The first play to read in Shakespeare class is Hamlet. A classic, you may try to convince me, but I've never read it before. Therefore I proceed with my one bit about Hamlet.
Hamlet, the prince and heir to the Denmark throne, is probably one of Shakespeare's most favorite characters, I can imagine. He has so much going on in his head that he rarely says something that makes total and immediate sense. You have to question every word and intent of his and then make a conclusion on whether he's crazy or not.
What I really wanted to say about Hamlet is that he is a ham. Always acting, it is believable that he's crazy. And then he is very rude and he gets away with it. Mostly the characters around him treat him with respect anyway, at least to his face. I wonder, is that also an act? This just gets more and more confusing, yet I empathize just a little bit more with the characters as I learn a little bit more about them.
Poor Hamlet.
Hamlet, the ham, the old ham, the egg cooked too long in the sun.
Hehe, very well said. I think the way the characters act is very paradoxical. As you said, Hamelt is definitely acting. But in his acting, he gets away with whatever he wants. He says whatever he feels like to everyone around him, excusing himself with the insanity plea. So by acting he is allowed not to act, to be himself. Whereas the other characters keep the proper face on at the proper moment, never allowing their facades to slip. It's done much more instinctively than Hamlet's acting, but it is acting nonetheless.
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