Bard Blog

Hamlet 4.5 –  Ophelia goes crazy, (she has her reasons), we’re besieged with some really long sentences, and Laertes comes home looking for revenge! It’s all Hamlet’s fault (except for the sentences)… but he’s out of town right now.

I have to say I was surprised at how much there was going on in this scene. I knew going into it that this would be a full show, but I was surprised at the amount of detail I kept stumbling over. From the flowers, to the meanings of the little songs Ophelia sings, this could easily have been a two hour show… but I am pleased with what I crammed in here. I have to admit, I was dreading this scene just a little- more often than not, I am bored or annoyed at this point in the play… I think I’ve seen this part done badly too often. Ophelia is so crucial to the success of this scene, and it is such a challenge to do well. But after digging through it, I am glad to say I was not bored. In fact, I think I have a much clearer understanding of why this scene goes wrong. As usual, it’s all in the details… although, I can’t get that Simon & Garfunkel song out of my head now.

Enjoy.

Hamlet 4.4 – En Route to England, our escorted prince runs into Fortinbras and his army, inspiring him to perform one final soliloquy… we are promised bloody thoughts. Hurray!

How’s It Gonna End, by Tom Waits, courtesy of http://music.mevio.com

This was such a small scene, I figured I’d throw in an extra show- of coarse being Hamlet, it wasn’t as simple as it first appeared. But there is a simplistic, sad beauty to the scene. Something about how Hamlet and Fortinbras feel so alienated from the world around them, and so, so very far from completing their revenge. There is a definite change in the play after this point… the end is not far off now.

One small correction… I mention that the next show is episode 34. Clearly, that is impossible, as this was 34. The next show will be episode 35- Mad World. Hmmm…. what could that refer to?

I was very excited to finally find an episode to use a Tom Waits song in (How’s It Gonna End). If you listen closely, there are a few lines in the song  that related to Hamlet. So glad I found music.mevio.com. I enjoy doing Shakespeare, music pairings. Look for more in the future.

Enjoy.

Hamlet 4.1- 3 – Hamlet’s hidden the body, and good luck getting a straight answer out of him! Where is it? Sponge… Where? Worms… Where’s Polonius? Guts… Time to go to England. Mother…

A few days later than I wanted, but it’s finally up. Not as long as the last couple, but packed with action. I might be imagining things, but it feels like Shakespeare was using tighter thoughts, and fewer words in the first three scenes of act 4. Maybe all of Hamlet’s yammering has just expanded my head. Now on to the next scene. So close to the end now… don’t want to rush it, but I am eager to charge forward. A lot of nice bits to come.

Enjoy.

Alas, alas, major setbacks have delayed this weeks show. But have no fear, it is in the works, and should be available by Monday Aug 9th! Thank you for your patience , and I am looking forward to the next episode… we’re getting into act 4 now- so very near the end of the show. And it’s a good thing, because I’m not sure how much longer Hamlet can keep things go as they are.

Hamlet 3.3 –  Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are getting ready for a trip, Claudius holds a private little pity party, and on route to see his mother, Hamlet crosses over to the dark side.

A shorter show and scene than we’ve seen in a while, but packed with conflict. And it includes another fantastic email from a listener of the show, and huge fan of Shakespeare. If you listen real close, you might be able to hear the fan that were running, while I recorded this. I tried to keep them as low as possible, but it was right in the middle of the East Coast heat wave, and the studio gets HOT. It all turned out well though. Enjoy.

Hent: (in this case, a variant of Hint) Opportunity, moment, chance. According to Shakespeare’s Words, A Glossary & Language Companion, Hent usually means, to grasp.

The mini-vacation is over, and it’s time to put up another show! Episode 31 will be available sometime later today…

No show this week- taking some time off to shoot off some lovely fireworks. But episode 31 will be available early next week.  And besides… episode 30 was huge! I’m still digesting that one.

Hamlet 3.2 – The play’s the thing wherein Shakespeare can hide the “C” word. It’s opening night in Elsinore, and while his Mousetrap may not win a Tony, he will at least get a Claudius.

Another new show (another long show). And now half way- give or take-  through Hamlet.

The follow info was sent to me by my good friend Mitch. Happy Shopping!

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, by William Shakespeare: A Tragedy. In Five Acts. As Performed at the Theatre in Boston. Boston: Printed for David West and John West, [1794] 8vo (8 x 5 in.; 203 x 126 mm); clean lateral tear in gutter margin of title and next two leaves, somewhat browned in first few quires, dampstain in lower portion. Stitched as issued.
ESTIMATE 5,000 – 7,000 USD

CATALOGUE NOTE
The first publication of a Shakespeare play in the United States, an extraordinary survival. Theatrical performance has long been viewed with suspicion in Boston where, in 1750, the General Court of Massachusetts passed an act against stage plays and other theatrical entertainments, and no theatre opened there until 1792. This venue was called a “New Exhibition Room” where Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet were performed as “moral lectures.” Legal proceedings were begun by the Puritans and arrests followed but a theatre again opened in February 1794 where Shakespeare was again presented (Sherzer, p. 639).
It is to that Boston theatre that we owe the publication of the first Shakespeare plays in the United States, the present Hamlet, and another volume of Twelfth Night, in abridged versions, probably the work of Charles Stuart Powell, the manager of the theatre, and one of its actors. Hamlet opened on 18 April 1794, and the text of the play was sold at the door as a libretto, the pages stitched together and without covers (Westfall, p. 82).
Amos Throop Jenckes, the son-in-law of John Carter (17451814), publisher of the Providence Gazette, spent much of his career voyaging to Cuba where he eventually settled.

PROVENANCE
Amos T. Jenckes (exlibris on first text leaf dated 16 January 1795) Mary S. Cushing (signature on title)
LITERATURE
J. Sherzer, “American Editions of Shakespeare,” Publications of the MLA, vol. 22 (1907), pp. 633-696; A. R. Westfall, American Shakespearean Criticism (1968); Evans 27692

Hamlet 3.1 – “To be or not to be”, and “get thee to a nunnery”. What else is there to say? Hamlet has a tough choice to make, a difficult encounter to navigate, and- oh yeah, a play to edit.

This show was almost as long as the previous two part episode. I briefly considered splitting it again… but we just did that. Anyway, 3.1 in two parts isn’t as funny as 2.2 in two parts (if you find humor in that kind of thing. Which I guess I do).

As I edited the show, I felt like my head was going to explode. There’s so much to cover- so many notes. There was a bit about “Nunnery” also being slang for a brothel, that never made it. Even recording it, my mouth just wasn’t big enough for the massive amount of ideas spewing out of this scene. I see why this never gets old; so many options, so much to explore. But I am happy with the finished episode- even though I am still full of questions and ideas.