Humanity Hamlet Music

Question :

The suitable song for Hamlet would be “My War” by Black Flag (Flag).

Answer :

Hamlet’s Playlist

Hamlet

Hamlet faced betrayals at several stages. This song has several lines that aptly fit Hamlet such as “You say that you are my friend, but you are one of them”. In the play, in Scene 2 in the second act, two friends of Hamlet were used by the Queen and the King to spy on Hamlet. Quote from play, “Good gentlemen, he hath much talked to you, And sure I am two men there is not living To whom he more adheres…” (Shakespeare, p.83).

Claudius

The Heartless song from Kanye West would be the most apt song for Claudius. “How could you be so cold as the winter wind when it breeze...” is from the song (West). The same applies to Claudius. He murdered Hamlet’s father and married his wife. He lied to Hamlet saying that he loves him, but conspired to send him to die. Caludius shows heartlessness at several places in the play. Therefore, this song seems apt for him. Quote from the play reflecting the same, “You are the most immediate to our throne, And with no less nobility of love, Than that which dearest father bears his son, Do I impart toward you. (Shakespeare, p.27)”

The Ghost

The Ghost wanted to take revenge for his death from Claudius. But he could not do it himself, and so appeared before his son and motivated him to do so. The Ghost was full of revenge and thus the song that can be apt in this case will be “The Payback” by James Brown (Brown). Here, even the name of the song seems apt. Father of Hamlet was killed, and now he wanted to pay back the misdeed that happened to him. There are several quotes in the play showing The Ghost motivating Hamlet such as “But know, thou noble youth, /The serpent that did sting thy father’s life /Now wears his crown...”. And this also shocked Hamlet, to which he replied, “ O, my prophetic soul! My uncle!” (Shakespeare, p.59).

Gertrude

The song that will be apt for Gertrude is “A mother’s love” by Gina Hill (Hill). The lyric of the song says “She gave me life, showed me what was right, taught me not to fight the battles that weren’t worth the fight...” Gertrude loved her son Hamlet. She did not want her to leave and go away from her and get into things that are not worthy enough. Once in play she says to Hamlet “Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet., I pray thee stay with us, go not to Wittenberg.” (Shakespeare, p.29) The song states that a mother does not want her child to do things that are not good for him/her.   The same is with Gertrude. No doubt Gertrude married her husband’s murderer, but she did not know about it. And it can be guessed then even if she knows about it later, love for her child would have increased as she must have started to hate her second husband.

Ophelia

The most apt song for Ophelia would be “I knew you were trouble” by Taylor Swift (Swift). The song is for those who are on the verge of getting hurt or get hurt by the boy she is in love with. The lyric of the song that may fit here is “I knew his world moved too fast and burned too bright.

But I just thought, how can the devil be pulling you toward someone who looks so much like an angel”. Ophelia felt more shocked and betrayed when Hamlet said “You should not have believed me...I loved you not” (Shakespeare, p.131). Upon which Ophelia says “I was more deceived”. Here, the breaking of the heart of Ophelia can be understood.

Laertes

Laertes wanted to take revenge for the death of his father. He swears that he will find and kill the person who did it. The quote from the play is “How came he dead? I'll not be juggled with: /To hell, allegiance! vows, to the blackest devil!” (Shakespeare, p.215). He was filled with revenge to such an extent that he tried to leave no stone unturned. He dipped his sword in poison and waited for Hamlet. The song that seems apt for Laertes can be “I wanna fight” from TKO (TKO). The lyrics seem self explanatory, “Did you hear what I say /Hey, hey, hey never ever see the light of day /Explanations are overdue /All you said is comin' back to you“

Polonius

Polonius does not treat Ophelia well in the play. He, rather, uses her to test his assumptions regarding the madness of Hamlet. Ophelia felt manipulated by male, whether it was her father or her boyfriend. The quote from the play, “Which bewept to the ground did not go / With true-love showers” depicts the same (Shakespeare, p.207). The most apt song for this situation would be “Papa Was A Rolling Stone” by The Temptations (Riser). The song depicts a child getting cheated by the father. 

Horatio

Horatio was the only true friend of Hamlet in the play who never betrayed him. The song that will be apt for him will be “Lean on me” by Bill withers (Withers). The lyrics of the song “Lean on me when you're not strong, I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on” fits properly with Horatio’s situation. Horatio is tasked with carrying the story of Hamlet in Denmark. This is apparent from a quote from the play, “And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain, To tell my story”  (Shakespeare, p.283). Hamlet tells Horatio to live longer in the world and tell his story. 

References

Brown, James. "The Payback". Knockout, New York, 1981, https://open.spotify.com/album/49vpRrUcAr2bj6aYQr0Cfl?autoplay=true&v=L. Accessed 5 Apr 2020.

Flag, Black. "My War". SST (023), California, 1984, https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kYpp9nYw45WJ--TiUpa7Xi0eDm9vwmodc. Accessed 5 Apr 2020.

Hill, Gena. Mother's Day Song: A Mother's Love- Gena Hill (Lyric Video). 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V4PM1oL7Xs. Accessed 5 Apr 2020.

Riser, Paul. "Papa Was A Rolling Stone". Gordy G 7121, Michigan, 1984, https://open.spotify.com/album/6jIIggnjrGQaf3UtGhGYzg?highlight=spotify:track:5Lno0hPhvo7BzXVLQzDIS3. Accessed 5 Apr 2020.

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy Of Hamlet. 1st ed., 1599.

Swift, Taylor. "I Knew You Were Trouble". Big Machine, United States, 2012, https://open.spotify.com/track/0ciHz919LVKoH4zgxyMPZ9?autoplay=true&v=T. Accessed 5 Apr 2020.

TKO. I Wanna Fight. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7UjpNfhJVM. Accessed 5 Apr 2020.

West, Kanye. "Heartless". Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam, Burbank, 2008, https://open.spotify.com/album/3WFTGIO6E3Xh4paEOBY9OU?highlight=spotify:track:4EWCNWgDS8707fNSZ1oaA5. Accessed 5 Apr 2020.

Withers, Bill. "Lean On Me". Sussexx, 1972, https://open.spotify.com/album/0XmgSYx9bj4sqpcXVgKs2C?highlight=spotify:track:5zCJvrT3C7cIfHsR5iG95l. Accessed 5 Apr 2020.