I continued my little Shakespeare project by reading Hamlet. And I have to admit I was impatient with it at first, I kept wondering when things would get going. I don't think of myself as bloodthirsty so it must have been the influence of Macbeth. Eventually it dawned on me that all the 'winds, and turns, and torments' (as Goethe via the introduction to my copy put it) we the point and I wound up really liking the play and the character of Hamlet. I loved his wit and his questioning and I found it interesting that he was so changeable depending on who he was with, even though he was also capable of some awful acts.
I was surprised by how much I liked Macbeth, and surprised again by how much I liked Hamlet even though it lacks the non-stop action of Macbeth. I like the tragedies very much, and that's what surprises me. This is the kind of reading I have avoided my entire life because I assumed it would be too depressing, and it turns out I don't find it depressing at all. There is something deeply satisfying to me in seeing how these doomed characters react as the terrible circumstances and choices are heaped upon them. And I sense this is a function of advancing age.
But on to the tunes before we think too much about that! I'm going with Danes. This is the opening track from Efterklang's new album. Kev got me into them with the closer from their live album and you can still download that track right here. Their music is so grand.
Efterklang - Modern Drift
And then one from the new Northern Portrait as well. I've loved them since their first EP and it's great to have a whole jangly album.
Northern Portrait- Criminal Art Lovers
(both of these are on eMusic as well as the usual places)
I'm looking forward to seeing a couple of the film version of Hamlet and I'm definitely reading Lear next.
