Hamlet (2 of 3)

Comments · 34

• CL

  @clairerobsin · 6 years ago

  how meaningful, cogent your lectures are for me Prof. Cantor, having spent so much time over these last 30 years wandering about that Mansion of Shakespeare's plays presented by the BBC.

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• SL

  @SleepingDogVideo · 8 years ago

  My impression is that when Hamlet says &quot;get thee to a nunnery&quot; he is trying to push away and protect Ophelia from the repercussions of his plotting at court (and possibly avoiding her being used against him, or being hampered by concern for her). He cannot simply ask her to go (they are overheard; she may refuse). He is acting &apos;mad&apos; at this point, I gather.<br><br>Professor Cantor&apos;s view on a persistent strain of despondent Christianity in Hamlet seems contradicted by his wide and various friendships (with palace guards, players, fellow students and so on, and not least with Ophelia): he seems well-adjusted and well-liked before seeing his father&apos;s ghost during his period of grieving. This event changes him, perhaps strengthens his belief in life after death, and brings home the unpleasant responsibilities of his position for the first time.<br><br>I agree that the play is concerned with the problem of other minds (or a difficulty in peering into other people&apos;s souls), but I would interpret Shakespeare&apos;s deep interest here is in miscommunication: how often custom (like courtly language) or social difference or deceitful intent (and on and on) get in the way of clear and accurate communication and meeting of minds.<br><br>There is also, I think, more than a simple contrast between Christian piety and pagan heroic virtue. Paris represents a more hedonistic, flamboyant worldview; and Wittenberg something of the more rational, philosophic, sober worldview. Both of these were represented since ancient times too. I suppose for teaching purposes some simplification helps guide the discussion.<br><br>Aside from that, I think this lecture is full of profound and entertaining insights, and I&apos;ll have to revisit Hamlet.

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• BR

  @brianonuanain7535 · 1 year ago

  Not sure about Horatio&apos;s agnosticism. Upon hearing, &quot;Something is rotten in the state of Denmark&quot;, Horatio&apos;s response is: &quot;Heaven will direct it&quot;. (RIP &nbsp;Prof.)

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• JA

  @jamesduggan7200 · 8 years ago (edited)

  A strange play Hamlet is: Much of the important action is invisible or occurs offstage. The pirates are crucial. They represent the followers of Hamlet, the faction that would see him as King, the opposites of characters like Osric, Guildenstern, and Rosencrantz. And, ofc they are the catalyst who complete the transformation of Hamlet into action hero. Also, apparently only those friendly to Hamlet can see the ghost of his father, who defeated Old Norway, and died at his brother&apos;s hand.

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• ZE

  @zevshanken548 · 10 months ago

  Brilliant and fun

• RO

  @robertarmitage1899 · 9 years ago (edited)

  The point about Denmark and Norway, in which Hamlet talks about Fortinbras becoming the next king of Denmark, could have had &nbsp;subtle messages to the early audiences of the play. Those would have had nothing to do with the actual political realities that existed, at the time, concerning Denmark and Norway, as the latter had been under the former&apos;s rule for over two hundred years: &nbsp;Danish nobility, in that period, ousting most Norwegian nobility, as land holders. They might, however, have had to do with how those countries are presented in the play, as two neighboring and often warring nations. England and Scotland fit that description perfectly. The early 16th century had seen Anglo-Scottish wars and border raids, on both sides, were still endemic. When Hamlet was first performed Elizabeth 1st was on her last legs and it was illegal to talk about the succession. There were other claimants to it, but James VI of Scotland, had, as the great grandson of Henry VIII&apos;s oldest sister, the strongest one. Therefore Hamlet&apos;s support of Fortinbras could have been Shakespeare, or whoever wrote the plays, giving a hidden hint in support of James becoming James 1st of England. The lectures are about Shakespeare and politics and the political reality, when &quot;Hamlet,&quot; was first staged was one could not be too open in what he or she said about sensitive political situations. Just a thought.

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• WI

  @williepura6433 · 4 years ago

  how prophetic!

• ME

  @mediatapwater · 6 years ago

  While Hamlet’s indifferent to Denmark, he doesn’t like Denmark, yet he desires to be king and in power.

• RO

  @rogerevans9666 · 5 years ago

  @<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY5OSdwlclg&amp;t=1560">26:00</a> &nbsp; Dear Prof. Cantor, I have recommended your videos to my Roman history professor and his students. very well done, friendly, warm, good speaker

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• JA

  @jamesduggan7200 · 8 years ago (edited)

  A more complete formulation, as has been well-known for many decades, is that Shakespeare&apos;s tragic heroes fail because they&apos;re in the wrong plays. &nbsp;Switch Hamlet and Othello, switch Hamlet and Romeo, switch Lear and MacBeth, etc. So, it&apos;s not just that Hamlet is in the wrong place at the wrong time, it&apos;s part of Shakespeare&apos;s tragic formula.

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• PR

  @provisionofgrief1473 · 2 years ago (edited)

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY5OSdwlclg&amp;t=930">15:30</a> Whoah!!!! I never caught that before. Hamlet says &quot;your&quot; not &quot;our&quot; or &quot;my&quot;. Sir, in thy Hamlet lecture be all my lit failings remembered. Get me to English Lit 101 for why would I be considered a Hamlet fan.

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• HI

  @HighMaintainanceMachine · 2 years ago

  😊