Shakespeare's Legacy in YA Literature

In my ongoing project about how Shakespeare has affected YA literature, I've spent a lot of time looking at direct adaptations and spinoffs in YA novels. As such, I've been using primary texts far more than scholarly materials. To rectify this inadequacy, I read through one of the chapters in Heirs to Shakespeare that I mentioned in this post.

The chapter I read is titled "Hamlet: Prince of the Schoolyard" and it discusses how Hamlet shows up in modern YA lit beyond direct adaptations. The chapter discusses several novels that use Shakespearean themes and character types, but what I found most interesting was the comparison between Hamlet and Bridge to Terabithia. You may be thinking, what in the world does that novel have to do with Hamlet?? Okay, that's what I thought when I started reading. But Megan Lynn Isaac actually points out some surprising parallels.

Calling All Whovians

David Tennant has played both Hamlet and the Tenth Doctor, and this video combines the two to flesh out the Doctor's tragedy with Shakespeare's words. It couldn't be more appropriate in describing the struggles of Tennant's Doctor, who both fights to preserve himself in his current incarnation and yet also puts his life at risk on purpose many times because he keeps losing everything. 

 

I'm old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one. In the end, you just get tired; tired of the struggle, tired of losing everyone that matters to you, tired of watching everything you love turn to dust. If you live long enough, the only certainty left is that you'll end up alone.

To Be or Not to Be

I'm fascinated by this soliloquy. I love the heaviness of emotion tempered by logic. I appreciate how Hamlet weighs his options, level-headed but in so much pain. He tries so hard to justify taking his own life, but cannot, and with weariness returns to struggling with the mission of revenge that he undertook against his will.

I've watched the Gibson, Branagh, and Tennant versions over and over. Probably all of you have seen the first two, but if you haven't seen Tennant, you should watch his rendition.

It's trimmed down a bit from the original, which I didn't notice the first time I watched it because it still flows seamlessly. Actually, I like the cut better than the original: it leaves out the long, repetitious list of ills that makes the speech lose forward momentum.

I also like his exhaustion. Tennant's Hamlet yearns for sleep, a symptom of his depression. I love the way he says "awry," and how he's cut off by Ophelia's entrance: maybe Hamlet really did have more to say on the subject.

I watched a few other versions and mostly didn't like them: Lawrence Olivier's was stilted, Kevin Kline's was underwhelming (although his little smile after "to sleep" was cute), and Richard Burton's was unnatural. Derek Jacobi did a good job at a frenetic, hysterical Hamlet, which isn't my preferred interpretation but mixes things up interestingly:

[For all you Whovians out there, a fun bit of trivia: Derek Jacobi played the Master in the episode "Utopia," and in his version of Hamlet, Ophelia was played by none other than Lalla Ward, known best as Romana.]

I think that before the death of his father Hamlet was a happy person. He was friends with hilarious people at school and he loved to watch players. This speech may be the first time that he seriously contemplates the idea of suicide. Some readers/viewers complain that Hamlet is "emo" and teenager-ish in his constant complaints, but one must appreciate how good his life probably was before his father died: he had friends and a loving family, and he was a prince secure in his future. Claudius destroyed every aspect of his happiness, rending his family apart and even preventing him from returning to school. Then his father's ghost laid the task of revenge on him, making it impossible for Hamlet to grieve normally and rebuild his life. No wonder he desperately grasped for an easier option.

Of course, you can argue about whether or not he's sincere. If he knows he's being watched by Polonius and Claudius, he may just be acting to the full extent of his grief for their benefit, playing the madman. If he knows he's being watched by Ophelia, he may be pleading for sympathy or trying to renew their love. But if he believes that he's alone, then his speech is a cry to the universe:

Shall I go on?

Must I go on?

And by a sleep to say we end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.

The Weirdest Hamlet Video You Will Ever See

Surprisingly, Hamlet's ordeal would probably transfer well into Klingon culture. They wouldn't be very sympathetic to all his waffling or to his "Am I a coward?" soliloquy, but they'd love the end.

Branagh, Gibson, and Tennant

My focus so far in reading Hamlet has been to look for a diversity of interpretations. I'm reading the full text along with the "No Fear Shakespeare" translation and watching excerpts of three different versions--Kenneth Branagh, Mel Gibson, and David Tennant.

Thoughts:

• Although NFS clarifies the more difficult passages, it makes the easier ones quite ridiculous and saps the life out of Shakespeare's verse. "About, my brain" is translated to "I need to get myself together here!"...*sporfle* I'm digging the exclamation point. 
• With the exception of NFS, I like all the versions of "to be or not to be." I love the setting of Gibson's and the way he interacts with the objects around him to bring more feeling and depth to his rendition--actually, the entire Gibson production does this marvellously. I wasn't convinced by Branagh's version at first, but by the time he got to "When he himself might his quietus make / With a bare bodkin?" I was completely enraptured. Tennant's, however, is my favorite. His sheer exhaustion makes me believe that Hamlet is depressed and ready to give up. What's the point of going on when everything is pointless and draining? When nothing good can possibly happen? He finds no hope, only resignation. 
• All three interactions with Ophelia are played very, very differently. Gibson acknowledges that he's being watched the earliest (immediately before "Are you honest?"), while Branagh seems to be somewhat aware throughout yet doesn't acknowledge the possible viewers until before "Where is your father?"; Tennant seems to be completely unaware that he's observed until just before "Where is your father?" Also, Branagh, while the least "mad" throughout, is the most violent; Gibson is the most sane and also the most genuinely angry; Tennant plays Hamlet as insane throughout, despite not believing he's being watched. (Maybe this is just because Tennant is so darn good at playing crazy.) Of the Ophelias, I think I believe Helena Bonham Carter the most and Mariah Gale (in Tennant's version) the least. 
• The scene with Polonius is one of my favorites, in any version. I love Tennant's especially--both Tennant and Oliver Ford Davies have brilliant comedic timing. Oh, here, just watch it:

 

It's a little confusing trying to find the parallel parts of all these versions because Tennant's has changed the order of many scenes. I'm not sure if Branagh's and Gibson's do. I think I'd like to watch all three versions all the way through, back to back. Maybe I can persuade my roommates to have a Hamlet Saturday.