Hamlet's Real or Feigned Grief - via Rebecca Mead on Andrew Scott in Robert Icke's Hamlet
When Hamlet is seen for the first time in the first act, second scene of Shakespeare's play that bears his name, is he wearing black because he is just a spoiled boy having a tantrum because he didn't get to be king, or can we take him at his word that he is in deep grief?
Excerpts from Rebecca Mead’s 6/6 New Yorker article on Robert Icke’s Hamlet stood out to me in part because of the emphasis on real rather than feigned grief, or “Hamlet as neurotically indecisive or Oedipally compromised”:
[Photo by Jeff Brown for the Ney Yorker. Fair use.]
~~~~~
[...] Icke first staged “Hamlet” in 2017 [...] with Andrew Scott in the lead role [...]. Scott was then best known for his performance as Moriarty, on “Sherlock” [...] The production, in which Denmark was imagined as a chilling surveillance state, incorporated the use of video to powerful effect—the Ghost is initially observed on grainy security footage—and was heralded for its emotional veracity. Especially praised was the immediacy of Scott’s performance; even when speaking the character’s most familiar lines, he appeared to be thinking and feeling them for the first time.
To prepare to direct Scott, Icke had delved into the literature of grief, reading C. sS. Lewis’s 1961 memoir, “A Grief Observed,” about the death of his beloved wife, and the work of Thomas Lynch, the contemporary poet who is also an undertaker. Whereas earlier generations have viewed Hamlet as neurotically indecisive or Oedipally compromised, the Hamlet of Icke and Scott is undone by grief. “The grief is present before the Ghost is—maybe the Ghost could even be a product of the grief,” Icke told me. “Hamlet’s black clothes, constant tears, and general disposition are, he says, only the outside trappings of woe—it’s what’s inside him that counts.”
~~~~~
This struck me in part because I’ve been exposed to many critics and scholars who suspect that Hamlet might be displaying insincere grief because he is ambitious, privileged, and spoiled, disappointed that he didn’t get to be king, and therefore merely putting on a show of grief to spite his mother and uncle. [2]
But let’s avoid binary thinking for a moment and consider that there might be some truth in both positions?
1. Hamlet may indeed have been in deep grief at the loss of his father and king who sent him to university to study so he might one day be a good king.
2. There may also be disappointment, ambition, and envy in Hamlet, that Claudius scandalously married his mother and took the throne - scandalously, not only because marriage to a dead brother’s wife was forbidden by civil law, the bible, and church law, but also because it was so hastily arranged, probably before Hamlet had returned from Wittenberg.
By killing his brother, Claudius also killed Hamlet’s expectations of his future as king.
(The Mead article is long and rich: I only scratch the surface here. See notes for the link.)
In a more recent (excellent) book, Peter Lake argues that Hamlet shows no ambition for killing Claudius in order to take the throne from him: If he thinks too much, it’s not plotting to usurp, but fighting the urge to avenge quickly, and how to avoid hell (conscience). [3] More on Lake's book soon.
~~~~~
NOTES:
Photo by Jeff Brown for New Yorker. Fair use.
[1] Article link:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/13/a-hamlet-for-our-time
[2] Paul Cantor sometimes leans a bit in the direction of an ambitious Hamlet in his 3-part Youtube video lecture series on Hamlet:
Part 1:
https://youtu.be/N7UkuaGegzQ
Part 2:
https://youtu.be/WY5OSdwlclg
Part 3:
https://youtu.be/lygcsRVflv8
Rhodri Lewis is also similarly skeptical of Hamlet’s grief in his book,
Hamlet and the Vision of Darkness, believing Hamlet to be young and a bit spoiled.
https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691166841/hamlet-and-the-vision-of-darkness
[3] Hamlet's Choice: Religion and Resistance in Shakespeare's Revenge Tragedies,
by Peter Lake:
https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300247817/hamlets-choice/
~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages or mention religion in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to explore how the Bible and religion influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My current project is a book tentatively titled Hamlet’s Bible, about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet.
Below is a link to a list of some of my top posts (“greatest hits”), including a description of my book project (last item on the list):
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-20-hamlet-bible-posts.html
I post every week, so please visit as often as you like and consider subscribing.
Excerpts from Rebecca Mead’s 6/6 New Yorker article on Robert Icke’s Hamlet stood out to me in part because of the emphasis on real rather than feigned grief, or “Hamlet as neurotically indecisive or Oedipally compromised”:
~~~~~
[...] Icke first staged “Hamlet” in 2017 [...] with Andrew Scott in the lead role [...]. Scott was then best known for his performance as Moriarty, on “Sherlock” [...] The production, in which Denmark was imagined as a chilling surveillance state, incorporated the use of video to powerful effect—the Ghost is initially observed on grainy security footage—and was heralded for its emotional veracity. Especially praised was the immediacy of Scott’s performance; even when speaking the character’s most familiar lines, he appeared to be thinking and feeling them for the first time.
To prepare to direct Scott, Icke had delved into the literature of grief, reading C. sS. Lewis’s 1961 memoir, “A Grief Observed,” about the death of his beloved wife, and the work of Thomas Lynch, the contemporary poet who is also an undertaker. Whereas earlier generations have viewed Hamlet as neurotically indecisive or Oedipally compromised, the Hamlet of Icke and Scott is undone by grief. “The grief is present before the Ghost is—maybe the Ghost could even be a product of the grief,” Icke told me. “Hamlet’s black clothes, constant tears, and general disposition are, he says, only the outside trappings of woe—it’s what’s inside him that counts.”
~~~~~
This struck me in part because I’ve been exposed to many critics and scholars who suspect that Hamlet might be displaying insincere grief because he is ambitious, privileged, and spoiled, disappointed that he didn’t get to be king, and therefore merely putting on a show of grief to spite his mother and uncle. [2]
But let’s avoid binary thinking for a moment and consider that there might be some truth in both positions?
1. Hamlet may indeed have been in deep grief at the loss of his father and king who sent him to university to study so he might one day be a good king.
2. There may also be disappointment, ambition, and envy in Hamlet, that Claudius scandalously married his mother and took the throne - scandalously, not only because marriage to a dead brother’s wife was forbidden by civil law, the bible, and church law, but also because it was so hastily arranged, probably before Hamlet had returned from Wittenberg.
By killing his brother, Claudius also killed Hamlet’s expectations of his future as king.
(The Mead article is long and rich: I only scratch the surface here. See notes for the link.)
In a more recent (excellent) book, Peter Lake argues that Hamlet shows no ambition for killing Claudius in order to take the throne from him: If he thinks too much, it’s not plotting to usurp, but fighting the urge to avenge quickly, and how to avoid hell (conscience). [3] More on Lake's book soon.
~~~~~
NOTES:
Photo by Jeff Brown for New Yorker. Fair use.
[1] Article link:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/13/a-hamlet-for-our-time
[2] Paul Cantor sometimes leans a bit in the direction of an ambitious Hamlet in his 3-part Youtube video lecture series on Hamlet:
Part 1:
https://youtu.be/N7UkuaGegzQ
Part 2:
https://youtu.be/WY5OSdwlclg
Part 3:
https://youtu.be/lygcsRVflv8
Rhodri Lewis is also similarly skeptical of Hamlet’s grief in his book,
Hamlet and the Vision of Darkness, believing Hamlet to be young and a bit spoiled.
https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691166841/hamlet-and-the-vision-of-darkness
[3] Hamlet's Choice: Religion and Resistance in Shakespeare's Revenge Tragedies,
by Peter Lake:
https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300247817/hamlets-choice/
~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages or mention religion in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to explore how the Bible and religion influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My current project is a book tentatively titled Hamlet’s Bible, about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet.
Below is a link to a list of some of my top posts (“greatest hits”), including a description of my book project (last item on the list):
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-20-hamlet-bible-posts.html
I post every week, so please visit as often as you like and consider subscribing.
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