Summary and Analysis of Hamlet - (01/21/2012)

Summary: 

  Outside the Castle in Elsinore late at night, the two watchmen and Horatio spot a ghost that resembles Old Hamlet. Upon the passing of the Old Hamlet, his widowed wife, Queen Gertrude wed her brother in law, Claudius. With great concern, Hamlet is requested to stakeout in hopes the ghost will come back. Hamlet also spotted the ghost and was beckoned by it to follow. Confirming the identity of the ghost, Hamlet was taken over with the feeling to avenge is uncle for murdering is his father. As a plan to get back at Claudius, Hamlet acts like he is crazy. However, everyone thinks that he has gone crazy because of the love he has for Ophelia. Upon Hamlet's request, an acting group is told to act out a play that displays Hamlet's theory of how Claudius killed his father. 

  Once Claudius become aware what Hamlet was trying to do he left the area quickly. Soon after, the queen calls Hamlet into her room to talk to him and there he hears some noise and without logically thinking through it he stabs the man behind the curtain thinking it is the Claudius. To his dismay, it turns out to be Polonius who is the father of Ophelia and her brother, Laertes. As a punishment, Hamlet is shipped to the England where is supposed to be killed. However when is ship is attacked by pirates, he returns back to the Elsinore. During the period of time where Hamlet is gone, Ophelia has gone crazy after learning about her father's death which resulted in her drowning. Out of impulse, Laertes reports back from France to Elsinore with an army prepared for payback. 

  Laertes and Hamlet compromise on a fencing match. On the sword that Laertes is using, the tip has poison on it which was actually Claudius' idea when they collaborated so Hamlet would die. In addition, Claudius poisoned a wine cup in case Hamlet was to win. Once the fighting begins, Laertes hits Hamlet but Hamlet also hits Laertes leaving them both to be poisoned. In the meantime, the Queen drinks out of the poisoned cup and Hamlet comes to realize that it was Claudius who was behind all this. Hamlet rushes to give in a taste of his own medicine by making him drink from the poisoned cup as well. So at the end of the play, everyone is dead except for Horatio. The Prince of Norway, Fortinbras gains control of the throne in Denmark. As a tribute to Hamlet, he gives him a solider's funeral. 

Author:

William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford, England. He wrote this play in the early 1600s. 

Setting:

This play takes place in the Denmark. It usually in the castle of the royal family of Denmark. 

Characters:

• Hamlet: Prince of Denmark
• Claudius: New King of Denmark and Hamlet's father/ Uncle.
• Old Hamlet: Hamlet's father and old King of Denmark 
• Gertrude: Hamlet's mother 
• Ophelia: Hamlet's lover
• Horatio: Hamlet's trusting and loyal best friend 
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: Hamlet's old friends who work against him
• Polonius: The king's assistant and Ophelia's father
• Laertes: Ophelia's brother 

Author's Style:

Since this is a play there is not much a narrative voice that can be observed 

Important Quotes:

 “To be, or not to be: that is the question:

  Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer

  The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune

  Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

  And by opposing end them?—To die,—to sleep—” (Act 3, Scene 1, Lines, 58-62).

  This is quote holds a deep. Hamlet contemplates the idea of living and dying. He tries to sort out the answer to if it is better live and suffer or if it is better to just die and not live a life of suffering. At the very end, Hamlet compares dying to sleep. 

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”

  This quote refers to the corruption that rests in Denmark. It indirectly refers to the crime Claudius committed and his marriage to Gertrude as it is rotting Denmark. Since this was the beginning of the play, it foreshadows the down fall due to the corruption the country faces. 

Theme:

Revenge is not the best option. 

        Through numerous examples, Shakespeare shows us that going good will come of getting revenge. For example, in Hamlet's extensive plan to seek revenge it only made him lose himself and created a series of unfortunate events. All the people in the play who set out to get back at someone ended up dying. However, those who where honest and obedient like Horatio made it to the end. 

Open Prompt Revision (01/20/2013)

2007. In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present activities, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must contend with some aspect of the past, either personal or societal. Then write an essay in which you show how the character's relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

Revision of (12/09/2012)

        In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller depicts the daily challenges that Willy Loman faces as his past haunts him. He struggles to find his place in the present since his past becomes so involved in his life. Evidently, his past causes some turbulence with his family and even himself which may have lead him to his depression and death. Willy's secret extramarital relationship added to the family tension which surfaced a taboo situation in which Willy was not able to deal with his own. 

        Throughout the novel, the laughter and background conversation of Willy and the Woman can be heard. The guilt of cheating on his wife, Linda and being caught by his son, Biff added to much of the weight on his shoulders. He was forced to get a constant reminder from Linda every time she was repairing the silk stockings Willy gave. The guilt become so much for Willy to handle that his temper began to rise every time he laid eyes on those stockings. The stockings took him back to that night in Boston when he gave the Woman a pair of stockings. These stockings hold the deeper meaning of how Willy showed affections to a woman that he was not married to. 

  Incidentally, Willy's actions took a significant toll on Biff's attitude for his education and future. Willy was no longer that role model figure that Biff looked up at. The consequences of Biff's actions led Willy to suffer with the fear of an unstable future. From that day, Biff always showed some hostility towards Willy; that was a price Willy had to pay for his insensitive actions. Willy's past seemed to be a hinderance in his life leading him to life of disappointment and uncertainty. 

        Constant reminder of his past led to Willy taking his own life. His adamant behavior to move on from the past and live in the future cost him his life. As hard as he tried to run away from his guilt is soon caught up with him which lead him to taking his own life. Everyday, the mistakes of his past that he tried to hide from become the obstacles of his life. This in turn affected his mental state and decision making skills. His previous actions had an important role of who Willy was and impact they had on life and family. 

Response to Course Material - (01/13/2013)

        So after the many weeks of reading Hamlet out loud, we finally finished it. To me, it seemed like it would never end. But I have to admit, reading it out loud and stopping to discuss it with Ms. Holmes definitely helped me a lot. When Ms. Homles explained to us the significance what was going on it helped me understand the basic plot of this play. 

        Soon after, we fully watched one version of the movie and parts of the second version. I thought the first movie we watched was more true to how I thought the play would be to see. That being said, I found the second one kept my attention more because of the style and production. I thought it was easier to stay focused on the plot in the second version. Although, I preferred Hamlet from the first version rather because his emotions did not seem overdone. I wish we had watched all of the second one and only parts of the first version. But it is really helpful for me in understanding the play to see it.