Fearsome, Flattered, Glimpsing Transformation, 4.5: (Part 6) Laertes and Labors of Gratitude and Regret in Hamlet
This is the latest installment in a multi-part series examining how characters interact in Hamlet, offering opportunities, gifts, planting seeds for future inspiration, or for changes of heart & mind. It follows ideas from Lewis Hyde (“The Labor of Gratitude,” a chapter in his book, The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property ). See notes at the end for more details about the series, and for an index of other posts in the series. [Images from Act 4, scene 5 of Kenneth Branagh's 1996 Hamlet : L: Laertes (played by Michael Maloney)& mob; R: Ophelia (played by Kate Winslet), Laertes, & Claudius (played by Derek Jacobi).] (Continued from the previous week's post) [Nathaniel Parker as Laertes in Franco Zeffirelli's 1990 Hamlet ] A Laertes to be Feared? The next time we see Laertes (4.5), his father is dead and his sister has gone mad. The Laertes who had an example of kings to fear and dread (and who referred to Claudius in 1.2 as his “dread Lo...