Hamlet, the Supernatural, and Juxtapositons

Tonight my wife and I went to see the premiere of Northwest Classical Theatre Company's performance of Hamlet.  It was a wonderful production that I highly recommend to you if you're in the Portland area; however, my goal is not to review the production but to trace some genre-related thoughts it inspired in me. But I can't resist saying the actor who played Polonius was one of the best I've seen.

Why am I discussing Shakespeare on a genre fiction blog? Let's start there!

I agree with the obvious argument against the relevance of this topic for my blog: Shakespeare is not a "fiction" writer; he is a playwright. His obvious medium difference aside, when viewed through the lens of genres like science-fiction, fantasy, and horror--in a word, through the lens of the "supernatural"--Shakespeare become relevant. He has composed with this play a narrative of the supernatural. We must remember Hamlet opens with a ghost encounter.

Rather than belabor defending the relevance of my topic, let me test this hypothesis: This play has a lot to teach us aspiring genre writers. Hamlet's summary of his encounter with his father's spirit in Act I, Scene V, addressed to his friend Horatio, pretty much sums up a first principle of fantasy, science fiction, and horror:

"There are things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Of course you don't have to believe this in order to a science fiction writer (H.P. Lovecraft considered himself a staunch materialist/atheist), your work is necessarily informed by a version of this idea. Weird fiction--by which I mean fantasy, horror, or science fiction--is defined by its deviation from a kind of reality principle. The core element of its aesthetic effect derives from its flagrant disregard for daily, quotidian, mundane existence .

But here is the rub: I don't think weird fiction's power comes exclusively from deviations from a reality principle. There's a more insightful way of articulating and therefore thinking about this. The power of weird fiction comes from a juxtaposition of (1) quotidian, everyday reality with  (2) the fantastic/the unreal. In other words, the aesthetic power of science-fiction, fantasy, and horror derives from a marked contrast between the strange and the normal. If you create a secondary world where unicorns are as plentiful as deer, as common as field mice, they stop being fantastic. Contrast is the key.

Returning to Hamlet: I find it so interesting that this play that features a ghost also features a character meditating on a fundamental material nature. Yes, I'm referring to the famous "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio" speech with the jawless skull.

Exercise: Brainstorm a scene or scenario in no more than 100 words where you describe or relate an encounter between (1) the mundane and (2) the supernatural. You can write this as a soliloquy spoken by a character who is relating a story to another character. Or, you can write this as a summary of a larger project--a short story, a novel. Either way, set it aside and save it. It might be useful later.