WTF's So Great About It?

WTF's So Great About It?
WTF's So Great About It?

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Ep. #2 - What's So Great About Hamlet?



The greatest literary work in the English language? Or, possibly, any language?

Really?

No, one's come up with a better piece of literature in the past 400 years?

What the hell's so great about the story of some Scandinavian pampered prince?

Well, like with most "great" things, it's not so much the plot as how it is executed, with what artistry, with what forethought and expertise it is carried out, that makes it approach or, possibly, even achieve greatness.

The basics of the plot can be summed up quickly (I go into more detail in the podcast):
A king dies. His son, the prince, comes home from college for the funeral, distraught. Then his mom, the queen, marries the king's brother, making him the king instead of the prince. Then the ghost of the dead king tells the prince that the new king murdered him and that the prince must seek vengeance. The prince, hardly a tough guy, commits to it, but first wants to get more proof without raising suspicion.
There are interesting themes, sure, that people can latch onto, such as uncertainty, fear, murder, madness, corruption, war, and death as well as other ones that might still fixate the attention such as incest, subterfuge, investigation and pretending.

There is wit, horror, humor, tragedy, poetry and song,
All of which could've gone horribly wrong.

But did they?

Is greatness a matter of opinion?

Listen to the podcast and you might get a sense of

What's So Great About Hamlet? (click here)

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