Book Review: Hamlet
Oh boy. Usually, with Shakespeare’s tragedies, it feels like you’re watching a car crash happen in slow motion. This time – the eponymous Hamlet has every right to be angry, and somewhat driven mad. This is the first tragedy where I want him to win. Not lose. With Othello, I wanted him to get his head together and relinquish his insecurities about Desdemona. This time, I wanted Hamlet to become King of the Danes and avenge his murdered father. There is a reason why this is one of the most famous pieces of theatre and why actors usually wait a long time before taking up the mantel of playing Hamlet. Laurence Olivier’s performance is considered to be the greatest of all time and Kenneth Branagh was nominated for an Oscar. Performances of Hamel are usually sold out within minutes as many audience members are eager to see whether the actor will rise to the occasion or fall in the first act.
When it comes to the text – Hamlet is not as complex as I initially thought. When we first meet, he is grieving the loss of his father and is astounded by his mother marrying his uncle. It isn’t until the ghost of Hamlet’s father appears that the madness starts to seep in. It is a madness that is initially mistaken for the love of Ophelia, aggravated by Polonius who fakes letters of love for her. Hamlet’s madness is a brilliant example of toxic masculinity – driven mad by grief but wanting to appear as much the man as he claims to be, trying to hide the inevitable plot to murder his own uncle, madness turns to rage.
One of my favourite devices sometimes used in plays is when there is a play within a play. In this case, we witness the drama of Hamlet’s father’s death. It is Hamlet at his most unhinged – his motive? To catch his uncle and, mother unawares. Although his uncle is crafty – it does prove his mother innocent. But what I love about the ‘play within a play’ device is that we get to see more about what Hamlet is really thinking and his state of mind.
The text as we know is phenomenal – it has given us some of the most iconic lines “the lady protests too much, methinks” being an excellent example amongst others. The thing with tragedies is you know it will end badly – but the journey to get to the end of Hamlet was a damn good one. It is a heavy read because of the themes of death, the supernatural and familicide. But well worth it.