike, as critics say, Or was this, say, just an honest day’s pay In the worker’s paradise? The father will be obeyed, He will not be denied: Twelve versions of Hamlet Write and rewrite that writing counts And the state is corrupt, Lying all over the place. The established playgoer Watches the playacting prince Do his twelve versions of Hamlet So socially so really really real He could be mistaken For a social realist, While murders happen offstage, Women go mad for some reason, And you would dearly wish yourself To be living in another country. Where are the armies going now? What’s to laugh about in a graveyard? As one after another the leaders Are disappeared or reappeared Or kill each other out in the open With words or swords, Lying all over the place. The lucky ones leave at midnight For the writer’s dacha in yo