HAMLET, THE PRINCE OF DENMARK, “UNDER TRIAL”

De Tampau Maria Amelia

Prologue(Argument)

Hamlet:
They called me “prince of Denmark”
They called me “under trial”
They want to show I’m the dark
Side of me, myself and I’ll
Prove I am the one
Who tests the man and plan
A play to make all of them
Confess their deeds to a mad man.

Judge:
What he did, what was done
Were the deeds of the lawful one?
Was he the son that sought revenge
Over his father death until the hedge?
Is he the prince of Denmark who
Through his deeds slew his foe?
Was he the usurper who only acted
In order to obtain the throne he wanted?
He is a prince, a son is too.
He had a strategy or two
Or more as he the madness played
And theatre used to reveal the dead.
And all those who were near him and evil
To test were put like in the Medieval.
………………………………..
Now the lawyers may approach
Near me, beside the bench.

The District at’torney:

Now, your honour, we shall see
The truth that is meant to be.
How this Hamlet, prince of Denmark
Behaved not like he should have
How his acts were of a common
How he was no prince, but man.

The defense lawyer:

He is son, son to a father,

1
Who is worthy of revenge
And he couldn’t let another
Make the justice he did pledge.

Judge:
Now we call Hamlet, the prince
As a witness to his deeds

Hamlet:
In front of God I swear
To be honest and be fair

The District at’torney:

Is it worthy for a prince
Not to respect his country law?
To question everything he saw
Follow a shadow by all means?
To find a purpose in the shadow’s
Words of pain of father’s woes
Is it worthy for a prince
Just to follow his own law
Disregarding all the things
Tell us, we would love to know!

Hamlet:
All I wanted was to see
If the shadow’s really ”HE”
Or my father rests in peace
In my heart and memories.
And I’ve proved it in a form
In the play that they performed.

The District at’torney:

To prepare a sinful play
To convince yourself this way
Was it legal for a prince
Not to trust and do such things?

Hamlet:
I hoped the ghost lied to me
I trusted in king’s purity

The District at’torney:

Tell me please, what do you think
Is it normal for a prince not to follow his own king?
Why to doubt his acts

2
And try to see how he reacts?
What did you expect to meet
The king down kissing your feet!

Hamlet:
Wasn’t treachery at all
Was the truth they covered all
Through the play I have revealed
Than I wanted the king killed.

The District at’torney:

A prince should never loose control
He should be strong and firm for all
Not overwhelmed by his own feeling
And rage himself to do such killing

Hamlet:
I killed Polonius, it’s true
Even if I didn’t want to.

The District at’torney:

You were sent in England, true?
The king wanted to get rid of you
As you put his life in danger
For all you became a stranger.

Hamlet:
I was sent, but to my death
I found out after I left

The District at’torney:

As soon as you came back,
Didn’t wait, and just attack
Laertes, Polonius son
Isn’t that what you have done?

Hamlet:
Yes, I know how I behaved
For the woman that I loved
But I couldn’t stand my rage
That’s why Laertes I engaged

The District at’torney:

Impulsive again you were
Accepting Laertes duel, sir
Not a prince is to accept

3
The impetus of hatefulness

Hamlet:
It was honor to defend
He provoked, I took a stand

The District at’torney:

It was a villainous thing
For a prince to kill his king
Is not legal, it’s unlawful
To kill a king is most awful.

Hamlet:
Claudius killed my father
He himself, no other
So I took revenge
As I made my pledge

II

The defense lawyer

It is moral that a son
Mourning his father’s death
See him just like he had done
It’s his right, it is his debt
Isn’t it?

Hamlet:
It is.

The defense lawyer

Any son would seek a method
To find out about this matter
Have you thought much about it

Hamlet:
Yes I did, indeed ,indeed

The defense lawyer

You observed with tears in heart
The hole play, each part, each part
You hoped your father wasn’t killed
By the king, but it was real
Tell me Hamlet how you felt

Hamlet:

4
Oh! I thought my heart would melt

The defense lawyer

You were sent to see your death
But returned unharmed instead
Why did the king send you to this

Hamlet:
Because he thought with me it was no peace

The defense lawyer

I will ask you one last thing
What do you think about your king

Hamlet:
I don’t care king or another
What sort of man would kill his brother
I don’t care reason or none
He killed the father of a son

III

Judge:
It’s a controversial matter
I’ll need to hear more from another
Therefore I call his mother

Gertrude:
Only the truth I’ll tell
If not ,let me burn in hell

Judge:
As a mother to a son
What you think about his plan?
Do you think he was unfair
To his king, as only heir?
Do you think his acts were lawful
Or in your mind he was awful

Gertrude:
As a mother I was sad
I thought that he got mad
And he was angry with me
Because I accepted his uncle beside me
And he scolded me for my deed
He explained where wrong could lead

5
I understood but to late
It wasn’t my fault, but fate
I am glad that by mistake
I drank the poison he was meant to take
He was right to kill the king
To restore the peace and hope to bring

Judge:
Thank you for your explanation
Now let’s hear another version

Ofelia:
On the bible now I swear
Only the truth to tell

Judge:
Ofelia you were in love with Hamlet
Your heart to beat for him you let
Tell us about how he behaved
When you thought he is to be saved
Tell the court and supreme jury
If he acted with more fury

Ofelia:
He used to send letters of love
He used to be as tender as a dove
But something changed, but not in good
He didn’t love me as he should
Instead he treated me so cold
That I felt lost, ugly and old
He killed my father, he went mad
My poor dear Hamlet, he went mad

Judge:
Now that your statement is done
Let me hear another one

Laertes :
I swear in front of the Creator
To tell the truth now and not later

Judge:
You, like Hamlet, lost a father
You should know about this matter
You wanted to take revenge

6
There for you acted strange
Step by step you planed a plot
With the king you took a sword
Which you poisoned to be certain
You will revenge the death behind the curtain

Laertes :
Oh! I’m sorry so I did
That’s the reason I was killed
His reasons I understand
I regret it’s at the end
I am son and so he is
He revenged and I am pleased

Judge:
Now Polonius will swear
As he is a man of fair

Polonius:
I swear only the truth to tell
Otherwise I’ll burn in hell

Judge:
Polonius you are a father
What do you think about this matter?

Polonius:
For the matter of the murder?
My only concern’s my daughter

IVFinal pleads:

The District at’torney:

Your honor, respected jury
Was the prince only a fury
Never, nowhere, at no time
Killing kings was not a crime
That is all that I have said
I will let you to debate

The defense lawyer

Your honor, respected jury
In a way all things are blurry
All he did was as a son
All his deeds part of a plan

7
Even the theatre stage
All of these just for revenge

Judge:
Now the jury must decide
Hamlet’s fate in our time
………………………….
The jury has decided
Hamlet is………

Bibliography: William Shakespeare, Hamlet prince of Denmark, editia a doua,Editura

Pandora M, Targoviste, 2006