Episode 28
Fate Up Against Your Will. Week 26: Shakespeare's Hamlet, MacBeth and King Lear
After the last three weeks with Dante, we jump to another three-week series with Shakespeare and NINE plays!
Shakespeare can be daunting, so I offer a few thoughts on how to approach him:
- Watch a movie FIRST
- Get a good edition (hello, Folger Shakespeare Library)
- Keep a one-line-per-scene summary as you read
- Enjoy!! It will get easier and the plays are so very worthwhile.
Hamlet dazzles with layered characters and razor-sharp language. Prince Hamlet wrestles with grief, revenge, and perhaps madness, while Claudius broods over the cost of his own sin. My own final note: “Everyone dies except Horatio.”
Macbeth feels darker and almost Greek. The witches act as oracles, but Macbeth isn’t their puppet—he chooses evil. Lady Macbeth is more accelerant than mastermind, and the play pulses with ominous energy.
King Lear hit me hardest. Lear is not villainous, just weary and reckless, longing to lay down his burdens—yet no one gets that choice. Dividing his kingdom invites betrayal from his elder daughters and the scheming Edmund, while steadfast Cordelia stands tragically apart. The repeated “nothing” captures the emptiness of abdicated duty.
Together they reveal Shakespeare’s trademarks: sudden madness, clever disguises, and language that still crackles, showing three kinds of downfall—the victim (Hamlet), the villain (Macbeth), and the feckless ruler (Lear).
LINK
Ted Gioia/The Honest Broker’s 12-Month Immersive Humanities Course (paywalled!)
My Amazon Book List (NOT an affiliate link)
My King Lear Movie Choice (Not actually that good but I still think about it)
CONNECT
The complete list of Crack the Book Episodes: https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2r
To read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.
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LISTEN
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bd
Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321
Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm
