Sunday, March 1, 2009
Keeping it real- #2
There is much acting in this play to the extent that I do not know who was actually "keeping it real". First there is the king who acts as if he did nothing even when Hamlet confronts him with "the mouse trap" play. which brings me to Hamlet himself, he acts as if he is mad but for good reason, as said by someone his "cunning madness", so out of anybody i think Hamlet is keeping it real the most, even though he didn't act upon his feelings for the most part.... (still haven't finished the play). As for his mother, the Queen, she just plays dumb the whole time as if she did nothing wrong which to me is ridiculous that one person can keep it so fake. Also there is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, they act as if they are Hamlet's close friends but then turn around and deliver a letter which they think says to kill Hamlet.... they couldn't have been more mislead. Then there is Polonius, he was creeping around in the Queen's curtains... not keeping it real at all, he got stabbed, he had it coming. Don't get me wrong however, there were defiantly some characters in the play who kept it real but they were perfect examples of "when keeping it real goes wrong", Ophelia, went crazy, and her brother gets his shit rocked by Hamlet but at least they were keeping it real.
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2 comments:
"There is much acting in this play:
Will,
Indeed, "the play's the thing." I think that focusing on who's acting (and who's not) and the effect of both on the final outcome of the play might provide a suitable focus for your upcoming essay. You'll need a passage to provide you with some framework. What about Hamlet's instructions to the players? (Go back and take another look at that speech, and let me know what you think).
I agree that the intense amount of acting on top of acting leads to confusion but also adds another mysterious element to the play that is neglected by the ways in which certain situations are handled (such as when Hamlet publicly accuses Claudius of killing his father). Without this element of mystery and surprise that can easily be portrayed by the acting upon acting, the tragedy would be much more predictable.
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