Immortality, Revenge and a Ghost

"Hamlet" is, in my opinion, Shakespeare’s most complex play, with so many layers that can be tackled and even more interpretations of what the characters have done or are about to do, not to mention what Shakespeare might have implied and what the background and the cultural context actually were centuries ago.

"Hamlet" is, no doubt, a play about death and revenge. Killing Claudius seems easy once there is evidence of what he has done, but when evidence comes in the shape of a ghost, things turn to be more complicated than expected, especially in a time when the trend was to distance from superstitious imaginary and embrace humanism. In my opinion, there are many perspectives on death in the play, depending on our prior knowledge and the way we would like to understand and decompose it.

 If one is familiar with the Buddhist teachings, then the lines in Act 1, scene 2 (72-73) “all that lives must die, / passing through nature to eternity” is not at all strange. In the same scene, Hamlet wishes “that this too too solid flesh would melt,/ and resolve itself into a dew!”(129-130). In this respect, Buddhists are quite aware that we will return to nature when we end our time on Earth because we are one with it. Through karma and eventual enlightenment one can escape samsara and achieve the end of suffering, which is Nirvana. Isn’t Hamlet trying to escape his faith by not committing any murder and not avenging his father’s death, but the odds are against him? Doesn’t he wish for a more gentle task?  “The time is out of joint. O cursed spite/ that ever I was born to set it right!”(I.5 190-191)

In the final scene of the play, before Hamlet dies, he says “there is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow.” (211). He seems to have resigned himself with what had happened mainly because he knows he would be taken care of by God or the supreme force governing all creatures. This return to the original, natural condition of the human mind, without any worry or struggle, letting it all be is defined as enlightenment or Satori in Buddhism and, unlike animals, which are always in this condition, we have lost this condition and made things and life more complicated. In order to regain this state, we need to reach true inner peace, “… the rest is silence.” (350) 

7 reasons to watch "Will"

"Fight for what you believe in!"

1. "Will" is a 2017 show that no one with an interest in the life of the famous playwright William Shakespeare should miss.

2. The young (and hot) Will's life is presented before he became famous, after he arrives in London eager to make a name for himself.

3. If you loved the Oscar winning film "Shakespeare in Love" just imagine this is a better version of the movie, with better costumes, soundtrack and more intriguing facts.

4. The TV show adds more characters in Will's life and presents his artistic struggles better than any other show or movie about the Bard's life.

5. It is a fun, vivid show, full of punk rock music and irony, in which Will is no longer a dusty old man, but a cool yet naive young man struggling to become the one and only Shakespeare.

6. Marlowe, Shakespeare's supposed rival, is present as well, but not as a mere rival, he is Will's admirer, too and this adds to the main character's depth.

7. The show also tackles an unexpected idea: Will is a practicing Catholic, which was illegal in England at that time, and this fact increases the danger in which he may find himself while in London. 

To Read or Not to Read

2016 is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. It is also the 452nd anniversary of his birthday, as Shakespeare is believed to have died on his birthday.

I hope you are sharing this beautiful day with a great book and why not, maybe this book is related to William Shakespeare! I myself am indulging in "The Merry Wives of Windsor" :)