Though this be madness, yet there is method in't

One of the unexpected benefits of lockdown has been the proliferation of free-to-air theatrical performances. The RSC's 2016 production with Paapa Essiedu as Hamlet has been shown on BBC iPlayer as part of their Culture in Quarantine access, and now forms part of our study. Act One runs for 41 minutes. The glimpse of Wittenberg student life emphasises the kind of world that Hamlet has 'lost', in addition to the loss of his father, as he arrives home. It also reminds the audience of his youth, and the celebratory moment of having a diploma conferred contrasts effectively with the grief later in Act One; the snapshot effect is also a signifier of change: a moment lost forever. Beyond this, the production has been described as the ' most traditional of interpretations '. For the first 'ghost' scene (though no ghost appears), the low, blue-black lighting means the actors are almost imperceptible at times - certainly difficult to pick out in the stage gloo...

There are many ways of revising, but a good way is to revisit parts of the play and explore them with a different lens from the one you used the first time round. We have known that Horatio is trustworthy from the opening scenes of the play. He has been a voice of reason since the skeptical intelligence he displayed at the appearance of the Ghost, and an accurate documenter of events in his explanation to Hamlet - and it is he who is chosen by Hamlet to let the ' story be known, 'report me and my cause aright/to the unsatisfied' (V.ii.344-345), at the end of the play. Begin, then, with this list of events from Horatio's final speech: And let me speak to the yet unknowing world How these things came about: so shall you hear Of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts, Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters, Of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause, And, in this upshot, purposes mistook Fall'n on the inventors' reads: all this can I Truly...

Today we reach our dramatic, and tragic conclusion. The final scene begins with Hamlet explaining to Horatio how he has altered the letter from Claudius condemning him to death - and substituting the names Rosencrantz and Guildenstern instead. They are interrupted by Osric, a courtier, who issues the challenge for a duel with Laertes - in order to settle a bet for the king. It probably didn't look like this. Moments later, after Hamlet issues an apology to Laertes, explaining that he acted in madness and without 'purpos'd evil' (V.ii.237), the duel begins. It can be seen as another example of a play within a play, a performance staged for a court audience as well as the theatrical one. Laertes selecting the poisoned foil and Claudius preparing the poisoned drink with a deadly jewel, 'Hamlet, this pearl is thine' (V.ii.284) as planned. Hamlet, unaware of the plot against him, wins the first points - and Gertrude drinks to his health from the poiso...

Another tiny little scene, which really serves to drive the plot forward in terms of Hamlet's narrative.  As is often the case, the pace of action is increased by seeming to enter mid-conversation with the characters. Horatio receives a letter from Hamlet via some 'seafaring men' (IV.vi.2), (signifying Hamlet's remaining trust in his old friend - unlike Rosencrantz and Guildenstern who have betrayed him). The letter reveals that Hamlet's boat to England was attacked, and he himself taken prisoner by a 'pirate of very warlike appointment' (IV.vi.15), (which led to the obvious but irresistible film reference) but was well-treated and is now returned to Danish soil. Horatio must be led to his friend. A quick summary that raises some interesting ideas towards the end is here: Just keep track on this one in your own summary notes.

Continuing the frenzied pace of this act, we meet the Queen and Horatio with a 'Gentleman' in mid conversation about Ophelia's grief-stricken state of mind and 'distract' behaviour. (Hamlet himself doesn't appear in the next three scenes.) Gertrude determines 'I will not speak with her' (IV.v.1) but is persuaded to 'Let her come in' (IV.iv.16) just fifteen lines later - after the indirect threat to Hamlet that Ophelia 'may strew/Dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds' (IV.v.14-15). There is evidently sufficient sense in the things that Ophelia says to cause trouble for the King. (It is worth remembering that the the handling of Polonius' death is causing political tensions and adding to the civil unrest.) Ophelia enacts being mad with grief, and matches the description that she 'Speaks much of her father' (IV.v.4), but does so mostly through song. She leaves just prior to the arrival of a livid Laertes, so...

Schools closed on Friday afternoon due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Our task of remote education now begins in earnest. We study one of the world’s most famous plays - when theatres around the world have been shut down to prevent the spread of the virus. We live in extraordinary times. Like Horatio at the appearance of Hamlet’s ghost during the opening scene of the drama, ‘it harrows me with fear and wonder’ (I.i.47). It is perhaps inevitable then, as I re-read the text, that images to do with infection surface and resonate more powerfully than they have ever done before; while we collectively experience ‘some strange eruption to our state’ (I.i.72). Even Hamlet’s ‘windy suspiration of forc’d breath’ (I.ii.79)  in his opening exchange with the queen now seems to rattle as an early symptom of coronavirus rather than the more usual interpretation as a criticism of the appearance of grief. And don't get me started on Laertes counselling of Ophelia, that ‘in the morn...