I’m not so much a Shakespeare guy per se
But as an English graduate I can’t
Deny the man’s rich influence on writing,
On language, drama generally owes a debt.
Ashamed to say, of all the man’s oeuvre,
I’ve read just three or four of his plays maybe.
The tempest, Romeo and Juliet,
Macbeth and that’s about it I believe.
Then recently, as prep for Ulysses
It seemed that I would benefit from reading
Perhaps his most enduring play, Hamlet.
Four hundred years old, give or take, at times
The lines are dense, at times muddy and vague
And characters are hard to see behind
Poetic verse and countless archaic words.
I strained my eyes to sieve out all details
To comprehend this complicated play.
It seems that after peeling back the layers,
Within it’s heart, sits themes of human depths.
Uncertainty and choices in our lives
We take, or don’t. It takes patience to read
I savour solid stretches that are clear.
Degree in English lit and still I meet
Too much that makes me feel extremely dumb.
In spite of this, I found a lot to love.
What struck me sharpest was the modern feel
Of drama hanging over scenes as tense
As you would find today. In fact I thought
I recognised some tricks, a YouTube clip
Explained to me that Tarantino uses.
He somehow weaves a layer of heaviness
That bulks up drama in his scenes. Remember
Inglorious Basterds’ opening scene? It starts
In conversation on that farm between
Hans Landa and the farmer. Engaging on
It’s own and then, the shot beneath the floor
Reveals the hidden Jews and then the scene
Shifts gears, the stakes rise higher, drama too.
Again, in Django, Quentin uses this.
The Candieland act around the dinner table
The stakes already pretty high, with Django,
His wife And Schultz attempting an escape.
Then Samuel L Jackson’s character finds out
Broomhilda’s true identity and we,
The audience, now feel the added layer
Of tension that has built up round the scene.
I’m sure that numerous examples can
Be found across most TV shows and films
But nonetheless, my basic brain was struck
At how great writing spawns from these ideas.
So hopping back to Shakespeare’s play again,
So many scenes I noticed as I read
Employed the same techniques that I just cited.
The poisoned chalice comes to mind at first,
The poisoned fencing foil also, Polonius
Behind the tapestry hiding, the ghost
Awaiting Hamlet’s call, Ophelia learning
Her fathers fate and Hamlet’s friends spying
On him. So many scenes that benefit
From tension hanging over them, the stakes
Are high because the audience understand
The extra cards in play. Bill Shakespeare knew this
And pulls it off consistently throughout.
I’m pretty sure I’m sounding like a twat,
Who want to hear a lit grad’s self indulgent
Meanderings about a dead man’s play?
Respect to you if you are still here reading,
I just hope that you can appreciate
How timeless work is no coincidence
It’s thoughtful craft and boundless dedication
That separates the greats from us mere mortals.
