Who+Really+is+Hamlet?

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~lady/lit/shakespeare/Hamlet1.html Hamlet is a very interesting and complicated character. I mean the reader just never quite knows what he is really thinking. What sort of person is Hamlet? Is he trying to be serious or funny? Is Hamlet crazy? What is really behind Hamlet and Ophelia’s relationship? How old is Hamlet? Since Hamlet is the main character of the Shakespeare play, rightfully titled, //Hamlet//, and he is arguably one of the most referenced people in all of history, I think it’s appropriate that we knew about this interesting fellow. This website attempts to explain how Hamlet thinks and what his motivation is for certain actions. This website does explain all of the points I mentioned above, but it also provides an explanation for why Shakespeare wrote //Hamlet// the way he did. First off it’s been highly suggested that Shakespeare based //Hamlet// on another story written by Saxo Grammaticus. Shakespeare did little to alter the story line and or add any of his own new scenes to his play. However even though //Hamlet// is nearly directly based on the story by Saxo Grammaticus, Shakespeare’s version is much more confusing. This is because instead of adding new material, that made the story less confusing and added explanations of why characters acted the way they did, Shakespeare took out scenes and explanations that he didn’t find particularly interesting. The example given by the article is why Hamlet treats Ophelia so badly as the story progresses. In Saxo Grammaticus story, the author explains that Ophelia is in the story to “tempt and subvert” Hamlet. Well, Shakespeare decided to leave that part out and simply leave the reader guessing as to why Hamlet treats Ophelia poorly, if in fact the reader were to think that in the first place. It’s almost like he wanted to make the reader think and really analyze his work. Shakespeare didn’t want to just give us the answers, he wants the reader to really dig deep for the answer, even though there are countless number of answers to on simple question. It’s all left up to the interpretation of the reader, which is one of the most appealing things about Shakespeare’s plays. It’s that they are so universal to all readers. This website will be helpful in attempting to fully understand //Hamlet//. The explanations for not only reasons behind what Hamlet does and who is he, but for explanations behind why Shakespeare wrote the play the way he did. It helps readers to try and somewhat get inside Shakespeare’s head and really see the genius behind his works.

Amanda Johnson Hour: 7