8/30/16 "To be or not to be" Hamlet

Reread Hamlet's "to be or not to be" soliloquy. Then reread the encounter between him and Ophelia. How would you stage this scene? How should Hamlet deliver his lines and how should Ophelia react? Does she know her father is spying? Is she helpless and afraid or angry? Does Hamlet get in her face? Touch her?

Because of the dark nature of Hamlet's "to be or not to be" soliloquy, I would stage Ophelia with a pained expression and anxious demeanor; considering her strong feelings for Hamlet, I would assume she would feel worried as he is talking about his inner conflict with his suicidal thoughts. I believe that Ophelia does not know that her father is spying, because I feel that her character is somewhat gullible, and easy to manipulate. I feel as though Hamlet would deliver his lines in this part as if he is talking as two different parts of himself, going back and forth between wanting to continue living, and wanting to die. 

The following encounter between Ophelia and Hamlet, I believe, would be staged with Hamlet very calmly explaining to Ophelia that he never loved her. For him to be able to state it this way, I feel would help further paint him as a madman, and enhance his acting role, which he did not see as fit during his last soliloquy. I think that Hamlet would be distanced from her, not getting in her face or touching her, as he is trying to sound definitive and set in the idea of never having loved Ophelia. I could picture Ophelia being nervous, and perhaps jittery, as he declares that he had been deceiving her into thinking they were in love, and then perhaps breaking down when Hamlet insists she should join a nunnery. Ophelia would be visibly shaken. 

8/28/16 Act 2 of Hamlet

Summarize what happened in Act 2 (both scenes) What have we now learned about Polonius' character? How do we feel about him? What about Ophelia? What new characters or isses have been raised? How is Hamlet's character developing? Act 2 Scene 1 begins with Polonius sending Reynaldo off to France to monitor Laertes and report back to him on his son's behavior while he is away from home. From this interaction, we learn that Polonius enjoys knowing what is going on at all times, and is a bit of a "helicopter parent", as we would say today. However, Polonius also instructs Reynaldo to suggest and propagate rumors about his son to see if the public accepts or rejects the rumors. This highlights that Polonius has a manipulative side, and makes me wonder to what extent he is truly looking out for his son (and later Hamlet), or if he has malicious intent.  Following Reynaldo's exit, Ophelia enters and tells her father of her strange encounter with Hamlet, in which we learn that Hamlet is acting mad. Ophelia seems extremely affected by what occurred, which leads me to believe her character could be either gullible, or extremely sensitive. This is how women of the era were seen and portrayed, so I feel this could make sense. Polonius declares that Hamlet must be madly in love with Ophelia, and immediately runs off to the King and Queen to share his idea with them. This reinforces the idea that Polonius likes to meddle in the affairs of others. Act 2 Scene 2 opens with the King and Queen welcoming Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, some school friends of Hamlet's. We learn that the King and Queen aim to use his friends to dig some information out of Hamlet as to why he is acting strangely. I wonder if this was because the King in some way suspects that Hamlet will betray him.  Polonius shares his ideas with the King, and then suggests that they spy on Hamlet to see if his madness stems from his feelings for Ophelia. The King concedes to attempting the plan, and Polonius is content. Polonius then goes to speak to Hamlet, who insults him repeatedly.  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern speak to Hamlet, who sees right through their intentions. They admit to spying on him, and he tells them that he is acting strangely because he is greatly saddened. His friends believe that the acting troupe will make him feel better. Hamlet is impressed by the troupe, and asks if they can perform a certain play, that Hamlet will amend with extra lines. He is going to see if a play about someone killing his brother for the throne will garner a reaction from the King, to create evidence that the King killed Hamlet's father.  Later, when Hamlet is alone, he is sad and frustrated because he is not as good of an actor as anyone from the troupe, even when he is going through a very real situation. His soliloquy is self-deprecating, and he finally resolves to his idea of testing the King with the play. We see a different, more stressed side of Hamlet through his soliloquy, and we can see the toll that his plan for revenge is taking on him.

8/24/16 Act 2 of Hamlet

Read back through the first couple of scenes of Act 2, specifically Hamlet's two incidents of "madness." What's he doing? Why does he act that way toward Ophelia? Why does he say and do what he does with Polonius? What are we to make of this "antic disposition" of his?

Hamlet behaves abnormally with Ophelia, grabbing her wrist and stroking her face without speaking, and then walking out the door while facing her. He was also unkempt, and looked bewildered. He acts this way towards Ophelia, I believe, because she will inform others, such as Polonius, of his behavior. I believe that Hamlet's goal here is to get as many people as possible to believe that he is going out of his mind, so that they will not suspect that he is trying to exact revenge on Claudius for killing his father. 

With Polonius, Hamlet acts completely obnoxious and immaturely makes fun of him. I believe that he suspects that Polonius was sent to watch his behavior, thus he acts erratically to throw Polonius off, which will in turn throw off Claudius. His behavior allows him to speak openly and gives him an excuse to act out, which I trust that he will do in later acts to avenge his father's death and get away with it. I suspect that Hamlet has a plan already, and that this madness is carefully calculated. 

8/22/16 Act 1 of Hamlet

1. Write a short summary of what happened in each of the 5 scenes of Act 1, paying attention to a) what happened; b) who appeared and what we learned about his or her character; c) what issues or themes or questions were raised in each scene; and d) any patterns or trends in theme or image or mood you see appearing.

In scene 1, we meet Barnardo, Francisco, Marcellus, and Horatio. The first three are guards, while Horatio is a scholar, and friend of Hamlet. The character encounter the ghost for the third and fourth time, and are perplexed by its appearance and its possible reasons for showing itself to them. The mood is dark, tense, and mysterious. At the end of this scene, the reader wonders what the ghost's motives are, and whether it truly is the recently deceased king. 

In scene 2, we are introduced to King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, Polonius, Laertes, and Hamlet. We learn that Claudius has recently taken over the throne, and married Queen Gertrude, the widow of the previous king, and mother of Hamlet. Claudius is the brother of the deceased king, which makes him Hamlet's uncle. We learn of the impending threats from Fortinbras, and Claudius sends Cornelius and Voltemand to scope out the situation. As Hamlet speaks to his uncle, his uncle questions why "the clouds still hang on [him]," [line 67] establishing that Hamlet is still grieving for his father. Claudius and Gertrude somehow seem to have moved past the King's death, which Hamlet notes. Hamlet is not permitted to return to his studies in Wittenberg. Horatio tells Hamlet of the ghost's appearance, and that it may be an apparition of his father. Hamlet says he will speak to it, which brings up the question again of whether the ghost is his father or not. 

In scene 3, Ophelia, Hamlet's love interest, enters. Her brother Laertes insists that Hamlet doesn't mean what he says to Ophelia, which their father Polonius reiterates. Polonius tells Ophelia not to meet with Hamlet again. There is a tone of warning in their speeches, leading to a tense mood which makes me wonder why they believe Hamlet would be lying to her.

In scene 4, Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus attempt once again to make contact with the ghost. It flees the scene, and the group follows it. They are nervous, and the scene takes place at night, giving it a mysterious and perhaps ominous mood. Will the ghost speak to Hamlet? We find out in scene 5.

In scene 5, Hamlet is able to speak to the ghost, and it tells him that it is indeed his father, and that he was murdered by King Claudius, who covered up his death by blaming a snake bite. Hamlet swears that he will exact revenge on the King, and informs Horatio and Marcellus of the situation. He makes the pair swear that they will not tell a soul what his father told him. Once again, this confrontation with the ghost takes place at night, which gives a mood of mystery. I want to know how Hamlet is going to avenge his father's death, and what will unfold. 

2. Find one example from each scene where appearance does not match reality. Why is each of these important?

In scene 1, Barnardo may believe that Francisco is the ghost, because he asks "who's there?" [line 1] This is quickly resolved, but is important because we see how apprehenxive the guards are at the chance of a possible reappearance of the ghost.

In scene 2, King Claudius says that he has been greatly upset by the death of the previous king, but we later learn from the ghost that he was the one who killed him. Claudius is trying to cover up the fact that he killed the previous king to gain the throne, and is important because it drives the plot of the entire play.

In scene 3, Ophelia's brother and father both tell her that Hamlet is lying to her about his affections for her. This most likely does not match reality, as Ophelia is established in the Characters page of the play as Hamlet's love interest. We wonder why her family wants her to stay away from Hamlet. 

In scene 4, Hamlet states that he is unsure whether the ghost wants to "horridly shake our disposition" [line 61]. We later learn that the ghost means no harm to Hamlet or any of the good people, but wants Hamlet to exact revenge on King Claudius. This is once again important because it drives the plot of the play.

In scene 5, we learn that the previous king's death was a set up. It appeared that he was bitten by a serpent, but in reality, he was poisoned by King Claudius. This is important because we finally learn the true cause of his death.

3. In Scene 4 we hear “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” and in Scene 5, “The time is out of joint.” As a result, what sort of theme or motif might we anticipate being important from here on out?

From here on out, we may be approaching a theme of darkness or a motif of death and tragedy. These lines sound like foreshadowing to the buildup of a major event that could be a pivotal point of the play. The connotation of the word "rotten" gives me a mental image of complete and total decay of Denmark, which was set into motion by Claudius's murder of the previous king. 

4. What sorts of connections do we see emerging between family and politics?

In this monarchy, we see that politics are perhaps in the way of meaningful family relationships and instill jealousy among family members. King Claudius killed his own brother to gain the throne, and married his brother's wife. Power corrupts peoples' minds to a point where they would even kill their own family members to achieve it. Family appears to mean little to King Claudius. 

8/17/16 First 90 Lines of Hamlet

1. What do we know so far? What's been established about the situation, and about Barnardo, Marcellus, and Horatio?

2. What is the mood of this first scene? How is that established?

3. What questions have been raised or remain to be answered?

So far, we know that Barnardo and Marcellus are guards, which we know because Barnardo takes the place of Francisco on guard, and Marcellus comes to Barnardo's aid. Horatio is a scholar, which we come to understand because they ask him to speak to the ghost, and it was believed that ghosts spoke Latin. We know that a ghost has been seen twice before the opening of the play; Horatio says "what, has this thing appeared again tonight?" [line 26] and the guards are all on edge because of this. When the ghost appears, the guards remark that it looks just like the recently deceased king.

The mood of the first scene is established through the way that we can sense the fear that the guards have. Francisco mentions that he is "sick at heart" [line 9], and when the ghost appears, Horatio says it "harrows [him] with fear and wonder." [line 51] The scene also takes place at night, which is a common symbol in literature for mystery or evil. The mood of the scene is tense and mysterious.

I am anxious to continue reading because I want to find out what the ghost potentially has to say. I have a feeling that there is foreshadowing in Horatio's statement that "this bodes some strange eruption to our state" [line 80] and that this will be a driving factor of the plot of the play. We still don't know if the ghost is actually the deceased king, and we don't know whether it will indeed speak to the characters.