Zhen (13) and I have been reading a kid-friendly retelling of Hamlet. I found this great find at our local public library!
I thought reading Hamlet For Kids (by Lois Burdett) together would be a fun way to introduce Zhen to Shakespeare without overwhelming her with heavy Elizabethan English.
Today, we read the part of the drama when Hamlet sees his father’s ghost and the ghost tells him Claudius killed Hamlet’s father.
“What does prophetic soul mean?” Zhen asked after reading the passage.
I broke it down for her by asking her to think of what a prophet means and what they do.
I explained, “So, this is basically Hamlet’s poetic way of saying, ‘I knew it! I knew it was my Uncle Claudius!’ Hamlet was suspicious of his uncle, and now the ghost has confirmed those suspicions.”
“Ohhhh, so Claudius is sus!” Zhen exclaimed. 🤣
We both started laughing, and I said, “Well…yeah! I guess King Claudius is sus!”
Such a Gen Alpha way to explain Shakespeare! Haha 😄😎 But it made me happy Zhen made the connection!
💜 XO
