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So if you cut these lines from your production you& #39;re either clueless OR you& #39;re deliberately pushing the misguided 20th century interpretation of the play as being about Hamlet being indecisive.
Second: You& #39;ve included the lines. Good work!
Then your ghost shows up and he doesn& #39;t have a beard. Or he does have a beard and it& #39;s grizzled.
You have either failed to understand the line and are now unintentionally undercutting Horatio& #39;s word and the ghost& #39;s faithfulness.
Then your ghost shows up and he doesn& #39;t have a beard. Or he does have a beard and it& #39;s grizzled.
You have either failed to understand the line and are now unintentionally undercutting Horatio& #39;s word and the ghost& #39;s faithfulness.
OR you& #39;re deliberately trying to paint the Ghost as being fake (which seems to have become en vogue in the past couple decades). I can see why this seems like an interesting choice, but it& #39;s incoherent: The Ghost being untruthful doesn& #39;t track because Claudius confesses.
(I did see one production that went so far as to cut Claudius& #39; confession, apparently with the deliberate intent of painting Hamlet as an actual madman seeking revenge against an innocent man. I honestly have no idea what they were trying to achieve with this.)
To be fair: You may have cut the line specifically because you understood this and your actor doesn& #39;t have a sable silver& #39;d beard.
BUT...
BUT...
Third: This line establishes the entire relationship between Hamlet and Horatio. It& #39;s so elegant.
Hamlet is peppering Horatio intellectually. Every other time we see him do this in the play, the person he& #39;s interacting with can& #39;t keep up.
Horatio does.
In fact, he one-ups him.
Hamlet is peppering Horatio intellectually. Every other time we see him do this in the play, the person he& #39;s interacting with can& #39;t keep up.
Horatio does.
In fact, he one-ups him.
Hamlet is trying to catch him out in a discrepancy between the ghost& #39;s appearance and his father& #39;s.
Horatio not only understands what he& #39;s doing, he gently reminds him that he knew his father in life; if he& #39;s lying Hamlet& #39;s technique isn& #39;t going to catch him.
Horatio not only understands what he& #39;s doing, he gently reminds him that he knew his father in life; if he& #39;s lying Hamlet& #39;s technique isn& #39;t going to catch him.
So we establish, in this one moment, that (a) Horatio is Hamlet& #39;s intellectual equal and (b) Hamlet can trust Horatio.
I& #39;ve played both sides of this conversation on stage. Absolutely pivotal beat in the relationship between these characters.
I& #39;ve played both sides of this conversation on stage. Absolutely pivotal beat in the relationship between these characters.
More on that bit about "Hamlet is indecisive" being a garbage interpretation of the play: https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/36062/theater/shakespeare-sunday-in-a-web-of-tragic-flaws-hamlet-the-anti-tragic-hero">https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress...
