I live in Hamlet. Not in ‘a hamlet’ but actually inside the Danish prince. I am his consciousness, the small voice that tells him what to do and what not. I am his interior monologue. His unspoken desire. The thing that makes him tick. And I’m fed up with people judging me for the past 400 years. So let me set the record straight.
I am not a coward. I am not afraid of an undiscovered country nor to shuffle of this mortal coil. Reports about my ineptitude to decide have been largely exaggerated. Was it not I who nudged the prince to off Rozencrantz and Guildenstern? The one that killed that fool of a Polonius and asked an acting troupe to catch the conscience of the king in their play? The soft whisper in his ear that in the end drenched the Danish court in blood? And yes, I also told Hamlet to nail Ophelia, then dump her, then cast her aside.
Those are the facts. So I don’t get why people write me off as a whining wimp. Why not call me even-handed? Why not laud that I weigh both sides of the argument before making informed decisions? Cause make no mistake: I decide. I am a go-getter. A man of action.
I live in Hamlet. And I am.
I am.
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Scanning your blog reminds me of Emily Dickenson 🙂
That might just be the nicest compliment I’ve ever gotten. Too much honour for a humble blogger, surely!
I thought your idea here was a clever one. I’ve never seen a story written in the point of view of a character’s mind or conscience before. I thought that the conscience was a little cruel at times, but it was still a great idea.
Thanks. When you’re trying to write 300 stories in as many days, you’re always looking for interesting angles, so I’m glad you enjoyed this particular one.
Haha, true–“Reports about my ineptitude to decide have been largely exaggerated.” Here’s something you might enjoy reading–anthropologist Laura Bohannan writing back in 1966 about retelling Hamlet to the Tiv of West Africa. Quite eye-opening.
http://stuy.enschool.org/ourpages/auto/2012/10/29/67457272/IRC_Shakespeare_in_the_Bush1.pdf
Thanks for the tip! Fascinating…
Fabulously witty! I love the idea and the execution.
Well done, sir. Very enjoyable.
Brilliant! And my favorite Shakespeare play, too 🙂
I love this because it seriously bothers me when people refer to Hamlet as whiney. I think you’ve done an excellent job of bringing out the other side of one of my favorite pieces of writing ever.
Totally agree with your view on Hamlet. That’s why I’m such a fan of Ken Brangh’s 1996 film: his Danish prince is definitely a person who takes action and schemes, unlike most interpretations. To me the line ‘My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth’ has always been the TRUE clue to Hamlet’s state of mind, more so than ‘to be or not to be’.