Hamlet

I favor the language in Hamlet over all the other plays. ?It is, in my opinion, the most lyrical of his works.The poetry oozes from every soliloquy. It's also the most individual of the plays. ?

Hamlet is about Hamlet. ?When I say that, I mean that it is uniquely about Hamlet's own, internal struggle and grappling with innocence, turned to experience and responsibility. ?Shakespeare's Hamlet questions life and its purpose when youth turns to the age of duty. ?Therein lies the emotion that plagues us all, regardless of at what point in our life's journey we exist. ?To the teenager, Hamlet may seem a disaffected youth, whose parents do not understand his clear eyed brand of wisdom. ?To the middle aged, Hamlet corresponds to that moment when we realize that our lives were uncomplicated and direct in those long forgotten days that form the peaceful surroundings of the young. ?To the older reader, Hamlet is nostalgia and wise reminiscence of the days when a time of action was afoot -- I think -- I haven't yet experienced Hamlet as I would ?through the looking glass of a senior citizen.

In any event, Hamlet is about introspective examination and is reflective of our own individual exploration of that examination throughout our lives. ?There is less about societal constriction in Hamlet than in the other plays. ?Hamlet defines himself. ?That's why I place him amongst the modernists.

All of the above is not to say that we are not to value the journeys of the other characters in the play. ?I could write for days, on several themes, regarding Ophelia. ?However, keep in mind that the other characters serve largely as foils to Hamlet. ?Even Ophelia. ?Even Gertrude, I would argue.

Consider Hamlet's own plan when you read the play. ?"The play's?the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king." And when you orient yourself from that perspective, you can also discourse upon Hamlet as reflection of the playwright, himself.