Hamlet

This play is brilliant. Honestly, it has completely dispelled any apprehension I had about Shakespeare. That he was too difficult to read. Or that he actually wasn’t very good. I could so clearly understand and see his genius, far more than in Romeo and Juliet. Hamlet’s monologues really were the highlight, debating issues of death and life and morality and madness.

There was also the usual helping of innuendos. One in particular was rather shocking and made very obvious by David Tennant (in the BBC adaptation). As a play it seems an odd thing to read it when so much of the presentation comes from seeing it acted. Perhaps because of this I found that as I read it, I wanted to read it aloud and act it. This is surely also proof of the realism of the characters (well a kind of fictional realism, not the kind of realism you might get in a novel nowadays). It was so open to interpretation too. “My Hamlet” was subdued and depressed, Tennant’s was more violent.

I guess the real question that comes with this play, is “Is Hamlet mad?” and I refuse to answer it! Please offer your ideas and comments, because I honestly feel I should reread it, looking closely at the text, ignoring all other interpretations, to come to a conclusion. I simply don’t have enough time!

One element of the plot that I felt a little unsure about was the very small Fortinbras line. To me, it didn’t offer much, other than a setting of war. I suppose this may have made some of Hamlet’s observations more potent. I mean, who am I to doubt Shakespeare? He’s like Britain’s one claim to fame that could probably trump all others. So you’ve got Michael Jackson? Well we’ve got Shakespeare.