Hamlet - William Shakespeare BOOK REVIEW
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- Опубликовано: 1 мар 2022
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The Following Clips all informed this Review:
Harold Bloom on Charlie Rose:
• Harold Bloom interview...
Richard Burton Performance:
• Hamlet - Richard Burto...
Adrian Lester Performance:
• Adrian Lester as Hamle...
Andrew Scott Performance:
• To Be Or Not To Be - H...
Orson Welles and Peter O'Toole on Hamlet:
• Orson Welles and Peter...
Origin of Hamlet / Eric Luttrell:
• Shakespeare's Hamlet (...
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"Hamlet is not lying. Which is what most people do to protect their sanity. But he's crazy…right?"
That hit me hard.
'Don't read the introduction.'
Words to live by with classic works, they always spoil it. I enjoy reading the introductions only AFTER i have already finished a book.
I’ve found that sometimes they spoil other books too, not necessarily by the same author.
Same here!
Hamlet has always been one of my favorite play, as well as Euripides' Medea, which is its archetypal female equivalent.I recommend you read this latest work , Medea , that has inspired many women.
It's almost cliche to note connections to Oedipus at this point, but there's definitely something interesting in their common "destructive drive for truth/sincerity" too.
@@FenolftaleinRE I find more interesting the fall into the madness of intelligent characters who feel out of their time
@@SibilaDelphos That does sound interesting. Can you give an example? I don't remember much in Medea or Oedipus that makes me think of that.
'To be or not to be; that is the question.'
A line that goes down in history as one of the most existential. I'm glad you took this play on; it's one of my favorites by the Bard.
For me, _Richard II_ , written in 1595, is Shakespeare's masterpiece. Harold Bloom said that the character of Richard II is a precursor to Hamlet in the sense that he is more a poet than a king, that's why he's so bad at rule his own kingdom. That's my recommendation to read next from the Bard.
Nietzsche also writes a little bit about _Hamlet_ in his first book, _The Birth Of Tragedy_ (1872).
Yeah, Richard II is great, way too overlooked. Of course you gotta read Henry IV part I and II after it aswell.
The death of John of Gaunt so early in the play is like the death of Mercutio in Act III. Do you mean we have to watch another hour of this play WITHOUT HIM?
When I was very young in my twenties, a friend of mine said she was producing a production of Hamlet and asked me to carry a spear in it. I readily agreed and found being in rehearsals for three weeks watching professional actors learning how to get into the characters was an education. I didn't know much about the play before but certainly did at the end.
I would recommend this experience to anybody. My favourite scene was the graveyard scene where I not carrying a spear but the bench on which was Ophelia's body. Unfortunately in the first performance she fell off into the grave. The rehearsal time had not been enough.
Ah this is absolutely brilliantly done, Clifford. I was floored my first time reading this a few weeks ago, but this review & it's supplementary materials have really driven home my love for this work. Thank you, felt like having a meaningful discussion with a friend about a film or a book you read together.
Looking forward to enjoying all these links as much as I enjoyed this review; a great evening in store!
This was my A level text book back in the 1980s. Nothing I have ever read since (and I have read a great deal) tops it. Really enjoyed your review x
I really loved studying Hamlet in school. There's just so much to think about!!!
Wonderful video. I find this play very interesting.
This reminds me of a great scene in one of my favourite movies : The Ninth Configuration by William Peter Blatty.
The film is about a psychiatrist who goes to a hospital for veterans. One of the patients is trying to direct plays with dogs; at one point he states that Hamlet has to pretend he's insane in order to avoid insanity, it's a way for him to cope with all his problems (the death of his father, seeing ghosts, his relationship with his mother and uncle, etc.). It's a very interesting scene and represents the film perfectly.
I wasn't expecting a Trent Reznor/NIN reference halfway through. Thanks for bringing such a fresh perspective to the play!
I don’t think talking about Shakespeare is pretentious at all. He writes about the human condition so well. Good annotated copies can help with the language (most of the stuff that’s hardest to understand is mostly references to old gods and traditions), though the optimal way to get a good understanding is to watch a production. It’s theatre, it’s not meant to be read aloud. The more I study Shakespeare the more I fall in love with it. There are even acting clues written into the pentameter.
I’m rambling, but I would love to hear you talk about King Lear.
Well, you convinced me, know i will have to get the book.
Finished reading this last week. Review couldn't come at a better time.
I saw a performance of the play in Grahamstown South Africa some years ago where it was set on a ship, echoing the famous performance. Magnificent. I have seen it many times and this blew me away.
Yes, please do more like these! I would recommend Samson Agonistes by Milton, a lesser known tragedy to those who like Shakespeare and Greek Tragedy
I love your thoughts on Hamlet and your style of presenting such an awesome topic as Shakespeare's Hamlet.
This is one of your best reviews. Thank you!
I really enjoyed this. Thank you for posting.
Never made the association with the song Hurt. Thanks man! I always loved this play. And loved the way you explained what the play is about.
omg !!! my favourite reviewer AND my favourite shakespeare play! i’m so so so so excited!!
What perfect timing, I’m rereading Hamlet next week for a course 👏 Check out the book Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt, it explores many of the existing legal documents to better understand Shakespeare’s life. Othello is another excellent tragedy I recommend.
If anyone wishes to know more about Shakespeare and his works there is this wonderful three-part documentary here on RUclips The King and the Playwright, I highly recommend it.
Great, great, great review. Will read Hamlet immediately.
Brilliant review- not so sure about the acting!. Thanks, can’t wait for the next one
I literally just finished reading this!!!
The recent film The Northman draws on the origin story of Hamlet. It’s found in the Gesta Danorum ( Deeds of the Danes) which was in Latin originally.
For anyone who’s just read the basics and wants to dive deeper into Shakespeare, I highly recommend reading the tetralogy of histories referred to as “The Henriad,” which contains Richard II, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, and Henry V. Each is incredible, close to the level of Hamlet, and Prince Hal may be one of Shakespeare’s best characters.
I'm glad you picked this up. To me tho, king Lear is the best play. Its incredibly dark maybe darker than Hamlet. " As flies to wanton boys, so we are to the Gods. They kill us for sport."
Well, as soon as I finish "The Grapes of Wrath", it'll be waiting for me on my shelf!
I’ve read a few Shakespeare; Richard 3, Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, Othello , The Tempest and a few sonnets from high school. Richard 3 is my favorite so far.
You have done well with Hamlet. Great job.
I’ve been working through the complete works and I’m happy to see you tackling some Shakespeare. I feel like you would appreciate Titus Andronicus.
Yeah I don't think he would probably appreciate Titus Andronicus. XD That play isn't really profound in any way and is considered Shakespeare's worst for a reason.
I remember reading Hamlet in high school and being like the only kid in the class who actually thought it was cool. I don't think I was really quite mature enough at that age to fully appreciate the work, (but hey, it ends in a bloodbath, so that was cool! :D) but I've read it since then and I think it's definitely Shakespeare's finest. The "To be or not to be" soliloquy is cliche by now, but it really is one of the grandest and most profound things ever written. People who think King Lear is the Bard's best are just wrong.
Just can't resist - I'm going to say it: "King Lear" is my favourite of Shakespeare's works! 😂
When speaking of texts of Shakespeare's caliber, I don't think comparative arguments of what is "best" are going to carry a lot of water. There's a historical record tracking the Bard's most performed (or written about) plays that goes back a centuries now. "Hamlet" was the tragedy of the Modernist, and psychoanalytic era, (of course); "Othello" seems to be (certainly in the academy, and in terms of performances, and their public relevance) the tragedy of our own era . . .
In short, I don't think that all those early nineteenth-century Romantic poets were "just wrong" for preferring "King Lear" in their own time, when "Lear" reigned supreme.
I think that part of the brilliance of Shakespeare's work is its CONSTANT relevance, and this historical record of different texts emerging, and speaking to audiences differently, in different times.
"Coriolanus" was T.S. Eliot's favourite play by Shakespeare. Perhaps we'll come to see what he saw in it, too, another century or two down the line haha? Who knows though?
I had the same high school experience as you though. As a teacher, I'm concerned about Shakespeare remaining on high school curriculums (he HAS to stay in!). It's nice (and encouraging!) to see other people reflect positively on that first encounter with his great works in schools . . .
@@brockeldon444 Yeah, I guess it really is pretty arbitrary to try to say which play is Shakespeare's "best", but there are some reasons why I don't feel King Lear outclasses Hamlet.
1) King Lear is kind of a dumb protagonist. He is blind to what should be painfully obvious, and I understand that that's kind of the point, but still, we can sympathize with Shakespeare's protagonists when they're crazy or damaged, but it's a bit harder when they're just being stupid. XD
2) It hasn't aged as well as some of his other plays. I know it's generally not a good idea to look at older works through a modern lens, and Shakespeare's handling of female characters is a subject worthy of a book in its own right, but King Lear really leaned way too heavily into the "Madonna/Whore" dichotomy. While Lear's character may change and evolve over the course of the story, the supporting characters are static archetypes that are wildly outdated, and I think that does make it weaker than, say, Hamlet.
3) Hamlet is more profound. Hamlet really tackled a lot of subject matter and pondered a lot, whereas King Lear didn't reach quite as high, or at least it didn't seem so to me.
4) King Lear dies literally just to fulfill the plot, and that's kind of stupid to me. XD
I'll wholeheartedly concede that King Lear is an immensely important work of art and it definitely does have its merits, but for me Hamlet will always be #1. :)
@@TH3F4LC0Nx Sure. We're in agreement about the greatness and importance of these works, and it can / should be in a spirit of fun that these debates are had.
To your criticisms (once more, in the spirit of fun, and appreciation, as fans), I would respond: 1.) What of the Lear's mental state? His judgement is unsound by this point in hid life from Act I; his cognizance of events is unstable from the outset and we read / watch as it shatters over the course of the narrative; 2.) I'm assuming you're referring exclusively to the female characters here. The "Madonna" / "whore" dichotomy you refer to, as we might conceptualize it today (Freud probably read, and admired "Lear," as much as he did Hamlet) arises from the text, if anything, according to your own argument (or at least the text, and its literary precedents and political context) - not the reverse; 3.) You've gotten into **SPOILER** territory here: but if Lear's ultimate death is a mere contrivance to conform to a narrative mold, how would you explain, then, the death of his favoured Cordelia?
I think that all of these issues are deeper than that, and I think Shakespeare is in greater command than that. Both are monumental; both are very profound . . . I find "Lear" the most emotionally overwelming of his works, however. It's urgent and it's merciless - and that depiction of that senile, dethroned king's consciousness being fractured as events unfold, and as all that he has build crumbles is heartrending. (That emotional power is why it was considered virtually unperformable for such a long time - and why, in eighteenth-century performances, for instance, so much of it was excised, or severly doctored).
Let us shake on this, perhaps? I think "Hamlet" is probably Shakespeare's most "cerebral." It may bring more to bear in terms of our understanding of "mind"; but "Lear" brings more "heart" (let's say). Its insights into feeling and suffering are equally as profound to me. I love both.
@@brockeldon444 Yeah, I definitely do agree with you that Lear is more an emotional piece than the cerebralism of Hamlet. And it definitely is a very moving piece. It also has lots of great imagery too; the scenes of the old outcast king wandering the barren heath with his fool has oddly apocalyptic evocations, to me anyway. As for Lear's mental state, yeah, I'm aware he's in a bad way at the play's onset, but the play does little in showing us how he used to be or even explaining why he is the way he is now; at least we know why Hamlet's mind is all messed up. But as for my "Madonna/Whore" critique, I think you're giving Shakespeare a tad too much credit to say that that concept arose from this text itself instead of the reverse. Historically, women have often been divided into the chaste and virtuous kind and the more sexual and sinister kind, and I do hold that Shakespeare was really playing into the stereotypes with his depictions of Lear's daughters, and it renders their characters uninteresting and flat as a result, or at least to me it did. But yeah, we can definitely shake on your assessments of the two plays' different ambitions. Lear is still most assuredly a monumental work, absolutely! :)
Holy shit he did it
i found out about andrew scott's performance this week, got addicted, and now you come with a review?? what are the odds
Indeed, a great reading!
Well done!!
If anyone's wondering who that skull belonged to, it's someone who didn't remember to bring a book...
More Shakespeare reviews should have NIN references in them. That's what makes this channel worth subscribing to.
To your question as to whether Hamlet can love or not, I think the answer is, at least in his intention, yes. His actions are certainly driven by love, though they wind up hurting those he loves. That’s the tragedy of it. Brings a subtlety to the question. Whats the essence of love? The intention, the internal love that drives someone, or someone’s actions of love, though warped at times. “Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt I love.” To me, he’s essentially saying “though my actions may not always show, and because of my mental state my actions may actually hurt those I love, still never doubt that I am doing everything out of love, not malice.”
You've got the Downward's Spiral, I've got Low.
Othello and Macbeth mate. Get on 'em.
I heard that original text that inspired Shakespeare is the basis of robert eggers upcoming film the northman.
This Hamlet thing you reviewed sounds like it could be a classic in the future!
Nah. It's full of clichés.
@@Jeffhowardmeade Are you one of those jerks who thinks Shakespeare didn't write his plays?
@@milfredcummings717 I'm one of those jerks who wishes he didn't write All Is True, but I'm glad he wrote the rest.
"Shakespeare is full of clichés" is an old joke. They became clichés because everyone quoted and copied Shakespeare.
@@Jeffhowardmeade I’m just reading Shirley by Charlotte Bronte and there’s a lot of Shakespeare there but no clichés. Although it is true that due to the way he used the material for his plays, he would have quite a few problems with copyright lawsuits today. :) Did anyone force you to watch that crap? Henry VIII was a collaborative play with John Flecher. Which I haven't read and probably won't any soon. So you can't just blame Shakespeare if it's not good. F'n Wolsey! I'm sick of him. I'm trying to finish Wolf Hall over a year. I don't know why, I love history. I guess I don’t like the writing style (if there is one). Did they kill that bastard in the end?
Excellent!
Oooh. This is a good one!
Do not Bernardo, Marcellus and Horatio see King Hamlet's Ghost before the prince sees him?
Regarding Hamlets soundness, I have interpreted him as perhaps TOO sane. Too much present to his own reason and to his faculties to give himself or anyone else a pass. No excusing of details.
Damn already another video wooo
I read this in high school and didn’t like it at all. But recently at 27 I read it again and was captivated by the way he’s portrayed. I related to his inner turmoil and was very inspired to work on improving my mental health.
Finally!
Oh hell yes, let's go
If there are two works of literature that should be mandatory reading for every human being on this planet, it's William Shakespeare's Hamlet and Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.
Ironically, Tolstoy hated Hamlet. Probably because it wasn't long enough.
@@Jeffhowardmeade Well, Shakespeare did his best. It's his longest play as far as I know.
@@milfredcummings717 It beats the second longest play (and my namesake) by more than 200 lines. Still holds no candle to Tolstoy's War and Peace, which all by itself is two thirds as long as all of Shakespeare's works put together.
@@Jeffhowardmeade You can't compare plays with special military operations. : )
well done....
'A fellow of infinite jest. If it be now, 'tis not to come: if it be not to come, it will be now: if it be not now, yet it will come: the readiness is all. The rest is silence'.
Gravedigger scene is great and also very comical if u read it closely. The part where he says "did all her fine upbringing lead to nothing more than having her bones tossed around like horseshoes" . Fucking morbid .
Saxo Grammaticus... Richard Burton 1964 version
Johnny Cash cover of Hurt remains the covers of all covers songs ever done. That song is legendary.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Stoppard is essential after hamlet haha
Waiting for Hamlet.
@@milfredcummings717 Hamlitilton.
@@Jeffhowardmeade Meow?
I partially agree with your opinion about the critics that calls Hamlet a winning person. Although, if what happened with Hamlet happens with then, I think they would probably racionalize a way to deal with it and move their lives. And for racionalize I mean lie to themselves. As you said, Hamlet don't lie, not in his soliloquy. He is being so truthful to his feelings and his reality. And to be that sad and revengeful it takes that infinity amount of realism and power of mind (and maybe insanity). That's, I think, what makes us see Hamlet as a hero, insted as a vilan, even he being such an asshole most part of the time. Most people wouldn't react like him, not because they are stronger, but because they are week enought to flee the problem in their minds. Hamlet is not the sinic, he plays one for our fun and his revenge. As the people who critics his atitude are the real sinic.
(sorry about the poor English. Never studied the language.)
A classic!
I recently realized my love for Hamlet and Shakespeare and I can't wait to read the text itself. Andrew Scott's Hamlet and Haider are my top 2 Hamlets.
Anthony Fantano should interview Cliff
One of Shakespeare's favorite writers was this Greek satirist named Lucian or Lucien. He wrote this funny science fiction story about a war between the Moon and the Sun
It was fucking funny. It's called 'A true story'.
I really like Shakespeare’s plays, but I always felt reading it at school was a disservice to his work. Maybe my own experiences were just unpleasant, but having to take turns reading each line of dialog out loud just robbed the plays of their quality. I always liked watching film adaptations in class though.
I too called Hamlet an emo when we had to describe him in our lit class, but it wasn’t to say that he’s whining, he’s a GREAT character
But I feel like his personality is drama through and through
2:48 - They Do😄. Not a spoiler.
17:57 - He thought Claudius was behind the arras in the closet scene. He didn't kill Claudius in act three because it looked like Claudius was praying for forgiveness and so killing him at that point would send him to heaven and so he wanted to wait until Claudius sinned again before ending his life, thereby ensuring his damnation.
📖
Hamlet rules, and furthermore it whips ass, and I'd even say it rocks my socks off
👌
8:50 if you abandoned RUclips to become an actor, I wouldn't hate you for it
That's the good stuff!
#LFLR
"VBW"
"...whatever happened to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?"
Well didn't you know that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead?
...ja shakes and spear couldnt be more fitting : the trembling weapon is what it is all about - and we still dont know who he really was...
Are you ready for Robert Eggers's take on this story?...
I don’t know about hamlet, but I can sure appreciate a good ham sandwich.
I just want to agree that Trent is in fact a fucking God lol
Should explore edward de vere, hamlet seem like a parody of his life.
Man, your head is going to explode when you read Lear.
It feels even more disturbing if any of Samuel Beckett's plays were performed in a ship. 😨
ruclips.net/video/3YHHHEg3ioc/видео.html
YouTu be or not YouTu be !? My favorite film version ruclips.net/video/McKuFBAp_i8/видео.html Caution it's Russian! lol ruclips.net/video/3YHHHEg3ioc/видео.html
I'm reading Coriolanus because I'm rereading Shirley by Charlotte Brontë. You must read Macbeth and King Lear. Timon of Athens is also one of my favorites.
The plays are the products of more than one mind and life experince. The sonnets were probably, devere. The plays were cobbled together after the fact for the first folio. Each segment had different kinds of text and sintex of the same scene, of which the best were chosen and "edited". This might be as expected right? As it would be only natural rework and drop parts of a working play, depending on its effectiveness in performance?
The final evidence of shakespear being a pen name is the done a sonic scan of his grave and they found..., i think a single what turnned out to be a single female skull
Hamlet is not a Christian or any other kind of believer. And he loves no one.
Don't think this was your best review tbh. You sounded kind of bored in my opinion. It's a tough one to review. Because everything has been said already. So I grant you that. You've done your homework but I just didn't get fresh insights this time.
I am a fan by the way. Some literature suits you better than others imo. Of course others will disagree with me too. So just my perspective.
Hey I have a new book out about this, The Precious Gem of Hidden Literature: Francis Bacon 1576-1655
This must truly be a labor (or labour, depending on where you are) of love for you. You can't be making much money off of it.
@@Jeffhowardmeade £14.00
@@milfredcummings717 Only if someone buys it.
@@Jeffhowardmeade Well it started in 1994, when an English teacher told our class Romeo and Juliet was actually written by the Earl of Oxford. That went over my head but later in college I read Richard III and Richard II consecutively, and the latter seemed clumsy in parts, too clumsy for the author of Richard III. So I started looking into the authorship question, and after years of reading I noticed a few things that hadn't been remarked, and they started adding up. No I probably won't make much money on it, I haven't made much from the 1602 Anti-Machiavel I edited, that took a few years of work. So money wasn't my motivation.
Speaking of a labour of love, how do you always manage to turn up right after I've commented? I thought maybe you were 77th Brigade.
@@ryanmurtha2392 You trawl the comments section of Shakespeare videos and so do I. I often show up before you do, but you don't notice.
Did you ever address all of the flaws I pointed out in your Anti-Machiavel thesis?
Wouldn't this be a "PLAY review"?
Hamlet. King David. Saul. Samuel. Not very original are they. Mockers.