Hamlet

Professor Marta Rosenblum

English 10

May 6, 2016

Listening to Hamlet

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, we learn very quickly that the Prince of Denmark is a talkative person. Plagued by uncertainty and doubt, he tries to talk through all his concerns with anyone who will listen. When no other characters are nearby, he famously talks to himself, working out the play’s central themes in some of the most famous soliloquies every written (Klann 127).

However, for a neophyte watching a performance of the play, understanding everything Hamlet says can be difficult. Studying the texts of these speeches in printed form is helpful, because it allows the reader to follow the carefully constructed figurative language line-by-line. However, to gain a greater grasp of Hamlet’s emotional state, it’s sometimes better to simply listen to the words.

By comparing recordings, the listener can quickly learn about the many possible interpretations of Shakespeare’s famous soliloquies. For example, in Avery Pohlman’s classic performances from the 1990s, we can sense Hamlet’s increasing panic over his inability to choose a definite course of action (Live from New York's Golden Arch Theater). Pohlman’s interpretation stands in stark contrast to the early recordings of Justin Makepeace, which are known for their somewhat lighter mood.

In this paper, I attempt to compare the Pohlman and Makepeace recordings of Hamlet’s soliloquies. [Add more about the paper’s overall organization. Explain how comparing the recordings leads to a deeper understanding of the words of Hamlet.]

The Need for Revenge

The revenge tragedy was already a favorite type of play in the Elizabethan theater scene when William Shakespeare set out to write Hamlet (Klann 35). This type of drama typically included a play within a play, a ghost, violence, and scenes of madness. [Add more about revenge tragedies. Discuss the Pohlman recordings in this context.]

Deciding to Decide

Hamlet’s state of indecision is a form of agony...