John Stubbs

The Awakening of Man Hamlet John Stubbs

With stunningly original illustrations by Kevin Watts, The Awakening of Man Hamlet is psychological commentary at its finest. Reminding us at the very beginning that Hamlet's main message is about awakening, what it is and, most importantly, what it is not: the author John Stubbs points out that you cannot awaken, for example, just by behaving differently from now on, that is by "adding virtue" to your resume. Why? The author explains: "Because your old self will absorb the new and make it its own, thus corrupting it... Consequently, you have to remove the old stock completely - your entire old self has to go." Letting this first message resonate, the author then points out the second, equally disquieting message: "In order to completely remove the old self you must even remove the part which is doing the removing." That is why by the end of Hamlet, with the exception of Horatio cast in the role of being the messenger, every major character is dead. Nothing of the old self remains -- not even its highest and most noble part, Hamlet. Be or Not Be.