I've really been procrastinating on this blog post because I can't stop mulling over Hamlet and his crazy character. Who really is Hamlet? What is his identity? In class we talked about how we were unsure of his age and I was so surprised to learn he is about 30 and is mourning his fathers death as if it happened recently, even though it happened when he was just a small child. Also he seems pretty young, assuming he was about 12 or 13 would explain a lot- why Hamlet is not yet king and his lack of strong identity (as he would be developing it as he comes of age)
His surroundings might give a deeper explanation into his muddled identity. First off his father is dead, possibly a ghost- who is asking Hamlet to take revenge on his uncle; his mother is now married to his uncle; If his mother is, um, not extremely monogamous then his birth is not as legit. Hammy certainly has a lot to deal with and figure out. For Hamlet, each crisis surrounds his duty, the position that he is somewhat of a slave to, becoming king of Denmark. It will be interesting to see how he handles each situation. When he first saw his father's ghost he was trusting enough to walk away from the guards and listen to the ghosts story, will he handle the responsibly in a logical way? I've read some spoilers to the play so I have a hint he might get a bit off track, but thats for a later post!
The other plays that we have looked at this semester with the main character's name as the title like Richard III and Othello might also offer some help in making predictions about Hamlet. Both are tragedies but one has the fallen hero's name of Othello and Ricahrd III is the name of one of the most evil villains. If Othello's title was "Iago" it would be likely to guess Hamlet was evil as well but that is not the case. My guess is three distinct characters are represented by the title's of the three plays. The next piece will be figuring out what is Hamlet's role in the play!
4 comments:
In high school, my teacher told us that Hamlet was about 18-21 yrs old, a "young man at the crossroads of his life." I agree that it would make more sense if he were younger and still forming a personality.
This is an insightful commentary on Hamlet's identity. If we think of him as the "antic" or fool, it also points to the "motley" (patched clothing) constitution of his character.
Thanks Liz,
Your teacher had an interesting point - and age 18-21 can be extremely confusing but also worthwhile time as we figure out what we are supposed to be doing for the rest of our adult lives. Maybe thinking about it this way can help the class relate to Hamlet more, I know lots of us are probably exploring and testing out different options.
Also thanks Professor Mulready! I thought when Gianna mentioned how Hamlet's vocabulary and speech was so clear throughout the play as an example for his saneness I was thinking about how this could also hark back to Feste, with his truthful comments. It's interesting to be tracing the morphing of the presentation of the "fool"
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