WeekXII-Spirit vs Ghost

               I have given a lot of thought on the hotly debated topic of whether the ghost of King Hamlet was meant as a demon, seeking to destroy lives and cause extreme chaos, or a spirit, searching for revenge to give himself peace; and, I have come to the following conclusion.  Two out of the three very well done presentations of the play made the "ghost" a seemingly powerful essence demanding, NOT asking for, revenge.  Also, the one version that wasn't presented the same way, was far from a restless spirit in asking for it's deserved revenge.  If the so called "spirit" was as powerful as demonstrated, why not take revenge its self and save Hamlet the trouble? In every story someone comes out happy or victorious. With the pile of bodies, ruined friendships, and destroyed trusts I think a demon would be the only happy one in the group.  Because of this reasons I believe that the "ghost" is a demon not a spirit.

WeekXII-One last Hamlet

              For my last Hamlet production, I chose the David Tennant version.  Mostly I selected it because I have heard that he was the best "Doctor Who" so far, and I was skeptical of his acting abilities.  The Producer of the film was The Royal Shakespeare Company, the director was Gregory Doran, and the stars were David Tennant(Hamlet) and Patrick Stewart(Claudius). You never see the outside world, but it would seem that the setting was late 1900's in the palace of the king of England.  To be honest I thought that David Tennant's appraisers didn't do him justice. He seemed to outshine the rest of the movie with his acting, especially with his crazy act that was even better than the Branagh or Gibson version. The only other actor that fit with Tennant's ability, was Patrick Stewart (the bald dude from x-men and star trek). He seemed to portray a more in depth Claudius than the ones in the other versions.

WeekXI-No Secrets (for once)

                 It seems clear that when Hamlet says to Ophelia,"The players cannot keep counsel-they'll tell all." he's means that they reveal the truth and not hold back.  The question is, why?  In his new state of mind he has taken a liking to mind games, predictions, and secrets.  Which may be it, because the play does show both his mother's betrayal, and his fathers murder.  is that really the only possibility though.  Could be it possible that he's trying to give reason to his madness for Ophelia? later he does exclaim that,"Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum." perhaps this is just his insanity kicking in, but it's still an interesting thought.

WeekXI-Ophelia Treatment

               Hamlets treatment of Ophelia is in the nicest of words, rough; Not that she didn't deserve it. He seemed to want her to feel sorry for betraying him, because right after the beginning pleasantries of their conversation, it starts to sound more like an interrogation.  He directly insults her honesty, saying that she is been deceiving him by seduction."To a nunnery, go." are his parting words to her which could might mean two different things. It might mean she should save herself from continuing her deceitful ways, or that she should go back to he father, the "Fishmonger", and leave him be.