To Be CRAZY or Not to Be CRAZY!

Talk about frustrating. Typed up all my notes about Hamlet as a draft. Then threw my notes away. Then draft didn't save. All Hamlet notes gone. LLAAMMEE!!!!! So here's at least what I remember:

I had quotes memorized that I didn't even know I had memorized. Wow. Impressive, Shakespeare. Way to change my world... subconsciously.

• "To be or not to be?"
• "What is a man?"
• "Are you honest?"

So I actually got the chance to watch the Kenneth Branugh's Hamlet. Movie party with Austen and Katie? Successful. Surprisingly interesting. Here are some funny quotes you missed:

• "This movie is 4 hours long???? Bummer. My attention span is about a half an hour."     -Austen
• "He's crazy."    "Are not we all?"      -Austen's roommates. We'll make Shakespearians out of them yet.
• After the 3 minute long nudity flashback: "Wwwhhhhaaaaaaaaaattt????????"      -Katie and Chloe'
• "What's with the black and white checkered room?"    "It represents the conflict in the play."    -AWESOMELY deep quote by Katie. I really hope you blog about that, girl.
• "Who is that?"      "The dead guy?"      "No, not that dead guy. The fresh dead guy."     -Austen

Ok ok. So Im a psych major. The whole "crazy" phenomenon had my mind goin' the whole time. It was driving me CRAZY. It was pretty cool to think about the falsities and the reasons associated with that theory. Here's my own brief analysis:

• Hamlet. NOT CRAZY!
• TOTALLY acting. His way of reasoning is way too brilliant to be out of his mind. The way he contemplates his life and his reasoning in Act 4, Scene 4 was SO cool. Defiantly faking.
• Plus, in both movies (Kenneth's and Mel Gibson version) they show Hamlet as being completely aware of the presence of Polonius and his parents in the confrontation of Ophelia scene. He's putting on a show for them. He's angry at Ophelia for giving up their love for her father's sake

• Ophelia. CRAZY!
• Maybe I'm biased (because, again, I've seen both the movies), but the scene with Ophelia's ranting song about the flowers???? Way too random. Especially in contrast with Hamlet, who has a purpose.
• Then again, if my lover just killed my father, acted insane, then threw me around a checkered room...I'd probably go crazy too. Can you blame the girl? 
• The whole "she fell in the stream, tried to save herself, and then her dress made her sink" quote from Gertrude in IV.vii.175? I don't buy it. "Incapable of her own distress"? Yes ma'am.

• I'm convinced they were really in love, by the way. There are even several references to the idea that Ophelia might be pregnant. 

Ophelia Syndrome
Pretty interesting...for me, that is. This article does a wonderful job of explaining things: BYU Magazine: Ophelia
Oh. and p.s. if you Google "Ophelia Syndrome," the results send you to a band's main page. Silly name for a band, guys. I guess Shakespeare IS everywhere. I bet Professor Burton would be proud.


Side note: why the gloomy burial scene? Ophelia was practically the princess of the castle. EVERYONE loved her. Why couldn't her grave be somewhere more fit for her loveliness?

I thought I caught a hint of forgiveness in the final moments of Hamlet's life. Was I imagining that?
p.s. I hope I have that much energy/important things to say when I'm writhing/dying on the ground.