Gielgud on Hamlet

Following Rosamund Gilder's description of Sir John Gielgud's performance of Hamlet (see 3/29/15 post) was Gielgud's own essay on Hamlet.  His work, entitled "The Hamlet Stage Tradition," struck me immediately as very similar to this blog.  Gielgud describes various productions of Hamlet that he has seen and has studied, detailing the ways in which Shakespeare's work has been realized by different directors and actors.

Gielgud's essay is divided into sections based on specific scenes of the play.  In his discussion of the scene in which Hamlet is informed of the ghost, he relates his feelings on the popularity of Hamlet.  "It may seem lazy for an actor to copy 'business' or readings from other actors, but I do not believe that one should ever discard tradition without examining its purposes and inspiration."  Further, he comments "I see no possible harm in reading about all these traditional or sensational innovations, and borrowing or discarding them as they seem to fit the character, the play, and the meaning of the text, as long as one does this sincerely and without losing sight of one's own original play and characterization."  An actor portraying Hamlet should be aware of what has gone before him (or her), but that does not mean necessarily copying what has been done.

Later in the same section, he describes the effect of the play on the audience, especially one who has seen Hamlet on more than one occasion.  "Afterwards the spectator may remember and record certain vivid impressions, but probably if he goes again to see the same performance--indeed, even if he sees rehearsals and watches a performance every night--he will never again receive exactly the same impression."  Each performance has its own unique virtue, as one who has read the posts on this blog hopefully will understand.

In a discussion of Act III, Scene i, Gielgud relates the experience of performing the "To be or not to be" soliloquy in front of an audience familiar with it.  Such familiarity he calls "an utter curse."  Gielgud names his two worst phobias in a performance of Hamlet:  "Leica cameras and the quoting of famous passages aloud."  Had this 1957 essay been written today, the former fear might be changed to smartphones, but speaking aloud is still a omnipresent phenomenon.  (I will admit to being guilty of mouthing certain lines during the play.  It's a bad habit.)

While commenting on Ophelia's death, Gielgud raises a valid point that I had not really considered.  Gertrude's announcement of Ophelia's drowning "is absurd, for if the Queen or anybody else had seen the drowning in such detail, obviously something would have been done to prevent it."  The entire enterprise is less a realistic retelling than Shakespeare using "the Greek messenger method of describing an important incident happening off-stage...."

These are only a few of the numerous interesting viewpoints that Sir John Gielgud brings to his discussion of Hamlet.  It is a treat to be able to read the words of both a scholar and a veteran Hamlet himself, and it makes the blogger wish even more that he had been able to see Gielgud's performance on stage.

*Quotes from Interpreting Hamlet, pp. 138-172.