I used to think Shakespeare was an insufferable author who liked to write to show off rather than to tell a story. Of course, I'd never read any shakespeare. And when we read Merchant of Venice in 9th grade, I found his writing thoroughly enjoyable. My second favorite play by him is Macbeth, especially since I got to play Macbeth in the final fight scene. But my all-time favorite is Hamlet. In understand the writing extraordinarily well since I watched it on stage six times in a row, and that means that I can delve into why the characters do what they do. I love all the angst, the trickery gone sour, the dynamic villain...
But there is a lot left unsatisfied in Hamlet.
For instance, Claudius the king killed Hamlet's father and married his mother. But why didn't he have a wife in the first place? Hamlet was about 18 years old, so his parents must have been about 36 at the youngest. Supposedly the kind wouldn't have been much younger, and in those days it was not commonplace to remain single for so long. Did h bump off his wife too then? Perhaps he'd been planning the murder for 18 years. Or maybe he loved Gertrude and was waiting for her.
Secondly, was Hamlet Sr a good king? I believe only Hamlet and his closest friends acknowledge that Hamlet Sr was a good king. And Hamlet Sr is suffering in purgatory as a ghost. Perhaps for crimes perpetrated on his people?
Was Claudius a bad king? No mention is made of this either, though to me it is the most important factor in the play. If in fact Claudius is better than Hamlet Sr, the suddenly Hamlet Jr's character becomes a lot less "righteously angry."
I do not believe Claudius was totally evil. He tried to stop Gertrude from drinking the poison, and he did feel guilt for killing his brother.
THE TALLY:
Deaths caused by Hamlet:
Rosencrantz
Guildenstern
Polonius, and therefore
Ophelia
Laertes
Claudius
Deaths caused by Claudius:
Hamlet Sr.
Hamlet
Gertrude
he is partly to blame for the death of Laertes as well.
Maybe I just like Claudius so much because he was played by one of the nicest people I know.
3 comments:
From my memory of Romeo and Juliet, he does leave alot out. I don't remember why the Montagues and Capulets hated each other, along with several details similar to the ones you list for Hamlet.
When/If I read Macbeth this summer, I'll tell you what I think of that.
When I read Hamlet in college or in English literature class I'll tell you what I think :)
I read only one Shakespeare play and it was just one more than the optimal to me.
There's probably an answer to this, but I'm not exactly a Shakespeare scholar nor even an authority on Hamlet. I just like the line:
'Now could I drink hot blood and do such bitter business as the day would quake to look on.'
But that's just me.
I do think, though, that Shakespeare works on four levels:
Plot
Language
Philosophy
Esoteric knowledge.
It's the fourth that most people miss (in my opinion.)
Nevertheless, well done for liking the villain and questioning the received view. All good.
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