4.31

5

May 18, 2008

Hamlet, abridged:

GHOST/DAD: Hamlet, your uncle killed me and married your mom. I want vengeance, so best get to murdering, plzthnx.

HAMLET: EEK!

OPHELIA: Hamlet, are you okay?

HAMLET: Get away from me, skankwhore!

OPHELIA: WTF? *goes from zero to crazy like that*

GERTRUDE: Kid, you need therapy.

HAMLET: And you need to be less of AN ADULTEROUS WHORE!

POLONIUS: OMG so rude!

HAMLET: Eavesdropping? I KEEL YOU!

*play goes on hold while Hamlet talks to skeletons*

LAERTES: You killed my dad and drove my Hamlet, abridged:

GHOST/DAD: Hamlet, your uncle killed me and married your mom. I want vengeance, so best get to murdering, plzthnx.

HAMLET: EEK!

OPHELIA: Hamlet, are you okay?

HAMLET: Get away from me, skankwhore!

OPHELIA: WTF? *goes from zero to crazy like that*

GERTRUDE: Kid, you need therapy.

HAMLET: And you need to be less of AN ADULTEROUS WHORE!

POLONIUS: OMG so rude!

HAMLET: Eavesdropping? I KEEL YOU!

*play goes on hold while Hamlet talks to skeletons*

LAERTES: You killed my dad and drove my sister to suicide, you jerk! I challenge you to a duel!

HAMLET: I KEEL YOU!

CLAUDIUS: MWAHAHAHA! I put poison in your goblet, Hamlet!

GERTRUDE: Yum, poisoned wine. *dies*

CLAUDIUS: Whoops, my bad.

HAMLET: I KEEL YOU!

GHOST/DAD: Wow, nice job son. Except for the part where you're bleeding all over my castle.

HAMLET: Ah, dammit. *dies*


And then the even more abridged version:

ROCKS FALL, EVERYONE DIES.

The end.

Really, what's not to love?

Read for: 12th grade AP English

BONUS (courtesy of Married to the Sea, a webcomic you should probably read on a regular basis):
http://www.marriedtothesea.com/021306...

BONUS BONUS: Speaking of Ophelia... ...more

5

May 12, 2007

I don't have any earth-shattering insights to share from this most recent of god-knows-how-many readings, but this time through I was struck by:

1) what a damn fine piece of stagecraft this is, from the suspenseful, moody opening on the castle battlements to the solemn dead march carrying the prince offstage, and

2) how Shakespeare seems to want Hamlet's personality--particularly the wellspring of his actions (and lack of action)--to remain an enigma, and that he achieves this by infusing the
I don't have any earth-shattering insights to share from this most recent of god-knows-how-many readings, but this time through I was struck by:

1) what a damn fine piece of stagecraft this is, from the suspenseful, moody opening on the castle battlements to the solemn dead march carrying the prince offstage, and

2) how Shakespeare seems to want Hamlet's personality--particularly the wellspring of his actions (and lack of action)--to remain an enigma, and that he achieves this by infusing the character with so much of himself--so much wit and poetry, so much despondency and savagery--that the result is that the audience simply bows before the great mystery of human personality, and that this reverence for the unknown lurking in the heart of an extraordinary man intensifies the sense of pity, horror and waste that fills us at the end of the play. ...more

5

Sep 27, 2007

The Skinhead Hamlet - Shakespeare's play translated into modern English. By Richard Curtis. Yes, that Richard Curtis!

Note : those offended by the F word - LOOK AWAY NOW! And Georgia, if you've stumbled on this review by your funny old dad - this is ANOTHER Paul Bryant. Not me!

*********

ACT I
SCENE I
The Battlements of Elsinore Castle.

[Enter HAMLET, followed by GHOST:]

GHOST: Oi! Mush!

HAMLET: Yer?

GHOST: I was fucked!

[Exit GHOST:]

HAMLET: O Fuck.

[Exit HAMLET:]

SCENE II
The Throneroom.

[Enter KING The Skinhead Hamlet - Shakespeare's play translated into modern English. By Richard Curtis. Yes, that Richard Curtis!

Note : those offended by the F word - LOOK AWAY NOW! And Georgia, if you've stumbled on this review by your funny old dad - this is ANOTHER Paul Bryant. Not me!

*********

ACT I
SCENE I
The Battlements of Elsinore Castle.

[Enter HAMLET, followed by GHOST:]

GHOST: Oi! Mush!

HAMLET: Yer?

GHOST: I was fucked!

[Exit GHOST:]

HAMLET: O Fuck.

[Exit HAMLET:]

SCENE II
The Throneroom.

[Enter KING CLAUDIUS, GERTRUDE, HAMLET and COURT:]

CLAUDIUS: Oi! You, Hamlet, give over!

HAMLET: Fuck off, won't you?

[Exit CLAUDIUS, GERTRUDE, COURT:]

HAMLET: (Alone) They could have fucking waited.

[Enter HORATIO:]

HORATIO: Oi! Watcha cock!

HAMLET: Weeeeey!

[Exeunt:]

SCENE III
Ophelia's Bedroom.

[Enter OPHELIA and LAERTES:]

LAERTES: I'm fucking off now. Watch Hamlet doesn't slip you one while I'm gone.

OPHELIA: I'll be fucked if he does.

[Exeunt:]

SCENE IV
The Battlements.

[Enter HORATIO, HAMLET and GHOST.:]

GHOST: Oi! Mush, get on with it!

HAMLET: Who did it then?

GHOST: That wanker Claudius. He poured fucking poison in my fucking ear!

HAMLET: Fuck me!

[Exeunt.:]

ACT II
SCENE I
A corridor in the castle.

[Enter HAMLET reading. Enter POLONIUS.:]

POLONIUS: Oi! You!

HAMLET: Fuck off, grandad!

[Exit POLONIUS. Enter ROSENCRANZ and GUILDENSTERN.:]

ROS & GUILD: Oi! Oi! Mucca!

HAMLET: Fuck off, the pair of you!

[Exit ROS & GUILD.:]

HAMLET: (Alone) To fuck or be fucked.

[Enter OPHELIA.:]

OPHELIA: My Lord!

HAMLET: Fuck off to a nunnery!

[They exit in different directions.:]

ACT III
SCENE I
The Throne Room.

[Enter PLAYERS and all COURT.:]

FIRST PLAYER: Full thirty times hath Phoebus cart...

CLAUDIUS: I'll be fucked if I watch any more of this crap.

[Exeunt.:]

SCENE II
Gertrude's Bedchamber.

[Enter GERTRUDE and POLONIUS, who hides behind an arras.:]

[Enter HAMLET.:]

HAMLET: Oi! Slag!

GERTRUDE: Watch your fucking mouth, kid!

POLONIUS: (From behind the curtain) Too right.

HAMLET: Who the fuck was that?

[He stabs POLONIUS through the arras.:]

POLONIUS: Fuck!

[POLONIUS dies.:]

HAMLET: Fuck! I thought it was that other wanker.

[Exeunt.:]

ACT IV
SCENE I
A Court Room.

[Enter HAMLET, CLAUDIUS.:]

CLAUDIUS: Fuck off to England then!

HAMLET: Delighted, mush.

SCENE II
The Throne Room.

[Enter OPHELIA, GERTRUDE and CLAUDIUS.:]

OPHELIA: Here, cop a whack of this.

[She hands GERTRUDE some rosemary and exits.:]

CLAUDIUS: She's fucking round the twist, isn't she?

GERTRUDE: (Looking out the window.) There is a willow grows aslant the brook.

CLAUDIUS: Get on with it, slag.

GERTRUDE: Ophelia's gone and fucking drowned!

CLAUDIUS: Fuck! Laertes isn't half going to be browned off.

[Exeunt.:]

SCENE III
A Corridor.

[Enter LAERTES.:]

LAERTES: (Alone) I'm going to fucking do this lot.

[Enter CLAUDIUS.:]

CLAUDIUS: I didn't fucking do it, mate. It was that wanker Hamlet.

LAERTES: Well, fuck him.

[Exeunt.:]

ACT V
SCENE I
Hamlet's Bedchamber.

[Enter HAMLET and HORATIO.:]

HAMLET: I got this feeling I'm going to cop it, Horatio, and you know, I couldn't give a flying fuck.

[Exeunt.:]

SCENE II
Large Hall.

[Enter HAMLET, LAERTES, COURT, GERTRUDE, CLAUDIUS.:]

LAERTES: Oi, wanker: let's get on with it.

HAMLET: Delighted, fuckface.

[They fight and both are poisoned by the poisoned sword.:]

LAERTES: Fuck!

HAMLET: Fuck!

[The QUEEN drinks.:]

GERTRUDE: Fucking odd wine!

CLAUDIUS: You drunk the wrong fucking cup, you stupid cow!

[GERTRUDE dies.:]

HAMLET: (Pouring the poison down CLAUDIUS'S throat) Well, fuck you!

CLAUDIUS: I'm fair and squarely fucked.

[CLAUDIUS dies.:]

LAERTES: Oi, mush: no hard feelings, eh?

HAMLET: Yer.

[LAERTES dies.:]

HAMLET: Oi! Horatio!

HORATIO: Yer?

HAMLET: I'm fucked. The rest is fucking silence.

[HAMLET dies.:]

HORATIO: Fuck: that was no ordinary wanker, you know.

[Enter FORTINBRAS.:]

FORTINBRAS: What the fuck's going on here?

HORATIO: A fucking mess, that's for sure.

FORTINBRAS: No kidding. I see Hamlet's fucked.

HORATIO: Yer.

FORTINBRAS: Fucking shame: fucking good bloke.

HORATIO: Too fucking right.

FORTINBRAS: Fuck this for a lark then. Let's piss off.

[Exeunt with alarums.:]
...more

5

Jun 12, 2012

shakespeare when pitching this play, probably: this is my OC hamlet. hes a prince. hes bisexual. hes moody, brooding, and is anywhere between the ages of 16 to 30 years old. and no, i am not taking constructive criticism.

well, let me tell you what. im sold! i love hamlet. i love his angsty monologues. i love his sassy remarks. i love that he cant seem to shut up. i love his relationship with horatio. i love everything about him avoiding osric and his hat. i love that hes OTT and i seriously cant shakespeare when pitching this play, probably: this is my OC hamlet. hes a prince. hes bisexual. hes moody, brooding, and is anywhere between the ages of 16 to 30 years old. and no, i am not taking constructive criticism.

well, let me tell you what. im sold! i love hamlet. i love his angsty monologues. i love his sassy remarks. i love that he cant seem to shut up. i love his relationship with horatio. i love everything about him avoiding osric and his hat. i love that hes OTT and i seriously cant get enough.

also, for those of you who have read this, watch this. its great.

↠ 4.5 stars ...more

5

Sep 15, 2017

Here's the thing about Hamlet: if you see it and you hate it, you saw a terrible Hamlet. I don't care if it's given critical acclaim - fuck off, Kenneth Branagh - Hamlet is supposed to be compelling, and if you didn't find the character compelling, that actor didn't do their job. You need a Hamlet who knows the character, not a Hamlet who wants to do grace to the character or some shit.

Here's the thing: I used to hate this play. Not lowkey hate, I fucking despised it. I thought it was boring Here's the thing about Hamlet: if you see it and you hate it, you saw a terrible Hamlet. I don't care if it's given critical acclaim - fuck off, Kenneth Branagh - Hamlet is supposed to be compelling, and if you didn't find the character compelling, that actor didn't do their job. You need a Hamlet who knows the character, not a Hamlet who wants to do grace to the character or some shit.

Here's the thing: I used to hate this play. Not lowkey hate, I fucking despised it. I thought it was boring and overrated and most of all, I thought Hamlet was a dick and a boring character. And then everything changed when the fire nation attacked when I saw Santa Cruz Shakespeare's 2016 production of Hamlet, starring actress Kate Eastwood Norris as Hamlet.


(CHECK OUT HER AND OPHELIA ON THE RIGHT!! THE BLACK COAT AND PURPLE DRESS!! IF ANY OF Y'ALL HAVE A DUBIOUSLY LEGAL RECORDING OF THIS SHIT PLEASE LINK ME)

I loved it. Not only did I love it; I loved it so much that my entire interpretation of the character changed. I keep using she/her pronouns to describe Hamlet because that actress has literally replaced the character in my head. And that is what Hamlet should be about. That is how you should feel after you watch a truly great production. You should feel like you've been inwardly changed as a person. You should also probably have cried at least once.


// HI GUYS. HERE ARE MY CHARACTER PERFORMANCE OPINIONS. HAVE FUN

âž½ In general, every character's pain should matter. Every character needs to matter, every character needs to make you feel.

âž½ Hamlet shouldn't be an asshole. Hamlet is a very complex character, and yeah, he does a lot of screwing around with people. But his interactions with Horatio, all his interactions excluding Claudius in 1.2, his love letter to Ophelia, and other's descriptions of his newfound madness as being out of character paint a very different picture. It is not compelling to watch an asshole be an asshole for four hours. You know what's far more compelling? A kind young man struggling with grief and anger, informed suddenly that he must become cruel and unkind.

Let's put emphasis on the “young” part. If you accept the first folio as real, the only line referring to his age establishes him as 20 at most. It is the second folio where the same line is changed to referring to a 23-year period since Yoric's death, rather than a 12-year period. As a result, the idea that he's thirty probably comes from dialogue changes as the Hamlet actor aged. I know no one read this, but Hamlet should be a teenager.

âž½ A lot of people think of Ophelia's character as this very innocent virgin and I'm going to utterly disagree. Ophelia's character is about agency. Her character is doubted by all the other characters, yet keeps to her guns and continuously sticks up for herself. So many adaptations of this show will take away her agency and give it to the other characters, making her final mad scene seem silly and out of place. Do not let the narrative take her agency away. Emphasize her inner turmoil! Build up her ending madness!

On a related note: if scene 3.1 between Hamlet and Ophelia didn't make you cry, I'm vetoing it. You are supposed to care about these two characters, both separately and together. You are supposed to feel both of their pains. You are not, not, not supposed to only care for Hamlet because of his blinding angst over his girlfriend. Give this moment to Ophelia. Give her the agency she deserves.

âž½ Give the villains characterization too. It is so, so important to get Gertrude right. One of the best scenes in this entire show, to me, is the closet scene between Gertrude and Hamlet. But you have to make Gertrude's character interesting. Her pain has to matter as much as anyone else's.

In general, y'all suck at portraying Claudius. He's obviously a bit of a smart villain in contrast to his heroic older brother, but that's not the extent of his characterization. Claudius is, in actuality, somewhat of a clever political player. You shouldn't love him, but if you hate him, this will not be as interesting a play.

VERDICT: I fucking love this show. Please watch it before you read it because it's not as good unless you've seen a really good production. Save yourself and skip Branagh - Tennant's a little better, actually.

Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Youtube ...more

5

Jun 25, 2014

I bought a skull as my only prop for Halloween dress-up, and I hope someone will recognise that I will be Hamlet. As spontaneous actions always need to be followed by bookish contemplation for full satisfaction, I am preparing for the event by rereading the whole play.

Somewhere in the middle I started laughing at Hamlet's advice to Ophelia: "To the nunnery!" For who wants to end up a breeder of sinners? I rejoiced at the fact that fake news are as old as the rotten state of states in general, I bought a skull as my only prop for Halloween dress-up, and I hope someone will recognise that I will be Hamlet. As spontaneous actions always need to be followed by bookish contemplation for full satisfaction, I am preparing for the event by rereading the whole play.

Somewhere in the middle I started laughing at Hamlet's advice to Ophelia: "To the nunnery!" For who wants to end up a breeder of sinners? I rejoiced at the fact that fake news are as old as the rotten state of states in general, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern made my day, several times. I loved the play inside the play, and what it tells us of Shakespeare's idea regarding the power of literature to move and affect people on the deepest level.

I quite coldly skim the overquoted "to be or not to be", and stop cold at "Faith! Her privates we."

Her privates we? Meaning the middle parts of fortune? I have Manning's book at home, and I have been meaning to read it forever, and I didn't have a clue that the title was a quote from Hamlet, and that it referred to female genitals.

I am not even at the point yet in the play where my skull makes an appearance, alas Yorick!, but I have already started a new book based on my rereading of Hamlet.

That is what happens to readers, - stories affect them, they react, and that reaction generates new action, followed by new stories, in eternity - a precious circle. That's Hamlet. Hamlet is human in a rotten state. Who knows whether he is insane or not? I guess it depends on who you ask.

I am still feeling kind towards him. Ophelia's fate is still in the future, as is the cathartic show effect of taking up the bodies to the stage.

When going to bed later, after finishing the last acts, Maestro Shakespeare may be out of my favour again.

But that is another story... ...more

4

Jul 22, 2018

Is it possible that I had only read the first 4 scenes and Hamlet already became one of my favorite male characters ever? YES!
Why?
He’s constantly wearing black and monologuing about how literally everything is hard and making everything more dramatic then it is, is so ME!?

And this is considered a tragedy (which in some ways it is) but I found it so funny (probably because I have a dark soul) and I will definitely reread this at any given moment of peace.

I absolutely loved this play, and I’m Is it possible that I had only read the first 4 scenes and Hamlet already became one of my favorite male characters ever? YES!
Why?
He’s constantly wearing black and monologuing about how literally everything is hard and making everything more dramatic then it is, is so ME!?

And this is considered a tragedy (which in some ways it is) but I found it so funny (probably because I have a dark soul) and I will definitely reread this at any given moment of peace.

I absolutely loved this play, and I’m so happy that now I can say that I have read Shakespeare!

I’m a cultured woman now y’all. ????????

...more

5

Aug 07, 2011

“Madness in great ones must not unwatch’d go.”

I don’t know what to say about Hamlet. I could go on about how it is a story of madness and revenge. I could talk about the bonds of family loyalty, the sacrifices of love, the breaches of trust and their deleterious effects on the psyche. But this is old news—Hamlet has been around for over four hundred years. What could I possibly say that hasn’t already been said?

When my wife saw I was reading Shakespeare, her snippy comment went something like, “ “Madness in great ones must not unwatch’d go.”

I don’t know what to say about Hamlet. I could go on about how it is a story of madness and revenge. I could talk about the bonds of family loyalty, the sacrifices of love, the breaches of trust and their deleterious effects on the psyche. But this is old news—Hamlet has been around for over four hundred years. What could I possibly say that hasn’t already been said?

When my wife saw I was reading Shakespeare, her snippy comment went something like, “What are you reading that for? Don’t you you have enough drama in your life?” Which, thanks Cristina, and yes I suppose I do, but what of it? Drama can be so much freaking fun. There is a reason it sells, a reason there are countless dramatic television shows on the air, countless box office films released each year rehashing the same old dramatic plotlines (some to great effect; others, not so much). And there is a reason people are still reading Shakespeare centuries upon centuries after his death: they are fun, they are witty, they are ever so dramatic.

Hamlet is no exception. With plot elements involving fratricide, lethal potions, mistaken identity, forgery of correspondence, espionage and treachery, along with a solid dose of hanging out with the ghosts of dead relatives, one could imagine I’m reviewing an episode of General Hospital. But what is Hamlet if not a soap opera for the Elizabethans? It is an epically tragic train wreck crammed into five tiny acts.

What makes this piece of drama so timeless, though, is that its action is served in such perfect complement by its depiction of character. We all know what Prince Hamlet is going to do before he does it. Hamlet himself, even while doubting his abilities and struggling with his resolve, knows how it’s going to all play out. Why else would he be so cruel to Ophelia? And yet it is this internal turmoil that fuels our interest in the action. It might seem like an ordinary train wreck at its surface, but upon deeper inspection it is a train wreck in whose conductors and engineers we have a vested interest.

So, witty discourse meets fast-paced drama meets penetrating character introspection? It almost makes me wonder what would have become of Luke and Laura had William Shakespeare been in charge of the script. ...more

5

May 26, 2007

Shakespeare is an adept poet and master of the language. He layers on jokes, puns, and references everywhere. He has a massive output of work, and a number of different plots. When we compare him to other authors, it is difficult to find anyone who stacks up--but then, we're often comparing him to the wrong people.

Shakespeare didn't write books or pamphlets or epics, he wrote plays: short pieces of drama that were meant to be fast-paced and exciting. That they are mainly experienced today as Shakespeare is an adept poet and master of the language. He layers on jokes, puns, and references everywhere. He has a massive output of work, and a number of different plots. When we compare him to other authors, it is difficult to find anyone who stacks up--but then, we're often comparing him to the wrong people.

Shakespeare didn't write books or pamphlets or epics, he wrote plays: short pieces of drama that were meant to be fast-paced and exciting. That they are mainly experienced today as bound books and not theatrical productions does not change their origins. If one wants to look at the achievements of Shakespeare, he should be compared to someone of a similar bent.

He should be compared with prolific writers known for catchy jokes and phrases. Writers who reuse old plots, making fun of their traditions. Writers of work meant to be performed. Writers who aim for the lowest common denominator, while still including the occasional high-minded political commentary. He should be compared to the writers of South Park; or the Simpsons; or MAD Magazine.

Shakespeare was meant to be lowbrow and political, but now it only reads that way to those who are well-educated enough to understand his language, reference, and the political scene of the time. If you do know the period lingo, then his plays are just as filthy as any episode of South Park.

For example, the word 'wit' refers to a fellow's manhood (this one comes up a lot), here's an example from Much Ado About Nothing:
Don Pedro: I said that thou hadst a great wit. Yay, said she, a great gross one. Nay, say I, a fine wit. Yay, said she, a fine little one. Nay, said I, a good wit. Just, said she, it hurts nobody.
Plus there's the title of that play, which references the fact that 'nothing' was slang for a woman's maidenhead, which occurs also in Hamlet:
Hamlet: That's a fair thought to lie between a maid's legs.
Ophelia: What is, my lord?
Hamlet: Nothing.
He was also not one to pass up a good cunt joke.

Shakespeare often refers to mythology because that was the standard pool of reference for authors at the time. Family Guy references 1980's pop culture. Is that any less esoteric? How esoteric will Mr. T be after 400 years (assuming he doesn't find his way into the latest testament of the bible anytime soon)?

Additionally, all of Shakespeare's magnificent plots were lifted, sometimes whole cloth, from other books and histories, just like how sit coms reuse 'episode types' or borrow plots from popular movies. Shakespeare was not quite as visionary or deep as he is often given credit for. Rather, he was always so indistinct with the motives and thoughts of his characters that two critics could assign two completely different and conflicting motives, but find both equally well-supported.

Is Shylock evil because he's a Jew, evil despite the fact, or evil because of the effects of racism on him? You can make a case for all three. Marlowe (the more practised and precise writer) never left interpretation to chance, and where has it gotten him?

Shakespeare was an inspired and prolific author, and his effect on writing and talent for aphorism cannot be overstated. I think he probably wrote the King James version because it is so pretty. However, he is not the be-all and end-all of writing.

His popularity and central position in the canon comes mainly from the fact that you can write anything you like about his plays. Critics and professors don't have to scramble, or even leave their comfort zone. Shakespeare's work is opaque enough that it rejects no particular interpretation. No matter your opinions, you can find them reflected in Shakespeare; or at least, not outright refuted.

His is a grey world, and his lack of agenda leaves us pondering what he could possibly have been like as a person. His indirect approach makes his writing the perfect representation of an unsure, unjust world. No one is really right or wrong, and even if they were, there would be no way to prove it.

I don't know whether this makes him the most or least poignant of writers. Is the author's absence from the stories the most rarefied example of the craft, or is it just lighthearted pandering? Either way, he's still a clever, amusing, insightful, and helplessly dirty fellow. ...more

5

Mar 02, 2015

“All that is amiable and excellent in nature is combined in Hamlet, with the exception of one quality. He is a man living in meditation, called upon to act by every motive human and divine, but the great object of his life is defeated by continually resolving to do, yet doing nothing but resolve.”
Lecture XII, STC.

As much as I admire Coleridge and with the boldness of having read Hamlet only once and therefore being aware I haven’t even managed to scratch the surface of the Paragon of “All that is amiable and excellent in nature is combined in Hamlet, with the exception of one quality. He is a man living in meditation, called upon to act by every motive human and divine, but the great object of his life is defeated by continually resolving to do, yet doing nothing but resolve.”
Lecture XII, STC.

As much as I admire Coleridge and with the boldness of having read Hamlet only once and therefore being aware I haven’t even managed to scratch the surface of the Paragon of Tragedies, I dare to antagonize the poet and proclaim that I resist the idea of linking Hamlet’s moral idealism to reprehensible inaction.
The Prince of Denmark’s obsession is to think, not to act, and in spite of having been dethroned by his duplicitous uncle, he seems to count with the favor of the common people. But Hamlet can’t help being haunted by the sickness of life and he retreats into the abyss of his inwardness. He is plagued by endless questions that paralyze him in meditation: “What a piece of work is a man!... And yet to me what is this quintessence of dust?”.
In the opening scene of Act I, a melancholic dejection has already taken hold of The Prince and, whether in self-preservation or in fear of foul reality, he engages in deluded gibberish easily attributable to a man whose reason has abandoned him.
And yet his inquisitive soliloquies are infused with the elucidating sharpness of a genius, someone with great intellectual capacity who taunts with puns and riddles that contain receding depths and layers and layers of meaning in them.

“The widow being oppressed, the orphan wronged,
The taste of hunger, or a tyrant’s reign,
And thousand more calamities besides,
To grunt and sweat under this weary life,
When that he may his full quietus make,
With a bare bodkin, who would this endure,
But for a hope of something after death?”

Spontaneous philosopher or irredeemably insane?
The world of Hamlet is phantasmagorical, in constant disruption with the burdens of the past, the betrayals of the present and the falsehood of the future. Everybody around him seems to have hidden agendas. He observes, he ponders, he pretends not to see the King’s debasing lust and murderous greed, Polonius’ machiavellian maneuvers, the Queen’s disgusting shallowness, Ophelia’s gullible innocence. Yet his keen eyes discern it all…but at what cost?

“Great wit to madness nearly is allied"

The afflictions of life require greatness of spirit and Hamlet meets his fate fully aware that logic, reason and justice are not enough to disentangle the quandaries of existence. In the course of the action though, a transformation has taken place in him, the doubtful Prince has grown in wisdom and is ready to submit to providence without repudiating the world. The welfare of the Kingdom, the sense of honor, the corroding lust or ambition, all dissolve in the spectacle of beholding the spirit of man blossoming and most triumphant… in defeat.
...more

5

Mar 23, 2016

It is only when I read and compare across languages that I realise what a hard and thankless job translation is, especially older texts and more so when there's a significant cultural distance between languages. Shakespeare's diction is so profoundly poetic and idiomatic that it might be thought untranslatable, even when it is rendered into modern English idiom, it loses its antique beauty when tampered with, like those monuments reconstructed from history that look like originals but actually It is only when I read and compare across languages that I realise what a hard and thankless job translation is, especially older texts and more so when there's a significant cultural distance between languages. Shakespeare's diction is so profoundly poetic and idiomatic that it might be thought untranslatable, even when it is rendered into modern English idiom, it loses its antique beauty when tampered with, like those monuments reconstructed from history that look like originals but actually are not.

And so reading Shakespeare in Urdu was always going to be a fascinating experience. I commend Firaq Gorakhpuri's consummate skill in recreating Hamlet in an idiom that recalls the dying days of the classical dialect mixed in with sufficient modernist invention to keep it coherent, but without employing too many calques and direct borrowings which would have grated on my nerves. I also like that the translator did not depart from the prose-poetry form of the original.

All in all, this translation of Hamlet may go down as one of the finest examples of how to translate classical English literature, and not just Shakespeare, in a language that is fast losing translations from other cultures.

December '16 ...more

5

Mar 03, 2015

Updated review February 2017:
This is my third time reading Hamlet and, like a fine wine... you know the rest. I read the same copy I've had lying around for years with one page of notes on the left and the play on the right. This time I was able to read most of the play without notes which was pretty awesome. Just had to glance over to figure out what some of the words meant l, but I actually got the story this time. It's taken me three tries with a book that helps me cheat, but boy oh boy I Updated review February 2017:
This is my third time reading Hamlet and, like a fine wine... you know the rest. I read the same copy I've had lying around for years with one page of notes on the left and the play on the right. This time I was able to read most of the play without notes which was pretty awesome. Just had to glance over to figure out what some of the words meant l, but I actually got the story this time. It's taken me three tries with a book that helps me cheat, but boy oh boy I finally got this down.

It's beautiful! I loved it! It really hits a variety of genres and kept me turning the pages. It was weird... I read it pretty slowly to breathe in the language and take my time with it, even reading it out loud at times until my wife made me shut up. I tried to get her to play the female parts, but she wasn't feeling it. I guess she really just had the Queen of Ophelia so her options were limited. But yeah, I read it slowly but it also seemed to fly by at the same time.

Hamlet is a very complex guy who goes through a range or emotions as the story unfolds. His monologues are just really great poetry that I wish I could memorize and just belt out randomly on a street corner or while I'm in the grocery store contemplating another unhealthy snack. To be or not to be... I loved the monologues. I loved when things just went nuts at times. The ending was just crazy and awesome. It's just a daggum fantastic story, and you should give it a shot if you haven't already. Find a copy that helps you and breaks down the language and all that. It's good.

I've got Macbeth on the shelf, too. Might be time to revisit it and then tackle more Shakespeare. I've gotta be in the right mindset though. Can't just be reading all this nonsense all the time. I have real books waiting to be read, too. Books with real words and stuff.



Previous review:
I once asked a friend of mine if he liked Shakespeare to which he responded, "I don't dislike Shakespeare". That's exactly how I feel about him, too.

In high school I was forced to read Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar. My thoughts on Shakespeare haven't really changed much in the past 15 years. His stories are great, but they were written so long ago that it's not always fun to read. I appreciate the hell out of the guy, but he will never be my first choice (or second or third) when I'm looking for something new to read.

That being said, this was my favorite play to read through. Maybe I'm older now and find it easier and more enjoyable to read this stuff for pleasure rather than because I may have a pop quiz over the third act. I thought the story was fantastic and was surprised by how many lines I recognized from just being a human and dabbling in a little bit of culture every now and then.

Would I have ever read this if it wasn't being read in a group to prepare for Infinite Jest? Nope. But, I did and I'm glad I took the time to do it. ...more

5

Nov 29, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Jesus Christ what a year no way could this get worse now they're hacking away at each other with their swords and I'm supposed to look interested oh well done Hamlet despite everything he's still my son that was a lovely feint pretty worried about Laertes though he looks so crazy first his dad and then his sister wish I could do something to help oh come on who am I kidding it's Hamlet I'm worried about of course God what am I going to do that poor kid is totally fucked and he thinks it's all my Jesus Christ what a year no way could this get worse now they're hacking away at each other with their swords and I'm supposed to look interested oh well done Hamlet despite everything he's still my son that was a lovely feint pretty worried about Laertes though he looks so crazy first his dad and then his sister wish I could do something to help oh come on who am I kidding it's Hamlet I'm worried about of course God what am I going to do that poor kid is totally fucked and he thinks it's all my fault I told Claudius it wasn't smart to hush up what happened to Kingy they'd only believe he'd done it was I right or was I right of course with the two of us carrying on it did look suspicious don't blame people for jumping to conclusions I wish he hadn't broken up with Ophelia she seemed like such a nice girl everything just got worse after that he was so mean to her takes after his father that way know how she felt there were moments I could have jumped in the river myself and then lecturing me on my sex life I couldn't believe it honestly teenagers all think they've invented sex they can't imagine anyone over twenty still does it I'm only thirty-six for crying out loud I'm in my sexual prime not that I was getting much before Claudius noticed me poor old Kingy completely hopeless in bed have to hand it to Claudius even if he is a bastard he's the first man who's ever given me an orgasm can't imagine what Hamlet would say if I told him that bad enough as it is oh for Christ's sake Laertes what do you think you're doing that's not a real sword you know sweet Mary mother of God I need a drink but if Claudius sees me he'll start going on again about my alcohol consumption I'll wait until his back is turned and grab a quick one before he notices right here's my chance one glass won't k--- ...more

1

Nov 13, 2015

Well, I’m an English literature student and I absolutely love Shakespeare’s plays. This is nothing unusual or exciting. Most English student’s live for Shakespeare. So far I’ve enjoyed reading, and studying, everything of his that’s popped up on the reading list until this came along. My reaction surprised me most of all, I never expected to find something of Shakespeare’s that I not only dislike, but also detest. This is also one of his most revered plays, and it’s also considered one of his Well, I’m an English literature student and I absolutely love Shakespeare’s plays. This is nothing unusual or exciting. Most English student’s live for Shakespeare. So far I’ve enjoyed reading, and studying, everything of his that’s popped up on the reading list until this came along. My reaction surprised me most of all, I never expected to find something of Shakespeare’s that I not only dislike, but also detest. This is also one of his most revered plays, and it’s also considered one of his greatest tragedies. So I’m somewhat dumfounded at my reaction. This play was frustrating, annoying and damn right revolting.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: ‘who has the right to actually criticise this masterpiece?’ Well no one does. Objectively speaking it is, of course, a work of sheer brilliance. But, that doesn’t mean I have to like it or enjoy reading it. Today I sat through three hours of my lecturer praising this and calling it one of Shakespeare’s most important plays because it marked an important change within his career as dramatist and development as a writer. That’s all well and good, I can see that; and I appreciate that. However, Hamlet is one of the most idiotic and self-obsessed characters in creation. His inaction defines him as a tragic character, but to my mind that’s just silly. He caused his own death and the death of everyone in the play; yes, again, this makes his inaction tragic but it was also completely self-defeating; it boarded upon the absurd. The man needed a slap and a reality check, I just find him so unbearably frustrating.

I’m not arguing against the play’s literary merit, so please don’t get defensive with me in the comments section. It is an iconic piece of literature; it can’t be denied. However, I am going to lay down three points of reasoning as to why I disliked it so.

1. A crap idea for revenge



Hamlet’s revenge makes no sense; it is completely illogical. His uncle has killed his farther; he has personally murdered his own brother by pouring poison into his ear. This man, Claudius, has no empathy; he has no conscience. If a man can so callously kill his own brother, then, surely, logically speaking, trying to appeal to his sense of regret is almost pointless. He’s murdered his brother and has taken his place. He’s filled that role; he doesn’t care who he’s killed in the process. But, yet, somehow, this cold hearted man is deeply affected by his deed that is manifested in Hamlet's mock play. The idea for revenge shouldn’t have worked, but it did. Claudius admits his guild, in prayer, and sets Hamlet into a more crazed state. How is this revenge?

2. Hamlet is a fool




Hamlet needed to step and truly consider his situation; yes, he does this in five soliloquies, but he never considered one angle; he never considers that his inaction could lead to a worse result that acting directly. He stages a play for the King to get revenge after much indecisiveness. The most direct action of revenge would have been to simply run the King through with a sword in the throne room or to poison him in kind. This would have made him a murderer, so it was off the table. He could have clenched his fists, and grinded his teeth, and just got on with the situation. But, to do so would be to ignore his father’s spirits’ request for revenge. So he could not really go down either route, but to do neither is worse than simply ignoring one. It leads to the bloodbath that is the final scene, which forced his hand. On a character level, I think of Hamlet as a coward who, ultimately, causes his own fate. This isn’t why I dislike him; he makes the play a tragedy, but it’s the illogical nature of his actions that condemns him in my estimation. He has two roads before him, and instead of taking either he forces a third road that is more detrimental than either.

3. He is too self-obsessed



Hamlet barely considers anyone else. To his mind, his uncle marrying his mother is incest. In renaissance England this was as bad as full blown incest. Claudius and Gertrude were only in-laws: siblings by marriage. So by today’s standards it’s not that immoral. Regardless, though Hamlet doesn’t consider how his mother feels about this. He is repulsed by the notion, but she could be in love or she could be in the more likely eventuality of a forced marriage. Hamlet doesn’t consider her feelings; he is just repulsed by the idea of their marriage rather than the emotions and bond that may or may not be involved. This doesn’t make him a bad person, but, when considered with my other two points, I think it make him somewhat idiotic, selfish and frustrating.

I simply dislike this play because I’m practically repulsed by its “tragic hero.” I recognise that this is an unpopular opinion, and I cannot help but think that I should have liked the play. But, Hamlet just infuriates me far too much for me to overlook my dissatisfaction with him and admire the play's formal features. I just cannot personally like it.
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5

Jun 27, 2019

Because the figure of Hamlet has so fascinated successive generations, the play has provoked more discussion, more performances and more scholarship than any other in the whole history of world drama.

5

Feb 09, 2008

I’ve always meant to talk to my mate George about Hamlet and I guess this is as good an opportunity to do so as any.

There are different things I would say to different people about Hamlet – and as this is the near perfect play I guess there ought to be many and various things one could say about it.

The oddest thing about Hamlet is that people always tend to say the same thing – they always say, “Oh yes, Hamlet, the man who hesitates”. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t believe I’ve always meant to talk to my mate George about Hamlet and I guess this is as good an opportunity to do so as any.

There are different things I would say to different people about Hamlet – and as this is the near perfect play I guess there ought to be many and various things one could say about it.

The oddest thing about Hamlet is that people always tend to say the same thing – they always say, “Oh yes, Hamlet, the man who hesitates”. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t believe in capital punishment, but I do think that corporal punishment is much maligned and if one does not deserve a slap for saying Hamlet hesitates, it is hard to see what one should be slapped for at all.

Aristotle was a top bloke, one of my favourites. In his poetics he says what he thinks makes a good tragedy. The first thing is that you needed a fall from grace. It is hardly a tragedy if the tragic figure is already at the bottom of the heap. There has got to be a fall or there really is no tragedy. So, tragedies are about kings and such – not (excuse my French, but I’ve just finished reading Simenon) ‘shit kickers’. Miller’s Death of a Salesman is famous as a modern tragedy, not least as it breaks this Aristotelian requirement for the tragic figure to be from the upper classes.

Aristotle then thought that if the play was going to work as a tragedy the person about to undergo a tragic fall should have some flaw that was pretty ‘human’ and therefore something that would make sense to the audience. The feeling the writer of a tragic play wants to convey to his audience is pretty much, ‘there but for the grace of god go I’. The flaw needs to be fairly easy to identify – pride, for example, or lust – something easy to spot and it needs to be the reason for the downfall.

Well, Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark, so he has a long way to fall. But just what is his tragic flaw? And this is where so many rush in and say, “He hesitates.” But I beg to differ.

I think Hamlet is an enlightenment figure in an age only just (and even then, not quite) casting off the last remnants of the dark ages – and Shakespeare is an enlightenment figure doing much the same. It is important to remember that Shakespeare is writing at a time when King James is king. James was a very interesting King – not simply because he was homosexual and spent a lot of time chasing young men around the castle. But for me the most illuminating story of him – and he is mostly remembered for the Bible that bears his name – is to do with his new bride’s little trip over from Norway. On her way to England a storm blow up and made her crossing incredibly dangerous and frightening. James was not impressed. He decided that the storm was caused by the ill-will of local witches (as one does) – so a goodly number of old women were gathered together and killed for daring to cause such an irritation for his new bride. Like I said, the Enlightenment hasn’t quite taken hold, but we are getting there.

In my view the people who say that Hamlet hesitates are dark age types. What happens in the story? Hamlet is called by his best friend to see his father’s ghost wandering around at night – his father’s ghost tells him that he has been killed by Hamlet’s uncle and that Hamlet should kill his uncle in revenge. In the dark ages this would have been enough.

However, Hamlet decides to test what the ghost has told him by putting on a play in which the circumstances of the murder are acted out in front of his uncle to see if he gives himself away – he does and Hamlet almost immediately tries to kill him (deciding against it on religious grounds the first opportunity that arises – interestingly) and then mistakenly kills the Prime Minister about five minutes later.

So, does he hesitate? Well, yes. But only in the sense that trying to confirm the advice presented by a ghost before killing your uncle is a bad idea. The fact that pausing is anything but reasonable after the enlightenment should give us pause to think (which is about all that Hamlet does – hardly a ‘tragic flaw’).

I love this play – I think it is one of the greatest things ever written in our language. I love the way Shakespeare plays with Hamlet’s madness and compares and contrasts with Ophelia’s true (and horrific) madness. Imagine your lover killing your father – what a complete nightmare. I’ve never understood why there is no such thing as an Ophelia complex. Not least as it would seem to me that many women must feel that being with their husband / lover must feel like killing off their family.

There is so much in this play to talk about – it is truly endless. That people go on and on about it being about hesitation really is saying just about the dullest thing about it. Hamlet is playing with forces greater than himself – he is trying to understand those forces, as he is a thoughtful, rational person, but sometimes we are too close to what is going on in our lives to really get to see – even if we are incredibly clever. Sometimes only those outside can see and understand. There are some interesting Oedipal themes going on here too.

The only thing that bothers me about this play is that at the end everyone ends up dead – I mean, if it wasn’t for Hamlet, even Horatio would have snuffed it. I’m not sure that really is the most satisfying end to a play – where the only way things can go on is for everyone affected to be dead. Lear is much the same, but worse in so many ways. Death always seems the easy way out in these things – the real tragedy of human existence isn’t death, but being forced to live on. As Oedipus must go on, even after plucking his own eyes out. Ah, but you know what those bloody Greeks are like, George. ‘Unrelenting’ is the word I’m struggling for.
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5

Jul 19, 2015

Isn't it always a delight to delve into one of Shakespeare's world-famous plays?

Like many others, I had been forced to read Shakespeare in school (Romeo & Juliet, as in my case), and unfamiliar with all the important literary classics as I was back then, I had a lot of troubles with the rather outmoded language. After finally finishing that play, not only was I relieved to have conquered it successfully, no, it had also raised my interest for other Shakespearian plays. Macbeth, Julius Isn't it always a delight to delve into one of Shakespeare's world-famous plays?

Like many others, I had been forced to read Shakespeare in school (Romeo & Juliet, as in my case), and unfamiliar with all the important literary classics as I was back then, I had a lot of troubles with the rather outmoded language. After finally finishing that play, not only was I relieved to have conquered it successfully, no, it had also raised my interest for other Shakespearian plays. Macbeth, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night's Dream - all of them are fantastic plays and an intriguing choice to spend some hours with. But none of them left me as enthralled, shocked and intrigued as Hamlet did.

Everyone is probably familiar with the basic storyline of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, and his story of revenge. You may call into question Hamlet's intelligence in the performance of his revenge, but this does not erase the way Shakespeare has so beautifully written one of his most well-known plays to engage readers of the original text as well as viewers of the stage performances alike. The play has been discussed and analyzed so many times already that it probably does not need yet another review, especially since I don't consider myself to be in the position to elaborately judge or even criticize the sophisticated language or the engaging storyline.

I'd recommend this tale to everyone, even (or especially) if you don't know Shakespeare yet or don't want to read anything else by him due to negative experiences with his other plays. Hamlet may be called a classic thriller in its essence, but it is also an exploration on themes like humanity or the worth of whether revenge as a reaction to certain deeds is truly appropriate. Read and judge it for yourself, but read it. Until now, I have been reading Shakespeare's plays mostly because I thought everyone has to at some point, but Hamlet turned out to be a compelling reading journey, even if you are already familiar with the basic concept of the story. ...more

5

Feb 28, 2012

"To be or not to be...," that is not my favorite line. My favorite is: "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times."

It's that recollection of innocent days that gets me every time, because you know Hamlet is being swept up in a vortex of innocence lost.

STUPID ADULTS! They screw up everything!

I grew up in a truly idyllic setting. As childhoods go, mine was a joy. But then you grow up and you wake up "To be or not to be...," that is not my favorite line. My favorite is: "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times."

It's that recollection of innocent days that gets me every time, because you know Hamlet is being swept up in a vortex of innocence lost.

STUPID ADULTS! They screw up everything!

I grew up in a truly idyllic setting. As childhoods go, mine was a joy. But then you grow up and you wake up to reality.

My introduction to Hamlet came during high school in my early teen years. Its murderous plot of family deceit and infidelity struck home, my family being likewise stricken with such maladies. The parallels were all too similar and I love/hated the play for driving it all home.

Mel Gibson's movie version came out at this time, and its over-simplification and emotional heightening was a perfect fit for a simple-minded, emotionally-blinded teen. Less than stellar, the movie nonetheless had its effect upon me, furthering the torment.

Luckily my family drama was not as murdery as Hamlet's, although if the personalities of some of the principle players were slightly more volatile, there could easily have been a bloodbath of Hamlet-esque proportions. In my reality, we all got over it, sorted it out, and moved on with our lives wherever they led. The beauty of fiction is to see the deepest of fantasies played out. It gives us - I hesitate to use the melodramatic "victims" here, but that is essentially what we amount to - it gives us release from the pent up anger when we see the wrong-doers get their comeuppance.

For that reason, I doubt I'll ever be able to view this work through a truly unbiased, critical lens. Just because it's a "classic" doesn't mean you have to adorn it with a 5-star laurel wreath, but - for what it means to me - I do.



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3

May 14, 2015

The first time I read this book I was in highschool. It was an 80-page book. The story was so short and simple, so I wondered "Why so many people say this is such a complex play/book?". A couple of years later, I bought a special edition of 592 pages: Too much? No! Why not? Because the play was written in Shakespearean English, and every single word that was not in standard English was explained at the bottom of the page, it explained the context, the uses you can have from that word.
Ok, so I The first time I read this book I was in highschool. It was an 80-page book. The story was so short and simple, so I wondered "Why so many people say this is such a complex play/book?". A couple of years later, I bought a special edition of 592 pages: Too much? No! Why not? Because the play was written in Shakespearean English, and every single word that was not in standard English was explained at the bottom of the page, it explained the context, the uses you can have from that word.
Ok, so I read that version and it was a pain in the ass. Not because it was a bad story at all, but now I truly understand people who say that Shakespeare was such a special writer, and I agree!
Well, about the story... Fascinating! I loved how Shakespeare made of Hamlet such a special character. It was very difficult for Hamlet to take action, it was like "almost, almost!"
I feel Shakespeare wanted to express himself on Hamlet. His multiple personalities during the play reminded me of Shakespeare's life a bit.
On the other hand, I really LOVED how this play ends... What a bloody and violent ending, Terrific!
Recommended? Absolutely, but a simple version, because the original might be too difficult and slow to read. ...more

4

Jan 07, 2012

Book Review
4 out of 5 stars to Hamlet, a tragedy published in 1600 by William Shakespeare. Buckle your seat belts, as I have a 38 page review to share... Just Kidding! Well, I do have a lengthy review I could include from a previous course on Shakespeare, but I will not do so here... chance are you've already read the play or seen some film adaption, perhaps even a staged version. I've seen a bunch of them and read the place 4 times (once in high school, twice in college and once just for Book Review
4 out of 5 stars to Hamlet, a tragedy published in 1600 by William Shakespeare. Buckle your seat belts, as I have a 38 page review to share... Just Kidding! Well, I do have a lengthy review I could include from a previous course on Shakespeare, but I will not do so here... chance are you've already read the play or seen some film adaption, perhaps even a staged version. I've seen a bunch of them and read the place 4 times (once in high school, twice in college and once just for pleasure). Here's the thing about this play: There is WAY too much to absorb in just one or two reads. Each time you read the play, you pick up on new interpretations, new meanings and new thought patterns. Each time you watch a new performance, the actors and directors choose a different angle or approach. Hamlet is all of us. And we will always take from it something we want to believe... likely based on what's going on in our life at that time. If you are having relationship issues, you'll probably focus on that aspect of Hamlet's life. If you feel depressed, you'll questions "to be or not to be." If you are happy, you'll root for him to do the right things. I'm not sure if that's how Shakespeare intended it to happen, but he certainly left it open on purpose. Maybe not to allow us to have completely widespread views and interpretations, but enough to choose the key things we want to focus on. I think maybe I need to read it again this summer!

About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. ...more

0

Jul 31, 2018

Maybe it's just me, but I always experience disconnect when reading Shakespeare's plays. A group in catching up on classics decided upon a buddy read of Hamlet and I attempted to join in, and got through Act I only and skimmed through the rest. It's not the language- I actually only read Shakespeare to sharpen my skills. And it's not the story or even reading plays. Something about the Bard I find it hard to get through and I still can not pinpoint it.

That being said, even Act I included some Maybe it's just me, but I always experience disconnect when reading Shakespeare's plays. A group in catching up on classics decided upon a buddy read of Hamlet and I attempted to join in, and got through Act I only and skimmed through the rest. It's not the language- I actually only read Shakespeare to sharpen my skills. And it's not the story or even reading plays. Something about the Bard I find it hard to get through and I still can not pinpoint it.

That being said, even Act I included some talking points. A young prince who wants revenge for the murder of his father, going as far as calling his mother's relationship with his uncle to be incest. In Jewish law a widow is obligated to marry one of her deceased husband's brothers unless they preform a ritual ceremony freeing her. This brings up the timeless question visited in commentaries of A Merchant of Venice- was the Bard Jewish? Regardless, even if Hamlet was seething at his uncle's attempt to seize the throne, in some circles the marriage is perfectly legal.

And of course, there is the love interest Ophelia whose father tells her to proceed with caution. Yet even this is not enough for me to read through one of Shakespeare's finest. Is it the lack of female strong characters other than A Merchant of Venice and MacBeth, my two favorites? A dated setting? Outdated references? I still can't pinpoint it but suffice it to say I will leave the reading of the Bard to others and move on. As classic as his plays are, they just are not my taste. ...more

5

May 01, 2015

If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.

Shakespeare is Hard, but so is Life: "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare, Burton Raffel, Harold Bloom



“Shakespeare is Hard, but so is Life” (title of a 2002 book by Fintan O’Toole).

The 23rd of April is almost upon us (*). Those of you who have been following my diatribes on this blog, know that I've been thinking about doing this for a while. Last year I put my Shakespeare project (“re-read everything from beginning to end”) on hold. I've If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.

Shakespeare is Hard, but so is Life: "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare, Burton Raffel, Harold Bloom


 
“Shakespeare is Hard, but so is Life” (title of a 2002 book by Fintan O’Toole).
 
The 23rd of April is almost upon us (*). Those of you who have been following my diatribes on this blog, know that I've been thinking about doing this for a while. Last year I put my Shakespeare project (“re-read everything from beginning to end”) on hold. I've decided that now is the time to jump-start this project. I want to read everything, starting with the plays I haven't read in a while, or at all, and moving to the ones I'm more familiar with. I'll post individual reviews as I go through. “Hamlet” had to be the first.
 
Why?
 
Read on.
 
The rest of this review is available elsewhere.
 
(*) This review was written before this date. ...more

5

Dec 20, 2014

"To be or not to be that is the question:"

Is this the most famous line in Shakespeare? It is certainly a contender. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is Shakespeare's longest and most ambitious play, taking over four hours to perform in its entirety. Written at some point between 1599 and 1602, it has such an extensive vocabulary and expressive range, that Shakespeare was emotionally drained afterwards, and was incapable of writing anything for two years. It was not only one of "To be or not to be that is the question:"

Is this the most famous line in Shakespeare? It is certainly a contender. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is Shakespeare's longest and most ambitious play, taking over four hours to perform in its entirety. Written at some point between 1599 and 1602, it has such an extensive vocabulary and expressive range, that Shakespeare was emotionally drained afterwards, and was incapable of writing anything for two years. It was not only one of Shakespeare's most popular works during his lifetime, but it has been hugely influential, inspiring countless adaptations and retellings, and is still among his most-performed plays world-wide. People have joked that it is a series of quotations from end to end, and certainly maxims such as,

"Give thy thoughts no tongue"
"Be thou familiar but by no means vulgar"
"Neither a borrower nor a lender be"
"To thine own self be true"
"I must be cruel only to be kind"
"Thus conscience doth make cowards of us all"
"... it is a custom
More honoured in the breach
than the observance"

have entered the English language so successfully, that people sometimes mistakenly think they are from a holy book. Many of the characters in Hamlet are inclined to philosophise. Here is (view spoiler)[Claudius (hide spoiler)], racked with guilt,

"My words fly up, my thoughts remain below.
Words without thoughts never to heaven go."

But none more so than the eponymous character of Hamlet. His remark to the courtier Rosencrantz,

"For there is nothing either good or bad,
but thinking makes it so"

is subjectivist. It has its philosophical basis in the Greek Sophists, who argued that nothing is real except in the mind of the individual. Therefore there is no absolute truth, only relative truth. Hamlet's most famous soliloquy, the "To be or not to be" speech, is a clear example of existentialism. Hamlet is considering "being" - or continuing in his life and therefore acting on his knowledge, as against "not being" - where he would not live any more, and therefore not take any action. Yet as all true philosophers are, Hamlet is both open-minded and sceptical. On seeing the ghost, he reassures his friend,

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

In addition, Shakespeare has made this brilliant, perceptive young man, the most skilled of all the characters at rhetoric, frequently using metaphors, puns, and double meanings. Surprisingly, this style of language still works well in a modern theatre, and is also comparatively easy to understand in this play. Other phrases such as,

"Frailty, thy name is woman!"
"Murder most foul"
"To sleep: perchance to dream"
"A little more than kin, a little less than kind"
"Sweets to the sweet"
"In my mind's eye"

and many more, are present in our culture. They are common sayings, frequently "borrowed" by other authors to be the titles of their books and plays. Shakespeare's language can sometimes be difficult to understand for contemporary readers, as it uses highly elaborate and complex witty discourse. Yet such is the skill of our greatest playwright, that he has coined these timeless and memorable quips in this play. For, as wise Polonius says,

"Brevity is the soul of wit."

There are many long speeches and soliloquies, but often it is these shorter phrases which have the most resonance.

Shakespeare created the title role of Hamlet (as the play is usually referred to) for the leading tragic actor of the time, Richard Burbage, and the tradition of "wanting to play Hamlet" has remained the pinnacle of many actors' careers for 400 years. In modern times, some female actors have also expressed a desire to play the role - and a few now have.

Shakespeare rarely invented his stories, and the source material for this one was probably the legend of "Amleth", from the 13th century. This was later retold by François de Belleforest in the 16th century. There is also apparently an earlier Elizabethan play, known today as the "Ur-Hamlet", although it is no longer extant. The author of the "Ur-Hamlet" is not known, and may well have been Shakespeare himself.

The play starts with a supernatural episode, guaranteed to grip the audience. It is approaching midnight, a cold winter's night outside Elsinore, the royal castle in Denmark, where the play is to be set. With the very first words,

"Who's there?"

a ghostly figure has appeared to the guards, while they are awaiting a relief patrol.

As the guards and the audience begin to anticipate more appearances by the ghost, we learn of the political situation through the discussion between the soldiers. There has been a long-standing feud between Denmark and Norway, a neighbouring country. The Norwegian prince, Fortinbras is expected to lead an invasion. This also neatly leads to an introduction of his counterpart, the title character and protagonist, Prince Hamlet of Denmark, whom the soldiers admire. Hamlet's father (who was also called Hamlet) has recently died, and his widowed mother, Gertrude, has married the deceased king's brother, Claudius, who immediately succeeded him to the throne. This is obviously an interesting topic of discussion, both in terms of both the domestic and the international political situation.

The action moves to within the castle, and a scene introducing the characters mentioned. We become instantly aware of the young Prince Hamlet's dislike of his uncle Claudius,

"My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules"

Indeed, he later refers to him as,

"that incestuous, that adulterate beast"

Hamlet seems confused, and consequently distanced from his mother, whom he views as having made an over-hasty marriage,

"Frailty, thy name is woman! -
A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she follow'd my poor father's body,
Like Niobe, all tears:"

...

"within a month:
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,
She married. O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!"

Much later, Gertrude has begun to recognise her behaviour in Hamlet's dramatic representation, and objects,

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks"

but at this point she seems unaware of his judgement of her.

We are introduced to Hamlet's circle of friends, his good friend Horatio, his romantic interest, Ophelia, her wise father - and the Lord Chamberlain Polonius (source of many of the timeless quotations), and her brave brother Laertes. The soldiers have consulted Horatio about the apparition's strange resemblance to the old king, and the Prince Hamlet decides to investigate.

From now on, the play becomes increasingly tense, with thrills, madness, mayhem, suicide and murder at every turn. One of the greatest bloodbaths in the whole of Shakespeare is in this play. The ghost tells Hamlet,

(view spoiler)[ "the serpent that did sting thy father's life
Now wears his crown"

"Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand
Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatch'd:" (hide spoiler)]

urging Hamlet to,

"Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder...
Murder most foul!"

"O, horrible! O, horrible!" most horrible!"

"Adieu, adieu, adieu! remember me."

Hamlet is mentally tortured by the knowledge of what the ghost has told him. He is driven to question the worth of his very existence, dissembling to many of his loved ones by assuming an air of madness. A genuine insanity takes hold of Ophelia, mainly because of Hamlet's behaviour and actions, particularly one which resulted in the wrong victim. He uses his brain to outwit the one he now knows to be the murderer,

"O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!"

(view spoiler)["... the play's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King." (hide spoiler)]


and a remarkable piece of theatre, a play within a play, is the result.

This is a favourite device of Shakespeare, a literary conceit in which one story is told during the action of another story. It is both enjoyable in its own terms, yet it also reveals traits of character in those watching - just as that in, for instance, "A Midsummer Night's Dream". The twist in this play, of course, is that such reactions are being searched for by one of the characters, who is watching the others like a hawk. This a nice self-referential touch.

When Hamlet is banished, although he does not know the whole of the devilment in store for him, he turns circumstances to his advantage.

"Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't"

"with wings as swift
As meditation or the thoughts of love
May sweep to my revenge"

Yet he feels persecuted, and the audience sense that he is doomed. This is a tragedy, after all. And Hamlet himself seems to feel the omens,

"The time is out of joint - O cursed spite!
That ever I was born to set it right!"

There are twists and turns in the play which come as a shock to the audience, and critics have debated the interpretation of the events ever since. There is cold-blooded murder, desire, jealousy, ambition, and calculated revenge. There are complex ethical and philosophical issues which have had varying significance depending on the time the play is performed.

In the early 17th century Jacobean drama, when themes of insanity and melancholy were fashionable, the play was very popular. By the middle of the 18th century, Gothic themes became popular, so audiences appreciated not only madness in the play, but also the mystical and ghostly elements of Hamlet. In the 19th century, Romanticism blossomed, and readers and audiences began to admire internal and individual conflicts, so the focus shifted to an interest in Hamlet's characters and internal mental struggles. This tradition has continued into the 20th century, and even today.

A modern audience may have an even deeper psychological approach, and look at Hamlet's unconscious desires and motivations, which may not be merely the ones he expresses. Additionally, on each performance, or reading, a reader may understand different points about the play. Consider just a few paltry examples from the hundreds of questions the play raises; here are a few alternative interpretations to those which seem the more obvious ones:

Was Gertrude actually "guilty" of anything? A respectable woman of this time would be classed either as a maid, a wife, or a widow. Whores were considered to be clearly unrespectable. Yet Hamlet perceived his mother as a whore because she did not remain faithful to his father, the king. But wasn't she a woman trapped by convention, in the tradition of marrying her brother-in-law, to protect the kingdom? Or were there baser desires, as Hamlet suspected? Or alternatively, was Hamlet disgusted by his mother's "incestuous" relationship with Claudius because he himself had Oedipal desires?

What was the true relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia? Was she an innocent? Or could Ophelia's madness after her father's death also be given a Freudian interpretation. She clearly loved her father - but was this in all innocence as a daughter? Why was she apparently so completely overwhelmed by his death that this drove her insane?

And why did Hamlet's disgust at his mother's behaviour lead him to lose faith in all women, so that he treated Ophelia as if she was being dishonest - and as if she too was a whore? Was Hamlet himself mad, suicidal, hormonal, confused, or psychotic? It is interesting that in a play which sees so much action, it is in the soliloquies that Shakespeare shows us Hamlet's motives and thoughts. Why did he seem so inconsistent? Is this to lead the audience astray? The play focuses on confusion and duality, in all things. Was he a true hero?

As with all classic works, there are myriad interpretations. None of the situations are simple; none of the characters one-sided. It is a play which can, and should, be read and watched over and over again.


"O, that this too too solid flesh would melt
Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!
Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!
How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable,
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on't! ah fie! 'tis an unweeded garden,
That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely. That it should come to this!
...
It is not nor it cannot come to good:
But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue."

...

"To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will..." ...more

5

Mar 27, 2018

The reason why Hamlet is still discussed today is that it still eludes and confounds us. This intriguing aspect of the play has kept it alive for centuries. Hamlet's doubts, questions, and inability to act strengthen him in our eyes; everything that he struggles with is deeply familiar, and it reverberates, to varying degrees and in different contexts, with us even today. For instance, these six words 'to be or not to be' haunt Hamlet throughout the play, and this dilemma is no stranger to us,







The reason why Hamlet is still discussed today is that it still eludes and confounds us. This intriguing aspect of the play has kept it alive for centuries. Hamlet's doubts, questions, and inability to act strengthen him in our eyes; everything that he struggles with is deeply familiar, and it reverberates, to varying degrees and in different contexts, with us even today. For instance, these six words 'to be or not to be' haunt Hamlet throughout the play, and this dilemma is no stranger to us, we face it all the time. No living person is immune to it.

The plot of Hamlet is simple; his father, the king, is killed by Hamlet's uncle who then marries the widowed queen – Hamlet's mother. The exact nature of king's death is revealed to Hamlet by his father's ghost More than his father's death, and it is the intrigue behind his death that pushes him into a vortex of doubts and shakes his very existence.

Now what happens to Hamlet in the play is not unusual. Even worse incidents happen in life, but not all young men or women respond to death, crime in ways he does. His very being is invaded. He is consumed by what he now knows, and this 'knowing' forces him to act, which means, he has to expose and punish his father's murderer.

When the young Hamlet gets to know of his uncle's heinous deed, he is internally damaged. He has no control over his life. His lover, Ophelia, could not calm him or divert him, nor does he seem capable of responding to her pleadings; strangely enough he is more eaten away by the thoughts of his uncle and mother's sinful union. However, he is not angry with his mother because his father's ghost has nothing against her 'she is blessedly unaware of the darker sides of the world.'

To dissect Hamlet psychologically takes us nowhere, he is a problematic character that defies 'fixing.' T. S Eliot, in his critique of Hamlet, coined the term 'objective correlative' and claimed that Hamlet's emotions are in excess of the situation he encounters. This seems a valid observation. For instance, one wonders why does the queen never for a second reflect or doubt the abrupt death of the king. How could she be so naive? Not only this, soon after the king's death, she agrees to marry her brother. Hamlet, on the contrary, stops living his life, stops loving his beloved Ophelia. He is only left with one motto; his entire life reduced to one thing – that is to avenge his father's murder.

One can unceasingly go on analyzing Hamlet and yet not able to know him. Like truth, like life, Hamlet is eternal, elusive, only partly penetrable. Therefore, we are so obsessed with Him. ...more

4

Feb 27, 2018

Hamlet teaches us all an important lesson. If you keep your head down, stay doing gay shit with your friends at college and never come home you'll be okay

in all seriousness, Hamlet insisting on wearing black all the time and frequently monologuing about how every decision is too hard and he's a mess is Relatable TM so I love him