Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet is one of the most well known plays since it was first created in 1603. This play has been done repeatedly throughout the centuries and has still remained very popular. However, one man believes that “ if all the plays ever written suddenly disappeared and only Hamlet miraculously survived, all the theaters in the world would be saved. They could all put on Hamlet and be successful.” ( Hamlet: A Modern Perspective, page 307) This man was Michael Neill.
This complex tragedy is widely popular among theater spectators and actors and it always gives us a good source of entertainment. With its complexity, people are always trying to define and figure out what everything means from actions, to storyline, and soliloquies. Some critics read it as a ”psychological study of a prince too delicate and sensitive for his public mission…” (Neill, 308) others believed that “the tragedy seemed to embody
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It is the same story every single rendition and every single piece of art influenced by it, The Lion King. However, we as onlookers are still amused by this traumatized, vengeful, mentally unstable prince. We are “...likely to emphasize those characteristics that are least compatible with the idealized ‘sweet prince’ …” (Neill, 309) Hamlet has a doubtful outlook on women, he is “obsessed with his mother’s sexuality” (Neill, 309), is very cruel to Ophelia, and has a tolerance for violent murder , so why are we amused? With the revenge-fueled plot and the soliloquies give a feel that two plays are being performed at the same time, Hamlet has the “ability to adapt itself to the preconceptions of almost any audience…” (Neill, 309). Every scene and soliloquy is and can be seen uniquely at any point. We enjoy the abnormalities of humans that we wouldn’t normally