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A review by e_bibliophile
The Tragedy of Hamlet: with Connections by Theodore Roethke, Bosley Crowther, John Russell Brown, Roger Ebert, Hernando Téllez, William Shakespeare, Jonathan Vos Post, Maya Angelou, Richard L. Sterne
4.0
Shakespeare:
When I read Romeo and Juliet a couple of years ago, I told myself: This can not possibly be [a:William Shakespeare|947|William Shakespeare|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1424313573p2/947.jpg]'s greatest work that made his name stand still since the 16th century up to this date! I still need to read more of Shakespeare to fully appreciate Shakespeare, but [b:Hamlet|1432|Hamlet|William Shakespeare|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404002632s/1432.jpg|1885548] raised the bar of my esteem to the universally esteemed writer.
Hamlet:
So, it all goes down to a royal dysfunctional family. The Danish King no longer lives. He likes to show up as a ghost (literally). His bro steps up as the new King and marries hisdeceased murdered brother's widow which is way too fishy since the Queen didn't have the courtesy to mourn her late husband properly.
Hamlet is pissed off, too much family drama, too much betrayal. He breaks up with his girlfriend Ophelia, goes emo and thinks suicide. The irony here is that..Ophelia is the one who commits suicide later on . Then Hamlet says Shakespeare's most famous lines ever:
“To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?”
One theme sounds perfect considering the circumstances: revenge. Things get melodramatic while Hamlet keeps it cool with his witty puns and by pretending to go cray cray. Oh and everyone in the enddies .
I liked Hamlet's cynical attitude, especially towards his uncle aka stepdad. I struggled with the language, or the pronouns per se. The language sounds too heavy to our modern taste. However, the plot is epic but that's how it should be taking into consideration that it's a play and it was written +400 years ago.
Things you'll learn from this play:
- Stop eavesdropping behind curtains or you'll get stabbed with a sword.
- If you killed your brother and married his wife, there'll be consequences.
- Grownups screw up so often and eventually their children pay the price.
Fun fact:
Did you know that Disney's The Lion King was inspired by [b:Hamlet|1432|Hamlet|William Shakespeare|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404002632s/1432.jpg|1885548]?
When I read Romeo and Juliet a couple of years ago, I told myself: This can not possibly be [a:William Shakespeare|947|William Shakespeare|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1424313573p2/947.jpg]'s greatest work that made his name stand still since the 16th century up to this date! I still need to read more of Shakespeare to fully appreciate Shakespeare, but [b:Hamlet|1432|Hamlet|William Shakespeare|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404002632s/1432.jpg|1885548] raised the bar of my esteem to the universally esteemed writer.
Hamlet:
So, it all goes down to a royal dysfunctional family. The Danish King no longer lives. He likes to show up as a ghost (literally). His bro steps up as the new King and marries his
Hamlet is pissed off, too much family drama, too much betrayal. He breaks up with his girlfriend Ophelia, goes emo and thinks suicide. The irony here is that..
“To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?”
One theme sounds perfect considering the circumstances: revenge. Things get melodramatic while Hamlet keeps it cool with his witty puns and by pretending to go cray cray. Oh and everyone in the end
I liked Hamlet's cynical attitude, especially towards his uncle aka stepdad. I struggled with the language, or the pronouns per se. The language sounds too heavy to our modern taste. However, the plot is epic but that's how it should be taking into consideration that it's a play and it was written +400 years ago.
Things you'll learn from this play:
- Stop eavesdropping behind curtains or you'll get stabbed with a sword.
- If you killed your brother and married his wife, there'll be consequences.
- Grownups screw up so often and eventually their children pay the price.
Fun fact:
Did you know that Disney's The Lion King was inspired by [b:Hamlet|1432|Hamlet|William Shakespeare|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404002632s/1432.jpg|1885548]?