The Book Club: Hamlet by William Shakespeare with Andrew Klavan | The Book Club
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- Опубликовано: 17 фев 2020
- William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is the greatest play ever written. In this episode of The Book Club, Michael Knowles and Andrew Klavan discuss the themes of this classic work - inaction, appearance versus reality, doubt and truth - and how they mirror modern society. Pick up a copy and join us for this impactful episode.
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I’m a junior in high school, just got done reading this play as an assignment, I’m so grateful they made this video the same day I finished reading it
Like most of us we read Hamlet in school. You may discover that reading it every three to four years new meaning comes out of it. Sometimes you read into it, depending on what's happening in your own life. It does not read the same. The text does not change but the subtext is fluid. In that sense it is the most disconcerting work ever penned. You will get years of enjoyment.
And after you have the plot worked out well, you should read it through one time just to appreciate the pure poetry of the language. It’s so good.
Michael Sieger I will, I thoroughly loved this book
It is also important to understand what was going on in his day and age with history. Klavan, a Protestant, and Knowles, a Catholic, touched on the religious difference between Catholics and Protestants and how that is in the play. These authors like Shakespeare do not write their works in a vacuum. What was going on in England at that time had a profound impact on their works. Henry VIII beheading people like Thomas More and bishop John Fisher simply because, as he says in A Man for All Seasons, he will have no opposition. England is ruled with an iron fist by one monarch to another and for over a century they do not have peace because of the constant civil wars. Shakespeare lived during the reign of Elizabeth I and under her just calling yourself a Catholic was an offense that got you hung drawn and quartered or expelled from the country. Whether Shakespeare was a Catholic or not still does not change the fact of what was going on in England at the time that he lived and his works are a product not only of his sheer talent but of what was going on in England at that time.
Just a bit of trivia here, the constant civil wars in England was why George Washington's family fled England and that is why he was vehemently opposed to political parties. His family in England was caught in these wars and he wanted to have none of it here.
Bernard S, I completely agree. That was an excellent bit of information and I do think looking at the context changes everything.
LOL 😂 or...”You think your family’s bad”!
I love Klavan and Knowles!
Another Kingdom is EPIC!
Hamlet one of the most fascinating works of Shakespeare! It has social issues, history, crime, philosophy, religion, and human conduct both good and evil. Shakespeare is the father of the modern English language as Camões is the father of Portuguese. Thank you Prager U for bringing even the discussion of
English literature to us! This was great!
Ps.103:1-4 Ps.103:1-4 I’m a democrat and I am happy that Prageru is talking about books.
Luis de Camões 🇵🇹
Out of all the books we were required to read in high school, I believe Hamlet was my favorite. Animal Farm, A Farewell To Arms, 1984, The Great Gatsby, and All Quiet on the Western Front were phenomenal, but there was something unique about Hamlet that I absolutely adored.
It was sheer beauty in words! I also love ❤️ this from “The Merchant of Venice”:
The quality of mercy is not strained.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself...”
By contrast, handmaid's tale was the worst book we had to read in HS. You could always tell which books were recommended to us by activism the English teachers and which ones were good on their own merits by how much we lied about having read the bloody things...
Thug Life Bear
Absolute garbage, but I liked it better than the tv show.
Anyone who actually understands men and women would realize such a scenario would have very different worst case outcomes.
One I thought of, was that men who ACTUALLY care about the survival of the species wouldn’t entrust it to self destructive feminist fanatics. Never mind ethics, it’s just not practical To try to force a feminazi who would literally rather go extinct then to carry a baby.
AT WORST they might forcibly anesthetize then extract and steal her eggs; Then let her go. Have a WILLING woman carry them as a surrogate.
That makes SO much more sense.
@@thuglifebear5256
I'm in 12th grade and my 11th and 12th grade teachers have been feminists so you see a lot of feminists books (not saying they were bad), but you can see the activism.
Women at Point Zero - a book on being a prostitute
The Stranger - independent men who didnt agree with the chance and was killed for it
Medea - women kills husband and children because she didnt get the life she wanted
And the poems are extremely feminists by Carol Ann Duffy and Adrienne Rich
F*ck you had a great reading list.
Such a pleasure to listen to great minds (yes, Knowles still counts :P) talking about great works.
Hamlet is my favorite, but Klavan incorporates the theological uncertainties brought about by the Protestant Reformation, which is new to me.
What a fun thing to learn about!
The Book Club should be an hour-long show. Twenty minutes or so will not cut it. I need MORE. MORE MORE MORE!!!
Just watched on PragerU’s website! Great discussion - I could listen to these two talk about books for hours!
They are both BRILLIANT 🌟
The North Carolina state motto is "Esse quam videri," "To be rather than to seem."
MtlCstr that is also the motto of my old school, Cranbrook
I’m reading this in class!
Wow. Michael Knowles is on the Daily Wire and on The Verdict w Ted Cruz and here on PragerU. He's been a busy one.
I am not sure but probably he is a father too.
Best episode so far. I would love to see a breakdown of one of the more whimsical Willy Shakes pieces, like “A Mid-Summers Nights Dream”.
I love the chemistry between the two
I haven't known much of Hamlet, but this is really interesting and inspiring me to check it out ♡
I recommend the Kenneth Branaugh's version as he directs and stars in it, and he does almost the complete text. If you want a shorter abridged version, watch the version Mel Gibson starred in.
@@civlwrbuf thanks!
David Tennant did a solid version with Patrick Stewart as Claudius and Kevin Klein did a great minimalist production.
Frankly, the play is so good, it's kinda tough to do a bad production if you don't go too far outside the box.
@@ronaldfrechette2045 I forgot about that version, though I have seen some clips. I was impressed by what I saw. There is also the Campbell Scoot film, I think he did it for Lifetime.. His take was unique in that it was with an american cast in an american setting.
It is the most complicated work in english, but if you take your time to understand each line and the references it is derived from it will blow you mind. Beware: everything that is stage related will pale in comparison after reading Hamlet. Many playwrights take one point of the human condition and examines it very well, but Shakespeare does the big one. TRUTH, BELIEF, SELF UNDERSTANDING, MORALITY AND JUSTICE and much more. All in four hour. Today we could produce a 12 hour miniseries and not come close to the level Shakespeare did. Mindblowing.
I watched a Hamlet movie that was 4hrs long in high school (my family thought i was crazy)...the conflict in his thought process was just amazing...i enjoyed it
what was the name of the version you watched? i'd be really interested in watching it!
@@boiboi7717 it was called hamlet but i dont remember whether it was a british or american production
Weirdly enough The Lion King is a reimagining of Hamlet
Shakespeare's plays are the most intriguing plays ever written. Why wouldn't you want to see them. It would be crazy not watch.
@@boiboi7717 If it was four hours long it would be the one by Kenneth Branagh. It's the only unabridged film version.
Really hoping it’s the whole Prager U staff acting out Hamlet
Who gets to be the ghost?
Emsnews Supkis Dennis as The ghost, Michael as Hamlet, Ben as Horatio and Andrew as Laertes
@@emsnewssupkis6453 All of them, hopefully. May they all suffer the same fate.
@@nickkurtz512 Who gets to crossdress as Orphelia?
@@emsnewssupkis6453 They got Isabel Brown
The book club is a great addition to what you do. Thank you for your efforts . Keep them coming please.
Just came to subscribe after seeing Samantha B.
My man 👊
Welcome aboard! You will find much knowledge and wisdom here.
Okay now I have to donate. This made me way too happy.
Can’t wait for your video on Hamlet, it is one of my favorite plays from Shakespeare 🙂.
Hands down, the best play ever! I LOVE Hamlet! I see bits of the poor prince in myself 😬 In school, Romeo and Juliet seemed sophomoric to me, but Hamlet took me to some literary and allegorical depths. What a treasure! I need to read it again soon
Anthony Gomes I’m not wearing my reading glasses...is that Samantha B. trying to censor me? No, I meant what I said. I don’t appreciate your leftist attitude. I can say whatever I want. Don’t tell me what I can and cannot demean, bro. Let’s all learn to appreciate a difference of opinion, but don’t tell me what I can and cannot say. Mmmk, Polonius? Smh
Anthony Gomes 🙄 I didn’t say I was better. Listen, it’s too late! It’s too late for you to try to claim the high ground, Anakin.
Anthony Gomes no. I’m sorry, Anthony. Do you wanna talk about the book now?
codascot
You certainly share Hamlet’s skill for sarcasm.
If you're doing a series about Shakespeare, please can you produce a video on Macbeth!
Elisha as Lady Macbeth,
the boys as the witches.
😖that was an odd play.
No thanks.
You mean "The Scottish Play." It's not to be named by actors while on stage or anywhere in a theater... But the implications in that one are good to consider.
TwistTimHansel
HOW is Macbeth more bad luck than Titus Andronicus?
That was great! I love Hamlet.
Great discussion and insight into Shakespeare and Hamlet. PLEASE! Would and could you extend the length of your discussions? It seems to go by too quickly.
Studying this play in English class and constantly writing about it for a full year taught me how to properly read and write, something I will forever be grateful for.
Maybe next time it will be about the book "1984". It would be awesome
I absolutely love this. I didn’t read as many of the classics as I should have and this is a great way to bring them to the forefront. I hope to find the time to tackle some of the great writers before I die. In the meantime, keep these coming!
I’m really enjoying your book club series! Please keep it up. Issac Asimov wrote a companion volume to Shakespeare’s works (Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare), which provides details and background to each play - often things you might have know had you lived at the time the plays were written. I’ve found it helpful and enjoyable when reading Shakespeare.
That Asimov Guide is one of the most treasured books in my family 😊
I was forced to read Hamlet and much else of Shakespeare at school in England. I hated every minute of it.
Then, one day, The RSC turned up and perormed The Merchant Of Venice - an advantage of living near Stratford on Avon. I was utterly transfixed, especially by Portia's speech - not bad for a 15 year old working class wannabe tough boy. I went on to be an English teacher.
School kids should not read Shakespeare in class, ever. Watch the play, discuss the play, then perform the play.
PS: You're right about the academic snobbery that refuses to beleive that some peasant from a sh*t hole in Warwickshire could write such stuff stuff. I've met it many times - still do.
On this I actually completely agree with you. I will be teaching German soon, so no Shakespeare, but the same thing applies to Goethe for example. I am all for actually performing these plays and watching them being performed, because that is (in most cases) how they were designed to be experienced.
Seeing Shakespeare done well makes him live. Reading him is dull. They are plays not books.
just watched this at PragerU- fantastic!
Hamlet is the play that made me truly love Shakespeare. So much truth and beauty in the tragedy.
Just finished watching Hamlet. I am 27 years old. Maybe because my frontal lobe is developed now, but I absolutely loved Hamlet. The language was beautiful. It was just amazing and I was not expecting to love it so much.
Prediction for next one: Jordan Peterson and the Gulag Archipelago.
ClassyCactus Dr. Peterson needs to get well first.
Jonathan ...but after that he can share his experience in Russia
Why not Jordan Peterson as Hamlet? Come to that, an imaginative producer could recast the whole play into modern US politics. Just don't mess with the words.
David Cockayne
Good Lord, he could do even better than Gibson at the dark pathos.
He needs to dye his hair black again for it, however. Try to make him seem younger.
Aww, too bad no one recorded ‘him’ saying it via that infamous simulator last summer, although it wouldn’t have been as good as the real thing.
That would be great! Hope he gets well soon.
I can't remember if I read Hamlet in school or not so I am going to read it again.
Thank you both for introducing me to this play! I read it for the first time because of this video and I’m so glad I did.
I studied shakespeare through high school/ college and have neglected any other text besides nursing/medicine for the past ten years (graduate in may so that will slightly change). THIS fills my heart. Thank you PragerU, Michael Knowles and Andrew Klavan
Thanks Andrew and Michael for revisiting Shakespeare's Hamlet. When will you be reviewing CS Lewis? Perhaps- Till we have faces?
I wonder if Samantha Bee would understand this conversation.
Even if she once would have followed it, she's woke now.
All critical thought has left the building she'd just wail "racism"
Or "Shakespeare was a man!!!"
And fall to the floor weeping.
Someone out a blanket over her.
Did a video parody of Hamlet in high school as an assignment. Loved the play! Loved the project.
I finished hamlet literally 20 min ago and Klavan and Knowles took all of thoughts I had and put them into words. Words words words.
Well done. One suggestion, let us know what the next book is at the end of these videos so we can try to read them before the show.
Thank you for the Prager U Book Club!
Please could you do:
The Gulag Archipelago by Solzhenitsyn
The Possessed and/or The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky
Paradise Lost by Milton
@Jon Roads: I'm not sure. I'm against intellectual discussion of Dostoevsky. It's like WW2 vets who refuse to discuss their experiences. What is there really to say (?)
Thanks Michael and Drew. That was really an informative review of the story of Hamlet. I'm one of those people whose only read little snippets of it. You guys gave it great meaning for me and I'm going to make it one of my projects for 2020 to read Hamlet and also try to understand it the way you just explained. Really great video thanks
Makes me want to read it again.
I first read Hamlet when I was in middle school and his character resonated so deeply with me that I re-read it over and over and I wouldn't talk about anything else for months. Even today when I read it there is just so much substance in the text and even more in the subtext. It's bewitching. And it feels like I'm staring at some high cliffs, a towering mountain, that's so gorgeous that I wish nothing but to see its entirety. But my mind hasn't limbs strong enough to make the climb.
New respect for Andrew Klaven...first rate mind at work.
Once again, much thanks to Mr.
Knowles!
Timely, as the founder of the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Fred Adams, passed away last week. A great Shakespearean scholar.
This is one of the best videos here. Please have Andrew on more often.
Wish I could like this more than once! Hopefully Klavan will be a regular for this series - he's got so much knowledge to share. Thanks, guys!
My father was a member of the Shakespeare society. I listened, and read along.
Great talk, thank you!
North Carolina's Motto is Esse quam videri To Be rather than To Seem.
One of the things this play always makes me think of.
We did an adaption of this play in College Theater Appreciation where we had to do it in different styles. I played Laertes in a Hollyweird adaption of 1920's Gangster era genre.
Really great to see this. Championing the best of culture and these amazing works of literature is so needed these days.
@Jon Roads: Maddeningly ironic, isn't it (?) -- a "liberal" education . . .
Can you guys please make a playlist strictly for “Book Club” please. Thank you!
Great discussion of what has to be my favorite literary work. Shakespeare was indeed a genius. Good job guys.
Great video!!
...just waaaaayyyy too short!
"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark"
Hamlet has been done on film. The "Ken Brannaugh Hamlet" is the complete play on film, the "Mel Gibson Hamlet" is chock-a-block full of sterling performances. Watch both!
@Arthur Devain: The Nicol Williamson version was all the rage when I was in high school. Has it been eclipsed in critical regard (?)
Watching this video meets my 2020 pledge (attempt) at becoming more cultured... whatever that means.
Signed,
self-professed old Appalachian country boy
@meandale: Props. Hope it's gone well for you . . .
I love Hamlet... I Saw it in the Theater in the Round.... And I saw it at Shakespeare in the Park.... We read it High School... And I saw the Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet.......... Good Stuff Manerd....
Everyone should give this book a read or a listen through audiobooks. If you get past the old tyme language it really has quite a bit of wisdom. Plus, in comparison to modern novels it really isn't that long.
My two favorite guys discussing one of my most favorite plays.
I love this so much! I am reading Hamlet in school and out teacher had us watch this video before and after we read it. I loved hearing the opinions of these men and comparing them to mine!
The Scottish play. Nothing better. Thank you for this series.
My two favorite commentators discussing my favorite play: this is amazing!!!
How beautiful! Loved your ❤ of Shakespeare.
As an English Major I can really appreciate this conversation. It should be an hour
Thank you so much for this. I'm in the UK and read this morning that Oxford are considering removing Ovid and Homer from the compulsory Classics syllabus as part of a new idea to drive diversity in the Classics. I wish I was kidding but I'm not.
My favorite lines are "Doubt the stars are fire. Doubt that the sun doth move. Doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love." Which I think was inspired by Romans 3:4 "Let God be true and every man a liar"
Wow! This was the most informative discussion of Hamlet I’ve ever heard! I was familiar with all of these quotes and analyses, but they were so well presented. Thank you!
Love you guys. Good discussion. Hamlet is one if my favorites. I would love you guys to talk about the taming of the shrew in context of today. Mainly because I think it would make feminist heads explode. My favorite Shakespearean comedy. A lot to learn from it
Funny you should mention that - I am a feminist and my head DID almost explode the first time I read Taming of the Shrew. I don't personally care for it as a comedy, but it was really interesting to study the different interpretations of the play; some people view it as a misogynistic rant, others read it as a feminist satire. And the framing device is fascinating.
You've not experienced Shakespeare until you have read it in the original Klingon...
That was the best breakdown of Hamlet I have personally ever seen. I'm a big Shakespeare fan, but I never really got Hamlet. I always liked A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Tempest as they explore aspects of human nature and interactions. Hamlet, as it turns out, has that, but mixed with some abstract discussion on reality. I guess I'll have to look at giving it another shot.
I'm loving this - especially the Psalms 8 observation; but a fun correction.
14:00 "hamlet is the first man in literature that has a divided mind"
No, the speaker of the book of Ecclesiastes (the koheleth) appears to have just that. The book is presented as a monologue with sections in which his mind runs rampant through despair, which he then argues against; until finally the doubt and division is resolved by him focusing on the reality behind his experience - God.
I'd see this as part of the rich biblical fabric from which hamlet is cut.
this is a nice idea Michael. Thank you for book club.
This was great.
As an avid Shakespeare fan, two comments...
#1. Excellent conversation on Hamlet. There's so much to say about this play, and these guys delve into some wonderful and interesting aspects of this great classic.
#2. If you're not the strongest reader, I implore you, find and watch Kenneth Branagh's production... www.imdb.com/title/tt0116477/
Shakespeare likely never intended people to READ his plays, but rather to watch them. So, don't let the language on the page scare you away. Find them, and watch them. There are many great productions of Shakespeare's 37 plays, and finding them is ENTIRELY worth it.
Thanks for teaching me so much!
This was really enjoyable. Looking forward to future conversations like this.
That’s not klavan in the picture....
Lyin’ Dogface Pony Soldier he’s gonna be the guest, knowles is the host
I hope you're talking about the skull.
He was the skull, as you can see as you watch the video
@@juan-tonsoup1792 lolyes
Second favorite play behind MacBeth.
I really enjoy these. Dialogue has died thanks to the Left and all thoughts of higher conversation have gone out with the bath water. I actually learned some things from this and i'm glad. We spend too much time on the Macro and Klavan expounds the Micro in this video.
As a "Puritan" I look at these books as a protestant taking a DEEP insight into catholicism, but don't consider Big Billy as catholic anymore than I say about catholics.
Excellent! Thank you so much. Your combined knowledge makes me smile. Thank you, again.
Andrew Klavan:
Shakespeare was definitely a recusant Catholic during the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
Check out a superb PBS Home Video called, “In Search Of Shakespeare” hosted by Michael Wood. It’s a two dvd set and delves into The Bard’s life with all the evidence to prove Shakespeare was born a Catholic. This documentary includes analysis of many of his plays with performances by the best of Britain’s actors with the host, Michael Wood, visiting all the actual places Shakespeare was known to have lived. Absolutely a first class education on Shakespeare and it will make you love and appreciate William Shakespeare even more.📚
I like the book club. Keep this up
This was brilliant. Should do all of them.
Just finished reading this! Coincidence of coincidences.
Greatest work of literature ever
He had me at “die hard is a great movie”.
i am teaching hamlet in a high school and i find this video helpful.
Thanks for this great video. Can't wait to read Hamlet.
Thanks, for inspiring me to check out this classic.
Hopefully they’ll increase the frequency of these episodes!
The great thing about hamlet is the multiplicity of angels you can see it from. What I got from this discussion was the idea of modern man and his false self, as against what is the real self; a chronic anxiety born of uncertainty.
Great guys! Thanks
Much to Shakespeare's credit, he has written one of the rawest plays ever.
Everyone should read DiscWorld - Wyrd Sisters if they love Hamlet
I thought that was based more on Macbeth?
What a treat
The thing is, though, with all its greatness, I think I understand what T. S. Eliot meant when he said that “Hamlet” was a failure as a work of art-though, paradoxically, I almost think it is greater BECAUSE of that failure, more like real life than a well-made play that carefully traces all actions back to clear causes and motivations. Shakespeare basically took an exciting melodrama, and stuffed so much life and reality into it that it burst the seams of its story. It seems less like a work of art, and more a work of nature.
Psalm 8, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and The Modern Left. There’s the title. Now, write the Thesis. You’re welcome.
If you want to critique the left, Jack Cade is your man:
"I thank you, good people: there shall be no money;
all shall eat and drink on my score; and I will
apparel them all in one livery, that they may agree
like brothers and worship me their lord."
Henry VI 2: IV.2