Hamlet W.Shakespeare Francesco Maccari ft. Andrea Costantini

“TO BE OR NOT TO BE; THAT IS THE QUESTION”

1st Act: Hamlet’s father, the king of Denmark, has been dead, but his mother, queen Gertrude, has married her brother-in-law, Claudius, who has now become king. A ghost, the late king of Denmark, has appeared at the castle. Hamlet and his friend, Horatio, arrange to meet at night to see whether the ghost will appear. The ghost tells Hamlet he has been murdered by Claudius and he asks Hamlet to avenge him.

2nd Act: Polonius, the king’s consuellor, thinks Hamlet’s madness is caused by his love for his daughter Ophelia. Hamlet arranges for a troupe of actors to perform The Murder Of Gonzago, a play whose story is similar to the one revealed by the ghost.

3rd Act: During an argument with his mother, Hamlet, Kills Polonius, who his hiding behind a courtain listening to his conversation. The king decides to send Hamlet to get rid of him.

4th Act: Hamlet is sent to England to be killed. Ophelia goes mad and drowns herself. Her brother Leartes wants revenge and the king, after receiving the news, that Hamlet has escaped, plots his death in a duel with Leartes.

5th Act: The duel follows. Hamlet is urged to drink a poisoned drink but does not. The queen drinks the wine, Leartes wounds Hamlet with a poisoned tip of his sword, then the swords are exchanged and Hamlet wounds Leartes. The queen dies, Laertes falls, and denounces the king, who is stabbed by Hamlet. Both the king and Laertes die. Hamlet asks Horatio to tell his story and than he dies.

Theme of appearence and reality: how does one separate what appears to be real or absolute from what actually is so? Truth seems to reside in the “existential idea”: All that individual man knows is that he exists. The essence of truth is thus divorced from substance and from the means through which substance appears. …

Theme of madness: Hamlet sees a contagious disease which spreads from man to the kingdom, from the kingdom to the universe. …

Theme of Honour: The theme of honour makes clear that any action to correct a wrong should be reasoned, not emotional.