last winter I was cast as Horatio in a local production of Hamlet. Horatio’s a great character to play, because he’s a fundamentally *good* character in an extremely flawed world. And yet the biggest thing I struggled with is why Horatio was friends with Hamlet. Hamlet is often cruel and unkind to those around him, and it mystified me as to why a character as kind as Horatio would hang around Hamlet.
and the only conclusion I can come to is that the Hamlet we see in the play is not the true Hamlet. When his father died, a part of Hamlet died too. It’s alluded to by Ophelia in ‘oh what a noble mind is here o’erthrown’ and by Rosencrantz when he says ‘my lord you did love me once’. Hamlet was a funny, sweet, smart guy.
This is the thing that annoys me most about whenever people are talking about Hamlet being nothing more than a mopey, whiny, emo teen. He’s not. He’s a young person suffering from depression. Depression changes your personality. It’s why I love Hamlet as a play so goddamn much. I’ve never seen any other kind of story that so perfectly encapsulates depression. I’ve been where Hamlet is. I’ve been grumpy and irritable and hard to get along with, even though I’ve been trying my best. Hamlet is a good character suffering from serious depression and trauma. He’s not an asshole.
amandla
titsay
kianamaiart
dailybridgerton
prguitarman
