Well everyone, it’s my last column for the semester, so as a treat to myself I’m going to write about books (and still try to manage to tie it into something relevant for my readers).
About 400 years ago a man named William Shakespeare wrote a little play called Hamlet and modern day Peter just got to spend a whole semester in a special topics seminar called Hamlet 24/7, which is pretty much exactly what you think it is.
One of the perks of having a small, upper-level class with a kick-a** professor is that you might get to go to the movies one night. So Tuesday, we went to see a filmed version of the National Theatre’s production of Hamlet in London. It featured Benedict Cumberbatch and it was stunning.
The scene that sticks with me most (spoiler alert, but honestly you’re a couple of centuries late) is Ophelia’s madness leading up to her suicide. The walls of the set had just been blown out at the end of Act III and Ophelia sits in the rubble tapping at a piano to try to find some semblance of meaning or direction or hope before climbing the rubble into the light. The scene was breathtaking. Even though I’ve read and discussed so much about early modern revenge tragedies, the portrayals of Ophelia and the adaptations of her character for that scene, I couldn’t help but be moved by her aching. It conjured a renewed anger towards Hamlet and Claudius in me for using Ophelia as an instrument in their own revenge plots against each other. They allowed a family fight to ruin someone else’s life.
And, it got me thinking about my own family and the drama that can sometimes come with being around people who have known you your entire life. Now I’m not saying your family drama is quite at Shakespearean tragedy levels (I hope). But, the holidays are coming up, and there will be plenty of opportunities to fight about politics and religion and money and life choices.
If Hamlet is any indicator, it’s really easy to burn some important bridges. So instead find ways to talk about what brings you together, or at least eat good food and watch football. If you don’t, you might find that, like Hamlet, your entire family will end up killing each other and a Norwegian guy will take over your house. I mean, probably not, but why risk it?
That is to say, in a time when so many people are hurting and so many people are angry, your family might be all you’ve got. Embrace that. Art reflects life, guys, and we have a lot to learn from it.
Peter Cates is a junior in rhetoric and writing and can be reached at [email protected].
