Striding down the road, I ponder what seeing my first play will be like. Will the play be comedic? Will it be horrific? No, Shakespeare wrote it so it must be brilliant. As I’m slowly walking into the Globe Theatre, I see it. I see the stage, the open sky, and the actors getting ready for the big show. I’m beginning to feel anxious about seeing the play when I decide to pay the large sum of coins to sit on the stage. The light from the sky will start to fade soon, so they must get the show underway. Just as the doors are closing to the theatre, the action begins. There’s a woman sitting next to me who insists on exuberantly speaking while I watch the fascinating Hamlet. I can smell the foul nuts on her breath while she is explaining all the wonderful times she had when her son would take her to the plays, but now since he is one of the actors she gets front seat on the stage for no additional cost. I now wish I wouldn’t have paid the little coins I had left over to have this woman in my ear all night. However, as her son saunters on stage I realize how much she adores him and all of his success – something I wish my own mother would have felt.
All of my Noble class neighbors are sitting around me laughing and having a grand time, while I of the poor clergy attempt to listen to the one play I’ve had the money to see. I hear the old man behind me screaming at the actor who plays Claudius, to be a man and show genuine human feelings. Surprisingly, the woman next to me has quieted down, something which hasn’t happened the whole night. This gives me a chance to watch the play and get my coin’s worth. As the play continues on, I begin to feel sadness for the characters – Hamlet in disgust of his mother for her sexuality, Ophelia’s madness and Gertrude’s love for attention. I don’t understand why these characters are so selfish. Hamlet has all the riches in the world from being the Prince of Denmark; he has his love for Ophelia. What more would he need? The play is ending when the same woman who has been sitting next to me all afternoon, arises from her seat to clap ecstatically for her son. While observing the play, I took note of the many obvious mistakes he made, but to her that doesn’t matter. I watch as they take their time walking out of the theatre while she tells him her favorite scenes.
Stepping out of the exquisite theatre and onto the street makes me forget where I am. Hamlet was beautiful, well the part I did get to see. I understand why everyone takes pleasure in the many plays of Shakespeare. My favorite character from Hamlet was Laertes because of his passion. His foil to the cynical Hamlet, who is too full of hatred to actually think about what he is doing, is a captivating part. I finally remember where I am supposed to be going when I look back on the woman who sat next to me. I wish I would have treated her with more respect, learned more about her, and maybe even have befriended her. I have a plan. I’ll save up my coins for the next time a Shakespeare play is on stage and I’ll meet new people. I’ll learn to become a better person, a better daughter. I’ll see so many amazing works of Shakespeare. Now though, I just plan on getting back home.
