Hamlet Made Simple and Other Essays
David P. Gontar, 2013
New English Review Press
428 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780985439491
Summary
Hamlet Made Simple and Other Essays is a collection of twenty essays on different aspects of Shakespeare's art. What makes it unique is that it is neither a conventional academic work, nor an exercise in popularization, nor just another authorship biography. Rather it seeks to bring all these discourses together in one jargon-free text which addresses the concerns of both scholars and general readers.
What is at the heart of this book is learning to have the patience and courage to ask again the fundamental questions, and go to Shakespeare himself for guidance. In the real world we find that children often raise the best issues, and adults are led astray by their own rashness and presumptions. For example, a child might ask, Why is not Prince Hamlet made King of Denmark after the death of his father? In their haste, teachers may dismiss such queries instead of using them as threads to be followed into the fabric of the play.
There are no wrong questions. Nothing is taboo. When we are young and immature we suppose that "I am right and everyone else is off base." If we gain a little wisdom we realize that everyone is right. That's what makes life so fascinating. Successful teachers learn to build bridges from every student response to the theme of the lesson. We all make a contribution.
Hamlet Made Simple exposes the student to Shakespeare's words without dictating answers based on sophistication and ideology. Instead, it demonstrates in chapter after chapter that you and I are liable to error, and that even prominent professors of English may be most in need of instruction.
The purpose of Hamlet Made Simple is to so present the challenges of Shakespeare's works that the reader is impelled to view them and re-view them, following performance with study. In that way our understanding and appreciation deepen. If we are lucky, we discover that Shakespeare is not writing about strange individuals with funny names like "Shylock" and "Doll Tearsheet." He is writing about us. Out of the corner of our eyes we note something in this or that character that reminds us just a little bit of ourselves, and, even if we never realize that we are reading about ourselves, we change, we grow.
That is the magic of Shakespeare, the kindest of teachers. Distracting us with the beauty of his art, he works upon our souls, and makes us new. (From the publisher.)