One of my hobbies has been the collection and collation of Shakespeare references in Star Trek (yes, you'd better q.v. to see the vast expanse of allusions, quotations, and references that have been worked into the Star Trek universe). But I haven't ventured far from The Original Series and The Next Generation.
But I've been listening to Star Trek: The Next Conversation, an enjoyable Star Trek rewatch podcast, and I've caught up with their past episodes and am trekking with them through Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
As is my wont, I've kept my eyes peeled for Shakespeare. This week, I spotted the first: a version of a speech from 1 Henry IV. Late in the play, Falstaff pretends to die in battle. When the danger is past, he revives himself, saying, "The better pat of valor is discretion, in the which better part I have sav'd my life" (V.iv.119-21). The phrase has most often been paraphrased as "Discretion is the better part of valour."
In "The House of Quark," Star Trek repurposes Shakespeare in the way it often does, having a non-earthling species claim a quotation as a bit of wisdom from their own culture. In this case, "Discretion is the better part of valour" is posited as an old Ferengi saying:
It's not much, but it's a start—and we'll see where the Star Trek / Shakespeare connections go from there.
Links: The Episode at IMDB.
For more connections between Star Trek and Shakespeare, head to Shakespeare and Star Trek Complete.
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