one brow of woe

[unpakwon]

Would you please explain the following in bold more easily? Especially what does "brow" mean here?

On July 8, 1994, the eighty-two year old Parent Leader passed away---from overwork, news announcers wailed---and the North Korea immediately contracted, to borrow a line from Hamlet, in one brow of woe.

I can guess what it means, but I'd like to know why it is expressed that way.

Thank you.

 

[TheParser]

Would you please explain the following in bold more easily? Especially what does "brow" mean here?

On July 8, 1994, the eighty-two year old Parent Leader passed away---from overwork, news announcers wailed---and the North Korea immediately contracted, to borrow a line from Hamlet, in one brow of woe.

I can guess what it means, but I'd like to know why it is expressed that way.

Thank you.

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


(1) Thank you for posting this question, for it forced me to

learn some more of Shakespeare's wonderful language.

(2) The line "to be contracted in one brow of woe" comes from

Act l, scene ii, of "Hamlet."

(3) As you know, the word "brow" refers to your forehead.

(4) The book Shakespeare Major Plays (New York: Harcourt,

Brace and Company, 1948) edited by Professor G.B. Harrison

gives this explanation:

Every subject's forehead should be puckered with grief.

(a) In plain English, I think your quotation means something like this:

When the Parent Leader died, all the people in that country

showed their profound sadness by showing wrinkles in their

foreheads. (NOTE: Have you noticed that when a person is

super sad and s/he almost wants to cry, his/her forehead will

temporarily have wrinkles?)

(b) Or -- as a source on the Web said -- everyone in the kingdom

had a sad face.

 

[unpakwon]

Aha!

I've got the picture.

Thank you so much for the kind explanation.