the-mad-prince-of-denmark:

This interaction is one of the MANY reasons why I love this (Asta Nielsen’s) version of Hamlet.
So yes, that is Hamlet (left) and Horatio (right), and in this version, Hamlet is secretly a woman who was raised as a man to protect the royal family’s legacy.
The movie, in a vain and desperate attempt to avoid any implications of homosexuality, goes w the idea that Hamlet was secretly in love w Horatio (which…yea), and only pretended to love Ophelia for the sake of appearances.
And that would be all well and heterosexual, but Nielsen’s performance isn’t really that of woman pretending to be a man.
Honestly, this Hamlet feels way more gender fluid than *just* male, or *just* female. There’s flashes of both femininity and masculinity in the performance, making the whole thing waaaaay unintentionally gayer (always fun).
So, in this version, we actually get to SEE Hamlet and Horatio meet at Wittenberg.
Like, they get this whole little meet-cute scene where Horatio drops his quill and they both go to pick it up and their heads bump together, like in a romcom (I swear I’m not making this up, you can watch it on YouTube if you don’t believe me), which then leads to the part your seeing above this, where Hamlet basically just eye fucks Horatio for an entire scene.
What a piece of work is man, indeed.

nederys:

shakespearedidnothavecumsh0ts:

nederys:

shakespearedidnothavecumsh0ts:

chimeraculous:

Because some of you have trouble coming up with words to call people you don’t like besides ‘psycho’ and ‘messed up in the head’, have a Shakespeare Insult Kit I found on Google Images. Or if you just like to call people weird things.

By the way, @shakespearedidnothavecumsh0ts is a Yeasty Milk-Livered Wagtail, sorry, I don’t make the rules.

It’s funny. In Jamaica (and other places) if you have white liver- you’re considered to have like an insatiable sexual appetite. So since milk is white- and you like insulting me. You’re basically calling me a slut. My husband to be won’t disagree I’m afraid.

Facts are facts.

Rude. Also- would make myself an insult but I’m way too lazy to read the list so feel free to inbox me roasts.

margotkim:

imperatorkhaleesi:

margotkim:

An adaptation of Hamlet that’s filmed like it’s an episode of like Keeping up with the Kardashians, and every soliloquy is just a character doing a talking head interview 

This is actually so brilliant that when I do a filmed Hamlet adaptation I will do this, pay you for the creative direction, and give you the concept byline.

I’ll be real, this post was like 5% joke, 95% realization that the purest preservation of the soliloquy in modern culture is the reality show talking head, a confessional both private and performative and essential to understanding the emotional underpinnings of the actions being played, all in a format of direct address that we accept.

The reality show as the modern melodrama

QUIZ: Which Shakespeare Archetype Are You?

I was tagged by @theraphaellus, and also got ~The powerful queen~

Tagging: @annabellioncourt, @gothiccharmschool, @thebibliosphere, @phantasmaturgia, @roselioncourt, @monstersinthecosmos, @terryfphanatics, @rip1009, @chernatsaritsa, @obsessional-ram, @b-juned-91, @sansese, @viedzma, @theroyalpalmtreeofoz, @riverofwhispers, @katherine-moore, @thearchipoet, @darknessmolten, @bloodstrung, @bravenotstubborn, @claudiaindarkness, @devilsfool, @wicked-felina, @moral-cipher, @pour-some-aspartame-on-me, @mylittleinferno, @firelight-fading, @merrycai, @onceuponadisneywish, @grrhatlet, @icestorming, @iheartthelochnessmonster, @carouselcurls, @vampires-and-witches, @witchyrem-ains, @auburnandamberangel, @chrissydeath, @honeyvanity, @garama, @claudiaslights, @sanguinivora, @unicornshavemohawks, @artisticfreedomofexpression, @lunchiemunchies, @fatcoincat, @paternalpadfoot, @remarried, @oramuda, @celiplier, @compressedconstellations, @eccentrically-paracosmic, @sailor-sparkle-kicks, @unionthesalmon, @flurgburgler, @princess-of-literally-anything, @friendlyjinx, @queenofthesavagegarden, @goddessofidiocy, @xtoxictears, @transylvaniateaparty, @musicislifeme, @naru81, @benevolentlyevil, @mferret9, @vittoriathevampire

… and anyone else who wants to do it! Consider yourself tagged!

QUIZ: Which Shakespeare Archetype Are You?

copperbadge:

I was curious recently about whether or not William Shakespeare had a cat. There’s no way to really know because we don’t know all that much about him, but I was sure someone had at least, you know, looked at the odds. And I was not wrong! Apparently Shakespeare mentions cats 44 times in his known works, usually referring to them negatively, at least according to the internet. 

Basically he constantly talked about how terrible cats are, which has led me to conclude that Shakespeare DEFINITELY had a cat, probably like five of them.

textsfromthevampire:

Submitted by alittlebitontuesdays.

daimonie:

motherfuckingshakespeare:

runecestershire:

runecestershire:

persephonesidekick:

harmonicakind:

yknow if romeo had just Cried on juliets corpse for a couple hours instead of drinking poison Right Then they would have been Fine

The moral of the story is: always take time to cry for a few hours before making important decisions.

So I’m more or less being facetious here, but this is actually a thing.

Hamlet is genre savvy. Hamlet knows how Tragedies work, and he’s not going to rush in and get stabby without making absolutely certain he’s got all the facts.

Except once he thinks he has all the facts – once he’s certain that it really is the ghost of his father and Claudius really did kill him, he rushes in and stabs the wrong guy, which starts a domino line of deaths and gets Laertes embroiled in his own revenge tragedy and ultimately results in the deaths of nearly every character other than Horatio.

That’s the irony and the tragedy of the story. Hamlet knows his tropes and actively tries to avoid them, and the tropes get him anyway. It’s inevitable, the tropes are hungry.

I want a sticker that says the tropes are hungry so I can put it on my laptop

i met a scholar once who said that tragedies aren’t about a silly “flaw” or anything, it’s about having a hero who’s just in the wrong goddamn story

if hamlet swapped places with othello he wouldn’t be duped by any of iago’s shit, he’d sit down & have a good think & actually examine the facts before taking action. meanwhile in denmark, othello would have killed claudius before act 2 could even start. but instead nope, they’re both in situations where their greatest strengths are totally useless and now we’ve got all these bodies to bury.

therambler13draws:

for Claudia’s amusement

I’ve been informed there is a shocking lack of Lestat and Louis performing Shakespeare together. which is heartbreaking and very not okay.