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Blink 3 von 12 - Eine kurze Geschichte der Menschheit
von Yuval Noah Harari
A Young Prince’s Tragic Descend Into Madness and Revenge
Hamlet opens on a cold winter night on the ramparts of Elsinore Castle.
A nervous soldier keeps watch. He hears movement. “Who’s there?” he shouts. “Nay, answer me,” comes the reply: “Stand and unfold yourself.”
Reassured by the familiar voice, he lowers his weapon. It’s a fellow guard, come to relieve him. As he leaves, he thanks his comrade-in-arms. “’Tis bitter cold,” he says, “and I am sick at heart.”
These greetings, and the parting soldier’s comment, suggest that all is not well in Denmark. Elsinore – the seat of this kingdom – is in a state of anxious anticipation.
Listening to the soldiers’ conversations, we learn about a revolt in Norway – a Danish colony during the time of the late king Hamlet. Years earlier, King Hamlet killed Fortinbras, Norway’s king, and annexed his lands. Now the younger Fortinbras, the slain king’s son, seeks vengeance, and Denmark is busily readying itself for the coming war.
A cloud hangs over those preparations. For two nights, King Hamlet’s ghost has appeared on Elsinore’s ramparts. Dressed in armor, this dreaded sight has terrified the castle’s guards. Unable to explain its purpose, they confide in Horatio, a faithful friend to the late king’s son – Prince Hamlet. Has the king come to combat “ambitious Norway” once more, if only in spirit? Horatio can’t shake the suspicion that the ghost’s fearsome grimace reveals a deeper purpose.
The strange atmosphere in Elsinore heightens that suspicion. As a soldier who’s seen the ghost says, something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
King Hamlet’s death wasn’t mourned long. Within two months, his brother, Claudius, had taken his crown and married his widow, Gertrude. As the soldiers talk of war and apparitions, the royal court is celebrating the couple’s union with wine, music, and fireworks.
It was the wedding which brought Horatio back to Denmark. In Elsinore, he finds his grief-stricken old university friend, Prince Hamlet. When we first hear Hamlet speak, we encounter a man consumed by profound sadness – and righteous anger. How swiftly his mother ceased to mourn his father! How cynically the costs of funeral and marriage were kept down by combining the two! It was, he tells Horatio, as if the food prepared for mourners one day had been thriftily repurposed for a merry banquet the next.
For Hamlet, the world has grown weary and stale; all his joy and interest in it are gone. Denmark is nothing but an unweeded garden full of things “rank and gross in nature.” His mother’s overhasty marriage is unnatural – incestuous, even. Claudius, for his part, is nothing but a lustful drunk compared to “so excellent a king” as his father was.
What, though, can Hamlet do? Claudius may be an unworthy successor, but he’s the king and Hamlet is his adopted son and heir. To publicly condemn the king and queen would be to sow division in Denmark and undermine the state whose wellbeing also rests on his actions. No, he must play the part of the dutiful prince and hold his tongue, even if it breaks his heart.
Hamlet (c. 1509-1601) is widely regarded as Shakespeare’s greatest play. A tragedy in five parts, it tells the story of Prince Hamlet, a thinker who must turn to action to avenge his father. It’s not only the finely crafted plot that’s fascinated readers and theatergoers down the centuries, though – Hamlet is also a penetrating study of the meaning of life and death.
Ich bin begeistert. Ich liebe Bücher aber durch zwei kleine Kinder komme ich einfach nicht zum Lesen. Und ja, viele Bücher haben viel bla bla und die Quintessenz ist eigentlich ein Bruchteil.
Genau dafür ist Blinkist total genial! Es wird auf das Wesentliche reduziert, die Blinks sind gut verständlich, gut zusammengefasst und auch hörbar! Das ist super. 80 Euro für ein ganzes Jahr klingt viel, aber dafür unbegrenzt Zugriff auf 3000 Bücher. Und dieses Wissen und die Zeitersparnis ist unbezahlbar.
Extrem empfehlenswert. Statt sinnlos im Facebook zu scrollen höre ich jetzt täglich zwischen 3-4 "Bücher". Bei manchen wird schnelle klar, dass der Kauf unnötig ist, da schon das wichtigste zusammen gefasst wurde..bei anderen macht es Lust doch das Buch selbständig zu lesen. Wirklich toll
Einer der besten, bequemsten und sinnvollsten Apps die auf ein Handy gehören. Jeden morgen 15-20 Minuten für die eigene Weiterbildung/Entwicklung oder Wissen.
Viele tolle Bücher, auf deren Kernaussagen reduziert- präzise und ansprechend zusammengefasst. Endlich habe ich das Gefühl, Zeit für Bücher zu finden, für die ich sonst keine Zeit habe.
Hol dir mit Blinkist die besten Erkenntnisse aus mehr als 7.000 Sachbüchern und Podcasts. In 15 Minuten lesen oder anhören!
Jetzt kostenlos testenBlink 3 von 12 - Eine kurze Geschichte der Menschheit
von Yuval Noah Harari