Note to Hamlet, 1.2.204: "Within his truncheon's length"


Return
to
Hamlet,
Act 1, Scene 2, line 204
.
truncheon's length: A policeman's truncheon (night-stick, billy-club) is about 18 inches (46 cm) long, but the Ghost of King Hamlet must have been carrying a ceremonial truncheon which was probably much longer. The ceremonial truncheon depicted below appears to be over six feet long.


Postcard honoring 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles