Hamlet

I’ve been really busy with work lately, so I haven’t posted about what I’ve been reading. Don’t fret, though, I am still reading!

So you know how when Patrick’s at work (and I’m not busy working myself) I’ll just sit around and watch stuff on Netflix all night? Well, I was re-addicted to the Canadian television program Slings & Arrows, and that really made me want to read some Shakespeare. Enter Hamlet.

I don’t think I ever read Hamlet. Not sure why. So I grabbed this edition that Patrick has of Hamlet* and jumped in.

We all know the story: King’s brother kills him, marries his wife, and becomes king. King’s son/nephew-son learns of the treason/incest and must exact revenge. Tragic. Everyone dies.

My notes:

1. This edition was a bit distracting to me. There’s a little mark after every word/phrase that could possibly need a little clarification, and a footnote for that clarification at the bottom of the page. OK. I get it. I was reading a “critical” copy. Next time, though, I’m going for the old Penguin Classics edition. Those little marks just interrupted the poetry too much for me.
2. I had never thought about this before: pretty much all our sayings these days that don’t come from Oscar Wilde, come from Shakespeare.
3. I wondered why parts of the play were in the iambic pentameter form, and some were not. There must be a reason. Haha. I bet it was discussed in one of the essays in this edition. Or maybe not. But still. I didn’t read the essays. All I read was the introductory material that comes immediately before the play and the play itself. I wasn’t in the mood to study Hamlet, just to enjoy it.
4. But, not to contradict what I said in 3, I did benefit from that introductory material. It sort of gave me insight into what the people at the time expected of a play and so helped me put myself into something more like that mindframe while reading it.
5. I’ve added every performance (that I could find) of the play to my Netflix queue.