Hamlet

Hamlet was my first voluntary reading of Shakespeare as an adult.

There comes a time when you have to face the music or accept that you're not part of the literary elite and try not to bang the door on the way out.

This was a tough read and more of a nightmare than a hey-nonny-no round the maypole. I honestly thought this was the Piper of Hamelin and couldn't figure out why there were no flute player or rats?

There are so many cast members jumping in and out, if you don't slow down and do some external research to figure out who's who it's a tough and unrewarding experience.

Imagine being on the school bus on the way to the Globe Theater, London, flicking popcorn into everyone's hair instead of getting down to serious study! It goes way over your head and as an adult you learn to get the story basics out of the way first.

Hamlet's father is murdered by his uncle, who then accedes the throne and marries Hamlet's lovely mother for good measure. Hamlet isn't very happy about it!

Sent by the murdering uncle, now the king, into bloody battle, Hamlet survives and comes back home to exact his revenge!

This play is universally considered one of Shakespeare's best works because of how complex and political it is:

> Who's going to believe me?

> Am I going out of my mind?

> Where do I go from here and do I fight or flee?

"To be or not to be, that is the question."

It's a tough read and not recommended as a gateway or introduction into Shakespeare. Try reading a 'comedy' written before 1600, such as A Midsummer's Night Dream or The Merchant of Venice. Tragedy, Romeo and Juliet was written around this period too, which is easier, as well as Julius Caesar.

Shakespeare's tragedies date post-1600, which is when Shakespeare seems to be at his literary peak of erudite penmanship, but also his most difficult.

Reading this is more like carrying the cross than anything approaching enjoyment, but there's also a reason why his work has survived for centuries and why people still read it today.

So there I am, on the school bus and heading back home, popcorn all flicked and finished, and I didn't understand a word of it!