The Skinhead Hamlet - Shakespeare's play translated into modern English. By Richard Curtis. Yes, that Richard Curtis!

Note : those offended by the F word - LOOK AWAY NOW! And Georgia, if you've stumbled on this review by your funny old dad - this is ANOTHER Paul Bryant. Not me!

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ACT I
SCENE I
The Battlements of Elsinore Castle.

[Enter HAMLET, followed by GHOST:]

GHOST: Oi! Mush!

HAMLET: Yer?

GHOST: I was fucked!

[Exit GHOST:]

HAMLET: O Fuck.

[Exit HAMLET:]

SCENE II
The Throneroom.

[Enter KING CLAUDIUS, GERTRUDE, HAMLET and COURT:]

CLAUDIUS: Oi! You, Hamlet, give over!

HAMLET: Fuck off, won't you?

[Exit CLAUDIUS, GERTRUDE, COURT:]

HAMLET: (Alone) They could have fucking waited.

[Enter HORATIO:]

HORATIO: Oi! Watcha cock!

HAMLET: Weeeeey!

[Exeunt:]

SCENE III
Ophelia's Bedroom.

[Enter OPHELIA and LAERTES:]

LAERTES: I'm fucking off now. Watch Hamlet doesn't slip you one while I'm gone.

OPHELIA: I'll be fucked if he does.

[Exeunt:]

SCENE IV
The Battlements.

[Enter HORATIO, HAMLET and GHOST.:]

GHOST: Oi! Mush, get on with it!

HAMLET: Who did it then?

GHOST: That wanker Claudius. He poured fucking poison in my fucking ear!

HAMLET: Fuck me!

[Exeunt.:]

ACT II
SCENE I
A corridor in the castle.

[Enter HAMLET reading. Enter POLONIUS.:]

POLONIUS: Oi! You!

HAMLET: Fuck off, grandad!

[Exit POLONIUS. Enter ROSENCRANZ and GUILDENSTERN.:]

ROS & GUILD: Oi! Oi! Mucca!

HAMLET: Fuck off, the pair of you!

[Exit ROS & GUILD.:]

HAMLET: (Alone) To fuck or be fucked.

[Enter OPHELIA.:]

OPHELIA: My Lord!

HAMLET: Fuck off to a nunnery!

[They exit in different directions.:]

ACT III
SCENE I
The Throne Room.

[Enter PLAYERS and all COURT.:]

FIRST PLAYER: Full thirty times hath Phoebus cart...

CLAUDIUS: I'll be fucked if I watch any more of this crap.

[Exeunt.:]

SCENE II
Gertrude's Bedchamber.

[Enter GERTRUDE and POLONIUS, who hides behind an arras.:]

[Enter HAMLET.:]

HAMLET: Oi! Slag!

GERTRUDE: Watch your fucking mouth, kid!

POLONIUS: (From behind the curtain) Too right.

HAMLET: Who the fuck was that?

[He stabs POLONIUS through the arras.:]

POLONIUS: Fuck!

[POLONIUS dies.:]

HAMLET: Fuck! I thought it was that other wanker.

[Exeunt.:]

ACT IV
SCENE I
A Court Room.

[Enter HAMLET, CLAUDIUS.:]

CLAUDIUS: Fuck off to England then!

HAMLET: Delighted, mush.

SCENE II
The Throne Room.

[Enter OPHELIA, GERTRUDE and CLAUDIUS.:]

OPHELIA: Here, cop a whack of this.

[She hands GERTRUDE some rosemary and exits.:]

CLAUDIUS: She's fucking round the twist, isn't she?

GERTRUDE: (Looking out the window.) There is a willow grows aslant the brook.

CLAUDIUS: Get on with it, slag.

GERTRUDE: Ophelia's gone and fucking drowned!

CLAUDIUS: Fuck! Laertes isn't half going to be browned off.

[Exeunt.:]

SCENE III
A Corridor.

[Enter LAERTES.:]

LAERTES: (Alone) I'm going to fucking do this lot.

[Enter CLAUDIUS.:]

CLAUDIUS: I didn't fucking do it, mate. It was that wanker Hamlet.

LAERTES: Well, fuck him.

[Exeunt.:]

ACT V
SCENE I
Hamlet's Bedchamber.

[Enter HAMLET and HORATIO.:]

HAMLET: I got this feeling I'm going to cop it, Horatio, and you know, I couldn't give a flying fuck.

[Exeunt.:]

SCENE II
Large Hall.

[Enter HAMLET, LAERTES, COURT, GERTRUDE, CLAUDIUS.:]

LAERTES: Oi, wanker: let's get on with it.

HAMLET: Delighted, fuckface.

[They fight and both are poisoned by the poisoned sword.:]

LAERTES: Fuck!

HAMLET: Fuck!

[The QUEEN drinks.:]

GERTRUDE: Fucking odd wine!

CLAUDIUS: You drunk the wrong fucking cup, you stupid cow!

[GERTRUDE dies.:]

HAMLET: (Pouring the poison down CLAUDIUS'S throat) Well, fuck you!

CLAUDIUS: I'm fair and squarely fucked.

[CLAUDIUS dies.:]

LAERTES: Oi, mush: no hard feelings, eh?

HAMLET: Yer.

[LAERTES dies.:]

HAMLET: Oi! Horatio!

HORATIO: Yer?

HAMLET: I'm fucked. The rest is fucking silence.

[HAMLET dies.:]

HORATIO: Fuck: that was no ordinary wanker, you know.

[Enter FORTINBRAS.:]

FORTINBRAS: What the fuck's going on here?

HORATIO: A fucking mess, that's for sure.

FORTINBRAS: No kidding. I see Hamlet's fucked.

HORATIO: Yer.

FORTINBRAS: Fucking shame: fucking good bloke.

HORATIO: Too fucking right.

FORTINBRAS: Fuck this for a lark then. Let's piss off.

[Exeunt with alarums.:]

YouTube kanalımda Shakespeare'in hayatı, mutlaka okunması gereken kitapları ve kronolojik okuma sırası hakkında bilgi edinebilirsiniz: https://youtu.be/rGxh2RVjmNU

KİŞİLER
Oğuz - Yaşıyor.
Oğuz'un ölü hali - Yaşanacak olan.
Anneannem - O artık bir ölü.
Dedem - O artık bir ölü.
Hamlet - Eski kralın oğlu.
Yaşama sevinci - Hepimizin istediği.
Ölüm - Hepimizin yaklaştığı.
Kader - Hepimizin bağlı olduğu.
Amaç - Hepimizin boşluğu.
Baba spermi - Hepimizin geldiği.
Anne karnı - Hepimizin doğduğu.

PERDE I
SAHNE I
(Hamlet ve Oğuz sahneye girer.)

Hamlet: Kim var orada?
Oğuz: Önce sen konuş, kimsin söyle.
Hamlet: Benim ben. "Olmak ya da olmamak işte bütün mesele bu." cümlesiyle tanınan. Monologlarıyla yürüyen. Ölümle savaşan. Babasının ölümünü aklından atamayan.
Oğuz: Tamam, tanıdım seni. Ne işin var burada? Ne arıyorsun benim kitaplığımda?
Hamlet: Bu soruyu sana sormak lazım Oğuz. O kadar Shakespeare kitabı okudun sonuçta. Mantıken Shakespeare'in tarihi oyunlarında iktidarlar arasındaki iç savaş ile benim ruhum ve bedenim arasındaki iç savaşın ne kadar benzer olduğunu fark etmiş olman gerekirdi.
Oğuz: Haklısın Hamlet. Sen de ölümle savaşıyorsun benim gibi. Ölümle savaşıyor olma ihtimalini seviyorsun. Ölüm senin için bir kaçış değil, tam tersine zamanı gelince yaşanması gereken bir deneyim. Laertes adlı karakterin isyan edip seni alt etmeyi istemesi gibi senin de yazarının tarihi oyunlarında anlattığı şey iktidarların iç mekanizmalarındaki isyanların, insanların içlerindeki isyanlara ve beyin adı verilen kontrol mekanizması tarafından bastırılmasına benziyor olmasıydı. Ama bu da nedir?

(Oğuz'un ölü hali girer.)

Oğuz'un ölü hali: Sen bana dönüşeceksin Oğuz. Bundan hiçbir kaçarın yok. Öleceksin. İntikamımı alacağım senden bütün o güzel günlerin. Donuk ve gözlerin kapalı bir şekilde yatıracağım seni bir mezara, oradan geliyorum zaten. Benden kaçamazsın Oğuz, ben zaten senim ve geleceğindeki şimdiki zamanım.
Oğuz: Aman Allahım! Bu da neyin nesi Hamlet?
Hamlet: Ona iyi bak, o senin geleceğin. Hepimizin kaçamayacak olanı. Benim de babam bana böyle görünmüştü. Sonrasında ölümden intikam almam gerektiğini anlamıştım. Ölüm hakkında ne düşünürsün Oğuz?
Oğuz: Ölüm, öldürmek istediğimdir Hamlet.
Hamlet: Peki, ölümü öldürseydin ortada yine bir ölüm olmaz mıydı Oğuz?

SAHNE II
(Hayat adlı bir savaş alanında yaşama sevinci ve ölüm kıyasıya çarpışıyordur.)

Yaşama sevinci: Hayat ne güzel! Hiçbir derdim yok. Karnım o kadar tok ki göbeğim ve enerjimle istediğim her şeyi yapabilecek bir durumdayım. Yaşamı seviyorum!
Ölüm: Hayat ne kadar soğuk. Berzahtayım, beni iki dünyaya da bağlayan şey yine kendimim. İnsanların gözlerini kapatırım. Ruhlarını çekip alırım.
Yaşama sevinci: Herkes beni görmek istiyor!
Ölüm: Hiç kimse beni görmek istemiyor.
Yaşama sevinci: Yarınlar için umut kaynağıyım!
Ölüm: Her geçen gün yaklaşanım.
Yaşama sevinci: Hayatı yaşanılır kılan benim!
Ölüm: Sen olmasaydın olmazdı hiçbir albenim!
Kader: Hop, hop, hop... Durun bakalım, nedir böyle alıp veremediğiniz şey? İkinizi de ben belirliyorum, nedir arzuladığınız?
Ölüm: İlk o başlattı.
Kader: İkiniz de zıttınızla anlamlısınız. Ben yaşama sevincine derim sevindir şu insanı, sevinir, yaşama tutunur o insan. Ben ölüme derim öldür şu insanı, ölür o insan. Hatırlasanıza... Hamlet'in monologlarında da siz yok muydunuz? Babasının ölümü üzerine intikam almak istememiş miydiniz? İnsanın kimliği de bir arkeoloji değil midir ve sizler de o kimliğin arkeologları değil misiniz?

SAHNE III
(Oğuz, Hamlet ile sohbetinden sonra yaşama sevinci ve ölümle birlikte yaşamayı öğrenir.)

Oğuz: Gelin bakalım, gelin. İkinize de yer var burada. İkiniz de çektiniz kolumdan bugüne kadar. Biriniz dedi, hayat ne güzel, hiçbir dert yok. Diğeriniz dedi, hayat ne kadar soğuk, her yer berzah. Nereden geliyorum ve ben kimim? Neden sizlerle birlikte dünyaya geldim? Neden atıldım buraya seçimim sorulmadan? Nedir bu her insanın başarı isteği hiç yorulmadan? Hamlet'i hala okumayan insanlar görüyorum. Fakat Hamlet okumadan önce Shakespeare'in tarihi oyunlarının ve Bir Yaz Gecesi Rüyası gibi büyülü gerçekçi ögeler içeren kitaplarının da okunması gerektiğini söylüyorum. Nedir bana Shakespeare'i okutan? Nedir bu kader tanrıçalarının ipliğini bana dokutan?

(Anneannem ve dedem sahneye girer.)

Anneannem: Biziz.
Dedem: Biziz.
Oğuz: Ben sizi hiç görmedim bugüne kadar. Ben doğduğumda siz yoktunuz. Yoksa doğum düşmanı mıdır ölümün? Peki ölüm hangi safhasındadır bu hayat bölümünün?
Anneannem: Eğer biz olmasaydık annen ve baban da olmazdı değerli torunum. Biziz senin varlığının nedeni. Fakat bizden de yüksekte bir Allah vardır seni baştan sona var edeni. Bak, istersen konuş geldiğin yerle. İnsanın gittiği yeri öğrenebilmesi için geldiği yeri bilmesi gerekir derler...

(Anne karnı ve baba spermi sahneye girer.)

Anne karnı: İşte! Biziz varlığının sebebi.
Baba spermi: İşte! Biziz varlığının sebebi.
Oğuz: Nedir bu hengame? Nedir bu bana sorulmayan her şey? Hamlet, nedir bu seçemediklerimizin karşımıza sonradan bir seçim olarak çıkması? Ey ölüm, eşitsizliklerimizi eşit hale getiren, sen söyle madem. Nedir elimdeki seçenekler? Hiç doğmamış olmayı istemek, sen söyle, sırf "Keşke doğmasaydım" cümlesine karşı bir "İyi ki doğmuşum" cümlesini söyleyebilmek için mi Şahane Hayat filmini izledim? Verin bir balta, keseyim bu spermin yolunu ve her şey uçsun havaya! Gösterin bir yol, anlaşayım kader denen tefeciyle ve biriktireyim hiç olmayacak borçlarımı. Olmak ya da olmamak işte bütün mesele bu deyip de yaşam çelişkisini çözebilmek mümkün mü Hamlet? Peki seni yaratanın oğlunun adı Hamnet olduğu için ve onun ölümünün acısından dolayı mı senin adın Hamlet?
(Oğuz'un ölü hali girer.)

Oğuz'un ölü hali: Bırak şimdi Hamlet'i, Hamlet'ten sana ne! Sen bensin, ben de senim. Mezardayken yanında Hamlet olmayacak. Sadece ben olacağım. Bak anneannene, o artık benle. Bak dedene, o artık benle. Herkes bir gün burada olacak. Bak ölüme! Nasıl da kıkırdıyor arkandan, nasıl iç çeviriyor sen yaşama sevinci ile doluyken. Bak Hamlet'e, nasıl okutuyor sana kendini içindeki bütün kelimelerle. Odur sana bir hayaletle barışık olmayı öğreten. Odur senin içindeki iç savaşları sana tanıtan. Hamlet'in kendisi gelsin, o söylesin sana bütün bunların niye olduğunu...

Hamlet: Ben değilim beni esas ben yapan. İntikamımdır benim tek isteğim. İntikam alınınca kimliğim de tamamlanır ve çıkarım hayat denen bu sahneden. Hayat bir sahnedir ve kadınlar da erkekler de onun oyuncuları demiştir Jaques, Nasıl Hoşunuza Giderse'de. Neresidir bu sahnenin bulunduğu bina? Neden ve niçin intikam alıyorum ben?

SAHNE IV

(Amaç sahneye girer.)

Amaç: Heheyyt, çekilin hepiniz önümden! Hepinizin sebebi benim. Benim ölümü anlamlı kılan. Benim yaşama sevincini sevindiren. Benim Oğuz'u anneannesiyle ve dedesiyle konuşabilme bilincine eriştiren. Benim ona Shakespeare'i okuması gerektiğini söyleyip Hamlet'i ona ulaştıran. Izdırari ve ihtiyari kader dostlarımla birlikte çalışırım bu yolda. Ölümü öldürmek istedi Oğuz, oyunun başında. Fakat ölümü öldürmek de bir ölümdür Hamlet'in dediği gibi.

Ey insanlar, benim hepinizin boşluğu ve doldurulması gereken! Benim bu hayat denilen oyunun tek perde oluşunun sebebi! Dostoyevski, içinde ben ve ben isteği olmadan kimse yaşayamaz dedi, haklıydı! Montaigne, bana bağlanmayan ruh, yolunu kaybeder, her yerde olmak, hiçbir yerde olmamaktır dedi, haklıydı! Hamlet de onlarla birlikte işte şimdi. Her yerde olmayı isteyip hiçbir yerde olan, benimle birlikte intikam alan ve Oğuz'a da bunları yazdıran.

(Herkes çıkar, sadece Oğuz kalır.)

“One may smile, and smile, and be a villain.”
Hamlet ~~~  William Shakespeare


Richard Burton

I recently discovered that my non-existent n   Hamletn review has 51 likes. With that many likes, I figured I better buckle down and write a proper review for this amazing piece of theatre.

It's no wonder  William Shakespeare’s n   Hamletn is so famous and beloved. n   Hamletn provides all the ingredients of a thrilling plot, while offering some of literature’s most breathtaking poetry and philosophical reflection. In Shakespeare’s paranoid Denmark, young love is throttled by fear, and friends are driven to become enemies, while a melancholic, young prince rages against a scheming uncle who married his mother after having killed his brother, King Hamlet.


John Gielgud

The story of Prince Hamlet, robbed of his father and of his rightful seat on the throne of Denmark, n   Hamletn has, over the years, became one of theatre’s most thrilling dramas. The love and betrayal coincide in this story to make one of the most shocking endings of Shakespeare’s work ever.

Madness, revenge, mortality, lust, and religion are words that can describe Hamlet. Not the play Hamlet, but Prince Hamlet, the boy. The only word that is needed to describe Hamlet, the play, is tragedy.

n   Hamletn is not a difficult read, being that we are so familiar with the text; if you look past the words on the paper and see the meaning of n   Hamletn you may find that the young prince Hamlet isn’t so different from you and me.

The story of a prince robbed of his father and of his rightful crown as king of Denmark, n   Hamletn has, over the years, became one of the most exciting tragedies ever written. Love and betrayal coincide in this story to make one of the most shocking endings of Shakespeare’s work ever.


John Barrymore

Prince Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet of Denmark, is dead. The king’s brother, Claudius, has attained the throne and married widowed Queen Gertrude — all done with such tasteless haste that the funeral bak’d meats did coldly furnish forth the wedding tables. On top of all the sneaky corruption, Denmark is under threat of invasion from Norway. But as everything seems to be falling out of place for the young prince of Denmark, he seems to have struck gold of the sorts.

The dead king rests uncomfortably and one night appears to Prince Hamlet on the castle walls. As young Hamlet receives the message, to set out revenge of the death of his father, the castle stirs after Hamlet’s remarks to seeing the spirit.

In order to complete the quest Prince Hamlet undertakes for his father, he must make himself seem mad, but is he truly mad? This is the one questions that actors, directors and critics have debated for centuries. The only person who truly answer that question died in 1616. Shakespeare has left this question open; Hamlet may well be mad, he may be playing on the fact that others read his actions that way to be able to better ready his revenge.

There is also a great deal of ambiguity about his mother’s views. She seems to allow that she is very naïve and doesn’t really know what’s going on, yet one gets the strong textual clues that she knows quite well what her new husband has done, and she’s trying very hard to not know.

In the end the entire mess comes crashing down in tragic deaths of nearly everyone.


Sarah Bernhardt

n   Hamletn, in addition to being gripping from the first line to the last line, is also just filled with famous lines and speeches, slices of Shakespeare’s writing that are so worthy of the fame they have achieved from the most famous “To be of not to be” speech to one-liners of great significance.

For centuries, n   Hamletn has been the theatre's cornerstone of the diversion of madness and revenge, and when these two are mixed, they create something much bigger than all of us. But what is Hamlet’s true nature? Does Hamlet know his own nature? As a director, I see a hero caught up in a villainous situation ~~ a young man of full of anger, filled mourning, who has no idea how to proceed in his corrupt world. Therefore, this is why we can all relate to Hamlet, as we are all stuck in a corrupt world with no idea how to proceed.


Benedict Cumberbatch

Laurence Olivier and Mel Gibson work for me. Two more different princes you couldn't make up. One is a prince from the word go. The next has to struggle to become one. No wonder so many actors dream of playing Hamlet. He's got the best lines and is on stage the longest. Not like the ghost. A minor role. Barely worth auditioning for. They obscure your face or leave you in the shadows. But the ghost is what the play pivots on. It is the ice which a hockey player leaps on and defies is not air to fly after that puck until the crowd shouts "goal" and the organ plays the six notes before it roars "CHARGE!"

But, you say, "Hamlet doesn't charge, he dithers. That's why the play takes hours. Besides, ghosts aren't real." To which I say "Do you believe everything you hear?

Shakespeare raises this question and makes it timeless. That is why, besides the beauty of the writing, this play should be read.

"ما معنى الرحمة إذا لم تملك الوقوف في وجه الحقيقة، فتردَّنَا عن الشر إن نوينا، وتُقِيلنَا منه إن عَثَرنا؟ "

هاملت ...أحد روائع الكلاسكيات العالمية..
كتبها ويليام شكسبير الغني عن التعريف أكيد الذي يعد أشهر مؤلف مسرحي عرفه التاريخ ومن أشهر أعماله تاجر البندقية ،روميو وجولييت ،عطيل ،مكبث و الملك لير...

تُعد هاملت أطول المسرحيات التي كتبها شكسبير، حيث وصلت وقت عرضها إلى خمسة ساعات في النسخة الأصلية كما إنها تعتبر من أكثر الأعمال الأدبية قوة وتأثيراً في العالم و كانت من أكثر أعماله شهرة خلال حياته..
المسرحية مكونة من ٤ فصول بجانب مقدمة طويلة في بداية الكتاب بس مقدمة مهمة و ساعدتني كتير في فهم الأحداث وقد قرأتها بترجمة خليل مطران و كانت ممتازة...

تدور أحداث المسرحية حول قصة انتقام الأمير هاملت من عمه كلوديوس الذي قتل أخاه ثم تزوج أرملته (والدة هاملت) و استولي علي العرش..
علي الرغم من صعوبة بعض المفردات إلا أن الحوارات كانت رائعة و مليئة بالأسئلة الوجودية و الفلسفية...
شكسبير ألقي الضوء علي جانب مهم من شخصية هاملت وهو التردد أو الحيرة وذلك عندما قال جملته الشهيرة..أكون أو لا أكون..

"أكون أو لا أكون؟ تلك هي المسألة، أيُّ الحالتين أمْثَلُ بالنفس؟ أتَحَمُّلُ الرجم بالمقاليع وتَلَّقي سهام الحظِ الأنكد، أم النهوضُ لمكافحةِ المصائب.."

كل واحد فينا مع إختلاف الظروف بيفكر زي هاملت كتير..يكون أو لا يكون..يتكلم و لا يسكت..ياخد موقف في حياته و لا يستسلم...

مسرحية رائعة و علي الرغم إني قرأتها قبل كدة و في الغالب درسناها كلنا في المدرسة إلا إني أعتقد إن كل مسرحيات شكسبير تستحق قراءة تانية و بتأني لإنها حقيقي ممتعة..

"من مصائب هذه الحياة أن تحتاج أحيانًا الفضيلةُ إلى التماس الغفران من الرذيلة.."

Jesus Christ what a year no way could this get worse now they're hacking away at each other with their swords and I'm supposed to look interested oh well done Hamlet despite everything he's still my son that was a lovely feint pretty worried about Laertes though he looks so crazy first his dad and then his sister wish I could do something to help oh come on who am I kidding it's Hamlet I'm worried about of course God what am I going to do that poor kid is totally fucked and he thinks it's all my fault I told Claudius it wasn't smart to hush up what happened to Kingy they'd only believe he'd done it was I right or was I right of course with the two of us carrying on it did look suspicious don't blame people for jumping to conclusions I wish he hadn't broken up with Ophelia she seemed like such a nice girl everything just got worse after that he was so mean to her takes after his father that way know how she felt there were moments I could have jumped in the river myself and then lecturing me on my sex life I couldn't believe it honestly teenagers all think they've invented sex they can't imagine anyone over twenty still does it I'm only thirty-six for crying out loud I'm in my sexual prime not that I was getting much before Claudius noticed me poor old Kingy completely hopeless in bed have to hand it to Claudius even if he is a bastard he's the first man who's ever given me an orgasm can't imagine what Hamlet would say if I told him that bad enough as it is oh for Christ's sake Laertes what do you think you're doing that's not a real sword you know sweet Mary mother of God I need a drink but if Claudius sees me he'll start going on again about my alcohol consumption I'll wait until his back is turned and grab a quick one before he notices right here's my chance one glass won't k---

I bought a skull as my only prop for Halloween dress-up, and I hope someone will recognise that I will be Hamlet. As spontaneous actions always need to be followed by bookish contemplation for full satisfaction, I am preparing for the event by rereading the whole play.

Somewhere in the middle I started laughing at Hamlet's advice to Ophelia: "To the nunnery!" For who wants to end up a breeder of sinners? I rejoiced at the fact that fake news are as old as the rotten state of states in general, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern made my day, several times. I loved the play inside the play, and what it tells us of Shakespeare's idea regarding the power of literature to move and affect people on the deepest level.

I quite coldly skim the overquoted "to be or not to be", and stop cold at "Faith! Her privates we."

Her privates we? Meaning the middle parts of fortune? I have Manning's book at home, and I have been meaning to read it forever, and I didn't have a clue that the title was a quote from Hamlet, and that it referred to female genitals.

I am not even at the point yet in the play where my skull makes an appearance, alas Yorick!, but I have already started a new book based on my rereading of Hamlet.

That is what happens to readers, - stories affect them, they react, and that reaction generates new action, followed by new stories, in eternity - a precious circle. That's Hamlet. Hamlet is human in a rotten state. Who knows whether he is insane or not? I guess it depends on who you ask.

I am still feeling kind towards him. Ophelia's fate is still in the future, as is the cathartic show effect of taking up the bodies to the stage.

When going to bed later, after finishing the last acts, Maestro Shakespeare may be out of my favour again.

But that is another story...

هاملت... الانسان الحائر بين التفكير والفعل
بعد مقتل والده يتردد بين طبيعته المزاجية وفكره الفلسفي
في محاولة بائسة لتمديد فترة اللافعل وتأجيل الانتقام
الهذيان وتظاهره بالجنون جزء من المعاناة والضغوط النفسية والأخلاقية
وفي النهاية يختار شكسبير الفعل كقوة عادلة مرئية لحسم الأمور في الواقع
والانتقام هنا جزء من العدالة

hamlet you petulant brat ily

Update: I've been messaging with an academic who wants to quote this review in a scholarly research article! They liked that this review was so "pithy," LOL. I'm kind of tickled.

My favorite Shakespeare play! Murdering throne-usurping uncle, Hamlet's ghost father demanding revenge, pretend insanity, death, real insanity, everyone plotting against each other, death, play within a play, more death, all wrapped up with insanely good poetry. And death. But the revenge comes first, so it's all good.

The reason why Hamlet is still discussed today is that it still eludes and confounds us. This intriguing aspect of the play has kept it alive for centuries. Hamlet's doubts, questions, and inability to act strengthen him in our eyes; everything that he struggles with is deeply familiar, and it reverberates, to varying degrees and in different contexts, with us even today. For instance, these six words 'to be or not to be' haunt Hamlet throughout the play, and this dilemma is no stranger to us, we face it all the time. No living person is immune to it.

The plot of Hamlet is simple; his father, the king, is killed by Hamlet's uncle who then marries the widowed queen – Hamlet's mother. The exact nature of king's death is revealed to Hamlet by his father's ghost More than his father's death, and it is the intrigue behind his death that pushes him into a vortex of doubts and shakes his very existence.

Now what happens to Hamlet in the play is not unusual. Even worse incidents happen in life, but not all young men or women respond to death, crime in ways he does. His very being is invaded. He is consumed by what he now knows, and this 'knowing' forces him to act, which means, he has to expose and punish his father's murderer.

When the young Hamlet gets to know of his uncle's heinous deed, he is internally damaged. He has no control over his life. His lover, Ophelia, could not calm him or divert him, nor does he seem capable of responding to her pleadings; strangely enough he is more eaten away by the thoughts of his uncle and mother's sinful union. However, he is not angry with his mother because his father's ghost has nothing against her 'she is blessedly unaware of the darker sides of the world.'

To dissect Hamlet psychologically takes us nowhere, he is a problematic character that defies 'fixing.' T. S Eliot, in his critique of Hamlet, coined the term 'objective correlative' and claimed that Hamlet's emotions are in excess of the situation he encounters. This seems a valid observation. For instance, one wonders why does the queen never for a second reflect or doubt the abrupt death of the king. How could she be so naive? Not only this, soon after the king's death, she agrees to marry her brother. Hamlet, on the contrary, stops living his life, stops loving his beloved Ophelia. He is only left with one motto; his entire life reduced to one thing – that is to avenge his father's murder.

One can unceasingly go on analyzing Hamlet and yet not able to know him. Like truth, like life, Hamlet is eternal, elusive, only partly penetrable. Therefore, we are so obsessed with Him.