Next Installment from Big Think includes a boatload of questions including:
* Which Shakespeare play would you save from a fire? [ Lear for me ]
* Which play would you let burn? (Maybe it’s not worded exactly that way, but that’s what I’m taking from it). Shrew gets no love here.
* “Are you a Hamlet or a Lear guy?” and is the difference between those two really “a young play” and “an old play”?
Category: Hamlet
Hamlet endures due to its complex characters, psychological depth, and exploration of universal themes such as death, revenge, and the human condition. Its enduring popularity is also attributed to its poetic language, memorable quotes, and its influence on literature, film, and popular culture. Hamlet’s themes and characters continue to be studied and adapted in various forms, making it one of Shakespeare’s most famous and frequently performed plays. Its timeless appeal lies in its ability to speak to audiences across generations, cultures, and languages, and its place as a cornerstone of Western literature.
Browse the text of Hamlet entire play here.
Devon Does Denmark : A Hamlet Comedy
This sounds entertaining. Imagine telling Hamlet from the perspective of the players. As a comedy.
The focus is on a ragtag band of actors from Devon, England, playing the hinterlands. They’re far afield in Denmark, where they happen upon Hamlet, brooding over the murder of his father. Hamlet hires the troupe to stage a play for the king depicting a similar situation, hoping to catch the king’s reaction as proof that he’s the culprit.
But this is not Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Here, the title character is a vain wimp who complains about being cold and berates his bumbling guards. Other characters are hilariously altered as well: King Claudius is an imperious twit with a speech impediment. Queen Gertrude is a martini-swilling “cougar.” And Ophelia is birdbrained klutz. In this version, the players overhear that Claudius plans to kill Hamlet. They scramble to thwart the plot and to save their own skins.
The article doesn’t say whether they keep the bloodbath at the end, or if they change it for the sake of comedy. I’d be curious.
Hamlet is down!
It’s happened again — this time it was all fun and games over in Ireland until Hamlet almost lost an eye. I’m assuming that this is a freak accident that would have happened with any stage weapon, and not one of these crazy cases where the director insists on using real weapons. What I’m most curious about, though, is this:
The A.P. said that Mr. Madden sustained a cut beneath his eye and collapsed on stage, requiring the theater company’s artistic director, Alan Stanford, to go to the stage and explain to stunned audience members that this was not part of the play: the actor had been injured, and the play could not continue.
Not “the actor could not continue” – the play could not. Isn’t it common to have some sort of second for your lead, for situations like this? Or does that only apply if the actor is not able to go on at all?
I suppose a third option is that I’m being heartless, and the cast was unable to go on because they were too distraught at the injury to their Hamlet. Though I remember professional wrestler Owen Hart *dying* on a live pay-per-view event, and the show went on.
Shakespeare GeekDad (A Geeklet Story)
Why I love what I do:
When putting my 4yr old to bed he informed me that we would be playing “a guessing game.” Normally this is a superhero guessing game, which consists of him saying things like “I’m thinking of a good guy who wears blue and red with an S on his chest,” and I have to guess Superman. Anyway, tonight he says, “A Shakespeare guessing game.”
“Oh, honey, we can’t play that,” I tell him. “You don’t know enough Shakespeare characters. I can tell you a Shakespeare story, though.” I’m thinking I’ll tell him a quick version of Midsummer or something equally 4yr-old-going-to-bed-safe.
So I tuck him into bed, curl up next to him, and ask what story he wants. He tells me, “A story with Hamlet, and Shakespeare…”
“…wait, you want Shakespeare *in* the story?”
“Yes. And… what else characters did Shakespeare write?”
“Well,” I say, realizing now that I’m going to have to improvise, “There was Oberon King of the Fairies, and Puck his faithful assistant.”
“Ok,” he decides, “A story with Hamlet, Shakespeare, Oberon and Puck.”
Oh, wonderful.
“And in the story, Hamlet has to say ‘To be or not to be.’ Twice.”
Great. So, we begin…
“Once upon a time there lived a prince named Hamlet. Hamlet was very sad, moping around the castle all day, because this new king – King Claudius – had taken over the thrown. Hamlet’s dad used to be king, but King Claudius threw him in the dungeon and made himself king. Hamlet was not very happy about this, but you just don’t walk up to a king and say Hey dude, that’s not cool – because if you do that, then he throws you in the dungeon too.
So, Hamlet is out walking the castle grounds trying to decide what do when he bumps into William Shakespeare. “Who art thou?” Hamlet asks.
“I am Shakespeare,” Shakespeare said. “I wrote this story.”
“Well then if thou didst write mine story,” said Hamlet, “Tell me how to get rid of King Claudius and put my dad back on the throne!”
Pulling a pen and paper from his pocket, Shakespeare began to write.
*Poof*
Out of nowhere appeared Oberon, King of the Fairies, and his faithful servant Puck.
“TO BE OR NOT TO BE!” exclaimed Hamlet. “WHO ART THOU?”
“I am Oberon, King of the Fairies,” said Oberon, King of the Fairies. “And this is my faithful assistant, Puck.”
“Dost thou know how to rid my kingdom of evil King Claudius?”
Oberon thought for a moment, then whispered in Puck’s ear.
*ZOOM* In a blink, Puck was gone. Faster than Flash. Almost as fast as Superman.
And, just like that, *ZOOM* he was back again, holding a purple flower.
“TO BE OR NOT TO BE AGAIN!” cried Hamlet, “Where didst thou go so fast?”
Oberon handed the purple flower to Hamlet. “This flower,” said Oberon, “Is quite magical. Have your King Claudius merely smell it, and he will fall into a deep sleep. Once he is sleeping, you can take him far away from the kingdom and restore your father to the throne.”
Taking the flower, Hamlet went back into the castle. He first bumped into his mother, Gertrude. “Hamlet!” she said, opening her arms to hug him, “You look so much happier today! What a beautiful flower, may I smell it?”
“No!” said Hamlet. “I…ummm….got it for King Claudius.”
“That’s very nice of you,” said Hamlet’s mother. “The king is in his office.”
Sure enough, Hamlet found Claudius in his office huddled over his paperwork. “What?” asked Claudius, when he saw Hamlet. Claudius didn’t trust Hamlet very much.
“Brought you a flower!” said Hamlet. “Smell it.”
“Not right now,” said Claudius, “Just leave it on the desk.”
Leaving it on the desk, Hamlet left. Claudius returned to his paperwork. Soon, though, Claudius raised his arms to stretch and take a little break. Spying the flower, he picked it up to smell it.
*THUNK* He fell asleep so hard and so fast that his head smacked right into the paperwork he’d just been working on.
Once they could hear him snoring, Hamlet snuck into Claudius’ office with his friend Horatio. Together they brought Claudius’ sleeping form outside, tossed him over a horse’s back, and set the horse walking on the road out of Denmark. He was never heard from again.
With King Claudius safely out of the picture, Hamlet went down to the dungeon and unlocked his father, who was restored to the throne. And they all lived happily ever after. The end.
Atheism, Afterlife and … Hamlet.
Thanks to reader Christopher S for this fascinating video from the Jewish TV Network where top atheism advocates – including Christopher Hitchens – debate the existence of an afterlife with several top rabbis.
At 1:28 (that’s one hour, twenty-eight minutes – it’s a long video), they break out the Hamlet. Which side, exactly, brings up Hamlet? *Both*. That’s cool. They both try to argue that Hamlet supports their case. And apparently, though I don’t have time to find every reference, Chris tells me that “Several times throughout the evening they bring up Shakespeare’s canon as a foil to the religious canons, arguing about whether we should read both in the same way or whether they need to be approached in different ways.” This is a topic that we’ve covered as well.
What do you think about the atheism question? Does Hamlet fear the undiscovered country because he doesn’t know what comes next … or because he’s wondering if *anything* comes next? I wouldn’t go so far as to extend the discussion to “Is Hamlet atheist? Therefore, was Shakespeare atheist?” I know that’s been argued elsewhere on the net. I think the odds are against it. I’m referring to this particular case. Even if Hamlet is a devoutly religious chap with a firm belief in the afterlife, is this speech a moment of weakness where he wonders “What if I’m wrong?”