Ophelia, Gertrude, and Regicide - Hamlet Part 2: Crash Course Literature 204

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ธ.ค. 2024

ความคิดเห็น • 835

  • @CrazedsHideout
    @CrazedsHideout 10 ปีที่แล้ว +859

    When my drama class and I went over Hamlet, we came to the realization that Ophelia might have known what was going on. Her name comes from Greek and means "help". If you look at the scene when Hamlet goes to her room crazed and disheveled, we never actually see it happen. We only hear Ophelia talking about it to Polonius. There's a good chance that Hamlet showed up and told her what was happening and asked her to help him. And in the scene with the flowers, it becomes apparent that Ophelia probably knows something. So we had the thought that Ophelia went mad because she knew that the only reason her father was melding was because of the act her and Hamlet were putting on to make him look crazy, and that meant she played a role in her father dying. It also added to the meaning about how the violets died along with her father because as a maiden, her social obligation was to her father, not her love interest. So she failed in her duty to put her father first.

  • @katherynbliss9811
    @katherynbliss9811 10 ปีที่แล้ว +906

    When Gertrude utters her final line, I feel like it wasn't just directed to her son. I think it might have been directed to her late husband of the same name.

  • @alicebirn6680
    @alicebirn6680 8 ปีที่แล้ว +1118

    that little ophelia cartoon is so beautiful

  • @horsecrazy2266
    @horsecrazy2266 8 ปีที่แล้ว +2840

    I seriously love how he makes time for an aside about how suicide is not the answer.

    • @LesStewartLPS
      @LesStewartLPS 8 ปีที่แล้ว +76

      +horsecrazy2266 Although it is casually elegant, he seems to building up to it for most of the episode. Absolute and irreversible choices are rarely the wisest course of action.

    • @horsecrazy2266
      @horsecrazy2266 8 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Les Stewart That is true

    • @horsecrazy2266
      @horsecrazy2266 8 ปีที่แล้ว +42

      natemcgraw Honey, he has had a lot of experience with this too. I'm not sure how bad he's gotten before, but I know he struggles with OCD. He may not have conveyed his position properly, but if you want to, look up two of his vlogs. One has the word pizzamas in the title and the other is just called perspective.
      Permanence is a relative thing. I don't know what you've experienced, so I'll just talk about myself. I'll go through stages where I'm doing really well and then I'll get bad again. Yes, it's always there, but these things can be managed. Like, temporarily it'll be really bad, but you've always got the ability to spring back. It's just whether you find it within yourself. I know that can be hard. If you ever need to talk, my email is slpayne26@gmail.com

    • @vincenttapia5724
      @vincenttapia5724 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Insert *Logan Paul joke here.*

    • @guthax30
      @guthax30 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      vdbproductionsuk ...wow, uhh damn. You nailed it.😂👍

  • @TobyKidMajor
    @TobyKidMajor 10 ปีที่แล้ว +475

    I hope Crash Course never ends. I am literally being taught literature by my favorite author. This is officially my favorite way to learn anything ever for all of eternity totally.

    • @TMParrish2011
      @TMParrish2011 10 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      I concur with this comment. While I loved my Shakespeare courses in college as well, this way is more fun. :-)

    • @missmelodies52
      @missmelodies52 10 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Yes! Hopefully sometime John will do a study on the word "literally!" :)

    • @tiffanycarlyle4908
      @tiffanycarlyle4908 10 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I second that!

  • @OrUptotheStars
    @OrUptotheStars 10 ปีที่แล้ว +164

    I had never considered that Ophelia might have pretended to be mad in the same way that Hamlet had. A whole new world of possibilities has opened up for me.

  • @johnjfitz0831
    @johnjfitz0831 8 ปีที่แล้ว +519

    Who would have thought that Hamlet could be summarized by Rush Lyrics. "If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice"

    • @BadgerPride89
      @BadgerPride89 8 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      My thoughts precisely.

    • @GS42SCHOPAWE
      @GS42SCHOPAWE 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I was thinking of the same thing

  • @939bb
    @939bb 10 ปีที่แล้ว +646

    While there is a villain in Hamlet (Claudius) there are no heroes, only tragically flawed human beings, which is the human condition.

    • @Gmailkonto23
      @Gmailkonto23 10 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Good point. I think I can note that.
      They were representative heros for which mindset they stood for.
      Please reply

    • @tmwilligar
      @tmwilligar 7 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Anyone who isn't evil is a hero, at least in my worldview

    • @squirlmy
      @squirlmy 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Fortinbras is, although he has few lines and appears only briefly. I think you want really badly for the play to reflect your values, but you're just wrong. 😋

  • @summerflake1717
    @summerflake1717 10 ปีที่แล้ว +217

    "I will, my lord. I pray you pardon me."
    "IS SHE JUST THIRSTY?"
    thank you.

  • @dhochy
    @dhochy 10 ปีที่แล้ว +166

    I think the women's deaths in Hamlet are actually incredibly complicated. They might be accidents, suicides, or murders.
    They may both be accidental. Ophelia may have been crossing the stream on the branch and fallen in by accident. Gertrude might not have known the wine was poisoned. In that case, they are both rather tragic deaths of relatively innocent people.
    The might also both be suicides. Ophelia may have drowned herself, and maybe Gertrude knew that the wine was poisoned, though I don't think that's clear. If it is the case that they're suicides, then Ophelia, with her flowers, might have done something brave in confronting the king and queen, and Gertrude may have shown a sign of redemption and regret for the way Hamlet was treated.
    If they did kill themselves intentionally, though, should we consider what motivated them to do so? Ophelia's mental state was, of course, largely because of her father's death at the hands of her former suitor, but also because of Hamlet spurning her. Gertrude probably felt some guilt because of Hamlet's accusations before he was sent to England.
    In that case, Hamlet's words are in part responsible for both deaths, and that adds some Shakespearean doubling and fulfills some foreshadowing. Remember, the ghost of King Hamlet describes his death in two ways. He says both that Claudius poured poison in his ear and that he was killed by a surprise sting. Hamlet, through his harsh words to both women, was poured poison into their ears, hasn't he? Also, both Polonius and Laertes die from unexpected stings from Hamlet, Polonius through the tapestry and Laertes from his own poisoned sword.

  • @TenderTrap86
    @TenderTrap86 9 ปีที่แล้ว +953

    I'm surprised that there is no mention of Fortinbras. He is the antithesis of Hamlet: a man of action. The Fortinbras subplot also illustrates how Elsinore is so involved with internal affairs that Denmark falls. In the end, none of the conspiracies or vengefulness was worth it, because now Fortinbras is king.

    • @jimmyjim170
      @jimmyjim170 9 ปีที่แล้ว +119

      +TenderTrap715 fortinbras: "wow, that was easy

    • @petrhrobar220
      @petrhrobar220 7 ปีที่แล้ว +70

      TenderTrap715 fortrimbras should have been mentioned - there are THREE sons who are trying to avenge theirs fathers dead - Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras

    • @Sauce_Master
      @Sauce_Master 7 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      He was in the last one

    • @deboraewing9944
      @deboraewing9944 6 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      I always felt like Fortinbras was written in so Shakes could appear in his own play as a cameo at the end, like Stan Lee.

    • @bighardbooks770
      @bighardbooks770 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@deboraewing9944 See (viz: Google) Stephen's Hamlet Theory.

  • @glassisland
    @glassisland 10 ปีที่แล้ว +57

    The "falling of a sparrow" speech is my favourite part of Hamlet - maybe my favourite thing that Shakespeare ever wrote. It's not about death - it's about the acceptance of change, in circumstance, in feelings, and especially in yourself. "The readiness is all" is how he concludes it - being ready for whatever may come is what he spent the whole story learning.

  • @paintitgolden2139
    @paintitgolden2139 10 ปีที่แล้ว +355

    The animation of Ophelia is absolutely lovely. Good Job Thought Bubble!

  • @superdude4464
    @superdude4464 10 ปีที่แล้ว +190

    One of the main reasons why Hamlet is arguably my favorite character in literature is through his intelligence and wit. Sure, he is indecisive, though the decisions he has to make take a lot of will power and courage. Where he shines is in the dialogues he has with Polonius, Ophelia, and even Claudius. The way he uses sarcasm, irony, and just flat-out insult make him truly fascinating.

    • @jmiquelmb
      @jmiquelmb 7 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      john paul foronda Yeah. Maybe he was not the most decisive person, but he had the best comebacks in history. Also, his sexual jokes when talking with Ophelia are great. Amazing improvisation skills

    • @squirlmy
      @squirlmy 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      He's only "indecisive", in the sense he does not obey his father's ghost (which possibly a demon leading him astray) by not murdering his stepfather right away. That not really being indecisive, that's a legit moral struggle. Is he really your favorite character? Have you really thought much about this?

  • @M2dIKE
    @M2dIKE 9 ปีที่แล้ว +183

    I think it's interesting to notice how in Shakespeare's tragedies there is always some section about 'telling the story to others.' It's a very meta thing to consider because it is like the play you are watching suddenly feels like a true story, or at least the perspective of the one person who survived (Horatio in this case). It also makes you feel like Hamlet might not have been the good guy: he is only the good guy of the story because that is how Horatio wanted it to be?
    It was also like that in Antony and Cleopatra, where before she dies she talks about how they might be made fun of on stages, but then we see them heroically.
    I just think that is a very cool thing Shakespeare did.

  • @auhalegna
    @auhalegna 10 ปีที่แล้ว +672

    Can I just say that I titled my Hamlet essay "The Fresh Prince of Denmark" :p

    • @EllyFLuft
      @EllyFLuft 5 ปีที่แล้ว +38

      I mean, that's hilarious. Don't know if I'd call Hamlet fresh. He and everything around him are both rotting.

    • @ZsiZsiSzabad
      @ZsiZsiSzabad 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Ella020115 Strong move, I’d still be talking about it too

    • @HistoryandOtherStuffwithBV
      @HistoryandOtherStuffwithBV 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      The Fresh Prince of Denmark Yo Holla

    • @RatedMforMeenie
      @RatedMforMeenie 4 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      The Unfresh Prince of Denmark

  • @SeerWalker
    @SeerWalker 10 ปีที่แล้ว +51

    I really appreciated the quick little side note about suicide there, it's always good to be reminded that there's always light at the end of the tunnel, that problems are temporary and that there are better ways to work through them.

  • @libras.groove.
    @libras.groove. 8 ปีที่แล้ว +162

    Ophelia was throwing mad shade 😂

    • @catwithhands
      @catwithhands 8 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Nicholas CHRYSSAFIS get thee to a nunnery

  • @ItsYoja
    @ItsYoja 6 ปีที่แล้ว +28

    "Inaction, as Hamlet shows us, is an action in itself"
    GOD I LOVE THAT

  • @MrDylan2125
    @MrDylan2125 10 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    I love how he constantly makes fun of himself from the past. It's such a great reminder that we can all become better people with time.

  • @tompalmer5986
    @tompalmer5986 7 ปีที่แล้ว +173

    I firmly believe that Hamlet has gotten Ophelia pregnant. There are some strong indications he has - when he refers to her as "nymph", when he says "conception is a blessing, but not as your daughter might conceive." Also, in Ophelia madness scene, all her snatches of poetry are about a young woman who was duped into having sex with her boyfriend and who was then dumped.

    • @romans8024
      @romans8024 6 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Tom Palmer she was chaste, it was the whole point of Polonius character, and Laertes rage.

  • @3katfox
    @3katfox 10 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    I just wanted to share this: My favourite scene in hamlet is where Ophelia hands out the flowers, most of the theatrical productions (not just the movie) that Ive seen have her handing out bits of junk and saying that they're flowers. It made her seem so sad, but with the thought of her purposely doing this give her a lot more depth.

  • @iateacattoo
    @iateacattoo 10 ปีที่แล้ว +54

    Gertie taking a picture was amazing.

  • @Corristo89
    @Corristo89 10 ปีที่แล้ว +295

    I often wonder if Shakespeare really wrote these plays to be so deep or if we're just interpreting way too much into them. They are complex, no doubts there.
    I mean we're a species that can stand in front of blank canvas in a museum and ponder for hours about what the artist wanted to tell us.

    • @TimothyFerguson
      @TimothyFerguson 10 ปีที่แล้ว +55

      Even if he didn't, does it matter? Which is to say, I tend to agree with you, that we are finding things which speak to us by chance, particularly when we see striking relevance to modern social issues which he could have had no inkling of. I'm Australian for example and The Tempest has a lot of resonance for Australians because Caliban is aboriginal to his island and Prospero is a European colonist. I doubt Shakespeare was thinking about Aboriginal dispossession in Australai when he wrote his work. 8)

    • @007MrYang
      @007MrYang 10 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      Corristo89 The same thing could be said about the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion where fans tend to see a lot of meaning and depth even if the creator was not even thinking about that. But as Timothy said we find things that speak to us if it relates to modern problems.

    • @kilgoretrout1952
      @kilgoretrout1952 10 ปีที่แล้ว +48

      The most important parts of a book are not the writer's intentions, but rather the reader's interpretation. When reading a book, one brings their own reading, experiences and priorities to it. In the very best books/plays, everyone sees something different. That's what I love about literature

    • @AllisonRedd
      @AllisonRedd 10 ปีที่แล้ว

      racecar palindrome =The most important parts of a book are not the writer's intentions, but rather the reader's interpretation. =
      That's cute. Too bad you didn't first check with, you know, the AUTHOR to see if that's why he wrote it.
      What really cracks me up is people who try to re-write Shakespeare to reflect their liberal and or feminist world view.
      But, no matter how they try, it ain't gonna change the thrust of Petruchio's EPIC money shot soliloquy after he vanquished Katrina.
      Sadly, you can't teach Shakespeare the way it's meant to be read in most liberal universities. All the left wingers would march to your home with torches and pitchforks!
      Thus, just read and enjoy the text for what it says, folks.
      PS Sub me. I bring it strong on my channel, too.

    • @johnpetry5321
      @johnpetry5321 10 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      Marissa Michels
      Quite possibly you have succeeded in composing one of the more absurd comments ever written. The idea that people re-analize the writing of the author in terms of their own experience is not liberal unless by that you mean the actual definition of a liberal education i.e. a system or course of education suitable for the cultivation of a free (Latin: liber) human being.

  • @hannaalfredsson1928
    @hannaalfredsson1928 9 ปีที่แล้ว +364

    But what about Horatio??? Why do we never talk about HORATIO???

    • @WimbledonEngland
      @WimbledonEngland 8 ปีที่แล้ว +49

      +Hanna Alfredsson maybe horatio is just a spectator in the play. He doesn't seem to do much other than listen to Hamlet and support him. He is hamlet's confidante and not much besides that.

    • @Missmusicloveable
      @Missmusicloveable 8 ปีที่แล้ว +62

      +Ali Shammary but he is the reminder that Hamlet was different before his father's death, and the only person Hamlet feels he can trust. He's pretty important because Hamlet can't confide in anyone; Ophelia (someone he used to love), Claudius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (who were his childhood friends), not even his own mother (who he sees as having betrayed him).

    • @aashidhaniya
      @aashidhaniya 8 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Horatio seems like the person to Hamlet that would upon his death write him a biography...

    • @wilhels.7986
      @wilhels.7986 7 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      I was hoping horatio would become king at the end. But I gues the oracles of Mcbeth said it wasn't his fate. ugh fair is foul and foul is fair?

    • @djinkoz
      @djinkoz 7 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      Horatio acts as the chorus during the play, interacting with but ultimately not influencing events in the slightest

  • @second0banana
    @second0banana 10 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    I really appreciate the discussion around gender issues in these episodes!
    I do think it's important to note that Hamlet isn't a book, it's a script. One of the things I love about reading a script is that there is so much wiggle room in how to interpret a character. A small change in inflection, movement, or even where the actor is looking can drastically inform the audience as to what's going on for that character. ... This makes me want to do a read through (outloud! with friends!).

  • @shessomickey
    @shessomickey 10 ปีที่แล้ว +151

    Guys, I will fly myself down to Indy to write a Crash Course: Macbeth with y'all. This is what I was born to do. Seriously.

    • @MichaelPomeroyinmauritania
      @MichaelPomeroyinmauritania 10 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Why would you need to fly there to co-write?.... Email. Video chat.

    • @MrBulbasaurlover
      @MrBulbasaurlover 10 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Michael Pomeroy Not only that, but I am pretty sure they're already written it, and recorded it :s

    • @EmperorTikacuti
      @EmperorTikacuti 10 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Good luck with that

    • @knerf999
      @knerf999 10 ปีที่แล้ว

      i would donate!

    • @BenignImages
      @BenignImages 10 ปีที่แล้ว

      Hot potato, orchestra stalls, pluck to make amends...

  • @rosscarlin700
    @rosscarlin700 10 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Hamlet has always been one of my favorite stories of any kind, and I had the good fortune of an invested teacher in an otherwise awful parade of the disengaged at the time of my reading. Two thoughts always resonated with me:
    1) as our illustrious host pointed out, Hamlet's inability to act is relatable, and is detestable because of our familiarity to it. It is no coincidence that Hamlet himself admires Fortinbras for his decisiveness, and that it is Fortinbras that is alone left standing in the throne room when the dust settles. It is also to be remembered that following Hamlet's admiration, he goes right on navel-gazing. "Thus conscience doth make cowards of us all"
    2) The 'to thyne own self be true' speech. This is a recitation by Polonius to Laertes, a father passing on his wisdom to his son on the eve of his leaving to start his adult life. Since all advice more or less tends to be simply telling someone what you would do in their place in a given situation, this collection of seemingly helpful guidelines need to be considered with the context of the source. Polonius is an odious toad, a sycophant, an obsequious and conniving man of little admirable quality. This speech is a profession of the sort of man polonius purports to be. If that is the case, then this advice is a guide on how to be polonius himself. Which is awful.

  • @elinoamrichter162
    @elinoamrichter162 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Hearing john's enthusasim for shakespeare is so wholesome! It makes me want to go back and read hamlet with this new perspective. The only other time I read Hamlet was in 11th Grade with a boring English teacher and its kind of sad that none of these questions came out of reading it.

  • @lyadmilo
    @lyadmilo 10 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    Also Laertes is obviously the most heroic. He wants to go to France to do his own thing; he is not entirely fixated on duty to a paralytic degree, but he does not hesitate to avenge his father and sister. He is a pretty stand up dude.

  • @juliawold77
    @juliawold77 10 ปีที่แล้ว +165

    *whispers* Ophelia was totally pregnant

    • @tellercamille8080
      @tellercamille8080 5 ปีที่แล้ว +38

      during her lunacy, she refers to herself as "we", possibly as in her and her baby

  • @VideoNozoki
    @VideoNozoki 10 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    I am SO glad that you took 2 videos to discuss Hamlet! I hope you take 2 (or more) videos for each book.

  • @BlackHayateTheThird
    @BlackHayateTheThird 10 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    When we studies Shakespeare, our English teacher had us act out the scenes and study them as actors ourselves. Getting into the minds of the characters and attmepting to understand this character, how they act, feel, react, and most importantly to shakespeare, say that makes their words powerful. I'm taking an acting Shakespeare course now, and the detail of every line, every word, is truly remarkable in how he tells his stories.

  • @ChiliDUDE27
    @ChiliDUDE27 9 ปีที่แล้ว +383

    I guess Ophelia was drowning her sorrows.

  • @fantasticmagical
    @fantasticmagical 10 ปีที่แล้ว +30

    I'm also interested in a greater discussion of gender and gender roles within Hamlet, especially taking into account Hamlet's more pensive, brooding nature, which was considered less masculine, as opposed to Laertes characterization as a typical charismatic hero even though he is a minor side character.

  • @dealwithitsunshine
    @dealwithitsunshine 10 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    'Gertrude Talks Back' by Margaret Atwood is a fascinating short story interpretation of Gertrude's role throughout the entire play. Really eye-opening, I sincerely recommend it!

  • @ccantjr126
    @ccantjr126 10 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    This course, along with many of the others, has made me want to go back to school, and I'm not just going to get a degree but more to learn. Thank you Hank and John Green.

  • @mischiefmanaged6363
    @mischiefmanaged6363 10 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    This really helped me get a more firm grasp on Hamlet being that the last time I studied it was 7 years when I had a bad case of "senioritis" in high school..but anyways I think the most heroic actions are the ones that we think we are not capable of taking, but take regardless out on a whim.

  • @docopoper
    @docopoper 10 ปีที่แล้ว +23

    Clearly Osric is the true hero of the play.

    • @Haileyishappy
      @Haileyishappy 10 ปีที่แล้ว +20

      A hit, a very palpable hit.

  • @anthonyferris727
    @anthonyferris727 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thanks!

  • @codytucker4133
    @codytucker4133 10 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    One of the million things that I find fascinating about both the character and the play is that Hamlet's inaction seems to be an inevitable result of his intellect. He has the imaginative capacity and mental ability to envision an infinite set of consequences for any given action, each of which might have negative components. Couple that with Hamlet's philosophical discovery that "one may smile, and smile, and be a villain," that his senses (the only thing that he has to understand the world with) can, at any given moment, be fooled, and it's no surprise that he is simply paralyzed into inaction.

  • @kdcthelioness
    @kdcthelioness 10 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    John, I love your interpretations and think you make some valid points about Gertrude's power in the play. However, I believe you are mistaken about her casting the only choice in who gets to be king. When we were reading this play in my English class, we learned that Denmark elected its kings as part of our historical background.

  • @EtherealDC
    @EtherealDC 10 ปีที่แล้ว +34

    John, I disagree with the premise that Hamlet is a man of inaction, or a man who cannot make up his mind. While the play is lengthy and slow in parts, the action actually plays out at a very fast pace. The play opens with Marcellus, Francisco, and Horatio seeing the ghost. They immediately go to find and tell Hamlet. That night, Hamlet sees the ghost (24 hours have passed, and now Hamlet knows the story of Claudius killing his father).
    From his encounter with the Ghost, Hamlet goes to see Ophelia, she immediately goes to tell her father about Hamlet's strange visit. In the afternoon of this day, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern arrive in Elsinor. Moments later, Polonius tells Gertrude and Claudius of Hamlet's encounter with Ophelia and he fears Hamlet has gone mad. By the end of this scene, Ros and Guil meet up with Hamlet and tell him about the players--Hamlet arranges for the players to perform that night, and also realizes he can use the play to get to the truth of Claudius' actions.
    Later in the day, while waiting for the play, the "Get thee to a nunnery" scene occurs. and Claudius realizes there's more to Hamlet's madness than meets the eye and resolves to send him to England. That night, the players perform, Claudius freaks out, goes to pray. In the chapel, Hamlet gets his FIRST opportunity to kill Claudius since the ghost's appearance and since the play confirmed the ghost's story... Hamlet doesn't kill Claudius here because he wants Claudius to go to hell, or at least suffer as his father is suffering. This isn't a matter of a man who can't make up his mind, it's a man who wants a hated foe to suffer.
    Moments later, Hamlet is summoned to Gertrude's chamber and her behavior makes Hamlet think Claudius is hiding behind the curtain (presumably after sullying his soul again with Gertrude) and kills Polonius (this was Hamlet's SECOND opportunity, he thinks, to kill Claudius and he TAKES IT). In the very next scene, Hamlet is sent to England. It has now been FORTY-EIGHT HOURS since the beginning of the play, TWENTY-FOUR HOURS after Hamlet sees the ghost, and he has already tried to kill Claudius!
    Obviously, while Hamlet is away, we have a time jump, but as soon as Claudius hears Hamlet has returned (the very day, mind you that Hamlet DOES return), he arranges the duel, and THAT NIGHT, Hamlet kills Claudius as soon as he realizes this will be his last chance... otherwise, I'm sure he would have waited for a private moment, which seems to have been his MO earlier in the play.
    All of the action in Hamlet occurs over the course of three days. Yes, Hamlet soliloquises, and ruminates in the quiet moments, the moments between action, but as soon as opportunities present themselves, Hamlet takes charge. Sorry for the rant, John, but this interpretation of Hamlet as a wilting flower who just can't act has been a pet peeve of mine for years.

    • @EtherealDC
      @EtherealDC 10 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Another point, I'd like to make: a lot of people point to the "To be or not to be" soliloquy as evidence of Hamlet spinning his wheels. In the context of the action, and along Hamlet's character arc, it doesn't make sense. The last time we saw Hamlet, he berated himself for not killing the king yet, and now it seems that he's falling back into the same moroseness that saw in Act I Scene II.
      But, again, it's all about context. Earlier in Act III Scene I, Polonius explains to Claudius: "I have closely sent for Hamlet hither, that he, as twere by accident, may here affront Ophelia." Hamlet has been summoned, he knows he's walking into a room where he will be observed, either by Polonius or, worse, Claudius.
      He's putting on a show for the benefit of the watcher. He's trying to make them think that he's still the depressed, purposeless young man in mourning who said "I have that within which passeth show, these but the trappings and the suits of woe" in Act I. John, you pointed out that it makes no sense that Hamlet would refer to death as "That undiscovered country from whose borne no traveller returns," when he has seen his father's ghost. But in the context of this soliloquy being a ruse, it makes perfect sense--Hamlet is basically saying "Well, my father's the only one who knows how he died, and OBVIOUSLY, he's not coming back to tell ANYONE!" it's classic misdirection.
      Now, this interpretation might not be as dramatically fulfilling as the interpretation of the suicidal prince (though I do view this as a subconscious, element though not the PURPOSE or SURFACE INTENT of the character of Hamlet), but it's the interpretation that best fits into the context of the play and the character arc at this point in the narrative.

    • @RalphWiggum08
      @RalphWiggum08 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      EtherealDC bravo - you wrote everything I wanted to write re: the “inaction” of Hamlet and the circumstances behind the “to be or not to be” speech. Everyone gets caught up in the words and the poetry and forgets what happens just before it.

  • @knavefool
    @knavefool 9 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    I played this part in 2013. As I read the play it occurred to me that in addition to the very salient points John made about conscience, fact checking, the nature of revenge, regicide, etc., another reason for Hamlet's long procrastination is that he appears nowhere to have any desire whatever to be the king of Denmark. As John said, perhaps the life of a grad student was more appealing.
    I do agree with the view that the Hamlet who returns in Act V is a changed man. He had no problem sending Rosencrantz & Guildenstern off to their deaths, and I don't think it was merely because they were conspiring with Claudius to have Hamlet killed. Although he has become more a 'man of action,' I agree with John that still he hesitates to kill Claudius until his own fate (as well as the fates of Laertes and Gertrude) are sealed. In the final seconds of his life he avenges not only his father, but all the other lives lost in the play, including his own.
    Also, beyond Hamlet's narcissism he is obsessed with acting itself. The only two characters known to have been played by Shakespeare himself are the ghost and the player king, both in this play. I'll take John's admonition against equating authors with the characters they create and reserve judgment on whether this obsession with acting, the art of deceit if you will, extends to the playwright.

    • @itstotallyezra
      @itstotallyezra 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      +John Blyth Barrymore thats not true in Act 5 Scene 2 Hamlet says:
      He that hath killed my king and whored my mother,
      Popped in between th' election and my hopes,
      Thrown out his angle for my proper life.
      It just is not his main motivation

    • @knavefool
      @knavefool 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      +Monique Wood point taken ;-)

    • @janeeyre6158
      @janeeyre6158 8 ปีที่แล้ว

      Narcissistic and obsessed BUT in a way his (pretend) madness exhibited cleverness. He knew his way with words and consistently made witty remarks. He had pretty much every character fooled into thinking he was actually going insane.

  • @alliemac9103
    @alliemac9103 10 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I have always thought that Ophelia, like Hamlet, was putting on an "antic disposition". That's why I love Kate Winsletts portrayel of Ophelia. She does an amazing job of giving the audience little hints about the state of Ophelia's mind.

  • @lm8772
    @lm8772 7 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    "Except when he kills Polunianus for the unforgivable sin for hiding behind curtains..." Never will I ever hide behind drapes ever again for hide-and-seek.

  • @madladdan
    @madladdan 6 ปีที่แล้ว

    Crash course has genuinely carried me through high school. From English to Chemistry to Biology. Thanks so much for the help guys and gal, I owe you one!

  • @ponyperson6908
    @ponyperson6908 8 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    More Shakespeare !!!!!!!!

  • @ruel2b9
    @ruel2b9 10 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thanks for discussing Ophelia and Gertrude here, I'm glad to see them getting the analytical attention they deserve! Looking forward to more gender deconstruction and analysis in the future : )

  • @Thiefree
    @Thiefree 10 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I love the gender dynamic you all bring to the analysis of texts; in high school, I was far less aware of gender as a factor in whose stories get told.

  • @hayleyp2553
    @hayleyp2553 10 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I ❤️ CC! John should do CC Politics/Government next. Important topic to understand, too many Americans are misinformed on the topic and they still vote.
    CC POLI SCI!!

  • @dhruwakshiphalke3365
    @dhruwakshiphalke3365 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Always wanted to watch entire literature crash course. Finally have time. Thanks for this John and team. It’s funny and informative. Also love the teenage John (he says most things I’m thinking at that moment )

  • @batchout
    @batchout 10 ปีที่แล้ว

    I feel like there are better uses of John Green than discussing moldy old literature but respect him for doing so. Not my cup.

  • @adriannamartin5992
    @adriannamartin5992 8 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Drowning through the six with my woes

  • @HJM01
    @HJM01 8 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I have my A Level English Lit exam on Friday and this helped me so much! Thanks John :D

    • @brionycollins7898
      @brionycollins7898 8 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Yep, I'm watching this and doing a last minute cramming session for it. Thank goodness for John Green XD Good luck!

  • @Olytash
    @Olytash 10 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I thought the reading of Ophelia as hiding her judgement (from the flower scene) behind madness really interesting. Also, I've never seen a production that took made that choice, but I would love to! It seems like the potential for parallels between Hamlet and Ophelia are more than I've ever thought about.
    One thought I had while watching this video is that the play really examines potential reactions to the death of a close family member. Hamlet (b/f ghosty visitation) is quite depressed and withdrawn; Gertrude very quickly moves on (I think as both a mental and physical act of self preservation); Laertes is all rage and killing people; and Ophelia decides not to deal with grief by killing herself (totally agree with and appreciate John's comments about suicide btw).
    I really enjoyed this episode! I think that Hamlet's fact checking as John calls it is the most admirable of the various actions in this play. I also think that it makes him a much more modern "hero" than a lot of Shakespeare's other characters and possibly why Hamlet remains such a popular play. Because a modern reaction to murder is more hesitant and Laertes' actions seem rash and a little crazy, while they may not have when the play was written. I would have trouble calling any of the actions in this play heroic though because for me the term heroic implies a reduction of complex actions and internal struggle to single notes. I think that there is a purpose to presenting a character as a single note and that it is very effective, but that's not how I interpret Hamlet.
    Thank you so much for doing this episode! Hamlet is the play that taught me to love Shakespeare and I will always enjoy discussion and analysis on it (also seeing MANY different productions!).

  • @jadednightwing
    @jadednightwing 10 ปีที่แล้ว +22

    One side note; when Hamlet tells Ophelia "get thee to a nunnery!" he's not saying "I wish you'd join the church and become a nun." That would've been nice, and might have prevented her from spiraling into madness in the first place. No, in the time Shakespeare wrote the play, a place where nuns reside would be a Convent -- a Nunnery was a whorehouse. I've always had a thought that Hamlet seduced Ophelia at some point, and she dearly hoped he'd marry her, but then his father died and the play began. But that's just my PoV

  • @ebrosey
    @ebrosey 10 ปีที่แล้ว

    Ophelia is my favourite character, so happy you spoke so much about her, I think her speech about the flowers is so particularly powerful as she does it in front of the whole court. Unlike Hamlet who doesn't do anything ever

  • @amaralrd
    @amaralrd 10 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thank you, John. I'll have to use this with my seniors as a wrap up and ending to Hamlet in a couple weeks after they finish their essays!

  • @goronska
    @goronska 10 ปีที่แล้ว

    I am almost 30 and I liked Shakespear back in middle school and high school. But OMG John, you are so much better than all of my literature teachers combined! ♥

  • @SamVillano
    @SamVillano 8 ปีที่แล้ว +84

    My God, how my AP English class has failed me.

    • @benreilman5349
      @benreilman5349 7 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      S. V. Villano My ap English class covered things very well but I do wish that they would use videos as instructing material because I think that hearing the information from other people is good for people ability to learn and remember material.

  • @s0niKu
    @s0niKu 10 ปีที่แล้ว

    My favourite Shakespeare play has always been the Merchant of Venice, but watching this has certainly helped me understand Hamlet's depth a lot better.

  • @Zahnpuppy
    @Zahnpuppy 7 ปีที่แล้ว

    I watched this video years ago. and more than any other video in this series i felt compelled to go out and find a copy of this book. i have since read that book twice and it has changed my worldview noticeably. thank you for bringing this book to my attention.

  • @CharlotteSpears
    @CharlotteSpears 10 ปีที่แล้ว

    Your channel is this homeschool mother's dream come true!!!! Thanx!!!

  • @Sternly
    @Sternly 10 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I love Hamlet. It is easily my favorite shakespeare play, followed closely by The taming of the shrew.
    Whats more i loved learning about it in class. I was particularly good at essasys on Gertrude.
    But i was kind of disapointed that some of the perspectives i found so interesting in class didn't show here. But thats the beauty of literary discussion. Plus i larned some ways of perceiving certain parts i haden't heard before.
    So thatnks for that. Was fun

  • @nadiact-ie5hy
    @nadiact-ie5hy 10 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    Thank you for talking about why you're viewing these works through a modern lens, particularly in regard to the relationships between women and men. It was really disheartening to read some of the comments on your first video. I never really thought about Ophelia having any agency of her own before.

  • @ThePoolIsAbstract
    @ThePoolIsAbstract 10 ปีที่แล้ว

    I enjoyed the Obi Wan reference. I absolutely love Hamlet and think it's great that TH-cam and Crash Course offer a platform for us to discuss it.

  • @suzyhangaround
    @suzyhangaround 10 ปีที่แล้ว

    I love love love the fact that you uploaded this just in time before I have to write an exam about hamlet on monday. thank youuu

  • @tiger7210
    @tiger7210 10 ปีที่แล้ว +24

    This was great! It really helped me with my AP Lit class. Is there any chance of a Macbeth analysis?

  • @melissadolande
    @melissadolande 10 ปีที่แล้ว

    I love this literature classes, I didn't have the luck to have a decent literature class in high school, I'm so thankful for these videos. Great video!

  • @jennmarie4969
    @jennmarie4969 10 ปีที่แล้ว

    Mr. Green,
    Thank you for making Shakespeare so much more interesting and exciting fir me to be able to read as well as understand his works and the reasons behind them both academically and morally :))) I cant get enough
    Jen :)

  • @Ancor3
    @Ancor3 10 ปีที่แล้ว +26

    If Hamlet killed Polonius in Florida Hamlet would've gotten away by appealing to the "stand you ground" law.
    Yeah, I went there.

    • @Velcrorocks
      @Velcrorocks 10 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      I mean, to be fair, if there was an unidentified man lurking behind the curtains in my mother's room, she would probably shoot him because that shit is creepy.

  • @annafelicityewing3197
    @annafelicityewing3197 6 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you so much for this video! Im studying Hamlet for my higher English this year and this helped so much. Not only was it packed full of characterisation, analysis and a good translation of the plot but it was also fun too. Thank you and i hope you continue to make these videos

  • @ECNewman
    @ECNewman 10 ปีที่แล้ว

    I've always pondered if Ophelia was more aware because of that flower giving. Thanks for validating my thoughts!

  • @williamlopez5250
    @williamlopez5250 8 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    When you've been watching Crash Course for the longest and barely realize it's john green oh 😂😂😂 LOVE YOUR BOOKS BTW!

  • @jerseygrl061986
    @jerseygrl061986 10 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    My vote for most heroic character goes to Horatio for simply being the only character that doesn't seem to completely lose his cool throughout the entire play. lol. Being besties with Hamlet can't be easy.

    • @mitchelllevine1832
      @mitchelllevine1832 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      That's why Hamlet lauds him as the man who's not "passion's slave."

  • @ThomasC3075
    @ThomasC3075 10 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    dont forget to do one on the faults in our stars

  • @TWHueyGuitar
    @TWHueyGuitar 10 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hamlet has long been one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. I found it fascinating reading it when I was 12. It struck me then, as it strikes me now, a central theme is Hamlet and Ophelia working through depression. For the longest epoch, I've thought that after Ophelia dies, Hamlet has nothing left to lose and that is why he takes can finally take action.

  • @lizzieollerenshaw97
    @lizzieollerenshaw97 9 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    You just saved my degree... thank you so much!

  • @magister343
    @magister343 10 ปีที่แล้ว +60

    Wasn't fennel also used for birth control? It wasn't as effective as its relative Sliphium, but it still seems relevant here if it is so near a reference to infidelity.

    • @AquilaBirdy
      @AquilaBirdy 10 ปีที่แล้ว +31

      Maybe that's why fennel was associated with infidelity in the first place.

    • @alyz2798
      @alyz2798 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      That's Rue, which she gave it to herself too

  • @Freshette
    @Freshette 10 ปีที่แล้ว

    If you watch the Olivier Hamlet, he has a very interesting take on Gertrude's impetus during the duel that is very subtly indicated during a previous scene (one that she is not in). Electrifying!

  • @jimmychu0807
    @jimmychu0807 10 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    This is great stuff. Thanks for the great work!

  • @gracedivine698
    @gracedivine698 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you for your Crush courses, all of them are awsome, though, I love this one the most. Answering your question, dear mr. Green: I believe that the definition of heroism has been changing through ages. Nowadays, maybe because the era of Information has come, heroism most of the time is being shown by revealing an obvious truth in public.

  • @victoriathegirlwonder9383
    @victoriathegirlwonder9383 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    in 2:44 - 2:52,he just described joffrey baratheon and sansa stark relationship to a tee.

  • @wrathanet
    @wrathanet 10 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Finally! Someone else who agrees that hiding behind curtains should be punishable by death.

  • @noviceprepper53
    @noviceprepper53 10 ปีที่แล้ว

    loved your comments, thank you. finally understand why people keep coming back to Hamelt

  • @LauchlinM.
    @LauchlinM. 10 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I hope in the future we have a CC Literature 300 covering (for example) the Lord of the Rings, MacBeth (or is it McBeth?), the Prince, the Inferno and ad absurdum infinitum. For now, I shall remain satiated and fascinated by this year's selections. Keep up the fantastic work, John (and ditto to Hank).

  • @Michael_Raymond
    @Michael_Raymond 10 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    "Is it heroic to fact-check testimony from a ghost?" Yes. Best explanation of Hamlet's indecisiveness I've ever seen.

  • @ashlieboren8079
    @ashlieboren8079 10 ปีที่แล้ว

    I really love watching Crash Course Literature. I wish you guys would add more episodes!!

  • @antonioweissinger4157
    @antonioweissinger4157 6 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    This is a tragedy. But I have a more important question.
    Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?
    I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midichlorians to create life... He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying. The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. He became so powerful... the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. It's ironic he could save others from death, but not himself.

  • @dr.praveshpuri2180
    @dr.praveshpuri2180 7 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    Unforgivable sin of hiding behind curtains😂

  • @weirdral
    @weirdral 10 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I just love how so many people think that John Green is the only one writing the script and sharing opinions and doesn't collaborate with a dozen plus people about what's going to be in the script and how they're going to present these stories. I know it's John's face and voice that we're seeing, but, at least with Crash Course, he's not writing the scripts himself. Think we all need to step back and realize that.

  • @anagomez1593
    @anagomez1593 10 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Is interesting that in many ways Ophelia is mirroring Hamlet using her 'madness' to tell the truth to her enemies. Maybe she was the only one who picked up Hamlet's strategy. Like John said she decided that she wouldn't become a murderer and funny enough water bodies are important for both characters epiphanies. Very good course :D

  • @theressistanceUtube
    @theressistanceUtube 10 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Harry Potter and ghost busters reference in one awesome

  • @elanamarie7041
    @elanamarie7041 9 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Thank you for your hard work on these! This will help me in AP lit!

  • @viktoriaf.1191
    @viktoriaf.1191 7 ปีที่แล้ว

    Who else just watches Crash Course for fun? I love learning, John Green and literature.

  • @rosycozyposey
    @rosycozyposey 8 ปีที่แล้ว +32

    Except in macbeth and....game of thrones

  • @Arindam1262
    @Arindam1262 10 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Hi, Ben Kenobi! Nice to see you.

  • @MustafaKulle
    @MustafaKulle 10 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    'Paradise Lost' and 'Divine Comedy' please.

  • @williamschubert868
    @williamschubert868 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    this is madness THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!