{"id":1539,"date":"2025-11-03T15:59:34","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T20:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqlit\/?p=1539"},"modified":"2025-11-03T15:59:34","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T20:59:34","slug":"so-basically-prior-is-hamlet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqlit\/2025\/11\/03\/so-basically-prior-is-hamlet\/","title":{"rendered":"So basically Prior is Hamlet\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Angels In America<\/em> uses humor to add levity to a deeply emotional crisis in the US. This strategic usage of comedic relief reveals a similar structure to the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet<\/em>. When comparing the two pieces they both give the audience a break from the heavy and dark content while conveying a deeper message that would otherwise be difficult for audiences to absorb raw. Converting the message into an entertaining piece allows for the message to be more accessible to a wider audience. Angels in America<\/em> has strategic comedic relief much like when the gravediggers in hamlet make light of Ophelias\u2019s suicide, a serious and uncomfortable subject while also glorifying their professions as gravediggers. (Hamlet<\/em>, Act 5. Scene1) Hamlet<\/em> detracts from the serious nature of the subject of death just as Angels in America<\/em> detracts from the uncomfortable and painful subject of the AIDS crisis in America.<\/p>\n

Furthermore Hamlet<\/em> himself is much like our Prior Walter using witty and sarcastic comebacks in their unfortunate circumstances. Prior Walter who is suffering but undoubtedly funny is one of the plays biggest comedic reliefs even though he is in one of the worst conditions, symptomatic with aids and understanding of his ultimate early demise. Prior when arguing with Louis responds to Louis\u2019s serious discussion of law with thick sarcasm \u201cI like this; very zen its \u2026 reassuringly incomprehensible and useless. We who are about to die thank you.\u201d (Act 1. Scene 8) The play’s dark humor shows some of the characters resilience and strength in their ability to find humor amidst the overwhelming tragedy surrounding their lives during the AIDS epidemic.<\/p>\n

Prior also carries a message for this story as he has received a \u201cprophecy from the 8 vaginad angel\u201d(Act 2. Scene 2) much like when a spirit came to Hamlet<\/em>. (Act 1. Scene 5) This interaction is a point of revelation for both characters and will influence their actions through the second half of the play and impact the overall message that they hold for the entire story. While priors story is not the only main focus in Angles in America<\/em> the dark humor and relief he brings will have a more widespread impact on an audience as his comedic relief breaks the heavy story into bite sized pieces that is more appealing to a diverse audience that might otherwise be uncomfortable or unwilling to hear the story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Angels In America uses humor to add levity to a deeply emotional crisis in the US. This strategic usage of comedic relief reveals a similar structure to the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet. When comparing the two pieces they both give the audience a break from the heavy and dark content while conveying a deeper message that … Continue reading So basically Prior is Hamlet\u2026<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5702,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[344663],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall-2025"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5702"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1539"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1542,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1539\/revisions\/1542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}