Hamlet, A Doll's House, and The Importance of Being Ernest: Three Play Mini-Reviews

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

You all know the play: father dies, mother marries the uncle almost as soon as the father is dead and declares himself king, dead father appears as a ghost and asks son to avenge his death, son (who should have been king) comes to believe uncle murdered father and the result is madness and murder galore. Sounds simple(ish), right?

Not so fast. First of all, do not ever try to read this quickly. Because Shakespeare. And because it's really not simple. Hence, I made ample use of the internet resources to make sure I understood exactly what was going on. I've seen this performed several times but there were definitely things I had never wised up to while watching. I'm looking forward to seeing it again (perhaps a viewing of Laurence Olivier as Hamlet?). It's well worth the read, if only for all of the famous lines you've heard many time didn't necessarily know where they came from.

A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen

Of the three plays I read, this is the only one I knew nothing about going in. Which is sort of shameful. Like Kate Chopin's The Awakening, I feel that A Doll's House should be required reading for all young women. It may have been written by a man, but Ibsen was clearly a man who understood women and their place in society.

As so much of my reading does, this play had me looking for more information. How did a man of that time come to have that understanding? The play, as it turns out, was inspired by a real person's experiences, a person who's experience was directly impacted by Ibsen's refusal to help her. She wasn't as fortunate as Ibsen's Nora, who grew from a woman terrified of losing her husband to a woman brave enough to walk away from him and the life she'd known.

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

The only other thing I've ever read by Oscar Wilde is The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is most decidedly not a comedy. This, on the other hand, is ridiculously, snarky fun.

I adore the movie adaptation (starring Colin Firth, Rupert Everett, Judy Dench and Reese Witherspoon) but I wondered if the play would read as funny as it is when performed. I was not, as you can tell, disappointed. The cover to the left says this is a "trivial comedy for serious people." Very true; nothing highbrow about this comedy but Wilde does go after women, men, literary types, high society, intellectuals, religion, morality.

All of those funny things you've read that Wilde said? This is the play that he seems to have poured all of that wit into.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
126 pages
Source: my copy was purchased from Scholastic through the schools

You all know the story - in ye olde Verona live two warring families, the Capulets and the Montagues, are trying the patience of their prince. They've been warned but boys will be boys and every time the young men from each family meet in the streets, there is bound to be trouble. Still, when young Romeo crashes a party one night, it matters not in the least to him that Juliet is a Capulet. In one of the greatest love scenes ever written, the two declare their love on Juliet's balcony later that night:

"Romeo: Lady, by yonder blessed moon I vow, 

That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops--

Juliet: O, swear not by the moon, th' inconstant moon,

Lest that they love prove likewise variable.

Romeo: What shall I swear by?

Juliet: Do not swear at all;

Or if you wilt, swear by thy gracious self, 

Which is the god of my idolatry,

And I'll believe thee."

Tragically, the couple's love is short lived and only by their deaths are their families finally reconciled.

This was the third time I've read this play. Every time I read it, I'm more blown away by certain passages, more impressed that Shakespeare captured so well the angst and impulsiveness of young people, and so surprised to, once again, realize that there is very little stage direction in this play. Even Shakespeare can make me wonder "what was he thinking," though. Why in the world was there a scene after Juliet "dies" where a group of musicians are teasing each other? Maybe I just don't "get" it - surely Shakespeare didn't put in a throwaway scene, right?

My introduction came a very long time ago, when my dad took me to Franco Zefferelli's movie adaptation of Romeo and Juliet (I'm pretty sure my parents weren't aware there would be a bare butt scene - I was still in elementary school!). I loved, loved it then, I love it still. I'll be renting it to watch this weekend! Of course, there have been several movie adaptations, the play is a perennial favorite for summer play series, and there is even a graphic novel version and a manga version available now. So pick your poison (just make sure it's not the kind that Romeo took!).

I read it this time for the Gilmore Girls Reading Challenge.