After watching Claudius's inability to pray, as shown in Branagh's Discovering Hamlet, not only do I now realize the infinitesimal pity Shakespeare wished to provoke in his audience (as explained in the video), but also the irony in Claudius's situation. Praying usually accompanies a favor. People pray for forgiveness, health, wealth, love... One common form of praying for forgiveness is a confession. Claudius finds himself in a constricting situation when the cause for his prayer is the same as the idea preventing it. Ironically, the reason he wants absolution prevents him from properly attaining it. I am curious as to why Shakespeare would want to make the antagonist inspire pity. Is it to establish more than one point of view and thus emphasize humanity's close-mindedness, or is it because Shakespeare can't bear to create a being without even one positive trait. An intresting character is one who has conflicting emotions, while bland characters are those who don't question themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment