Making Hamlet relatable !

I have not watched or read Hamlet before but it was very interesting to read about its plot and its various interpretations. Hamlet attacks the king three times: the first time he kills Polonius by mistake; the second time he spares the king because the latter is praying; and the third time, at the end of the play, he succeeds. I personally did not think of this as procrastination per se but just the various psychological and environmental complexities we deal with. I thought it felt real and that Shakespeare built the character really well. It was not this typical "hero" who is all strong and courageous and comes in at the right moment and kills the "evil". What I love about Shakespeare plays is that he managed to bring in the gray side of humanity and individuals in general. It is not limited to black and white but focuses more on the different shades of characters and personalities. I have read Julius Caesar as well and even there the main characters, Antony, Caesar and Brutus have multiple sides to them.

While I was reading this chapter, I was thinking of so many other concepts we have spoken about in this semester. For instance, Shakespeare's writings brings out that emotional awareness that we were talking about, we get to understand the motives behind one's actions, he takes us on a journey of imagination of what is going to happen next and at the same time gives us many everyday concepts of how humans are and how they function.  

Another aspect that really stood out to me were Hamlet's monologues. "According to Volkenshteyn all the monologues in which Hamlet reproaches himself for his lack of resolution are but instruments to whip up his will; they do not illustrate weakness, but rather his strength." This quote from the chapter was so meaningful. I think we all have these monologues with ourselves, sometimes in the form of inner speech but it serves the purpose of building us rather than breaking us. 


For the end, Shakespeare "chose material that definitely rushed toward a climax, but at the same time forced him to deviate from it. Shakespeare used a psychological method quite appropriately called the “method of teasing the emotions” by Petrazhitskii" . And I think this is precisely what makes it amazing to watch and read. He makes these characters feel 'real' and sometimes, the endings are tragic but that is how real life also is. Thus, although unexpected, the audience leaves the play feeling emotionally overwhelmed but satisfied to have watched/read something good!  

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