Word: ophelias
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...Oceanus' advice to Aeschylus' Prometheus: "To simulate madness is the secret of the wise," Walken's "antic disposition" is correctly a disguise. He appears barefoot, wearing a muddied monk's gown with cowl. He takes things pretty fat, however, In the Nunnery Scene, where he not only berates Ophelia but even knocks her down and slaps her. Later he shinnies up a pole to give a speech...
...abridged First Quarto of 1603 rather than the fuller Second Quarto or First Folio. Even so, Coe placed Shakespeare's most famous soliloquy after the Nunnery Scene, and in fact makes it a part of the discourses. Thus it is no longer a solioquy, but is addressed directly to Ophelia, to whom Hamlet gives his dagger while speaking it. I suppose that this is one way of making its nutoriously enigmatic thought seem like intentional nonsense...
...Ophelia's brother Laertes is usually considered to be an Angry Young Man. But since this label has been commandeered by Walken's Hamlet. Chris Sarandon's Laertes has chosen to take on Hamlet's customary poetic sensibility. Sarandon displays the vocal virtues that were evident in his Prince Hal a few weeks ago. His Laertes is beautifully spoken, with plenty of variety and modulation. Yet he can summon up power when demanding of the King where his father Polonius is (even threateningly laying a sword on the King's shoulder), or when voicing his eagerness to engage Hamlet...
...wisely found more in Poloniua than a silly buffoon When he talks Laertes eats off with a string of maxims for living, this bespectacled pedant warns against dressing gaudily and rips a pendant from around his son's neck. As he presses on with his list, we see Ophelia, sitting at his feet, silently mouthing the words along with him, having obviously heard the advice a dozen times; Polonius notices the mockery and gives her a playful cuff. Doctrice also doubles amusingly as the First Gracedigger...
...first half of the play, Lisabeth Bartlett is an appealing Ophelia. But when the maiden loses her wits, she rises to heartrending heights, even thinking that Horatio is her beloved Hamlet. Her final two appearances are strong, violent, and above all inventive; they constitute, quite simply, the best Mad Ophelia I have ever seen...