Hamlet Fun
So for your amusement: please look at all of the Hamlet goodies posted here. And comment on what they added to your understanding/enjoyment of the play. Bonus points if you can find something I haven't put up here....
posted by Ms. Clapp @ 7:46 AM
37 comments
37 Comments:
In Oer Hamlet aka the Three Minute Hamlet I found that it was a very clear summary of what happened in the play. It was a funny and easy way to understand what was going on in this very complicated play. I never knew that Hamlet wrote the play so that he could see his Uncle’s reaction. So now I have a better understand on why the play was so similar to what was happening throughout the “real” play. Knowing this I see an intellectual side to Hamlet, he is pretty clever for coming up with such a great idea.
The Gilligan’s Island version of Hamlet was funny but I felt that this example didn’t give you enough of what the plot of the story was. In this version it seems that Ophelia and Hamlet are so happy when we know that this isn’t true. Also many lines from the play were played around with and that was what made it so funny. It was also funny how Laertes was played by a woman which to me would make it look like Laertes is younger than Ophelia when that isn’t true. Also the speech given by Polonius seemed like a joke but in the play I got a totally different idea. In the play I saw his speech as being demanding and controlling, worrying too much about his one status and not the safety of his son. Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” speech was also done in the wrong tone as well. Ophelia’s solo was also weird. She talks about how he killed her father but she doesn’t show any sadness. The focus of this version was to be funny not really get the full details of the real play.
Here is another song or poem that tells the story of Hamlet
http://www.amiright.com/parody/misc/debbiereynolds0.shtml
Here is what it would be like if Dr. Seuss wrote Hamlet
http://www.webenglishteacher.com/text/greenhamlet.txt
hehe whoever knew learning Hamlet could be FUN!!!
-Thea
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Here another one....its called Hamlet's Cat. It talks about what could be going through a cats mind making fun of the "to be or not to be" speech....
http://www.webenglishteacher.com/text/hamletscat.txt
Okay, so i listened to the song (which was hilarious) and read along with the lyrics (which differed not-so-slightly) but very nice and entertaining all the same. I had not got the whole conundrum with wanting to prove Claudius had really killed Hamlet senior without letting Claudius know that Hamlet had indeed found out. I knew the "mouse-trap" was contrived to make Claudius spill the beans, but i did not know that Hamlet was being cautious not to let Claudius know that he knew, you know?
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Okay, i found another adaptation of Hamlet...i found it pretty funny, hope you do too, especially the ending. (funny in a dark-humor sense, of course)
http://dbhs.wvusd.k12.ca.us/webdocs/Humor/Hamlet.html
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The song helped me to understand some parts that I misunderstood when I was reading the play. For instance I wasn't aware that Claudius made sure that Hamlet had a blunt sword and Laertes a pointy one. It basically insured that Hamlet would die. What a terrible Uncle daddy...
The Gilligan's Island version was hilarious, however did bring the play together in a pretty good summary in only five minutes. But, the plot was a little scattered. Like Thea has mentioned it is quite obvious that this version of the play was to be funny and not to give a completely accurate retelling of the play, however I still found it very helpful.
I found a Hamlet rap which is funny, but has the idea. And, the lyrics are there as well!! Just click on "more" where it says "about this video".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN31ALzXdvo
Hope you enjoy!
The Hamlet song made me laugh really really hard. I enjoyed the contrast between the fact that it's supposed to be classic british literature, but the song sounds like it could be a country hit.
I made my sister listen to it, and she laughed prett hard as well.
Post again soon
In the song Three Minute Hamlet, I'd have to agree with Nicole. I did understand a lot more about Hamlet as the basic storyline.
The Gilligan's version of Hamlet was hilarious. There are, however, some key parts that were off. It starts off at the famous "to be or not to be" speech and I didn't feel like it was introduced properly. It also seems that Hamlet really cares for Ophelia [when she's alive] which seemed really different from the original play. The famous lines such as "be true to thine self" is off as well. So some of the speeches are really mixed up but it was good.
I found the Simpson's version of Hamlet on youtube if you care to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG8NTT4XtxA
There is a short clip of a live action movie of hamlet in the beginning. The Simpson's version starts at about 3:20 into the video. Enjoy!
The Three Minute Hamlet song was very interesting. It made me realize even more how great a writer Shakespeare is by turning one little story into this seemingly long and complicated play! This song really added to my understanding of the play, since it just summarized everything, but in a very entertaining way. I noticed many funny and ironic moments from the song that I didn't picked up from the play. Who knew a tragedy could be such comedy?
The Gilligan's Island Musical was also very funny, although some parts can be kind of idiotic. Yet I really like how the songs were all sung to melodies I am very familiar with. Even I could sing along if I knew the lyrics, and I must confess that I did hum along! My sister walked by and started laughing st me, but it was fun.
and here i found the MOST HILARIOUS Hamlet enactment ever! This is some high school people's Hamlet project, and they made it very present day ninja -asian style. It has many connections to other famous media that can be found on youtube. Just watch it, i PROMISE you will LAUGH nonstop!
http://www.stage6.com/user/LunarWolfX/video/1293331/Hamlet
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The Hamlet song made me understand the story more. I also didn't realize that Claudius gave Hamlet a dull sword and a sharp one for Laertes. It was also a very good summary in three minutes.
After watching the simpsons version on youtube, I finally knew how Claudius killed Hamlet. He poured poison in his ear. I was wondering why the ghost kept refering to something poisonous going through his body.
The Gulligan's Island one is hilarious, especially if you watch the actual scene. It's on youtube if anyone wants to see it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO2eEwoqzX4
And here is good adaptation of Hamlet using the Star Wars universe because the other ones weren't really that good:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNDBIW_EGv4
And if Arnold Schwarzenegger was to play to play Hamlet:
http://www.veoh.com/videos/v837358ehNnJPcp?searchId=3946208182084930585&rank=24
I have to admit that the 3 Minute Hamlet was a really funny song. However, I guess it makes me a nerd that I loved the play more and would rather read it again than listen to the song for understanding. =P
The Scooby-doo version was great too--I loved the twist with Fortinbras as the menace. They handled one of my points of confusion as well (the whole part about a person dying because something was poured in their ear). The working of "I'd get away with it too if it weren't for you meddling kids" into Shakespearean english was realling entertaining too. I'm up for seeing the actual episode if they ever created one!
Here's a small connection that many of you have probably see but never thought to put with Hamlet. BLINK 182!!!!
Follow this link to their video for "Miss you." The song has nothing to do with Hamlet (more the nightmare before christmas than Hamlet, actually) but there is a scene that I'm pretty sure is a direct reference to Ophelia's death. Enjoy. It's a great song.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iYEM68HIm0Y
I have some other stuff to post but I need to listen to them in their entirety first and my computer is kind of...not that great. It won't load the things I want it to so when i check them out, if they're good, they'll be up.
=]
Enjoy =]
The Animaniac's re-enact Yoric's speech. Animaniacs are funny and awesome so it's almost promised that this will be great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07ej4zNlhpU
The dick and Jane version of Hamlet. (See Hamlet run? Run Hamlet, Run!) A little flawed but very funny. Remember Hamlet didn't see Ophe drown.
http://www.elite.net/~lkfaunt/DJHamlet.html
Hamlet parody. Entire play. I just don't like how it portrays Horatio but I find it hilarious
http://www.shakespeare-parodies.com/hamlet.html
hahahaa I thought the song was hilarious. When I first read the lines I loved the way it sounded but once I heard the song I knew that it was supposed to funny.
When I went to the simpsons page they didn't really say much. It didn't really give the exact details of the story through the Simpsons. Maybe I'll just have to watch the video George found us!
more postss laterr ....
farrah ;)
I also, lovedd the Gilligan's Island parody of the play. I liked how they took the play but didn't exactly copy it word for word but made it their own and in a comical way. I also, have to agree with Thea it didn't give us much about the plot of the story. It basically told us less then we already know about the play. But I have to admit it had me laughing!
I also, love Scooby Doo! It used to be one of my favorate cartoon shows. When I was first reading the play I didn't recognize it was Scooby doo until I read a couple more of the lines and recognized the names. I thought it was funny and entertaining to read and I would love to see the show for it. Maybe I would have to find it on Youtube.
I also, have to mention that I agree with nicole and rei as well because the song gave me a better understanding of what has happened throughout the play.
I found a website that has a parody of Hamlet. It actually helped me understand what was happening a little better because it's in todays slang.
http://www.shakespeare-parodies.com/hamlet.html
okay I just thought this would be Hilarious to watch.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SCVc5TaPpe8
Its Arnold Schwarzenegger as Hamlet
hahahah I found a rapp on youtube
this tells us exactly what has happened throughoutt the play and how Hamlet feels.
check it out! You'll learn && be entertained!!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=MDGRGoET5Ho&feature=related
I figured out that this episode of Lost follows a similar plotline to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead: http://ll.static.abc.go.com/streaming/move/00070013/static.html?aff=wcvb&affTo=wcvb&useexternal=0&channelid=73211&episodeid=73054&partner=&campaign=null&wrapped=1&affFrom=abc&affLost=wcvb&dmarank=7&dmazip=02148
I know most of you guys probably don't watch Lost, and probably don't have 45 minutes to spare, but I just thought it was interesting.
The main similarity is that this episode focuses on Nikki and Paulo, both of whom aren't main characters; like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Check it out if you have some time-It's a great plotline and it'll give you the shivers I swear
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I wonder what the entire Hamlet play would be like if Dr. Suess wrote it. I have to say that his version was one of the funniest things I read from this page. Imagine how he would have handled Hamlet and Ophelia talking before the play....=P
I saw a lot of people commenting that the song made them understand the play better and, while I guess it simplified the plot to its most basic form, I didn't find as helpful as I found it entertaining. That's just me though.
Here's another parody song, I can't find the sung version but I've got the lyrics:
http://www.amiright.com/parody/misc/debbiereynolds0.shtml
A poem about Ophelia's death
http://www.shakespearemag.com/winter02/militano.asp
More fun I guess! I love some of the thigns you guys are posting, theyre really interesting =]
Ha, I'm going to have to say I really enjoyed some of these Hamlet interpertations. Some of these versions of Hamlet were very helpful in further understanding the play. Oer Hamlet (the three minute version of Hamlet)was a very helpful (and not to mention hysterical) resource because it gave a clear summary of what happened in the way.
I thought the Simpsons version was also a very funny (not to mention, entertaining) way of learning the basics of the way.
The Gilligan's Island version of Hamlet was also funny but I felt as if they didn't give enough plot information to help the audience get the general gist of the play.
Aha, and the Hamlet song....HILARIOUS. I liked listen to the actual song rather than just viewing the lyrics. hehe, I made my sister sing along with me. I felt pretty nerdy but it was a nice way see how such a play can be manipulated into something creative.
I really liked this play. The interpertations helped bring this play more to life.
Wow! That song was very clever. I like how concise yet informative it is. Plus it’s very straightforward. I didn’t know that one of the reasons Hamlet hesitated to kill Claudius was because he thought the ghost might be a fake. I thought he believed the ghost existence because Horatio had seen the ghost too and only hesitated because he was just afraid to kill. I also learned that the swords were pointed and blunted and that one had a poisoned tip. However, in the song, I was confused about the little 5-lined stanzas about Hamlet…were they interjections by the author expressing his take on the story. The line about Hamlet loving his mother is new to me because I didn’t infer this from the play, especially since he was mad at her for marrying so soon after his father’s death—not to mention that it was to his uncle.
I think the Simpsons’ version of Hamlet is interesting. However, it doesn’t say that Hamlet dies. Still, seeing the Simpsons’ Hamlet episode is hilarious. There are many funny lines not told in the brief synopsis. Plus, it doesn’t strictly follow the play’s plot and the characters die in unconventional ways—like Gertrude killing herself with a weapon. I recommend watching it on YouTube.
In the Gilligan’s Island version, I liked how they focused on key lines, like “to thine own self be true” (the song at the end is really catchy). However, it didn’t help with understanding the play, but like others commented, clearly it was only meant to be funny, especially since the writers probably expected the audience to know a great deal about the play. Still, it helped one understand the many tones and perspectives certain lines could be delivered with.
The Scooby Doo version was interesting because it portrayed Fortinbras as the murderer because he wanted to avenge his father’s death (which I now realize seems to be a common theme in the play; both Hamlet and Laertes set out to do this). I never thought of this possibility before…it being someone else…framing Claudius…then again, why would Claudius feel guilty then? But then again, like Michelle, I too was wondering about killing someone by putting poison in their ear…
I also found the directory of works helpful because the titles suggest how pervasive Hamlet has been throughout many aspects of life. It’s a source of inspiration. I never knew. Also, the version Thea found of Hamlet’s soliloquy is funny, presenting his speech on “wanting to die” in Act 1Scene 2 in a contemporary way.
Wow, these were all great Hamlet media. Many of them gave me a very humorous take on an originally serious play.
The Hamlet song was really funny (especially the last line) and informative. Although the music did not completely suit my tastes, I am impressed at the fact that the songwriter compressed a 4 hour+ play into a little over 4 minutes, while still preserving all of the important plot lines.
I had seen the Simpson's Hamlet a while ago and never thought it would be part of a homework assignment. This version was tremendously hilarious, but it did change the plot to suit its humor. I espeically enjoyed the part when Gertrude(Marge) killed herself because she didn't want to clean up the mess.
The Gilligans Island musical version was also very enjoyable, but it seems that one needs to actually have read the play to understand many of its lines. For example, Hamlet tells Ophelia not ot go near water. One who has not read the play would not know what that means.
Overall, all of these Hamlet versions have contributed to my understanding of the play as well as my amusement. I especially liked the quirky humor that was integrated into the adaptations.
I agree with everyone else that the Gilligan's Island version was quite amusing, though does not inform the audience of much of the plot. I also agree with Alisha that it was helpful in allowing the audience to see how certain parts could have been spoken in various tones. For example, in Gilligan's, the song between Laertes and his father shows how Laertes wasn't very innocent in his travels. This provides insight and clarity into the scene between Laertes and Ophelia that we talked about in class. We had discussed how it seems that Ophelia suggested that Laertes wasn't following his own advice that he gave to Ophelia. The Gilligan's interpretation confirms this idea.
In addition to that, though one who hasn't actually read/seen the play wouldn't be able to get much out of the Gilligan's reenactment, I think it definitely reinforces one of the main conflicts- that Hamlet couldn't make up his mind and the idea "to be or not to be," or, as they also put it, "to fight or flee." The repetition of these phrases emphasizes the importance of one of the play's central conflicts: to take a stand or be a coward.
When I'm on this blog i always feel like such a downer. The only one i thought was really funny was the sung version of Three Minute Hamlet. And I didn't feel super enlightened by them.
Anyway, it was weird, the reading of the song didn't do so much for me, but then when i heard it actually song, it was so much more hilarious. I guess it was because i didn't know the tune prior to listening. But, yah i did laugh as i listend, mostly because of what Casey said, cause it was kind of hicky, instead of like regal. And the beat of the song is kind of climatic, is starts of kind of slow but then as the singer gets through the verses, it kind of picks up and he gets going pretty fast, and so by the end it's all rushed and that just was funny. And it really worked in the facts of Hamlet, and even some quotes into it, as well as the chorus. the Hamlet Hamlet parts just were awesome, and you could tell the singer was enjoying himself which helped. I've offically listened to it three times in a row. Especially, I keep rewinding it to the final lines, from "Fortinbras knee deep in Danes" to "you should see the f***ing play" I don't know, that's just my favorite part cause the humor so dry. It was climatic.
As far as the Simpson and Scooby-Doo ones, just didn't do anything for me. I don't know, it was clever but i don't think it was as witty as the song, so i just didn't like them as much. Even though, i love scooby, and i did like the fact that it was Fortinbras, i didn't like that the story got changed, even though, it's supposed to be like...ironic...it just didn't like it. And the Simpsons one was just kind of boring. And it didn't help me understand anything about the play.
But finally, the Musical, I actaully really like the differnt take that they presented. The exchange between Ophelia and Hamlet was a different tone than i had ever imagined. And i liked that. so, yah that one kind of helped my understanding, just cause i saw a different side of the relationship. And i liked that it was sang, becasue that in itself can help to bring different emotions to the words and the scenes.
So, now, I'm going to check out some of the links that other people put up.
okay, one last thing
For anyone who hasn't yet.
YOU NEED TO go and check out Nicole's Hamlet wrap, that was hilarious
And that helped me broaden my understanding of how miserable hamlet is and what he feels. It rocked. Ah, i'm still laughing.
The Three Minute Hamlet Poem was surprisingly not boring. Once you think of Hamlet, you think of Shakespeare with a confusing plot,and you'd think this would be hard to complete in a poem as short as that one, but I felt the poem was precise. It was written in language which was not difficult to understand, and contained a lot of witticism involved in it. The whole poem kind of made fun of the play, more the events happening in the play, but gave the audience an understanding of what had accord. In fact the structure of the poem was interesting, as the author made fun of the poem through his lines within the poem, the "Hamlet, Hamlet..." part of them poem was kind of unique to the poem by describing the poets emotions besides just telling the events that took place in a sarcastic manner.
The Gilligan's Island version of Hamlet was very comical. I thought of Ophelia just as they had portrayed her in the play- overreating, clingy. The overall play was 5 minutes long, so you did not see the essence of the play, just glipmse's of it. It would have been better if the king and queen had lines besides repeating what Hamlet had said before. I just enjoyed the humour within the play especially the talk between Polonius and Laertes.
The Scooby Doo interpretation was another one that appealed to me. I thought it brought a second possible outcome to the story, it was just surprising to see another logical ending.
http://www.ringofsteel.org/reference/raphamlet.html
this is shel silverstein's version of Hamlet :)
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/emls/iemls/shaksper/files/MONSTERP%20SPINOFF.txt
Sesame Street Version of Hamlet :)
I'm not sure if anyone shared these yet but in case they haven't, here are some parodies on Hamlet:
Poking fun at a few acts:
http://www.shakespeare-parodies.com/hamlet.html
Here you can find the Calvin and Hobbes parody on Hamlet as well as many mockeries/parodies on a few soliloquies. Enjoy :)
http://www.angelfire.com/oh/Pretzel/
Well, I had to say the Hamlet song was hilarious. Before I noticed that there was a link on the page, I went and looked the song up on you tube. It acted part of it out through pictures, which was funny. I especially like the picture they drew for “Hamlet loves his mommy”. Here’s the link.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=t1xtcNxmbKU
But, I think it was a good song since it covered just about every significant part of Hamlet, and all in three minutes.
The song helped me clarify what happened after the play. I knew Hamlet was glad that Claudius walked out since it proved something to him, but I thought it might not have been enough evidence because he still didn’t do anything about it afterwards. Now I see it’s because Claudius also knew and that would have been dangerous for Hamlet.
I also especially like the last two lines of the song. Had I not read the book before hand, I bet I would have been extremely confused.
I didn’t realize but I watched the Simpson Hamlet episode before. Didn’t’ realize it was Hamlet then, though. Here’s a link to it … http://youtube.com/watch?v=H-6173OqP-Q
The simpson part doesn’t’ begin until 1:04 ish.
Wow… I really liked to Scooby last scene. Sounds plausible, too. So… who know’s maybe that happened instead. Reminds me of a Gregory Mcguire Book…. Sp? Like Wicked, where there is an established story and then you build another one around it, I guess it’s very similar to Roz and Guil are dead, too.
-Winnie
So, out of all the Hamlet goodies I listened/watched/read, I'd have to say that the song by John Wesley Harding was probably ine of the funniest for these reasons:
1. The song appears emjambed at times or rushed. One word seems to go into another, which makes the song more hilarious because it's alomost as if it's not taken seriously.
2. It's blantly poked fun of at the end with the 'wait till you read the bloody play" statement. Also, I love the pun of "bloody" he uses both for humourous effect and to reflect on the bloodshed of the play.
3.His tone of voice is quite funny.
4.The use of such childish language such as "daft" and "loves his mommy" to describe Hamlet. Also, I was wondering if Harding meant more than just "loves his mommy", lol, or maybe I'm just thinking too much into it.
I think the song pokes perfect fun at Hamlet.
The Simpsons episode of Hamlet (which I saw the other night)was also funny. I though, for example that Moe was a great fit for Cladius since he is dirty and a low life in the cartoon. With that, Polonius was a interesting
choice to be Wiggam since Wiggam is chubby and glutonous at times. Perfect fit for me.
Well, compared to the others. These I liked most. Like the rest of you, I enjoyed the Gillians Island spoof, but it was too out there for me at times since it is an island show, which at times doesn't fit with Hamlet in my eyes.
Thanks to these goodies I have a greater appraciation for the humor of Hamlet. Before i took it more seriously, but now seeing all the jokes regarding, I can understand its basic humors like with Ophelia and Hamlet among others.
Anyways, I agree with you guys. Pretty funny stuff for one of the greatest and well known plays of all time. lol
oh yes, So intersting new spoofs =)
I though this parody of Hamlet was quite hilariously modern if you have the time to watch it. It's a parody of Hamlet characters in a Jerry Springer episode. But don't worry. It's g rated because its a school project.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjEFEa1z4yE
Also funny:
Hamlet as Terminator Spoof
http://www.jibjab.com/view/220419
A poem about Hamlet:
http://www.geocities.com/infinitum_
poetry/theyallwanttoplayhamlet.html
Last but probably most oddly interesting:
A poem about Hamlet written in the beat of Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss.
http://www.webenglishteacher.com/text/greenhamlet.txt
Enjoy!
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