Hamlet by William Shakespeare:
England
Play
Play
The reason that I chose Hamlet as an artifact of learning to
bring along, is not necessarily because of the way it’s written or the story
itself, but I picked it more particularly because of the learning experience
that it facilitates. Hamlet is a fascinating story that tells the tale of a
young prince (Hamlet), who’s father and King dies early on in the plot. Other’s
in the palace, make Hamlet aware of the apparent sighting of his father’s ghost
on palace grounds and he agrees to go and see for himself if it’s true. The
king’s ghost does in fact appear, and after a mysterious conversation Hamlet
infers that it was actually his own uncle that poisoned his father in order to
claim the throne and rise to power. To make a long plot somewhat short, Hamlet
is exiled after killing Polonius, the father of his true love Ophelia and
causing a number of other problems. Upon his return, he learns that Ophelia had
committed suicide, and is then challenged by her brother Laertes to a fight to
a duel. Laertes and Hamlets uncle (who did in fact poison Hamlet’s father)
plotted to poison the tip of Laertes sword so that any cut to Hamlet would kill
him. During the duel, Hamlets Mother the Queen, accidentally poisoned herself
after drinking a toxic beverage that had also been prepared for Hamlet. In the
end, all of the previously mentioned individuals end up dead in a devastating
ending that leaves you with a bitter taste in your mouth. The thing that was so
amazing to me about Hamlet, however, was that you don’t leave without learning
some impactful life lessons. As you watch the show you engage in an amazing
learning experience as you observe and process everything that is taking place
and draw conclusions about life. Many of the conclusions in this script have
somewhat negative connotations, but I believe that we really do learn as we
observe and experience things like a Shakespearean tragedy and that’s why I
would include Hamlet (the play) on my adventure!