Blog 8: Review

After seeing a staged version of Hamlet, my opinion of the scene in which Polonius and Claudius hid behind the arras was changed dramatically.  Originally, I read the scene with the assumption that Hamlet was not aware of his hidden audience and was simply enraged with Ophelia.  This Hamlet, though, delivered the lines--yes, many of his lines were simply delivered, not interpreted--in such a way that conveyed awareness for his hidden audience.  Since, as we've talked about in discussion, being an actor or being an audience changes all the dynamics of a scene, that knowledge radically changes the effects of that scene.  In this new context, Hamlet could be acting and convincing Claudius and Polonius that his madness springs "from neglected love." It also supports arguments against Hamlet's madness (as he is totally aware of his reactions and their impacts).  Overall, I felt that the play favored this approach heavily and I found it hard to make connections between Hamlet and madness.  It may just be me, but I think that any staged version is going to make Hamlet appear to be sane.  The human element makes him seem more relatable, and there is inherent difficulty in portraying an insane character.  In many ways--and with the possible exception of the scene I mentioned earlier--I found the play interpreted the words very literally.  There weren't many efforts to adopt interesting character traits or challenge our preconceived ideas of the play.