Folger Hamlet

In a free moment recently I picked up a copy of the Folger Shakespeare Library edition of Hamlet.  It's the version of the play that I used back in high school many years ago, and it's still the version that is used at my old school, albeit a much newer edition these days.  Of all of the versions that I have seen, this one strikes me still as the most user-friendly one, with the side-by-side text and explanatory notes.  It made it easy for this then-senior to figure out what all of the Shakespearean English meant.

The updated edition (2012) includes an essay by Michael Neill, entitled "Hamlet:  A Modern Perspective."  It was this section that was the focus of that day's free time.  The essay is a concise treatment of several topics:  the play's adaptability, surveillance, memory, things left unfinished, and death.  It's a good, short introduction to Hamlet critique and a good jumping-off point for the novice (or diversion for a veteran).

The opening line of the essay grabbed me immediately, and it is that quote with which I end this brief post.  I would have to say that I agree wholeheartedly with the speaker.

"The great Russian director Vsevolod Meyerhold used to maintain that 'if all the plays ever written suddenly disappeared and only Hamlet miraculously survived, all the theaters in the world would be saved.  They could all put on Hamlet and be successful.'"