Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

Spending the past few days sick has given me plenty of time to think and watch movies. One movie that I watched last Friday, I’d like to muse about today. It was called Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. It was hilarious, complete with dry British humor. The whole concept of the film/play was the story of Hamlet told from the perspective of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, which got me thinking, “What other secondary characters in Shakespeare’s plays could use more fleshing out?” I mean, we have many fully developed characters but what side characters do we simply forget about? We saw in Winter’s Tale Autolycus steal the show because the actor had such a presence, but what others could do so as well?

Acting Out: Will the real Hamlet please stand up

One important theme in Hamlet is acting. Who is acting, who isn't, and what characters are presenting a fake face or are being real with those around them. Hamlet, is especially difficult to read because at times it doesn't even seem as though he knows whether he's acting or not. However, we are given an effective means of deriving when Hamlet is or isn't acting.
    While instructing the actors on how to do their job, Hamlet states:
    "Be not too tame neither; but let your own discretion be your
tutor. Suit the action to the word, the word to the action; with
this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of
nature: for anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing..."
    By telling the actors to be neither tame, nor to overact, Hamlet creates a means for us to tell when he is acting and when he isn't. In moments of intense emotion, whether it be anger or depression, Hamlet drops his facade. During his first soliloquy, we get a feeling of intense depression, a sign that he's not acting, because he seems to be rather 'too tame.' Likewise, when he's confronting his mother, intense emotion destroys the careful caricature that he's been creating. We hear his earnest pleas and see him for who he really is. Again, we know he's not acting because he becomes so intense that he drops discretion.
    So, I'd argue that by using Hamlet's own description of acting, we can get an accurate view of when he is and isn't acting throughout the play, which could then be used to analyze his more 'insane' moments to determine if he really is crazy or just acting.

Hamlet Group Discussion #1

Christ posted a question on my blog earlier, so I figured I'd respond to it in this post.
Do you think Hamlet is any better than Claudius given Hamlet's murder of Polonius and Claudius's murder of the king? Are their stories of ambition and passionate retribution different?

    Hamlet might have racked up a greater body count than Claudius but Claudius definitely performed the greater crime. Claudius actions were pre-meditated murder, followed by adultery whereas Hamlet always acted in the moment, driven by his passions which were ignited by Claudius. In a sense Claudius is partially responsible for Hamlet murdering Polonius. He killed his father. He married his mother. He turned his best friends into spies and conspired with Polonius to have Ophelia turn against Hamlet. After all this, he has the audacity to act as surrogate father towards Hamlet. Had none of these events occurred, Hamlet would never have been driven to the lengths he went.

    Also, I’d argue that Claudius was driven more by ambition than passion. Otherwise, his passion would have overturned his desire to be king when racked by guilt. Had he really been sincere about his guilt over killing his brother, he would have divorced his Gertrude, given up the kingdom, and submitted himself to justice. Throughout the play, Claudius is driven by his ambition, whereas Hamlet gives up so much to avenge his father. He sets aside his ambition to follow his passions.

    So I’d say their motivations are significantly different, especially since Hamlet kills both Laertes and Claudius in self-defense. Yes, killing Polonius was grievous, but not pre-meditated, as opposed to Claudius murdering Hamlet Sr. Hamlet is driven by passion. Claudius is drive by ambition