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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"pra mim hamlet é um adolescente" "pra mim hamlet é o vilão da história" bom pra mim hamlet é um twink depressivo ragebaiter maior fã de fazer stan war e vcs não tão preparados pra essa conversa. se vcs tivessem deixado ele ser o maior homotron3000 e se ele tivesse transado c meu divo horácio, talvez (mt improvável) ele tivesse aquietado o cu c esse papo todo de conseguir vingança pela morte do pai.
outro ponto, não entendo esse hate todo pra cima do meu mano hamlet tipo assim, ele serve pra ser rei? não. ele é bem egoistinha? sim. ele usa as pessoas e depois descarta elas como se elas fossem insignificantes? sim. ele se acha superior a todo mundo só pq ele é HAMLET filho de hamlet O rei da dinamarca? sim. mas ele é meio divo fazer oq gente.
esse tal de william shakespeare meio que sabe escrever, todos os dois livros dele que eu li (um sonho de uma noite de verão EM INGLÊS como paradidatico da cultura e hamlet agora) foram mt hit. uma salva de palmas pro kingo por inspirar a maior loira compositora de todos os tempos, taylor swift 👏 👏 👏
outro ponto, não entendo esse hate todo pra cima do meu mano hamlet tipo assim, ele serve pra ser rei? não. ele é bem egoistinha? sim. ele usa as pessoas e depois descarta elas como se elas fossem insignificantes? sim. ele se acha superior a todo mundo só pq ele é HAMLET filho de hamlet O rei da dinamarca? sim. mas ele é meio divo fazer oq gente.
esse tal de william shakespeare meio que sabe escrever, todos os dois livros dele que eu li (um sonho de uma noite de verão EM INGLÊS como paradidatico da cultura e hamlet agora) foram mt hit. uma salva de palmas pro kingo por inspirar a maior loira compositora de todos os tempos, taylor swift 👏 👏 👏
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Finished the actual play like two weeks ago but wanted to read the (mostly interesting) essays and things. Lots of cool stuff, it does feel sort of mysterious and also maybe deceptively simple in a way where I see why people have such strong and different reads on it- I think it's mainly about death and Hamlet waits because he's too introspective and concerned with thinking over action. Laertes (who I need to see played by Austin Butler) and Ophelia were my favorite characters I think (kind of Dennis & Dee coded??) though Hamlet is cool too and the King has a good soliloquy. Favorite lines were "I'll be your foil, Laertes" & "Follow my mother" , which felt like they worked as like modern-feeling 'cool' impactful lines rather than ones I needed to puzzle over to figure out how to react to them- same with the quotes in my content warnings. I liked it! I want to read MacBeth.
Me when they say "To be or not to be," "Infinite jest," "hoist by his own petard" 😴😴😴
Me when they say "a bare bodkin" 🤯🤩🥰
Me when they say "To be or not to be," "Infinite jest," "hoist by his own petard" 😴😴😴
Me when they say "a bare bodkin" 🤯🤩🥰
Content Warnings
Rated T for These Tedious Own Fools/Rated E for Except my life, except my life, except my life
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Seeing as this is my first ever play I’ve read, and really my first ever William Shakespeare work I’ve read. I am glad I picked Hamlet. It definitely isn’t easy to read, but I knew going into it I may not pick up on alot of what’s going on. Also I read it and not watched it. I’m giving 4 stars because even though I couldn’t fully grasp the play, I was left surprised by the ending. I haven’t even watched it, so I was really surprised by the ending. I’m excited to watch it now!
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
I kind of hate that I love this 'not-like-other-boys' story as much as I do. 4th read.
I kind of hate that I love this 'not-like-other-boys' story as much as I do. 4th read.
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was actually... really cool? Like, I know, I know—I am probably not the most likely person in the world to finish Shakespeare, let alone like it—but I did. It was great, actually. I gotta say I was definitely left with a (somewhat fuzzy due to reading time) sense of awe and shock at the ending, but it was still satisfactory. Although a bittersweet ending on the outside, it was one of the happiest endings that this story could warrant (besides what happened to Gertrude—that was... less than ideal for her).
It did feel a little slow, but I think it was because I took a few days of breaks in between reading. The characters really make this story. Sure, the plot is great and super entertaining, but the characters are what bring it to life, and even the supporting cast has colorful personalities that enchant you and, y’know, pop off the page in an attempt to invite you to revel in this Shakespearean madness.
I actually felt sympathetic towards Hamlet but somewhat annoyed at his indecision concerning avenging his father, especially when he had the opportunity to do it but didn’t. I was definitely conflicted concerning Gertrude, ’cause she seemed to truly love her son (and apparently her husband), and I truly wondered if Claudius actually loved her or just lusted after her. Even though she seemed contrite in her sin (especially after her talk with Hamlet), her seeming change after seeing the error of her ways was questionable—because if she really did change, why did she go along with Claudius' plan? Did Hamlet’s David-esque feigning of madness truly convince her so much that she was blinded to her own sin as she pointed at the speck in his eye? If she was such a wonderful person, why the heck did she marry her brother-in-law? In the end, she felt like a misguided soul with good intentions (however, the road to hell is paved with those) who, after making a fatal lapse in judgment, was a sort of injured deer caught in the crossfires of a war.
As for Horatio (because I have to mention him—his name is just soooo fun to say. Go ahead, do it. I cannot believe you just listened to some review telling you to say “Horatio” out loud. MWAHAHAHA), I think he was very interesting. I found his respect and love for Hamlet admirable. They had some hilarious brotherly dialogue, and he truly cared enough about Hamlet that even if Hamlet didn’t like it—as long as he needed it—he would tell him the truth (which is extra refreshing considering how much most of the characters of Horatio's class were real suck-ups). And their familiar and brotherly relationship is one of the most intriguing relationships considering their class differences.
Ophelia was really well-written. Her naivety was actually interesting because she seemed to have some mental capability, which I found mostly evident in her relationship with Hamlet—which was actually kinda cute, even if slightly concerning—and their banter beats at least 6 out of every 10 romances that have come out since the year 1968. She was a character that you could tell deeply felt, but without being some kind of Marianne Dashwood. Her going nuts was actually really cool. I mean, well written. Going nuts is not cool. Obviously.
Now for the ghost: super entertaining, really enchanting. I am still unsure whether or not Hamlet kept seeing a ghost or if it was just a hallucination. He was not the only one to see the ghost at the start, but later, like when he saw the ghost whilst talking with his mother, she didn’t see it even though he did. Unless the ghost chose not to reveal himself to her? Or it was mass hysteria and there was no ghost? But then how would they know that the king was murdered? What if it was a ghost the first time and then Hamlet slowly lost his mind and hallucinated the other visitations? It’s probably that one.
I gotta applaud the themes of mortality in this play, specifically the way they were written. And even though it is sooo cliché of me, I think the “to be or not to be” speech is a great example of this. I also found the brief theme of guilt concerning Claudius' deed really interesting, since many villains nowadays express (literally) no remorse for their evil actions; hence Claudius' guilt is not only a refreshing element but also adds depth to him as a villain. The overall themes actually aligned really well with Scripture, and the allusions to it felt illustrative without being preachy.
Also, TOTALLY unrelated:
This makes Revenge of the Sith a way cooler movie when you consider the parallels to Hamlet, with Anakin being the Hamlet-like figure, as alluded to by Padmé Amidala’s funeral, which was a direct visual reference to the “Death of Ophelia,” and the whole dying-of-sadness feels parallel to Ophelia’s accidental death from madness. So yeah, think about that the next time you see Hayden Christensen talking about sand on screen.
This makes Revenge of the Sith a way cooler movie when you consider the parallels to Hamlet, with Anakin being the Hamlet-like figure, as alluded to by Padmé Amidala’s funeral, which was a direct visual reference to the “Death of Ophelia,” and the whole dying-of-sadness feels parallel to Ophelia’s accidental death from madness. So yeah, think about that the next time you see Hayden Christensen talking about sand on screen.
adventurous
dark
funny
This edition of Hamlet was spectacular. I love these BBC performances.