On Shakespeare and the addictive and destructive craving for power...

A new semester is upon us. I watched a more recent version (2000) of Hamlet starring Ethan Hawke as the title character (and a solid cast along with him) while I had the house quiet and to myself, and I was really pretty impressed. I have been very resistant to teaching Hamlet to high school students for most of my teaching career. There seems to be an overwhelming pressure in the AP Lit world to do the play, though, so I thought I ought to revisit it and see how I can make it relatable and palatable. This film might just do the trick. I've seen other versions of it, and I noticed that there's a new one being released in April of this year, too-- which, if it comes to our neck of the woods in time, might be a fun thing to try to get to. That all said, since Hamlet is so damned dark and twisted, it's a hard one for most high school kids. Let's be honest: if a kid is coming from a situation where a dead parent's ghost is demanding that he revenge him at all costs, including his own life, then we are dealing with a seriously dysfunctional family. The pressures Hamlet experiences are not at all normal for most of my students, anyhow. But the film really dug into the emotional dynamics, and it works. I think I'll be able to highlight key scenes and speeches from the "sacred text" and show the film. It would be a good way to look at complex characters, at any rate. 

I will be doing Othello; now that, too, is pretty dark and twisted. But who hasn't had a so-called friend betray them? And who has not been the victim of a whisper campaign? At least in high school. It's far more relatable, and Iago is deliciously awful. And Emilia is so darn sassy. There's fun to be had in that play. There are no deliciously awful characters in Hamlet; just dark, tortured, twisted people who are victims of someone's ambition. Well, so is Othello, really. But there's the racial angle, too, in Othello, and the character/character foil situation of Desdemona and Emilia. A lot to dig into.

Shakespeare really had a handle on the toxicity of ambition, didn't he? Most of my students will have read Julius Caesar and Macbeth with me, as well, so when it comes time to pull some pieces together, we ought to have great fun. So many people get hurt, misled, damaged, and used in these plays of ambition, deception, and overarching lust for power. 

It seems that the lessons we can learn from the Bard are still pretty valid. Those who will lie, cheat, steal, and murder for their own benefit will eventually pay the ultimate price. But along the way, so many innocent people are hurt. I always tell my students that the date may change, but people don't. Sad to say, anyhow. You'd think we, as a human community, could finally break that cycle. But the allure and poison of power is addictive, and there are too many hollow people who crave it.

So, I'm off to do the things I do. Wish me luck. 

Love to all of you and yours. Keep safe. It's still winter, and it's dang cold. And likely will be for a while.

C