Understanding+Hamlet+in+Under+Five+Minutes

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Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is debateably one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written, with key lines that are still quoted to this day. I'm not trying to demean the complexity and brilliance of this story with this video by anymeans. However, I feel that this video summarizes the story of "Hamlet" very accurately (and somewhat humorously as well). Shakepeare's style of writing is so intricate that it is sometimes hard to understand, especially for people reading a piece of his for the first time. This video is effective because it puts the universal idea of "Hamlet" into a more modern form that makes it simple for a viewer to understand. For example, at 0:53-0:55 seconds into the video, John Rockwell sings "This made Hamlet feel so mad." Right before this part of the song, it shares that Claudius had married his mother after the death of his father. In the actual play, we learn of Hamlet's anger in Act 1, Scene 2 through some sarcastic comments to his uncle Claudius. "A little more than kin and less than kind" and "Not so, my lord; I am too much in the sun" are examples of those sarcastic comments. We learn even more about his hostility in Hamlet's first soliloquy in that same act. Some people might not catch the anger in his sarcasm which would be unfortunate because Hamlet's anger towards his uncle, but even more his mother, is a key part to understanding the character of Hamlet and the beginning of the story. The point is that the idea of Hamlet's anger is conveyed in a much shorter, simpler matter. This is just one example however, The ideas and themes of "Hamlet" are consistently accurate throughout the entire video. This is helpful to student because if a student were to somehow miss something in the actual play, this video does a great job recapping the main events and themes of "Hamlet".

Kate Llaurado Hour 1