1.1
I just talked all about grad school, but this first scene always
makes me think of the my class at Pepperdine taught by Erika Olbricht.
You see, the play starts with the line "who's there?" She told us that
this scene was basically the beginning of the world's longest knock
knock joke. She also used that to launch into an idea to look at why
each play starts with the particular opening line it starts with-
something I think about with each play i now approach- not just
Shakespeare. Erika's theory was that the whole play we are looking at
who's there? and the answer should be Hamlet- the King. but both old
Hamlet and young Hamlet are not king... and there begins the trouble. Of
course, not everyone thinks this is the major through line. but we'll
get there i'm sure. Of course, in this scene, who's there is Francisco. A
mysterious character who is a part of the king's watch and who
we don't hear much from aside from the perfect line:
For this relief much thanks: 'tis bitter cold,
And I am sick at heart.
And I am sick at heart.
Francisco...
why are you sick at heart? (Side note: every time I hear Francisco I
think of Buddy the Elf saying Francisco over and over again.. anyone
else?)
When Horatio and Marcellus appear there's another round of who's
there? Then we delve into the ghost sightings and how Horatio doesn't
believe in this ghost hysteria. Joke's on Horatio (alas, it seems to be
on him throughout the play, poor guy) because in comes the ghost again.
Not just any ghost. the ghost of the dead king. super. The ghost doesn't
even say anything. just enters and exits. and yet its SO POWERFUL. why?
because the way everyone onstage reacts to it. dear every director
ever: please remember this. power is in how others perceive and react to
that person/event/thing much more than the person/event/thing
themself/itself. After the ghost leaves there's this exchange:
MARCELLUS
Is it not like the king?HORATIO
As thou art to thyself:
We then find out this is the third time they've seen this ghost. Horatio decides: This bodes some strange eruption to our state.
Good call Horatio. but you haven't seen an eruption yet. just wait...
Then we get a good old dose of exposition from
Horatio. Horatio is set up for us as this pinnacle of trust and tells us
of Fortinbras straight from the beginning (a piece of the plot I am
always interested in when productions keep/diminish/cut it for various
reasons or seemingly no reason at all.) If you keep the Fortinbras bit
from the beginning there's this kind of expectation that Fortinbras is
coming and in all likelihood war is coming with him. Speaking of bad
omens.. Its kind of perfect that this is the order I'm blogging in
because here's a throw back to Julius Caesar:
A mote it is to trouble the mind's eye.
In the most high and palmy state of Rome,
A little ere the mightiest Julius fell,
The graves stood tenantless and the sheeted dead
Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets:
In the most high and palmy state of Rome,
A little ere the mightiest Julius fell,
The graves stood tenantless and the sheeted dead
Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets:
I dont remember any lions roaming the streets of Denmark though... so apparently Hamlet is not as big a deal as caesar...
So
the ghost comes back and Horatia tries to find out if it knows about
the fate of their country but when it wont answer the three men decide
to try and strike at it- which if you think about it is pretty dumb.
because its a ghost. what are you going to do to it? and the brilliant
thing is that these men recognize just that. the ghost disappears and
they wonder why the heck they just did that. This scene also takes us
back to the idea that spirits cant exist in the daytime a la Puck's fear
of the morning. The ghost disappears as the cock crows. Horatio
suggests that if it wont speak to them he bets it will speak to Hamlet.
And since we already trust Horatio we are pretty jazzed for this
meeting.
1.2
So... by all normal inheritance laws
young Hamlet should inherit his father's throne, right? But he doesnt.
His uncle does. Hamlet is not the only dude who is not into being King,
but it turns out that in Shakespeare whenever you're supposed to be
ruling something and you don't want to, horrible things start to happen.
It's not so good to be king but suck it up because its going to be a
whole lot worse if you're not taking your position. So yes, we get
Hamlet not really speaking until spoken to and Claudius droning on
forever about his new place and his wife's enw and old place as king and
queen and then addressing the Fortinbras issue. again, it seems like
this is/should be the central concern of the play at this point. are we
facing war or not?!?!
After this general opening, Laertes gets to ask the King if he can
go back to France. Do we ever get a reason why he's going to France? I
dont think we do in this first scene other than that is where he was
before this whole death/marriage time when he had to come home. I like
to imagine Laertes cavorting with the Dumaine brothers and Bertram.
Someone write that scene will you? (I'm looking at you: Zac, Bonnie,
Linden, Asae...)
OK, this play is going to be so hard for me to blog on because
every line is perfect and I want to talk about them all. Re-reading it
makes me have this jump to new favorite Shakespeare of the moment. how
do i decide what to talk about? Mourning vs. seeming to mourn. Death
being universal but every person's parental loss being their own and
does it take away the sting that everyone's father lost a father? or
does it make it worse? think its notable that Hamlet ends his first
actual speech (aka more than a single line of verse) with a kingly
couplet.
Here's what i don't get... WHY won't they let Hamlet just go back to school?! it seems that all their problems would just go away if they sent Hamlet away, and it certainly doesnt seem like they have much need of him at court. are they worried he'll rally troupes abroad and start an uprising? That seems much more likely to be done at home, right? No, instead of letting him escape to school where he could surround himself with functional friends instead of his dysfunctional family he's forced to stay and take a trip down trauma lane.
Everyone leaves and Hamlet is left to his first soliloquy.
O, that this too too solid flesh would melt
Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!
I could teach a whole class on textual variances in this and several classes just on this speech, but for now let me say that I'm obsessed with the potential in homonyms. Also, I think this is a regular prayer for a great deal of humanity:
O God! God!
How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable,
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
This speech also introduces to us the lack of stability time has when we are in chaos. side note- i've always wanted to see a short and average looking (though still clearly a strong warrior) for the ghost of king hamlet and a much better looking/impressive claudius so that we can see the Hyperion to a Satyr line as Hamlet's bias/ that the comparison is not physical/ that it is completely plausible how gertrude could be seduced into time with claudius so easily.
why, she would hang on him,
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on:
How wonderful is that description?! and Niobe is one of my favorite allusions. if you haven't looked that one up, it's worth it!
It is taking all my will power not to stop and comment on every single line... must... work... on.. Hamlet. teach it. act it. direct it. text coach it. all of the above.
So lets jump to horatio entering- and our inherent trust of him is built upon by Hamlet refusing to call him a truant and then they talk about how soon Hamlet's mother married claudius after King Hamlet's death. this is.. what, the third time its referenced? So basically... forget war. there's sex to be discussed. and that's where the play continues to live. and really, i think that's a fairly accurate depiction of the human condition. what is the warring of nations compared to our personal tragedies and the betrayal of those close to us? Luckily we have plenty of comedic relief along the way, like this exchange:
HAMLETMy father!--methinks I see my father.
HORATIO
I saw him once; he was a goodly king.
Yes. after all that ghost talk last scene Horatia is prepared for another sighting and Hamlet gets the chance to look at Horatio like he's the crazy one. and just as hamlet says he will never see a man like his father again horatio says well actually... we've been seeing his ghost and think he'll talk to you... awesome. they spend what seems like an inordinate amount of time describing the ghost, especially considering the audience already saw the ghost and lets face it we'd like to get back to that bit of the play... but it makes sense right? If it takes Hamlet the whole play to act on killing the king (should I have spoiler alerted that? because really... if you've been reading this blog at all you know i break down what happens and you should really be reading the plays before the blog if you want the element of surprise. but if by chance you have never read/heard of hamlet and were only reading act by act i'm sorry i ruined part of act 5. there are plenty more surprises to come though.... so really its not that big a deal)
1.3
We figure this next scene should be waiting for the ghost to appear again, right? Wrong. Its the Polonius and family scene. this scene starts with a wonderful brother sister interaction between Laertes and Ophelia. One of the first things we hear from Laertes aside from wanting to leave for France is his concern that Ophelia reads more into Hamlet's affections than can last. He doesn't seem to doubt that Hamlet has feelings for his sister, but that the royal court will keep him from continuing those feelings to the proper end of marriage. If he was a commoner everything could probably work out. which again, the man has already passed up a chance to be King, right? maybe wanting his own choice in these affairs has something to do with it?! OK, i've decided I could teach a whole semester on this play. because I could spend a whole class on the obsession with Ophelia's virginity and all the choices actors can make with that. In fact, Laertes' speech starts to get pretty irksome to the feminist sensibility what with the claims that maidens shouldnt show their beauty to the moon let alone men if they want to be sure and be chaste... if it weren't for the fact that immediately following Ophelia calls our Laertes and tells him not to be a hypocrite with his philandering in France. I think it is CRUCIAL that Ophelia is spunky and feisty and strong so that we can see that arc of change as the play goes on and she realizes what little say she gets in things/ how much she can't control, what few choices she has left that could really be her own.
Polonius enters and Laertes lets us know that they have already said there goodbyes but it appears they will say them again. I am also firmly in the camp of believing Polonius should be smart and that being extremely intelligent has nothing to do with being long winded/getting off track (I know several very intelligent people that fit this exact description in real life...). Nothing bothers me in a production of Hamlet more than seeing Polonius played as an idiot. His advice makes sense and while he is not necessarily the WISEST man, he is well meaning and intelligent.
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
This speech very much reminds me of the goodbye speech from the Countess in All's Well (maybe that's why I like imagining Laertes with Bertram?) but I don't think there's anything so beautifully said about friends in the Countess' speech. This speech gives us to thine own self be true! I will just say it again for emphasis: Polonius is not a dunce. He is a smart man and clearly a concerned and doting father. What happens later just doesn't make sense or have the same impact if he's not.
Laertes leaves, asking Ophelia to remember his warning about Hamlet. Polonius insists Ophelia tell him what Laertes said and gives Laertes' advice a resounding "yes and..." its the first we see of Ophelia being manhandled and shot down in her own opinions. OK, so girl in love with this guy who everyone else only believes wants to get her into bed... again, SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT! WHY is this play so wonderful?!?!?!
1.4
GHOST TIMES!!
There is an overwhelming talk about how cold it is in this play. something I didnt quite realize until now, probably because I'm so glad not to be on the east coast with the snow insanity of this past week. I feel like the trumpets and Hamlet's talk about the King being up and drinking merrily after midnight is not often kept or emphasized. I certainly don't remember noting it. Claudius is so often played as so serious. It would be interesting to think of him as a partying guy filled with wine women and song. or maybe i just dont remember this whole description because immediately after the ghost comes back and lets face it... that is distracting and awesome. Hamelt's reaction to the ghost is a phrase I want to start using more:
Angels and ministers of grace defend us!
The way the ghost still doesnt speak but just beckons Hamlet is creeptastic. No one wants Hamlet to follow, fearing that the ghost my lead Hamlet to his death, but he does anyway- threatening to kill anyone that stops him, and we are so glad he does...
1.5
GHOST TIMES CONTINUE!
Now that they are alone the ghost speaks to Hamlet. We find out that King Hamlet's soul is definitely not in heaven. And the ghost says it is because he was killed before he could repent his sins, because he was taken unaware. His depictions of ghostly life are terrifying. I think this is important, what with Hamlet constantly wondering about suicide the thought of the hellish torment his dad is enduring probably has a lot to do with him fighting the good fight. When Hamlet hears the ghost tell him he was murdered he claims his vengeance will be swift. ha. ha.
The ghost's descriptions of everything are so terrifying and vivid and visceral. It freaks me out and makes me squirm just reading about being poisoned through the ear. The ghost still loves the queen it seems because it tells hamlet to take vengeance on his uncle but not his mother. The ghost leaves the scene telling hamlet to "remember me"
Ok, this blog post is wicked long already so I'm just going to highlight 2 more things and wrap it up:
meet it is I set it down,
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain;
:sigh: I wish that were only true in stories and on stage...
Horratio and Marcellus enter and try to figure out what happens but Hamlet responds with wild and whirling words until the very strange moment when Hamlet makes them swear they won't tell anyone they saw the ghost. and then they have to swear several times with the ghost prompting them to swear again. This bit always confuses me... why is the first time not good enough? Hamlet seems to think it has to do with their location onstage. This is always super weird to me. any thoughts? When Horatio comments on all this strangeness Hamlet responds with:
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
So that settles Horatio for the scene.
Here's what i don't get... WHY won't they let Hamlet just go back to school?! it seems that all their problems would just go away if they sent Hamlet away, and it certainly doesnt seem like they have much need of him at court. are they worried he'll rally troupes abroad and start an uprising? That seems much more likely to be done at home, right? No, instead of letting him escape to school where he could surround himself with functional friends instead of his dysfunctional family he's forced to stay and take a trip down trauma lane.
Everyone leaves and Hamlet is left to his first soliloquy.
O, that this too too solid flesh would melt
Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!
I could teach a whole class on textual variances in this and several classes just on this speech, but for now let me say that I'm obsessed with the potential in homonyms. Also, I think this is a regular prayer for a great deal of humanity:
O God! God!
How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable,
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
This speech also introduces to us the lack of stability time has when we are in chaos. side note- i've always wanted to see a short and average looking (though still clearly a strong warrior) for the ghost of king hamlet and a much better looking/impressive claudius so that we can see the Hyperion to a Satyr line as Hamlet's bias/ that the comparison is not physical/ that it is completely plausible how gertrude could be seduced into time with claudius so easily.
why, she would hang on him,
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on:
How wonderful is that description?! and Niobe is one of my favorite allusions. if you haven't looked that one up, it's worth it!
It is taking all my will power not to stop and comment on every single line... must... work... on.. Hamlet. teach it. act it. direct it. text coach it. all of the above.
So lets jump to horatio entering- and our inherent trust of him is built upon by Hamlet refusing to call him a truant and then they talk about how soon Hamlet's mother married claudius after King Hamlet's death. this is.. what, the third time its referenced? So basically... forget war. there's sex to be discussed. and that's where the play continues to live. and really, i think that's a fairly accurate depiction of the human condition. what is the warring of nations compared to our personal tragedies and the betrayal of those close to us? Luckily we have plenty of comedic relief along the way, like this exchange:
HAMLETMy father!--methinks I see my father.
HORATIO
Where, my lord?HAMLET
In my mind's eye, Horatio.HORATIO
I saw him once; he was a goodly king.
Yes. after all that ghost talk last scene Horatia is prepared for another sighting and Hamlet gets the chance to look at Horatio like he's the crazy one. and just as hamlet says he will never see a man like his father again horatio says well actually... we've been seeing his ghost and think he'll talk to you... awesome. they spend what seems like an inordinate amount of time describing the ghost, especially considering the audience already saw the ghost and lets face it we'd like to get back to that bit of the play... but it makes sense right? If it takes Hamlet the whole play to act on killing the king (should I have spoiler alerted that? because really... if you've been reading this blog at all you know i break down what happens and you should really be reading the plays before the blog if you want the element of surprise. but if by chance you have never read/heard of hamlet and were only reading act by act i'm sorry i ruined part of act 5. there are plenty more surprises to come though.... so really its not that big a deal)
1.3
We figure this next scene should be waiting for the ghost to appear again, right? Wrong. Its the Polonius and family scene. this scene starts with a wonderful brother sister interaction between Laertes and Ophelia. One of the first things we hear from Laertes aside from wanting to leave for France is his concern that Ophelia reads more into Hamlet's affections than can last. He doesn't seem to doubt that Hamlet has feelings for his sister, but that the royal court will keep him from continuing those feelings to the proper end of marriage. If he was a commoner everything could probably work out. which again, the man has already passed up a chance to be King, right? maybe wanting his own choice in these affairs has something to do with it?! OK, i've decided I could teach a whole semester on this play. because I could spend a whole class on the obsession with Ophelia's virginity and all the choices actors can make with that. In fact, Laertes' speech starts to get pretty irksome to the feminist sensibility what with the claims that maidens shouldnt show their beauty to the moon let alone men if they want to be sure and be chaste... if it weren't for the fact that immediately following Ophelia calls our Laertes and tells him not to be a hypocrite with his philandering in France. I think it is CRUCIAL that Ophelia is spunky and feisty and strong so that we can see that arc of change as the play goes on and she realizes what little say she gets in things/ how much she can't control, what few choices she has left that could really be her own.
Polonius enters and Laertes lets us know that they have already said there goodbyes but it appears they will say them again. I am also firmly in the camp of believing Polonius should be smart and that being extremely intelligent has nothing to do with being long winded/getting off track (I know several very intelligent people that fit this exact description in real life...). Nothing bothers me in a production of Hamlet more than seeing Polonius played as an idiot. His advice makes sense and while he is not necessarily the WISEST man, he is well meaning and intelligent.
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
This speech very much reminds me of the goodbye speech from the Countess in All's Well (maybe that's why I like imagining Laertes with Bertram?) but I don't think there's anything so beautifully said about friends in the Countess' speech. This speech gives us to thine own self be true! I will just say it again for emphasis: Polonius is not a dunce. He is a smart man and clearly a concerned and doting father. What happens later just doesn't make sense or have the same impact if he's not.
Laertes leaves, asking Ophelia to remember his warning about Hamlet. Polonius insists Ophelia tell him what Laertes said and gives Laertes' advice a resounding "yes and..." its the first we see of Ophelia being manhandled and shot down in her own opinions. OK, so girl in love with this guy who everyone else only believes wants to get her into bed... again, SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT! WHY is this play so wonderful?!?!?!
1.4
GHOST TIMES!!
There is an overwhelming talk about how cold it is in this play. something I didnt quite realize until now, probably because I'm so glad not to be on the east coast with the snow insanity of this past week. I feel like the trumpets and Hamlet's talk about the King being up and drinking merrily after midnight is not often kept or emphasized. I certainly don't remember noting it. Claudius is so often played as so serious. It would be interesting to think of him as a partying guy filled with wine women and song. or maybe i just dont remember this whole description because immediately after the ghost comes back and lets face it... that is distracting and awesome. Hamelt's reaction to the ghost is a phrase I want to start using more:
Angels and ministers of grace defend us!
The way the ghost still doesnt speak but just beckons Hamlet is creeptastic. No one wants Hamlet to follow, fearing that the ghost my lead Hamlet to his death, but he does anyway- threatening to kill anyone that stops him, and we are so glad he does...
1.5
GHOST TIMES CONTINUE!
Now that they are alone the ghost speaks to Hamlet. We find out that King Hamlet's soul is definitely not in heaven. And the ghost says it is because he was killed before he could repent his sins, because he was taken unaware. His depictions of ghostly life are terrifying. I think this is important, what with Hamlet constantly wondering about suicide the thought of the hellish torment his dad is enduring probably has a lot to do with him fighting the good fight. When Hamlet hears the ghost tell him he was murdered he claims his vengeance will be swift. ha. ha.
The ghost's descriptions of everything are so terrifying and vivid and visceral. It freaks me out and makes me squirm just reading about being poisoned through the ear. The ghost still loves the queen it seems because it tells hamlet to take vengeance on his uncle but not his mother. The ghost leaves the scene telling hamlet to "remember me"
Ok, this blog post is wicked long already so I'm just going to highlight 2 more things and wrap it up:
meet it is I set it down,
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain;
:sigh: I wish that were only true in stories and on stage...
Horratio and Marcellus enter and try to figure out what happens but Hamlet responds with wild and whirling words until the very strange moment when Hamlet makes them swear they won't tell anyone they saw the ghost. and then they have to swear several times with the ghost prompting them to swear again. This bit always confuses me... why is the first time not good enough? Hamlet seems to think it has to do with their location onstage. This is always super weird to me. any thoughts? When Horatio comments on all this strangeness Hamlet responds with:
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
So that settles Horatio for the scene.
and that ends this blog post. even though there is so much more I
could go on and on about. but you know what? Here's a slings and arrows
clip instead:
Happy Weekend!
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