General Fiction posted February 25, 2018


Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted
The tangled tale of a dysfunctional family (a synopsis)

No Wonder Hamlet Was a Basket Case

by Ogden


(Dedicated to those who found Shakespeare boring, and wish they had patience to unravel 'Hamlet.' It's still thorny, but now It will take only a couple of minutes to slog through. Hang in there.)



Although Hamlet regretted killing Polonius, the troublemaking voyeur and eavesdropper - Laertes, nevertheless was pissed off at him, Polonius being Laertes' father, and all. And Ophelia, Polonius' daughter, wasn't happy either, and was considerably befuddled. She loved the old man, but she loved Hamlet, too, and to make matters worse, Hamlet, with unforgivably bad timing, treated her poorly, calling her a whore - as if Laertes, Ophelia's brother, needed a bigger gripe against Hamlet. When Laertes found out that the unglued Ophelia, who had a nervous breakdown after her father's death on the sword of her beloved Hamlet, had drowned herself, in my opinion, it was the last straw, as far as Laertes was concerned. (Remember that.) But, the scheming Claudius - Hamlet's uncle, and the murderer of his own brother, Hamlet's father, and by rules of succession, then King of Denmark, and now Hamlet's step-father after marrying the widow Gertrude, Hamlet's mother - threw explosive fuel on the already blazing fire. (I warned that this is a tangled tale.) Certain that Hamlet knew of the murder, and fearing the young prince, he treacherously arranged a duel between Laertes and Hamlet, and slipped Laertes some snake venom to put on the tip of his blade. Laertes, who was a bad sport, took pleasure in using the poison, eventually killing Hamlet, but not before all hell broke loose, with almost all of the people in the play killing each other, and Claudius accidentally poisoning Gertrude before Hamlet eventually got around to killing him, just in the nick of time, before finally expiring. Horatio, Hamlet's only true friend, dissuaded by Hamlet from joining him in death, survived the unpleasantness, and lived to tell the tale. Then, a guy named Fortinbras, a distant relative, with no business in this tragedy whatsoever, nevertheless, acceded  to the throne, finding Denmark in a mess. So much so, that Shakespeare washed his hands of the whole thing, and didn't even waste his time on a sequel. 




Best Served Cold writing prompt entry
Writing Prompt
Write a flash fiction tale of REVENGE. Maximum 800 words. This can be in any genre and can range from a light-hearted prank to a murderous act of vengeance. Clever twists and irony encouraged.
Pays one point and 2 member cents.


Save to Bookcase Promote This Share or Bookmark
Print It View Reviews

You need to login or register to write reviews. It's quick! We only ask four questions to new members.


© Copyright 2024. Ogden All rights reserved. Registered copyright with FanStory.
Ogden has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.