Is Shakespeare In Us
Is Shakespeare in us? Is what many wish to have what they really do have? The answer is, perhaps, yes, but the question is not: "Are we all great writers?" We are not. Not all of us are like that. But we all have Hamlet in us. I have read critic's reports, and they have told me that Hamlet, a charactar from Shakespeare is in us.
William Hazzlit tells us about Hamlet:
Hamlet is a name; his speeches and sayings but the idle coinage of the poet's brain. What then, are they not real? They are as real as our own thoughts. The reality is in the reader's mind. It is WE who are Hamlet.'
Another critic, Samuel Taylor Cleridge gave a lecture in 1818, stating that Hamlet is in us. But let us look closely at the matter; these two critics are men. Are only men thinking we are Hamlet? Both of these opinions were expressed in the 1800s, when women were not yet allowed to vote. Perhaps, when they say 'we' they mean men? Or do they not? it is impossible to know what they were thinking, but it is possible to think that WE means us all;men,women, children. For now children red play synopses. They may well read the play. Does WE only include adults? Who were the audience that these critics were aiming to reach? We cannot know for sure, but my best guess is adults. But is this fair? Maybe not. Children are still seen as 'lower class' to some. Perhaps to all. And to the question: 'Did Shakespeare mean for us to be Hamlet?', I have an answer, at last.
Only Shakespeare knows.
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