A very,very old post!

This is a very old blog entry (December 3,2005..looong time ago!!!!!),on my so-not-active Myspace account...i posted it here because last week my lecturer was discussing about Hamlet & it reminded me why I love it a lot...


I’ve always been a fan of Shakespeare’s work. I’ve read the books and watch the movies. I can proudly say that I’ve read almost all of Shakespeare’s works and some of them are unknown to many people. From Othello, to Twelfth Night, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, to As You Like It(the teen movie 10 Things I Hate About You are based on it),Shakespeare works are remarkable. But sadly, because of the complicated names of the characters, I don’t remember all of the stories. In my opinion, Shakespeare works are timeless because the stories mirror the social problems that still happen until today. But when it comes to watching the movie, I prefer to watch Shakespeare works that has a love theme in it because it appeals more to me. That is why I can’t bring myself to watch Hamlet because it’s very tragic. But because I was bored, I decided to watch it anyway (I have the tape).

Hamlet is the son of the King and Queen of Denmark. At the start of the story, the King was found dead because supposedly he was bitten by a snake. But 2 months after the King had passed away, the Queen married the late King’s brother. This angers Hamlet. Shocking news was told to Hamlet by his friends which includes his best friend, Horatio, that they’ve seen the late King, wandering on top of the castle at, night. This intrigues Hamlet, so he goes to search for his late father’s spirit. His late father spirit tells him that he wasn’t bitten by a snake but his own brother has poisoned him while he was sleeping in the orchard. This angers Hamlet even more and he vowed toward his father’s spirit that he would seek revenge. Ophelia is Hamlet’s beloved.

But after Hamlet found out the truth about his father’s death, he forgets about her and broke their relationship. Hamlet went away from Denmark & came back with a group of actors saying that he wanted to show a play to his uncle-, now the King & Queen, members of the castle. Of course we know what’s the play is all about, it’s about how his father was killed. The King became ill while watching it because he realizes that Hamlet knows of his ill doings. Hamlet in his fits of rage with his mother because she scolded him about the play, accidentally killed Ophelia’s father, who was hiding behind the Queen’s curtain, because he thought it was the King. Ophelia became crazy after that & drown herself. Hamlet was sent to England by the King so that he would calm down, when in fact, he wanted to have him killed! But Hamlet is smart & he found the King’s letters about how he ask England to help kill him. So the plan was foiled.

Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, came back from Paris & wanted to seek revenge over his father & sister’s death. The King manage to lure Laertes to believe that he would be seeking revenge by arranging a match between Hamlet &him. When in truth, he wanted Hamlet to be killed. The King had a poisoned pearl to be put into the wine which Hamlet would be drinking during the match while Laertes had put poison on his sword which is incurable so that Hamlet would surely die during the match. But the King’s plan was foiled when the Queen drank the wine instead of Hamlet because she wanted to wish him luck. And she dies during the match. Hamlet was injured during the 3rd (there was only 3 rounds) round by Laertes poisonous sword and somehow manage to take Laertes sword and killing him. Before Laertes dies, he confessed to Hamlet that the King had plan all this & that he ask Hamlet for forgiveness. Hamlet took the poisonous sword and killed the King.Lastly, Hamlet, wounded by the poisonous sword, dies in the arms of his best friend, Horatio.

There you have it, a great but tragic story. Another great Shakespeare work is of course,Romeo&Juliet.I’ve watch the original movie starring Olivia Hussey (not the stupid version staring Leonardo DiCaprio&Claire Danes!)&it was very sad.