I find myself regularly employing the term happy to describe my state of being. However, the definition is not clear to me still. Some explain it as joyful, others as content. Some even define it as having no cares at all. Shakespeare utilized with word throughout his many texts to mean something similar, but different still that the nuance is crucial to the careful reader of his works.
The Oxford English Dictionary first defines happy as ‘a person favored by good fortune; someone who is lucky, fortunate, or successful.’ This is quite scarcely related to a person who feels a certain way. If one wins a million dollars, the term only applies to this person as far as their circumstances extend. How they feel receiving this gift is irrelevant to the original definition of happy.
However, as the word developed over time, it came to be used in the more known sense, as connoting ‘pleasing appropriateness.’ This is the first definition that can be found in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Hamlet responds to a comment made regarding an ensuing event that it will occur “in happy time” (V. ii. 219). It is clear from this instance that Hamlet wishes to convey that the event will unfold when is appropriate. He is not regarding fortune or success. Rather, Hamlet is simply stating that it will happen when it is supposed to. Similarly, in III. i. 41, the queen tells Ophelia that she hopes her “good beauties be the happy cause of Hamlet’s wildness.” Although the other definitions may fit here, it seems that Shakespeare is referring in some way to pleasure. Writing of good looks and wildness, Shakespeare is employing the last and most modern definition of happy.
It appears that, since the three definitions are similar, certain contexts remain ambiguous to the reader. For example, in II. ii. 246, Hamlet asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern how they are doing. Guildenstern replies that they are “Happy in that we are not overhappy.” Happy can be used in this way as fortunate, content, or sincerely pleased. The vagueness of this term provides a certain flavor to the text. Shakespeare utilizes each definition throughout his many works, so it is very possible that at times he is playing with the word, leaving its meaning open to the reader. As students of Shakespeare’s genius, we can gain insight into the world of word play and the embracement of ambiguity in our poetic writing.
I love your title, considering the close connection between happiness and luck throughout the history of the word “happy.” I did my own quick search into the origins of the phrase “happy go lucky,” and found it to have a lot to do with happenstance and haphazardly. Happiness is truly up to chance. The ambiguity of the word, whether it refers to mere fortune or mere feeling and whether it matters, brings into question the entire idea of “happiness.”
I think “happy in that we are not overhappy” could be paraphrased as “fortunate that we aren’t TOO blessed by fortune.” The implied idea is that those favored excessively by external gifts (position, wealth, etc) will inevitably fall, and therefore are not truly “happy” (ie fortunate).