A medic, self-referred to in dialogue as the Doctor, was a character in a 1601 performance of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet.
The medic interrupted Hamlet's famous "skull" speech with lines that in all other folios were given to Horatio. A recently-discovered transcript of the play was widely dismissed as a forgery but Professor Clifford Measey, writing in his book Myths & Historical Impossibilities, believed the medic to be a representation of "the Unnamed Doctor" who was recorded throughout history. (PROSE: Waving Through Time) In truth, the scene was an example of the Eleventh Doctor "trying to wave" to and "attract [the] attention" of his companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams through the history books. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut)
After Hamlet addressed Horatio during the speech, the medic claimed that Horatio had "popped off" to "the olde privvie" before introducing himself as "your old mucker the Doctor". Hamlet attempted to continue his speech by recollecting his memories of Yorick but the Doctor interrupted again and broke the fourth wall in the process by stating "Hold on a sec. Hey Pond, it's me! The Doctor! Making a little Shakespearean cameo". The medic then apologised to Hamlet and told him to carry on but immediately interrupted yet again, this time to muse on the peculiarity of the name Hamlet. He wondered if it was his first name and if that meant he was Dave Hamlet or Marcus J Hamlet though, realising his Danish heritage, ammended his suggestion first to Jergen Hamlet and then finally to Jergen Dave Hamlet. Having had enough, Hamlet finally acknowledged the medic's presence by asking "Wilt thou shut up?". (PROSE: Waving Through Time)