Final Hamlet Post: My Opinion

      Over the past three years, I've studied three of Shakespeare's plays: Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, and Hamlet. Each teacher had different teaching styles and techniques when it came to teaching Shakespeare. I have to say, I liked this year the best. Freshman year, we sat in a large discussion group and read the play aloud. We would occasionally act out the lines. It was hard to follow and let's face it - some kids just can't read out loud. Sophomore year, we were assigned what to read and when and then the teacher would summarize what happened in class. In my opinion this was the worse. Half the time I was lost and ended up on Sparknotes. This year we blogged and watched the movie alongside reading the actual play and took notes. All three teachers have shown movies of the plays, but this was the first time it was shown at the same pace of the text. I was able to (for the most part) understand and decipher what was happening on my own. I liked that we would stop and catch everyone up and then continue. I also liked how at the end of each act there was always a wrap up of key points shared. In the end, I was able to to understand more about the play and how Shakespeare wrote.
     In addition to how we read Hamlet, the mini projects made it enjoyable. Frankly, Shakespeare is no walk in the park. It takes a lot of patience and concentration to thoroughly read his plays. I think the projects like the Playbill and Twitter time line provide a little bit of relaxation - but also reinforce key points about the play. For instance, the Twitter time line made us figure out what type of person each character was and put ourselves in their shoes. It made the characters more relatable. The Playbill, which we haven't finished yet, will help us to remember the positions and roles of each character in the play. The blogging assignments were a nice mix. I think if we just had continuous essays and pop quizzes, the play would quickly turn into a source of resentment and the willingness to understand and comprehend would be gone. The one thing I would change though, is the study guide questions. They were hard to maintain and would possibly be better at the end of the play. Overall, this year was special because I was able to understand the play and like it. I didn't have to rely on any secondary sources or translators which was a nice change.
      When it comes to the play itself, I am a bit undecided. I like the story line and the plot twists but I'm genuinely annoyed by most of the characters. My only favorites are Horatio and the clever gravedigger. Horatio seems to be one of the only characters who has a good head on his shoulders and is an observer. I feel like Horatio goes home at night at is like "can you guess what they did today, you'll never believe it." He always remained loyal to Hamlet and he took care of Ophelia when she went insane. I think Horatio is good-natured, mature, and a strong person. The clever gravedigger was only in one scene but made a big impact. He beat Hamlet at his own game of wit and sarcasm.  He provided long-needed comic relief. The rest of the characters, though, are hard for me to like. Laertes and his father are rude and pompus, Hamlet whines and is needy, Gertrude betrays her own son, Ophelia has a mental break down, and Rosencrantz and Guildestein are not smart at all - the list just goes on. Possibly, if the story wasn't set in a royal setting and the people in it acted rationally and maturely then maybe I would have liked it more.
       I also didn't particularly like the movie version we watched in class. It wasn't horrible, but I just think that the atmosphere and setting could have been different. Although in my opinion the acting was phenomenal. Claudius, Ophelia, and Laertes were portrayed well.  It was Hamlet who I was annoyed with. Maybe it was the fact that his beard was darker than his hair or that he was much older but I just didn't like him. I found it hard to take his soliloquies seriously, especially the one in which he compares himself to Prince Fortinbras. It was obviously fake and over dramatic. The scenes didn't flow very well. This could be a result of the play but the movie itself was rigid. Overall, it served its purpose.
     In a year from now, if you ask me about Hamlet - I'm fairly confident I'll be able to remember it. The movie and projects will certainly come to mind. I honestly enjoyed the way we learned the play this year and hope it is similar for Macbeth. The play itself is not my favorite but I don't completely hate it. I always have liked how Shakespeare paints a not-so-perfect picture and gives an inside look to human relationships. I think he understood humanity thoroughly. His plays can always hold faint remainders of our own lives. Being that we are teenagers, I think the drama and betrayal suits our lives well but it also gives insight on how not to act. This was a successful experience.