Hamlet by Shakespeare

Hamlet  

Shakespeare    

Published 1599-1601 

English Play    

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

This is my fifth or sixth Shakespeare play that I read aloud with my kids, ages 11 and 12. I admit that we read the right hand side of No Fear Shakespeare, which, if you are familiar with this edition, gives you the option to read a modern translation. Frankly, in some cases, it probably would have been safer to read the left hand side instead because there were some parts I would stop and say, "Just skip that!" when they were reading their lines out loud. 

And sometimes -- no, all the time, my 12-year old insisted on reading all of his lines in a terrible British accent that just made the reading take a lot longer; but other than that, it went fairly smoothly. And I was always Hamlet and enjoyed immensely reading his famous soliloquy. 

Side note: we are also reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and I was able to read to my kids the duke's version of Hamlet's soliloquy. Such perfect timing. So hysterical. 

Anyway, back to Hamlet. This play really bothers me because so much does not seem fair or right. Everything is a mess. Hamlet's father was "murdered," or at least Hamlet had good reason to suspect that Uncle Claudius murdered his father, the King, because that's what the ghost of Hamlet's father told him. To complicate things, Hamlet's mother married King Uncle Claudius.

Throughout the play, Hamlet's plots of revenge change often, and at one point he accidentally murdered his girlfriend Ophelia's father. That's not a good way to get in with the family. He spent much of the time professing madness or behaving rudely toward everyone, including his girlfriend. At one point, she literally went off the deep end and probably killed herself. 

Now Ophelia's brother, Laertes, sought revenge on Hamlet. Thus, he challenged Hamlet to a dual, and in good Shakespearean fashion, this tragedy did not end well for anyone. Except Horatio.

What is this play about?

Life and death. To be...or not to be. Life, on the one hand brings pain, sorrows, and struggles that can be more burdensome than the joys and pleasures; however, the alternative is death, and being an unknown, cause great internal conflict.

Conscience. Hamlet struggled with following through with his plots to avenge his father. He knew what he wanted to do, but conscience always pulled him back. 

Reality and Madness. Was Hamlet really mad, or was he feigning madness? I could not confirm.

Consequences. Choices have consequences. Oh, so many bad decisions made by one character that hurt another. Like a vicious cycle.