Is it the greatest? That's subjective of course and I don't really know how to answer that. I will say that it's not my favorite. That's probably 'Cyrano de Bergerac'. It's not my favorite Shakespeare; there are several comedies that I prefer. (What I can say, I'm a sunny person.) It isn't even my favorite tragedy from Shakespeare. The passion of 'Romeo and Juliet' speaks to me more.
But these are just my opinions. Is there some consensus about Hamlet's place in the rankings? I decided to ask Google and see what it thought.
First result top ten:
Hamlet
Macbeth
Importance of Being Earnest
Waiting for Godot
Midsummer Night's Dream
Romeo and Juliet
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
Othello
King Lear
Death of a Salesman
Second result top ten:
Hamlet
Death of a Salesman
Importance of Being Earnest
Antigone
Long Days Journey into Night
The Cherry Orchard
Waiting for Godot
The Glass Menagerie
A Doll's House
Woyzeck
Third result top ten:
King LearAt the top, or very near to it, in all of them. From what I can tell, Hamlet really does earn it's reputation. Now why is that? I've got a theory that the reason Hamlet ranks so highly is because it's a giant question mark of a play. We know why Romeo does what he does. We know why Macbeth does what he does. Hamlet? There is debate on nearly every single action he takes (or doesn't take, as the case may be). More than four centuries after it was written, we still question the whole thing. In fact, the biggest question for each production is how they will interpret.
Oedipus Rex
Hamlet
Oresteia
Macbeth
Long Days Journey into Night
Othello
Waiting for Godot
Medea
Twelfth Night
There's more to it than that, of course. There is a beauty to Shakespeare's language that is hard to match. You'll notice that Shakespeare dominates the lists above. I'll also note that he had the good timing to come along just as the printed word became a widespread thing. I'm sure that helped establish an early #1 ranking too.
And seriously, it's a damned good play.
I have never seen a play, but I have read Hamlet, Macbeth, and a Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare, Lysistrata and the Clouds by Aristophanes, and Hippolytus by Euripedes. My favourite was A Midsummer Night's Dream followed by Macbeth and Hippolytus (I liked them about equally). As far as which play is the best I'd say Macbeth followed by Hamlet.
ReplyDeleteAdam, I'd highly recommend seeing some Shakespeare live and on stage. There is a ton of value that a good cast bring in terms of nuance and interpretation. In 'Midsummer' for instance, the play within the play really comes more fully alive when you see the players do their thing.
ReplyDelete