A month of Hamlet

-- Image from Alex on Film

I have been studying Hamlet for almost a month and have enjoyed the experience. In total, I have been studying for nearly 21 hours (1,243 minutes), not counting the time spent writing about it. When I was a student, I remember calculating how many pages I would have to read each day just to study the works I was simultaneously studying for the classes I was taking and it was an obscenely large number -- for Shakespeare alone, it was something like a play a week. Add to that time-sink that I also had to write papers about what I was studying and compare / contrast characters like relating Mercutio, Horatio, and Prosciutto (there are more [sandwiches] in heaven and earth ... than are dreamt of in your [delicatessen] (Hamlet 1.5.187-8)). Now, however, I am older and wiser, and my time is no longer bound to the rigors and rapids of an academic semester. Now, I can follow the languid currents of study and delight in the journey.

In class, we were told of quartos and folios and I erroneously thought it more important to know what those words meant than what the contents of those publications meant. Now, thanks to the excellent introductions in the 2nd (ed. Harold Jenkins) & 3rd (ed. Ann Thompson & Neil Taylor) Series of Arden Shakespeare: Hamlet, I feel more confident in understanding the sources and why their differences matter.

One item that I learned from studying Hamlet was that Claudius, the evil uncle, bet against Hamlet in the duel between Hamlet and Laertes. Perhaps I glossed over that while beer-bonging Hamlet for school, but I found that absolutely incredible. However, this was supposed to be a friendly bout and not a duel -- both parties were supposed to be using rapiers with the tip blunted for safety. In this case, it would make sense for folks to make a friendly wager as to who would score more hits and by which spread. Had Claudius only seen Wesley Snipes on Passenger 57 (1992), he would have known to "always bet on black."

Another difference between studying Shakespeare then and now is that I have a far greater capability for watching various recordings of plays and movies of the plays than I had in the early 90s. Back then, I could go to the video store to look for Hamlet, any Hamlet, and walk away with only a battered copy of Strange Brew. Now, I can go to my public library or a streaming service and either watch or rent almost any version that has been put to film. ("O, brave new world that has such [availability] in 't!" (Tempest 5.1.217-8)).

In this round of study, I have watched:

• Hamlet (1948) starring Laurence Olivier. His delivery is so natural that I forget that these lines are as written 400 years ago. Plus, Peter Cushing is the foppish Osrick -- such a contrast from that role to the evil Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars (1977)
• Hamlet (1990) directed by Franco Zeffirelli. The scenes and dialog are not in order, the setting is done really well. Mel Gibson stinks as the college-aged Dane -- of all the Mels who played Hamlet, Mel Brooks was far more convincing in To Be or Not To Be (1983). (Bonus rap video: https://youtu.be/fZawevvcwKc). Gibson chews his lines as if to say, "Oh, this is a famous soliloquy, prithee, hark!" and the deadly duel at the conclusion is Deadly Weapon's grade pablum.
• Strange Brew (1983) starring Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas as Bob and Doug MacKenzie, the movie's version of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Mel Blanc has a cameo as the dad of the McKenzie brothers. Max von Sydow is perfectly ominous. Instead of Hamlet, we have Pam. Instead of Ophelia, we have mental patient Jean LaRose -- which is a fitting name since Ophelia hands out flowers just as she goes mad herself.

I will watch more Hamlet and Hamlet off-shoots like:

• Hamlet (1996) starring Kenneth Branagh. I saw this in theaters when it came out and loved it. At over 4 hours in length, this will be an adventure.
• Hamlet (2000) starring Ethan Hawke. I do not have high hopes for this one, but I think it will be fun. Or at least I hope it will be.
• Hamlet (2009) starring David Tennant. It was put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company and broadcast on PBS's Great Performances, so I have high hopes.
• Hamlet (2015) starring Maxine Peake. This is billed as a "stripped-back" version and, given the bare lighbulbs dangling on the cover image, I expect it to be fairly modern. I picked this up from the local public library and need to watch it before it is due for return.
• Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead (1990) by Tom Stoppard. I saw this on video in the early 90s, read the original play's script, and loved both. I look forward to seeing it again.
• The Lion King (1994). I saw this in the theater during its original run and a good chunk in clips online. I should probably watch it again.
• The Banquet (2006), since I love Chinese costume dramas.
• Ophelia (2018) starring Daisy Ridley.

When will I be done studying Hamlet? Perhaps never. Yet, I shall continue next with studying the Sonnets. There are only 154, each of roughly 14 lines. How hard can this be? (cue ominous music)