When Hikaru Ijuin's shocking comment turns the lecturer pale - Behind the scenes of Shakespeare's "Hamlet"

2023年09月04日

「100分de名著」(NHK Eテレ)で取り上げる作品を九年にわたり選び続けてきたプロデューサー、秋満吉彦さんが最も戦慄を覚えたのは、現代社会のありようを言い当てる「名著の予知能力」でした。2023年5月31日に発売された新書『名著の予知能力』は、まったく新しい名著の読み方を提案する書。(English) Producer Yoshihiko Akimitsu, who has been selecting works to be featured in "100 minutes de masterpieces'' (NHK E-tele) for nine years, was most horrified by the "predictive ability of masterpieces'' to predict the state of modern society. The new book "Predictive Ability of Masterpieces", released on May 31, 2023, proposes an entirely new way of reading masterpieces.

When Hikaru Ijuin's shocking comment turns the lecturer pale - Behind the scenes of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and "100 Minutes of Masterpiece".

The face of the leading Shakespeare scholar who represents Japan and is highly regarded internationally turned pale. Or rather, his expression was frozen.

Shoichiro Kawai is a professor at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. He is a genius chosen by me, who had fallen in love with many books to give a commentary on Hamlet. It was an anomaly, as the brilliant commentary, full of erudition and passion for Shakespeare, was understood by all the staff.

Mr Kawai, finally regaining his composure, said,

"I think I have read most of the literature and papers on Hamlet research, including those from overseas, but this is my first time interpreting it. But I think your interpretation is 'yes'.

What happened?

The moderator, Hikaru Ijuin, casually commented on a line about Claudius, the main character Hamlet hates as an enemy of his father, and temporarily froze Kawai's thoughts.

Mr. Ijuin's intuitive comment causes an epiphany, and prominent researchers and writers lose their minds momentarily. How many times have I experienced such a moment?

Moreover, this moment is the most incredible absolute pleasure of the "100 minutes of masterpieces" programme. The teachers, who were also inspired by it, made one comment after another that was beyond imagination.

The lines from Claudius that became a problem this time are as follows.

"Words fly in the air, and hearts sink heavily. Words without heart do not reach heaven". - Hamlet by Shakespeare

This is the last line of the scene in which Claudius confesses to killing Hamlet's father, the previous king.

In the confession room, he shows how much he has confessed, and at the end, Claudius sticks out his tongue and says, "What the hell, this is a lie." It means that this kind of repentance is foolish.

Hamlet hides in the shadows and watches this. If he kills him in the middle of his confession, he will send Claudius to Heaven.

Hamlet is dissuaded from sending Claudius to heaven because that would be problematic for him.

But Claudius hadn't repented ever.

Poor Hamlet has been described as a scene that leaves the audience feeling frustrated that they should have killed him here.

However, Mr. Ijuin has a new interpretation:

I'm afraid to say something profound, so I often hide my embarrassment and say, 'What did I say?' after telling the truth.

In other words, Claudius isn't sticking his tongue out and saying, "I told you like this, but it's a lie.''

On the contrary, "I can't go to heaven like this. You can't be forgiven by repentance, can you?" Can't you interpret it as meaning that you are sincerely repenting?

Shoichiro Kawai turned pale when he heard this interpretation.

This is an excellent interpretation in which the character of Claudius is not just a villain but a fascinating presence with extremely complex shadows.

In the past, Mr. Ijuin used these words to describe a situation in which even top researchers would not have come up with interpretations.

10)

"Encounter with Ignorance"

It references Steven Spielberg's film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Mr. Ijuin explained it like this.

"Precisely because I am a junior high school graduate with no education or knowledge, the teachers always put their heart and soul into confronting me. When they meet, an unexpected chemical reaction occurs.

If you put what you intuitively feel into words without worrying or holding back, you will end up with words that will surprise even the best teachers. In response, the teacher will say more words than you can imagine. The most exciting thing about this show is the resonance. "

11)

Mr. Ijuin's words are too modest.

He transitions that he has cultivated over many years as a radio personality, the lives of many many have come into contact with him, and the greed to use various experiences, even holidays, as a time for input. I believe this is an interpretation made possible by the vastness of Hikaru Ijuin's human base.

After the recording, Mr Kawai whispered to me quietly.

12)

"Akimitsu-san, I might be able to write a paper on this story."

My body was shaking, too. Since becoming a producer, I have seen the power of this programme. It is a "resonant space" where all the elements, such as the masterpiece, the lecturer and the presenter, the animation, the reading, the narration, etc., resonate and become overtones.

An unimaginable "event" takes place. I've never seen anything like it.

13)

Shakespeare's "Honest Revelation"

The "Hamlet" series continued to produce fascinating interpretations one after the other as if someone had accelerated it.

There is no end to writing about them, but I would like to write about the interpretation that will reappear and determine the programme's policy afterwards. This interpretation revolves around the following lines.

"You people who are pale and trembling at this event are like the silent actors or spectators in this play".

14)

These are the words that Hamlet, who is about to die after finally avenging his father's king in a duel, throws at the spectators, who are watching in amazement. Thinking about it in a standard way, Shoichiro Kawai said.

"This is called 'meta-theatre' and is one of Shakespeare's techniques for showing the framework of the play itself."

15)

In other words, the line "You, with pale faces and trembling at this event, are the silent actors or spectators of this play.

At the same time, it is also a line thrown at us, the modern audience, watching the play "Hamlet" in real life.

16)

This line suddenly pulls us back into reality when immersed in the play.

"You in the real audience there. Aren't you watching the play 'Hamlet' as something that has nothing to do with you?"

17)

We feel the illusion that Hamlet is pointing at us, "Are you just following your destiny, or are you risking your life to change something?"

What is the power of these words?

Mr. Ijuin described this technique as "Honest Revelation" and conveyed his impression.

18)

"I feel that the actors and I have slipped into this world, and we, the audience, think that we have fallen into Shakespeare's world. The depth of the story expands all at once. You can't do that in a film."

19)

Masterpieces come to us from beyond time and space. If we read deeply into the background of the time in which it was written and the thoughts that supported the author, a masterpiece can have the power to shake our lives strongly today.

No, that's not the case; books that initially had such power are "masterpieces".

20)

"Hamlet", a story from more than four hundred years ago, has become a modern story, and more than that, my own.

"Hamlet", which has become my flesh and blood, will bind my life in the future. Isn't that the experience of reading a masterpiece?

21)

At that time, I felt connected to the deep history that humanity has created. A masterpiece is only a masterpiece if it is revived today. That's how it's been read over the years. It was an event that made me feel that.