Tuesday, September 6, 2016

9/6/16 Act 3 of Hamlet

Blog post: review Act 3; write a one-sentence summary of each scene; describe how each of the main characters developed or changed in this act (Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Polonius); list 2 or 3 themes that have emerged or strengthened in this act.

Scene 1: Hamlet frames himself as more crazy by telling Ophelia that he never loved her, and that she should join a nunnery, while Polonius and Claudius establish themselves as more deceptive by watching Hamlet's actions. 

Scene 2: Hamlet spies on Claudius through the play, while Claudius spies on Hamlet through Polonius. 

Scene 3: Claudius decides to send Hamlet away to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and admits to murdering his brother in an aside; Hamlet decides not to murder Claudius until he does another bad thing, so that he will not have time to confess his sins and go to Heaven. 

Scene 4: Hamlet goes to the Queen, upset with her, and kills Polonius accidentally; he also tells his mother that he is putting on an act of being crazy. 

Scene 5: The Queen reveals to Claudius that Hamlet is not truly crazy, and that he has killed Polonius, while Hamlet disposes of the body.

Themes emerging: betrayal, deceit 


1 comment:

  1. Good, but flesh out your themes a bit more so this will be helpful for review in a couple of months!

    ReplyDelete