hamlet: “my father—methinks i see my father—“

horatio: “where, my lord?”

hamlet: “in my mind's eye, horatio.”

horatio:

Just Finished Hamlet...

Ok, Horatio was 100% in love with Hamlet, right? Hear me out, and most of this occurs in the final act:

Never believe it. I am more an antique Roman than a Dane. Here's yet some liquor left. [He picks up the cup] - Horatio, Line 373-375

This is a reference to the way that, in certain circumstances (death of a loved one, a loved one being defeated, etc) Romans would sometimes resort to sort of... honor killing themselves? He was ready to DIE, to end his life THEN AND THERE, because he knew Hamlet was dying.

Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince,  And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. - Horatio, Line 397-398

Good night, old friend? Good night, buddy pal? Nope. Good night, sweet prince. Sweet prince. Let flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. That's so poetic, I'm gonna cry.

Just the fact that, rather than follow Hamlet in death as he wished, he choses to honor his final wish and carry his story, his true story, and enact his wishes, shows me that Horatio loved Hamlet a great deal. And while it's fun to read some cute homo subtype into it, I also think it's a shining example of selfless male friendship. Horatio and Hamlet were soulmates, platonic or no. Send tweet.

moodboards ➢ requested by anonymous ✗ horatio & hamlet

Shakespearian Life of a University Student [Chapter 16] 

I am writing a story where some characters from Shakespeare's plays are together in a university setting during Christmas. It’s in a form of a script. 

Say what you want about the 2023 Shakespeare in The Park production of Hamlet, but the choices made in that play WORKED. Having Hamlet wear a black hoodie and camo pants and him dramatically putting his hood up when he was pissed off was inspired. Having Horatio video tape Claudius on an iPhone camera from the side of the stage during the play within the play was hilarious. Having the play within the play be a hip hop dance number that represented the murder!?! Fantastic. Having Ophelia be a singer before she went mad and having a beautiful voice that everyone loved to listen to and then seeing her singing get worse and worse as she got nearer to death?!?! Hamlet pulling out his iphone after killing Polonius to show his mom a picture of his dad compared to a picture of Claudius and angrily swiping back and forth between the two as he said “What judgement would step from this… to this?” The crowd fucking lost it every time. Horatio singing to Hamlet as he died made me fully sob every time. The way they did the ghost on stage was so chilling and I can’t even accurately describe it, you just had to be there. Hamlet being deeply exasperated the entire time was just perfect. Hamlet and Horatio had a secret handshake. Laertes inexplicably carried an acoustic guitar case for much of the play which was very funny but also hit you with the heartbreaking implication that he had used to play while Ophelia sang and he stopped carrying it after she died. It was peak teenage-angst-hamlet and it was so dear to me. PLEASE if anyone has a recording, send it to me.

hamlet and horatio being in love for six minutes straight

don’t mind me, just going insane over the fact that in romeo and juliet, written by shakespeare in 1597, romeo chooses to drink poison rather than live in a world without his lover and then in hamlet, written by shakespeare in 1603, horatio tries to drink poison while hamlet is dying so that he won’t have to live without him.

oh my god. if the “your hearing is the last sense to go out before death” thing is true then that means that there’s a chance the last thing hamlet heard was “goodnight, sweet prince,” from horatio and then his hearing went out probably

If I had a penny for every time a bisexual prince died homoerotically in the arms of his faithful gay lover, saying their last words to them, and the lover wailing over their beloved's death in pure agony as everyone around them is dead, I'd have two pennies. Which isn't much, but it's weird that it happened twice.

thinking about andré tchaikowsky, my sweet little shakespeare-obsessed gay, who just wanted be a part the shakespearean tradition even from beyond the grave, who donated his own skull in to theatre to cement his connection to art, his death only marking his transition from artist to art

and thinking about his skull being finally used after over two decades in THAT 2008 rsc production of hamlet

and thinking about THAT MOMENT from the film version in which hamlet says the line here hung those lips that I have kiss'd I know not how oft and horatio, like the sweet little gay that he is, looks at hamlet the very moment he utters the word kiss'd

andré, this is all you ever wanted and MORE

watching horatio, the sensible—NOT PASSION’S SLAVE—lose all sensibility as he picks up the cup of poison, knowing suicide will eternally condemn him to hell.

horatio would rather be banished to hell forever than live on earth after hamlet's death.

Alright, I made the quiz; I made it in a semi-lazy way so you just get to find out what character I think you are in an, of course, in an amazingly scientific way, but that's really all it is. It's also just the "younger generation", so - Hamlet, Horatio, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Laertes and Fortinbras.

Anyway, enjoy!

no because listen. one of the major themes of hamlet is that the characters have to do the opposite of what they think will complete them, what could tie them to survival. horatio is convinced he can do anything as long as he isn’t alone (he ends the play pulled from the body of the one he loves most. he is not allowed to follow.) ophelia could do anything as long as she’s loved (she looks into hamlet’s cold face and knows the truth. unwanted and unworthy daughter. scream so they can’t make you shut your mouth.) hamlet could do anything if he could just figure out how to be okay on his own (he refuses to hold on to horatio in life, so he clings to him in dying and death. you tried to fight loneliness with chosen isolation. you created the poison and refused to drink the antidote. you were meant for laughter, but not like this.)

University Life of Shakespearian Characters [Chapter 1]

Continuation of my story Shakespearian Life of a University Student.

I took some characters from different plays and put them together in a university setting.

doomed gay intertextuality