From Hamlet to Roman Holiday in One Week

O, that this too too solid flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!
Or that the Everlasting had not fix't
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!
How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable,
Seems to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on't! ah fie! 'tis an unweeded garden,
That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely.

That's Hamlet being brilliantly and gloomily dramatic in his first soliloquy. I don't feel as self-destructive as the poor prince, but through the beginning of last week I was fast approaching the "how weary, stale, flat, and profitable seems to me all the uses of this world!" stage. I wonder if Hamlet is set in the month of February. There are references in the play to cold weather. It feels like February to me.

Hamlet is considered Shakespeare's greatest play. That's what AI told me when I asked it. "Hamlet is widely regarded as Shakespeare's greatest play and a pinnacle of Western literature, celebrated for its complex protagonist, profound soliloquies, and exploration of existential themes. It is considered his masterpiece, often topping lists for its dramatic intensity, linguistic variety, and enduring cultural impact." Hamlet is my favorite of the twelve tragedies and in the top five on my all-time favorite Shakespeare plays list. 

Last month, after reading many glowing reviews, I tried to read the novel Hamnet by Maggie O'Farell. It's a fictional account of Shakespeare's family focusing on their son Hamnet, who died in 1596 at the age of eleven and was supposedly the inspiration for the play Hamlet. The book won several awards and got rave reviews, but I was in some kind of mood and couldn't get into it for some reason. I made it about half way through before giving up. That made me wonder how I would react to the movie version of the book. The film, which came out last year, also got rave reviews. It has won and been nominated for numerous awards. Last week I finally watched it. I was by myself when I watched it. Now, I am a weeper when it comes to emotional movies, and this was a weeper. When it was finished, I just sat and let the tears flow through the closing credits. I love a movie that tells a story powerful enough to move me. I loved this movie. It's the best movie I've seen in a long time.

After watching Hamnet, I decided I needed to watch Hamlet. There are many film adaptations of the play – thirty-six of them according to IMDb going all the way back to 1921. The most recent one, filmed in 2025, is due to be released later this year. [From the trailer I saw for that one, it looks like it is set in modern London with a Hindu-themed retelling and a lot of the real play changed or left out completely, so I don't think I'll be watching it.] Some of the actors playing the unhappy prince include stars like Laurence Olivier (1948), Mel Gibson (1990), Kenneth Branagh (1996), David Tenant (2009), and Benedict Cumberbatch (2015). I haven't watched all thirty-six versions and probably never will. I generally don't approve of the "modern settings" or "loose adaptations." I wanted to watch a couple of versions. Oddly, I've never really liked the Olivier version, so I didn't consider it. This time I first chose the David Tenant version. I hadn't seen it before. It is in a more modern setting, but stays true to the script, so I didn't mind that so much. I thought it was fairly well done. David Tenant is good at playing crazy. Next, I thought about watching the Kenneth Branagh version, but it is four hours long and I didn't want to commit to that. Instead I watched the Mel Gibson version which is only two and half hours long. It was directed by Franco Zefferelli, so it has all the richness and atmosphere you'd expect from him. And Glen Close as Gertrude and Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia are pretty good. It does leave out some of the side plots to make it shorter, but you don't miss them unless you know the play well enough to realize they were left out. 

As long as I'm dwelling on this, I'll mention that, after Hamlet, my favorite character in the play is Ophelia. Watching her sad descent into madness is fascinating, the flowers, the songs she sings. The dialog in Act 4, scene 7, where the queen arrives with news of Ophelia's death has inspired some great works of art.

Queen:    One woe doth tread upon another's heel,

                So fast they follow. Your sister's drowned, Laertes.

Laertes:    Drowned? O, where?

Queen:    There is a willow grows askant the brook

                That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream.

                There with fantastic garlands did she make

                Of crowflowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples,

                That liberal shepherds give a grosser name,

                But our cold maids do "dead men's fingers" call them.

                There on the pendant boughs her coronet weeds

                Clamb'ring to hang, an envious sliver broke,

                When down her weedy trophies and herself

                Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide,

                And mermaid-like awhile they bore her up,

                Which time she chanted snatches of old lauds,

                As one incapable of her own distress

                Or like a creature native and endued

                Unto that element. But long it could not be

                Till that her garments, heavy with their drink,

                Pulled the poor wretch from her melodious lay

                To muddy death.

Laertes:    Alas, then she is drowned.

Queen:    Drowned, drowned.

Ophelia by John Everett Millais (1852).

The Fate of Ophelia by Friedrich Wilhelm Theodor Heyser (1900).

Ophelia by John William Waterhouse (1894).

I always wondered why, if someone was there to witness the drowning in so much detail, maybe even the queen herself, no one thought to jump in and rescue poor Ophelia.

I continued my musical diversion last week with an alphabetical adventure into the Classic Pop genre. Here's how it lined up. Monday – A,B,C,D,E: The Ames Brothers, Anita Bryant, Nat King Cole, Doris Day, Bob Eberly. Tuesday – F,G,H,I,J: Helen Forrest and Ella Fitzgerald, Eydie Gormé and Gogi Grant, Dick Haymes, the Ink Spots, Etta James. Wednesday – K,L,M,N,O: the King Sisters, Peggy Lee and Julie London, The Mills Brothers, Anthony Newley, Helen O'Connell. Thursday – P,Q,R,S,T: Patti Page and the Pied Pipers, Jimmie Rogers, Jo Stafford, Mel Tormé. Friday – U,V,W,X,Y,Z: The Vogues, Dinah Washington/Margaret Whiting. Again, I knew some of them, but some were new to me. I loved almost every one of these. It was a fun week full of some great music.

Tuesday morning our neighbor Ray the plumber came by to look at our bathroom problem. He did not give us good news. It looks like it will be an extensive project requiring replacing drains and pipes. In addition to the plumbing repairs we'll have to tear up and replace the upstairs bathroom floor as well as repair the damage to the downstairs bathroom ceiling and walls. He is going to give us an estimate before we decide what and when to do it. I'm not really surprised. It looks pretty bad. Oh the joys that come with living in an old house!

On Tuesday we had a veritable heat wave. For the first time in a long time, the temperature rose above 40°,  41° to be exact. When I went down to do the afternoon chores, I wore one less layer than I usually do. It felt good. The warmth didn't make a dent in the snow levels and it didn't last long. By sunset we were headed back below freezing again. It stayed just warm enough to rain for a while, then it froze and turned the rain-soaked snow into hard ice. Typical February mess.

Wednesday was my birthday. Stacey, Hannah, and Miriam were all at work, so I was home alone through most of the day. I didn't do anything out of the ordinary. I listened to my music. I started with a bit of Bach, the Goldberg Variations, and then set up my Tuesday alphabet queue. I read my book. I watered my houseplants. Later I watched a lunch movie, the Mel Gibson Hamlet mentioned above. I did the chores. And I spent a little time in meditative introspection, as I am inclined to do on my birthday. Self-evaluation can be a tricky business. I try to be honest with myself, but I have a tendency to be negative and pessimistic. I'm a glass-half-empty person a lot of the time. It's a fault and I confess it. It doesn't help that my birthday and this mental inventory-taking occurs in February when the season has such a gloomy effect on me. So I have to try and balance my self assessment by giving a bit more emphasis to the good things, the blessings, which are many, the successes, which are prized for their rarity. The shortcomings and failures are obvious enough.

Later in the day, after everyone got home, things got a bit more festive. Stacey made me one of my favorite meals, meatloaf, smashed potatoes, and coleslaw. Miriam made me an angel food cake topped with blueberry sauce and vanilla ice cream. I got some great gifts and lots of birthday wishes from family and friends throughout the day, and that was nice.

My birthday dinner.

Birthday cake and ice cream.

Two of my birthday gifts were for the birds – a bag of black oil sunflower seeds and some suet blocks. I'd run out of birdseed a week before and it was sad watching the birds come to the feeders and be disappointed. So Thursday morning I went out first thing and filled the feeders. Within minutes the birds were there. I stood at the kitchen window and watched them for a while. It made me happy. It was a snowy morning and I could tell they appreciated the food.

Friday was a busy day. I had a dental appointment that morning. After that, while I was in town, I ran errands. I went to the feed store and stocked up on chicken feed. Then I drove up to the Amish bulk food store to stock up on people feed. We were going down to Thayn's for the weekend, so I had to get things ready. We left later that afternoon after everyone got home from work. We drove south and arrived at the Thayn's at 8:00.

The reason for this weekend trip was to celebrate our Annual Italy Weekend. The celebration, typical for us, was centered on food. Saturday Morning, Stacey and I took Florence and Russell and drove to an Italian bakery that was recommended to get some pastries for breakfast. 

Buying breakfast at Enrico Bakery.

Choosing.

After that, some of us went to Hazel's basketball game. And then we drove into Pittsburgh to the Phipps Conservatory to see their orchid show. I try to go to the orchid show every year. It is refreshing to wander through the greenhouses at the Phipps, feel the warmth and the humidity and see the plants.

Hazel's basketball team.

Orchids at the Phipps.

Orchids at the Phipps.

On our way back from the Phipps, some of us stopped at another Italian bakery to get some desserts for our dinner. When we were all back at the Thayn's again, we sat down to our feast. We had onion and bruschetta focaccia, pasta with pesto, bread sticks, tortellini salad, and all the desserts. It was delicious.

Picking out desserts.

Our dinner.

 After dinner, we watched one of our favorite, Italy-based movies, Roman Holiday (1953) starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. And then it was time for bed.

We went to church in the Thayn's ward this morning. After church they had a linger longer and we stayed for that. Then we went back to their house, packed up, and came home. We arrived home at 6:45, unpacked and settled back in. All of us didn't come back. We left Miriam there. She is setting off on a month-long adventure. Tomorrow she is flying to Arizona to spend some time with her Aunt Roxann. Then she is flying to Hawaii to be with her Great Aunt Nathel. Hannah is flying out to join her later. They'll both arrive home on March 10th.

Looking at the week ahead, I see some milder weather in the forecast. Not as warm as I'd like. Not warm enough to melt much snow even. But I think it will be my best chance to prune the orchard. So I'll be busy. I need to be busy to ward off the weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable-ness that so easily besets me.