Samanvitha Challa 2201721010030 Drama (Hemalatha Ma’am)

Tales From Shakespeare by Mary & Charles Lamb

After reading the excerpts from the book of the summaries of Hamlet, Macbeth and Tempest, the
first thing that prominently stood out to me was how Mary and Charles Lamb managed to
summarize the dramas in the format of short stories and give the readers who have never read the
original plays by Shakespeare not just an overview of the story but make them feel the same
conflicts, actions and emotions in a very compact and comprehensible manner.

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

The play starts with the demise of Hamlets father, the king Hamlet and raises questions surrounding
his death introducing characters Gertrude and Claudius. Shakespeare appears to often center his
plays around death, dying or killing. It is the main motivation for many of the protagonists.

Even here the story follows how Hamlet was affected by this death, his brain and hearts respective
thoughts and feelings following it.

“he grew weary of the world, which seemed to him an unweeded garden, where all the wholesome
flowers were choked up, and nothing but weeds could thrive.” (Page 262)

Hamlet particularly dressing up in black even on the day of his mother’s remarriage with Claudius,
shows how Shakespeare is playing with colours to represent aspects of hamlets life and emotions
and him being directly against Gertrude and Claudius, highlighting them as antagonists.

“It was given out by Claudius that a serpent had stung him; but young Hamlet had shrewd suspicions
that Claudius himself was the serpent; in plain English, that he had murdered him for his crown, and
that the serpent who stung his father did now sit on the throne.” (Page 262)

The story revolves around these strong suspicions and bitter stinging feeling. Another common thing
I’ve noticed in Shakespeare’s writing is the way he uses nature and natural beings to portray
characters inner feelings, thoughts and wants.

Shakespeare proceeds to add fantastical elements like ghosts and even a romantic interest Ophelia
to carry forward the story. Added to this he uses illusions, misunderstandings, lies and confessions to
fuel the main revenge the plot is centered upon.

The questions arising about Hamlet’s sanity through his behavior and actions is another main theme
of the drama. Most of what he does almost feels like a lunatic faze and makes the audience question
as well as to if what is happening is real or just a figment of the characters imagination and drama
tries giving the readers a confirmation that further leads the story with more conflicts.

“And he determined that he would have more certain grounds to go upon than a vision, or
apparition, which might be a delusion.” (Page 269)

A play being used in the play to bring out Claudius inner intentions, feels like a way to portray how
dramas or fiction are an imitation of life.

The drama then uses death and banishment as classic plot driving factors, that leads to the
denouement. It’s the return of Hamlet at the funeral where the all the emotions and conflicts are at
its peaks and everyone is gradually dying one by one except Horatio who is asked to tell this story of
the great Hamlet. Horatio in a way appears to be a representative of Shakespeare in the story as
Shakespeare is the one writing this story through his drama.

Shakespeare uses very significant themes of death, betrayal, treachery, revenge to show negative
and bitter aspects of life that can lead to ones downfall eventually no matter how good and
righteous they may have been. The world is extremely cruel but that shouldn’t let one completely
wither away from within.

“For Hamlet was a loving and gentle and greatly beloved for his many noble and princelike qualities;
and if he had lived, would no doubt have proved a most royal and complete king to Denmark.” (Page
279)

Macbeth

Macbeth centers around prophecies, greed, distrust and ones own foolishness and greed leading to
their end. Shakespeare tries spreading moral values through his dramas.

“‘All hail! King that shalt be hereafter!’”

This glorious prophecy makes it seem that Macbeth is a mighty person of valor and deserves to be
prophesized with such a statement and he was such a person.

Shakespeare uses fantastical elements like witches to drive his story here like how he did with ghosts
in hamlet.

Even though the drama is eponymous to Macbeth, I believe the main protagonist to be lady
Macbeth because it’s her who decides to put the prophecy into action and lead her husbands
actions and lead the both of them to doom.

“She would not have undertaken a deed so abhorrent to her sex, but that she feared her husbands
nature, that it was too full of the milk of human kindness, to do a contrived murder” (Page 144)

I don’t know if Shakespeare is trying to blame a woman for the mans actions or if he actually intends
her to be the main protagonist around whom the plot is central which to make females as such then
wasn’t common.

Shakespeare very frequently uses the mind getting affected by immense fear ranging to lunacy and
the protagonist main motivation in that scene is to act upon this fear or assumed lunacy.

“While these things were acting, the queen, who had been the sole partner in his wickedness, in
whose bosom he could sometimes seek a momentary repose from those terrible dreams which
afflicted them both nightly, died, it is supposed, by her own hands, unable to bear the remorse of
guilt, and public hate; by which event he was left alone, without a soul to love or care for him, or a
friend to whom he could confide his wicked purposes” (Page 151)

Fear, loneliness, anxiety affecting the characters constantly shows how Shakespeare uses the mind
and the conflicts of mind to drive the character.

“He grew careless of life, and wished for death” (Page 151)

The drama shows how the want and greed for more through immoral means ends up eating one on
the inside and all that one did to achieve said things would go to waste eventually.
Tempest

This story heavily took me by surprise because after the past two plays I expected everything to be
dark, death, and everyone being led by more negative toned actions or intentions but this pleasantly
had happier endings with themes of family, love, loyalty friendships, forgiving and freedom.

The premise starting off with the setting of an island locked away from humanity and later human
elements of living being added shows how Shakespeare wanted to portray how people lived out of
social settings and how drastic life changes with interactions with other humans. The play is named
after the element that cause this alliance of the outer world to the secluded world of Prospero and
Miranda.

Though the tempest in itself may have negative implications in sound and intention, it is still the
anchor for the happy and prosperous ending.

The main union and romance of the play is between Ferdinand and Miranda, and they act as
characters bringing together the families that once parted because of ill deeds but this marriage
between them bridges the past and weaves their future.

Tempest as well has important fantastical elements of magic art, witches and Ariel driving the story.

“Under the safe convoy of the spirit Ariel, after a pleasant voyage, soon arrived.” (Page 17)

Ariel who caused the tempest and scattered apart the voyage men, sends them away together
safely, and is the reason for a happy ending though himself he had been living a chained life with no
freedom. But in the end, he gets his freedom as well and his happy ending as well.

“I shall miss you; yet you shall have your freedom” (Page 16)