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Hamlet By William Shakespeare
More has been written about
Shakespeare’s play Hamlet than on any other piece of literature
except the Bible. It is also a risky play for any theater company to
produce, because we are profoundly influenced in our interpretation of the
character of Hamlet from many sources: It could be a movie you saw, or a
version of the play seen before that first crystallized the plot and
characters of the play in our minds. |
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This is because the play is very contradictory in its presentation of the characters. We take sides. The opening scene gives us many questions to answer, and which remain unanswered by the end: C.S. Lewis wrote that Hamlet was essentially the story of a man who has been given a task by a ghost – in this case, the ghost of Hamlet’s father. How modern audiences interpret the Ghost has a lot to do with how we view the play and its action. Some would argue that the play’s great achievement is its ambiguity. Shakespeare has somehow managed to capture in the person of the prince of Denmark, and his many terrible problems, a basic form of the human condition. Although Hamlet is a heroic, and powerful figure, he is flawed, and his good intents fail horribly. |
| Synopsis: | |
The days of ease have ended in the life of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. His father has died, and he is now obliged to remain at the Danish court under the watchful eye of his uncle Claudius; who has seized the throne, prevented an invasion by the Norwegians, and after a short courtship, married Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. From this sorrowful environment, Hamlet turns for love and solace to the pretty, modest Ophelia, daughter of the lord chamberlain Polonius. Meanwhile, Hamlet’s one true friend, Horatio has related that the late King’s ghost has been sighted on the castle battlements. In a terrifying encounter, Hamlet learns from the ghost that his father was murdered by his brother, Claudius. This sets in motion Hamlet’s feigned madness, a ploy in his ultimately tragic attempts retribution against his uncle and other disloyal members of the court. |
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© Copyright 2008 Festival Theatre Ensemble. All Rights Reserved.
