The History Of European Theatre Hamlet Part 1: ‘That One May Smile and Smile and Be a Villain’
Episode 192:
And so, we come to perhaps the biggest challenge in all of Shakespeare's work, ‘The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark’. Over the next two episodes and a special guest episode I hope I can get close to doing this monumental play justice.
The dating of the play and the complication of the ‘ur-Hamlet’
The early print history of the play and the three versions
The possible sources for the play
The opening of the play
The character and significance of Fortinbras
The character of Polonius
The ghost of Hamlet’s father and the responsibility of revenge
The position and character of Ophelia
Ophelia and the meaning of flowers
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern – appearances and honesty
The players and their play as an insight to acting genres and techniques of the time
The success of ‘The Murger of Gonzago’
The centrality and irony of Claudius at prayer
Hamlet, Gertrude and the ghost
Part two of this review of ‘Hamlet’ will follow as episode 194 (season 6 episode 81)
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