Here's the work you need to complete on the blog before class on Wednesday.
1. Choose a thread from Hamlet.
appearance and truth
corruption and honesty
madness and normalcy
playing and acting
words and speaking
women and womanliness: mothers, daughters, lovers, “strumpets”
corruption and honesty
madness and normalcy
playing and acting
words and speaking
women and womanliness: mothers, daughters, lovers, “strumpets”
men and manliness: fathers, uncles, friends, rivals
action and inaction
water and other fluids
responses to authority: mocking, obeying, flattering, etc.
life and death (and the afterlife)
action and inaction
water and other fluids
responses to authority: mocking, obeying, flattering, etc.
life and death (and the afterlife)
ghosts and spirits
sleep and dreams
flora (flowers, plans) and fauna (animals)
fortune and fate
I and eye (the self and seeing)
2. Choose five quotations (there are many below--loosely grouped--but you may choose your own if you'd like) through which the thread is woven.
“Seems, madam! Nay, it
is; I know not ‘seems.’” (Hamlet, 1.2)
“. . . these indeed seem,
/ For they are actions that a man might play / But I have that within which
passeth show; / These are but the trappings and the suits of woe.”
(Hamlet,1.2)
“That one may smile, and
smile, and be a villain” (Hamlet 1.5.114)
“The spirit I have seen
May be the devil, and the
devil hath power
to assume a pleasing
shape, yea, and perhaps
Out of my weakness and my
melancholy,
As he is very potent with
such spirits,
Abuses me to damn me.”
(Hamlet 2.2)
“Perhaps he loves you
now; / And now no soil nor cautel [falseness] doth besmirch / The virtue of his
will: but you must fear, / His greatness weigh’d, his will is not his own,”
(Laertes, 1.3)
“When the blood burns,
how prodigal the soul / Lends the tongue vows,” (Polonius 1.3).
“Do not believe
his vows; for they are brokers,
. . .
Breathing like sanctified
and pious bawds,
The
better to beguile”
(Polonius, 1.3)
“. . . there put on him [Laertes] / What forgeries you please; marry,
none so rank / As may dishonor him” (Polonius, 2..1.20-22)
“Your bait of falsehood
takes this carp of truth:
And thus do we of wisdom
and of reach,
With windlasses and with
assays of bias,
By indirections find
directions out”
(Polonius, 2.1.69-72)
“But virtue, as it new
will be mov’d,
Though lewdness court it
in a shape of heaven,
So lust, though to a
radiant angel link’d,
Will sate itself in a
celestial bed
And prey on garbage,”
(Ghost 1.5)
“O wicked wit and gifts,
that have the power
So to seduce!—won to his
shameful lust
The will of my most
seeming-virtuous queen”
(Ghost 1.5.50-52)
“Some little time: so by
your companies
To draw him on to
pleasures, and to gather
So much as from occasion
you may glean,
Whether aught to us
unknown afflicts him thus,
That open’d lies within
our remedy,”
(Claudius,
2.2.14-18).
“The harlot’s cheek, beautied with plast’ring
art, / Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it / Than is my deed to my most
painted word: / O heavy burden” (Claudius, 3.1.59-62)
For we have closely sent
for Hamlet hither,
That he, as ‘twere by
accident, may here
Affront Ophelia.
Her father and myself,
lawful espials*, *spies
Will so bestow ourselves
that, seeing unseen,
We may of their encounter
frankly judge,
And gather by him, as he
is behaved,
If’t be the affliction of
his love or no
That thus he suffers for.
(Claudius, 3.1)
Hamlet:
Where’s your father?
Ophelia:
At home, my lord.
Hamlet:
Let the doors be shut
upon him that he may play the fool nowhere but in ‘s own house.
(III,1)
I have heard of your
paintings too, well enough. God hath given you one face, and you make
yourselves another.
(Hamlet, 3.1)
Do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe? (Hamlet, 3.2.364)
[Polonius hides behind
the arras . . .]
Polonius [Behind]: what,
ho! Help, help, help!
Hamlet [Drawing {his
sword}]: How now! a rat? . . .
(3.4)
“ . . . my two
schoolfellows, / Whom I will trust as I will adders fang’d . . .” (Hamlet
3.4.222)
[Claudius sends
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to England
with Hamlet with a note telling England
to kill Hamlet.]
[When that doesn’t work
he convinces Laertes to seek a deceitful revenge in a fencing match]
“even his mother shall
uncharged the practice, / and call it accident.” (Laertes, 4.7.74-75)
“I will do ‘t / And for that purpose I’ll anoint
my sword [with a poison]” (Laertes, 4.7)
“And that he calls for drink, I’ll have
prepar’d him
A chalice for the nonce;
whereon but sipping,
If he by chance escape
your venom’d stuck,
Our purpose may hold
there.”
(Claudius, 4.7.155-178)
Why as a woodcock to mine
own springe, Osric.
I am justly kill’d with
mine own treachery.
(Laertes, 5.2.__)
The foul practice/hath
turn’d itself on me.
(Laertes, 5.2)
She swoons to see them
bleed.
(King, 5.2)
Hamlet: O villany! Ho!
Let the door be lock’d.
Treachery! Seek it out.
Laertes: He is justly served.
It is a poison temper’d
by himself.
Exchange forgiveness with
me, noble Hamlet.
Mine and my father’s
death come not upon thee,
Nor thine on me.
(5.2)
And let me speak to the
yet unknowing world
How these things came
about. So shall you hear
Of carnal, bloody and
unnatural acts,
Of accidental judgments,
casual slaughters,
Of deaths put on by
cunning and forced cause,
And, in this upshot,
purposes mistook
Fall’n on the inventors’
heads. All this can I
Truly deliver.
(Horatio, 5.2)
____________________
“particular men / . . . /
Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect, / Shall in the general censure take
corruption / From that particular fault: the dram of evil / Doth all the noble
substance of a doubt to his own scandal,. (Hamlet 1.4)
“How wear, stale, flat
and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses
of this world!
Fie on ‘t! ‘tis an
unweeded garden,
That grows to seed;
things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely. That
it should come to this!
But two months dead! Nay,
not so much two . . .”
(Hamlet, 1.2)
“Something is rotten in
the state of Denmark.”
(Ma rcellus, 1.4.90)
“The time is out of
joint.”
(Hamlet, 1.5.210)
“this goodly frame, the
earth, seems to me a sterile promontory”
“And yet, to me, what is
this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me,”
(Hamlet, 2.2.305-320)
“. . . use every man
after his desert, and who shall ‘scape whipping?” (Hamlet, 2.2.534-5).
Hamlet [to Ophelia]: “Get
thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest; but yet I
could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me:
I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious; with more offenses at my beck
than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to
act them in. What should such fellows as
I do crawling between heaven and earth!
We are arrant knaves all; believe none of us. Go thy ways to a nunnery.” (Hamlet, 3.2)
“Nay, but to live
In the rank sweat of an
enseamed bed,
Stwe’d in corruption,
honeying and making love
Over the nasty sty—“
(Hamlet [to his mother after the Mouse Trap] 3.4.104)
____________________
“This above all: to thine
own self be true”
(Polonius 1.3)
“Aye, sir; to be honest, as this world goes,
is to be one man picked out of ten thousand,” (Hamlet, 2.2.192-193).
Hamlet [to Ophelia]: “Ha,
ha! Are you honest?”
Hamlet [to Ophelia]: “The
power of beauty will sooner transform honesty from what it is to a bawd than
the force of honesty can translate beauty into his likeness”
Hamlet [to Ophelia]: “You
should not have believed me” (3.1)
Hamlet [to Ophelia]:
Where’s your father?
Ophelia: At home. (3.1)
Hamlet [to Ophelia]: God
hath given you one face, and you make yourselves another. (3.1)
____________________
“an excellent play . . .
set down with as much modesty as cunning . . . called it an honest method”
(Hamlet, 2.2.445-446, 450)
Speech from memory II, 2,
456-470 [speech about revenge taken from a play about the fall of Troy]
“Let them [the players]
be well used, for they are the abstract and brief chronicles of the time: after
your death you were better have a bad epitaph than their ill report while you
live,” (Hamlet, 2.2.530-2).
“You could, for a need,
study a speech of some dozen or sixteen lines, which I would set down and
insert in ‘t, could you not?” (Hamlet, 2.2.545-6)
“What’s Hecuba to him, or
he to Hecuba.”
(Hamlet, 2.2.586)
“…The play’s the thing
Wherein I’ll catch the
conscience of the King.”
(Hamlet, 2.2)
“suit the action to the
word, the word to the action” (Hamlet 3.2.18-9)
“hold, as ‘twere, the
mirror up to nature; to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image . . .”
(Hamlet.3.2.23-4)
[Hamlet uses “Mouse Trap”
to catch the king]
____________________
“ . . . Frailty, thy name is woman!” (Hamlet
1.2)
For Lord Hamlet,
Believe so much in him,
that he is young,
And with a larger tether
may he walk
Than may be given you.
(Polonius 1.3)
“O most pernicious
woman!” (Hamlet 1.5.111)
For if the sun breed
maggots in a dead dog, being god kissing carrion—Have you a daughter?
(Hamlet 2.2)
“Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be
a breeder of sinners?” (Hamlet 3.1)
God hath given you one
face, and you make yourselves another. (Hamlet 3.1)
Ophelia [talking to
Hamlet about a speech in the play-within-a-play]: “’Tis brief, my lord”
Hamlet: “As woman’s love”
(3.2.150-1)
“And would it not so you
are my mother” (3.4)
“Nay, but to live
In the rank sweat of an
enseamed bed,
Stwe’d in corruption,
honeying and making love
Over the nasty sty—“
(Hamlet [to his mother after the Mouse Trap] 3.4.104)
O, speak to me no more; /
These words like daggers enter in my ears…
[. . . Ghost appears]
(Gertrude 3.4.105-6)
Queen: Be thou assur’d,
if words be made of breath
And breath of life, I
have no life to breathe
What thou hast said to
me. (Gertrude 3.4.216-7)
____________________
“. . . I perchance
hereafter shall think meet / To put an antic disposition on” (Hamlet 1.5.190-1).
“Mad for thy love?”
(Polonius 2.1.94)
“That he is mad, ‘tis
true; ‘tis pity, And pity ‘tis ‘tis true.” (Polonius 2.2.104)
“Into the madness wherein
now he raves . . .” (Polonius 2.2.159)
“he is far gone”
(Polonius 2.2.202)
“Though this be madness,
yet there is method in ‘t.” (Polonius 2.2.217)
[Ophelia describes an
encounter with Hamlet (2.1.87-94 and
98-111)]
“I am but mad
north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw,”
(Hamlet 2.2.385-6)
“with a crafty madness, [Hamlet] keeps aloof”
(Guildenstern 3.1.8)
“It
shall be so
Madness in great ones
must not unwatch’d go.” (Claudius 3.1.200-1)
[Hamlet sees the Ghost;
Gertrude does not] “Alas, he’s mad! (Queen 3.4.118)
I essentially am not in
madness, / But mad in craft (Hamlet [to his mother] 3.4.205-6)
[In Act IV, 1, the word
“mad” or “madness” is used by the King and Queen in reference to Hamlet.]
“Let in the maid, that
out a maid
Never departed more.”
“Young men will do ‘t, if
they come to ‘t;
By cock, they are to blame.
Quoth she, before you
tumbled me,
You promised me to wed.
He answers:
So would I ha’ done, by
yonder sun,
An thou hadst not come to my bed.” (Ophelia 4.5)
“And will a’ not come
again?
No, no, he is dead,
Go to thy death-bed,
He never will come again.
. .” (Ophelia 4.5)
“Your sister’s drowned, Laertes…she chanted
snatches of old tunes, / As one incapable of her own distress.” (Gertrude 4.7)
____________________
“Remember thee! / Yea,
from the table of my memory / I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records,” (Hamlet
1.5.105).
“So, uncle, there you
are. Now to my word;
It is “Adieu, adieu!
Remember me.”
I have sworn’t.”
(Hamlet 1.5.166-8)
“What’s Hecuba to him, or
he to Hecuba.”
(Hamlet, 2.2.586)
“. . . Am I a coward?
. . .
But I am pigeon-liver’d*
and lack gall *cowardly
To make oppression
bitter, or ere this
I should have fatted all
the region kites* *
Scavenger birds
With this slave’s offal*:
bloody, bawdy villain! *
King Claudius’ guts
Remorseless, treacherous,
lecherous, kindles villain!
O, vengeance!
Why, what an ass am I!
This is most brave,
That I, the son of a dear
father murder’d
Prompted to my revenge by
heaven and hell,
Must, like a whore,
unpack my heart with words,
And fall a-cursing, like
a very drab*, *
prostitute
A scullion*!” *
kitchen servant
(Hamlet 2.2)
“Thus conscience does
make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue
of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the
pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great
pitch and moment
With this regard their
currents turn awry
And lose the name of
action.”
(Hamlet 3.1.84-89)
“Now could I drink hot
blood.”
(Hamlet 3.2)
“Now might I do it pat,
now he is a-praying;
And now I’ll do ‘t. And
so he goes to heaven,
And so am I revenged…
No!”
(Hamlet 3.3)
[“How all occasions do
inform against me . . .” Hamlet finds out that Fortinbras is willing to waste
“two thousand souls” for “a little patch of ground / that hath in it no profit
but the name,” while Hamlet himself cannot act despite the murder of his
father. (4.4)]
“And so have I a noble
father lost;
A sister driven into
desp’rate terms . . .
My revenge will come”
(Laertes.4.7.27-31)
King: “what would you
undertake, / To show yourself your father’s son indeed / More than in words”
Laertes: “To cut his
throat i’ the church.”
(4.7.138-41)
[See: 4.7.184-201:
Ophelia allows herself to drown; and 1.3.141, “I shall obey, my lord”; Does
Ophelia also have a problem with action?
Gertrude, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern also “obey”; what if they all
acted on their own will instead of following Claudius?]
____________________
“I shall obey, my
lord,” (Ophelia 1.3)
“ . . . as you did
command, / I did repel his letters and denied / His access to me,” (Ophelia
2.2.120-121)
{Note the Queen has a
total of thirty lines in the first two acts.
Hamlet has many soliloquies that are longer.}
“But we both obey. . .” (Guildenstern)
“I shall obey you…
And for your part
Ophelia, I do wish
That your good beauties
be the happy cause
Of Hamlet’s wildness; so
shall I hope your virtues
Will bring him to his
wonted way again,
To both your honors.”
(Gertrude 3.1)
____________________
“your noble son is mad: /
Mad call I it; for, to define true madness, / What is ‘t but to be nothing else
but mad” (Polonius 2.2.98-100)
“That he is mad, ‘tis true:
‘tis true ‘tis pity, / And pity ‘tis ‘tis true: a foolish figure” (Polonius
2.2.104-105)
“My liege, and madam, to
expostulate
What majesty should be,
what duty it,
Why day is day, night
night, and time is time,
Were nothing but to waste
night, day and time.
Therefore since brevity
is the soul of wit
And tediousness the limbs
and outward flourishes,
I will be brief,”
(Polonius 2.2.92-98).
“The best actors in the world, either for tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical, historical-pastoral, tragical-historical, tragical-comical-historical pastoral . . .” (Polonius 2.2.403-406).
“More matter, with less art.”
(Gertrude 2.2.102)
“the funeral bak’d meats
/ Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.”
(Hamlet 1.2)
“O, that this too too solid flesh would melt,
Thaw and resolve itself
into a dew!
Or that the Everlasting
had not fix’d
His canon ‘gainst
self-slaughter!”
(Hamlet 1.2.31-4)
“Why, what should be the
fear?
I do not set my life at a
pin’s fee,”
(Hamlet 1.4.70-1).
“You cannot, sir, take
from me anything that I will more willingly part withal—except my life, except
my life, except my life.” (Hamlet 2.2.215-217)
King: . . . where’s
Polonius
Hamlet: At supper.
K: At supper! Where?
H: Not where he eats, but
where he is eaten.
King: Where is Polonius?
Hamlet: In heaven; send
thither to see: if your messenger find him not there, seek him i’ the other
place yourself.
King [to attendants]: Go
seek [the corpse of Polonius] there.
Hamlet: He will stay till
you come.
(4.3)
“Alas, poor Yorick! I
knew him Horatio” (Hamlet [while
holding a skull]5.1)
“The rest is silence.”
(Hamlet 5.2)
Your post(s) will be structured in this sequence.
Thread
Quotation 1
Explication 1
Q2
Ex2
Q3
Ex3
Q4
Ex4
Q5
Ex5
Thread overall
all the best,
Mr. James Cook
Madness and Normalcy
ReplyDelete“That hath made him mad. I am sorry that with better heed and judgment I had not coted him.” (Polonius, 2.1)
This is a quote from Polonius after Ophelia tells him of Hamlets madness. He forbids her not to see Hamlet again. I find this quote relevant to the subject for obvious reasons and not so obvious ones. The quote is clearly about madness. The not so obvious part is that everyone he can be considered mad. Nobody is giving Hamlet the benefit of the doubt that he is angry with his family and there’s a chance Hamlet knows everyone is trying to figure out why he’s acting mad. This “madness” he is displaying to Ophelia may very well been act, only to give everyone a reason to worry. Polonius thinks Ophelia is the reason why Hamlet is mad, and that is not the case. I think Hamlet would want everyone to think it was because of Ophelia because that takes away from the real reason, avenging his father’s death.
…”And I do think, or else this brain of mine hunts not the trail of policy so sure as it hath used to do, that I have found the very cause of Hamlet’s lunacy.” (Polonius, 2.2)
Polonius brings his “brilliant” news to the King and Queen. He thinks he should try and talk to Hamlet and see what he would say about his daughter to see if he’s right. This quote sticks out to me because he uses the word “lunacy”. This is then assuming his (Hamlets) mother and father think he is crazy as well. It’s no wonder Hamlet doesn’t trust anyone; everyone is going behind his back. It’s not like they are going about it in a nice, caring way. They are almost malicious about it. It makes me think they are the crazy ones for not stopping to think of how ridiculous they are being. Spying never ends well.
(Aside) “How pregnant sometimes his replies are! A happiness that often madness hits on, which reason and sanity could not so prosperously be delivered of.” (Polonius, 2.2)
Here Polonius is saying how meaningful his replies are. A way of phrasing that indicates madness which is more obvious than sanity and reason. Hamlet is genius. His responses are so filled with meaning and puns that one would think he is mad. I think this is when Hamlet shows Polonius that he can’t be controlled. He is way too smart for him. Nothing he could say would penetrate Hamlet’s mind and make him change his ways. Hamlet is very determined and I don’t think he is mad at all. I think he is trapped inside his mind that is filled with way to many feelings and thoughts.
“I am but mad north-northwest. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.”(Hamlet 2.2)
ReplyDeleteHamlet is telling his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he is only crazy sometimes. It’s kind of funny because that’s reality. AT some point in everyone’s lives, they act a bit crazy. He is showing them that he is not crazy though. It’s making his friends’ job very hard, because once again, Hamlet is too smart for them. He knows that they are trying to spy on him and it’s not that easy. They are not good enough liars and Hamlet is very perceptive. He could tell right away they were up to something. He can tell the difference between madness and sanity. He’s proving to his friends that whoever sent them is wrong.
“Cannot you tell that? Every fool can tell that. It was that very day that young Hamlet was born-he that is mad, and sent to England.”(Gravedigger, 5.1)
Hamlet-“Ay, marry, why was he sent to England?
Gravedigger-“Why, because he was mad. He shall recover his wits there. Or if he do not, ‘tis no great matter there.”
Hamlet is finally hearing out loud what people think of him, strangers included. The gravedigger has no idea he is talking to Hamlet. I wish there was a different version of Hamlet that showed the gravediggers reaction if Hamlet mentioned who he is. I wonder if he would feel guilty. Hamlet has set himself up for this though. He acted mad throughout the entire play and obviously the word is going to get out. I am curious if Hamlet is surprised. The plan to send Hamlet to England did not work. Hamlet is able to contain himself throughout this conversation, putting on an act of sanity. Hamlet was also told that on the day he was born, Hamlet (his father) defeated Fortinbras. His own birthday isn’t even as important as he thought. If I was Hamlet I would freak out and be very angry with everyone. To me, this shows that Hamlet could actually be mad. Because normally people would react differently than Hamlet did. Instead, he was able to keep his composure and keep quiet. It’s astounding to me how well Hamlet could act. He was curious though what people thought because he continued to ask the gravedigger questions about himself. Eventually he moves on, the same tone and everything. He fools the gravedigger for sure.
Madness and Normalcy:
This thread of thinking relates to the play as a whole for various reasons. To start, the play only beings with Hamlets family thinking he is mad. His father just died and his uncle married his mother within two months. AT first it would seem that Hamlet is just upset with the death and the marriage. What they don’t know is that Hamlet has seen his father’s ghost telling him about the death being a murder by his uncle, Claudius. The whole play, I believe, is based around this idea because Hamlet struggles between madness and normalcy throughout the whole play. It begins to affect everything Hamlet does. It ruins his relationship with Ophelia, disturbs his mother, causes him the loss of his friends, and mostly, more deaths. Nothing would have happened if Hamlet didn’t supposedly go “mad’. Apparently there is a fine line between sanity and madness. From what I can tell, Hamlet weaves in and out of that line depending on the circumstances. Sometimes he seems completely crazy and erratic, and others, he seems quite controlled and just very witty. They way he uses puns and jokes and references to things, makes one think he isn’t crazy. That is the side I am on. I don’t think Hamlet is crazy. I think he just let himself get way too caught up in the craziness of the world.
(part 2)
Appearance and Truth
ReplyDelete“That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain” (Hamlet 1.5.114)
This quote takes place after Hamlet discovers from the Ghost that Claudius murdered his father. Here, we see how effectively appearance has hidden the truth. Although Claudius seems to be innocent and sad that his brother died, it cannot hide his villainous nature or the heinous crime he committed. Nevertheless, many people are deceived by this act, including Hamlet at first. It is only with the help of his father’s ghost that Hamlet is able to learn the truth about his malicious uncle’s crime. Personally, I feel that this sort of deception is what makes Claudius a good villain. By acting happy and innocent, Claudius makes most of the people around him feel the same way, erasing any suspicions that people may have.
“We will ourselves provide. Most holy and religious feat it is to keep those many many bodies safe that live and feed upon your Majesty.” (Rosencrantz, 3.3.8-11)
This quote occurs when Claudius order Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to take Hamlet to England, where he will be killed by the English king. Here, we see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern saying how it is a pleasure to work for Claudius. However, it can be implied that they are just “sucking up” to Claudius, seeing as he is the king. Throughout the play, we see the abhorrence Hamlet has towards this behavior. This behavior where the affection and loyalty that people may have towards others might be a ruse and that it is just an act for the sake of their own profit is intolerable to Hamlet. Also, I think this may have caused some paranoia in him; thereby forsaking all his friends and shattering his relationships with his family.
“Seems, madam! Nay, it is; I know not ‘seems… these indeed seem, / For they are actions that a man might play / But I have that within which passeth show; / These are but the trappings and the suits of woe.’” (Hamlet, 1.2.79, 84-86)
ReplyDeleteHamlet says this quote when he is speaking with his mother at the beginning of the play. Here, he says that his outer appearance cannot begin to show the grief he is feeling due to his father’s death. This quote stands out to me because it really demonstrates the thematic thread of appearance and truth in the play. Here, Hamlet states that although he has the outer appearance of a grieving man, these signs could easily be faked. This appears in the play multiple times, including The Mousetrap scene. Therefore, the thread of acting and playing could also be intertwined with the appearance and truth thread. In fact, acting and playing could be another way to hide the truth through appearance.
“The spirit I have seen may be the devil, and the devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape, yea, and perhaps out of my weakness and my melancholy, as he is very potent with such spirits, abuses me to damn me.” (Hamlet 2.2.627-632)
This is a quote from Hamlet as he formulates a plan to expose his uncle’s guilt. This quote can be related to the thread because this also illustrates how the truth can be concealed by false appearances and how much they can hurt us if we are too easily fooled. For example, in this quote, Hamlet contemplates whether or not his father’s ghost was actually the devil, who took the shape of his father in order to make Hamlet do something that would damn him to eternity in hell. Although we know that the ghost was right about Claudius, to me, it just proves that if we are deceived by these false appearances that try to obscure the truth, it could lead to disastrous consequences.
“The harlot’s cheek, beautied with plast’ring art, / Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it / Than is my deed to my most painted word: / O heavy burden” (Claudius, 3.1.59-62)
ReplyDeleteClaudius says this quote before he spies on Hamlet with Polonius. Here, he says that he tries to disguise the horrible deed he committed with pretty words, just as the ugly whore tries to make herself look beautiful with make-up. The fact that Claudius says this shows us that even though his act protects him from suspicions on the outside, they cannot protect him from the turmoil the guilt causes on the inside. Later on in the play, the guilt Claudius feels torments him so much that he finally breaks down and reveals to the audience what he did. Therefore, we can see that eventually, the truth will be exposed as the false appearances can no longer conceal it. Just as makeup is rubbed off after a while, the false appearances will eventually wear off, allowing the truth to be revealed to everyone. Also, when the truth is revealed, there will be dire consequences for those who put up false appearances. For example, Claudius is eventually killed by Hamlet to avenge his father’s murder.
Appearance and Truth
This thread relates to the play as a whole for several reasons. First, it often shows how people “suck up” to their authorities for their own gain, especially in the cases of Claudius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern; however, it also shows the consequences of putting on false appearances. In the cases of Claudius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern, they all end up dead at the end of the play. Personally, I believe that this play is warning us about putting up false appearances. By doing this, we submit ourselves to dire consequences when the truth is eventually revealed. Although it is sometimes difficult to draw the line between truth and appearance, we must understand that we cannot be fooled by these lies. Otherwise, we and the people we care about could end up humiliated or injured.
Appearance and Truth
ReplyDelete“The spirit I have seen
May be the devil, and the devil hath power
to assume a pleasing shape, yea, and perhaps
Out of my weakness and my melancholy,
As he is very potent with such spirits,
Abuses me to damn me.”
This quote is an excerpt from the 2.2 from the Rogue and Peasant Slave soliloquy. This is after Hamlet devised a scheme to find out if the ghost was telling the truth or not. Hamlet is questioning if the ghost is the devil persuading him to commit needless murder or if the ghost was telling the truth about the murder. Hamlet is not going to act before he I sure because he knows that the devil has cunning ways to lure people to sin and Hamlet does not want to fall for the trap but also he wants to avenge is father. This relates to the theme of appearance and truth because the ghost appeared as his father but may in reality be the devil. This is a theme that is present throughout the book by use of many different characters and is weaved into the plot in many ways.
“O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power
So to seduce!—won to his shameful lust
The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen”
This is a quote spoken by the ghost in 1.5 towards Hamlet. He is speaking of how his brother seduced his queen shortly after his death. The most obvious connection to the theme is “my most seeming-virtuous queen” because the queen seems like one thing but she is different. She seems virtuous as in having high moral standard and doing the right thing but as soon as her husband was gone she moved on. Another connection to this theme is of gifts and power, and winning the queen. This is more of an abstract connection but clear if you evaluate it. Did the new king really give gifts to win the queen? It may seem that he seduced the queen through gifts and won her over but truly he took the king which is more than he ever could give. Also he didn’t win the queen he stole her. it already seems bad but the reality is much worse than the truth in this situation.
“Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth:
And thus do we of wisdom and of reach,
With windlasses and with assays of bias,
By indirections find directions out”
This is spoken by Polonius to Reynaldo in 2.1 when they are planning to spy on Laertes in France. Spying is a sub theme of appearance versus truth that is also present throughout the story. Polonius is persuading Reynaldo to go to France and pretend to be friends with people to find out what Laertes has been up to. This may be a quote that prepares the audience for the spying that appears later and also shows what kind of person Polonius is. Also there may be a comparison of Hamlet to Laertes to show that it is not just Hamlet’s life that is corrupted by appearance versus truth but that other people or maybe the human race struggles with this problem as well.
“I have heard of your paintings too, well enough. God hath given you one face, and you make yourselves another.”
ReplyDeleteThis is spoken by Hamlet in 3.1 to Ophelia. This is important because this quote covers the theme of appearance and truth directly by the literal meaning of the quote. But also is related to the theme itself because it has a separate meaning. But the literal meaning is about women using makeup to change themselves and make them appear to be what they are not. But also I connect this quote to people changing their personalities to achieve what they want from other people. This may include spying or using people. And in this way the quote itself is including the theme of appearance versus meaning. The quote may appear to be a simple line about women’s makeup but when evaluated including underlying themes the connection to other events in the book is clear.
“The harlot’s cheek, beautied with plast’ring art, / Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it / Than is my deed to my most painted word: / O heavy burden”
This is spoken by Claudius to Polonius before they spy on Hamlet in 3.1. This is very similar to the last quote in the way that it has a double meaning. Claudius is comparing the use of make up to cover ones face to his use of words and deception to cover up his crime. This is the appearance of innocence and playing dumb against the truth that Claudius actually killed the real King. The comparison that Pauline made to makeup wiping off and the truth coming out was a clever comparison that I did not put together but I agree with. Even as long as Claudius tries to keep up an appearance he cannot lie forever just as makeup cannot make a harlots cheek beautiful forever.
Appearance versus Truth
The theme of conflict between appearance and truth in this play is brought up throughout the entire play by many characters and is very important. This is a theme that is central to the main character as well as used to develop minor characters as well. Hamlet is constantly struggling with appearance of many different things as well as his own mental appearance. One simple example is the appearance of the ghost which Hamlet wonders about its true form and believes it may be the devil. This is an example of physical appearance versus truth is not as important as the use of mental appearance or personality appearance. Hamlets mental appearance baffles many people in the story and therefore leads to personality appearance and the theme of spying. Because the truth about hamlet is not found this leads to people pretending to be something that they aren’t to gain an advantage. Hamlet is a character who can see through this show but is still confused of his own truth. This is an important theme because it is multidimensional and also connects to other themes in the book. It is meaningful because it is not shallow or easy to follow but is tied into every aspect of the book therefore leading to an aspect of the book that causes the reader to think and make assumptions and inferences. This theme greatly improves the book.
Appearance and truth
ReplyDelete“That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain” (Hamlet 1.5.114)
Hamlet says this quote when he speaks with his father’s ghost. The ghost reveals to Hamlet that Claudius had murdered him by putting poison into his ear so it appeared that a snake had bitten him. The truth is that Claudius was greedy and wanted to throne for himself. Hamlet is referring to Claudius when he says that one may smiles and be a villain. This quote is a great example of deception in the play. People are not always who they seem; there is a lot of sneaking around and kissing up to people of a higher power. Hamlet really looks down upon people who do this.
“hold, as ‘twere, the mirror up to nature; to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image . . .” (Hamlet.3.2.23-4)
This quote was spoken by Hamlet when he was instructing the actors how he wants them to perform Mousetrap. He told them that he does not want them to be too tame, but he also doesn’t want them to be overly dramatic. He wants the play to look realistic. When Hamlet says “hold, as ‘twere, the mirror up to nature,” he means that he wants the play to resemble what actually happened between Claudius and King Hamlet. Although the actors don’t know that Claudius murdered King Hamlet, they are supposed to follow the lines of the play to their best ability. Hamlet wants to play to appear as reality to Claudius so Hamlet can pick up on Claudius’ reaction and find him guilty. When Hamlet says “scorn her own image,” he is referring to Gertrude. Hamlet’s goal is to make Gertrude feel guilty that “the funeral bak’d meats / Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.” She married Claudius only two months after her husband had died. The use of a mirror is a great way to show appearance vs. truth. Hamlet uses the metaphor of a mirror because a mirror reflects images. Hamlet wants to reflect that what appears to be happening, is not the truth.
Do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe? (Hamlet, 3.2.400)
A lot of people in the castle suck up to those of royal power. It’s true when people say “it’s all about who you know.” A lot of people in the castle who aren’t royal, live by this saying. They do whatever a royal family member wants, whenever they want it. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are good examples of this. Hamlet calls them “sponges.” They soak up every last word the king says. When Claudius sends them to England with a letter to the King saying he must kill Hamlet, they go without even questioning what the letter says. Hamlet really looks down upon people like this. Kissing up is really significant to the book as a whole because Shakespeare pokes fun at people who do this through his character, Hamlet. Shakespeare creates many different situations where someone is speaking to Hamlet and they just say whatever they think Hamlet wants to hear. The perfect example of this is when Hamlet is speaking to Osric.
O: “I thank your lordship; it is very hot.
H: No, believe me, ‘tis very cold; the wind is northerly.
O: It is indifferent cold, my lord, indeed.
H: But yet methinks it is very sultry and hot for my complexion.
O: Exceedingly, my lord; it is very sultry…”
In scene 5.2.107-111 Hamlet plays Osric like a pipe. Osric wants to appear as if he totally agrees with what Hamlet is saying, so Hamlet wants to reveal what Osric really thinks by making him sound silly.
“This above all: to thine own self be true” (Polonius 1.3.84)
ReplyDeleteThis quote can easily thread from the one above it. They are closely related in terms of being truthful to one self. Unlike many characters in the play, Hamlet deeply believes in this saying. Polonius says this quote when he is saying his goodbyes to Laertes before he leaves for France. Although he can give advice, he does not take his own. Polonius is too caught up in pleasing members of the royal family to be true to himself. Polonius is one of the suck ups that Hamlet isn’t very fond of. Hamlet however, knows how he feels and wants others to know as well. He is mourning over his father’s death and is horrified by that fact that his mother has moved on so quickly. He is mad, whether genuine or acting; the people around him know how he feels. He doesn’t make up stories depending on who he is talking to.
King: . . . where’s Polonius
Hamlet: At supper.
King: At supper! Where?
Hamlet: Not where he eats, but where he is eaten.
King: Where is Polonius?
Hamlet: In heaven; send thither to see: if your messenger find him not there, seek him i’ the other place yourself.
King [to attendants]: Go seek [the corpse of Polonius] there.
Hamlet: He will stay till you come. (4.3.19-43)
I think this quote is very important to the thread of appearance and reality. Throughout the play, Hamlet often puts on an act of being mad. It is very difficult to decipher when he is actually crazy or when he is merely acting. Or is there even a difference? This conversation takes place between Hamlet and Claudius right after Hamlet has murdered Polonius. Claudius knows that Hamlet killed Polonius; Hamlet just wants to be difficult. Hamlet tells Claudius that he is going to hell when he says that Polonius is in heaven and if Claudius wants to see him he should send a messenger. But, if Claudius can’t find him there he can go look for himself in hell. In this scene Hamlet appears to be crazy to all the people around him. But Hamlet believes that the truth is that he is not crazy, just angry at all the corruption in the world. This quote can also tie into many other threads. This conversation can be an example of madness and normalcy, playing and acting, and life and death.
The thread of appearance and truth in this book is very important because it directly links to one of the main arguments, which is deception. Shakespeare developed many of the characters in this play around that idea. I think he was trying to show how things are not always as they seem. This thread also shows how people in the play suck up to figures of authority. There are many complex layers to each character where they battle with themselves over what is true and what appears to be. Shakespeare also shows the audience the consequences of false appearances. Consequences of false appearances can be seen at almost every death that takes place within the book. Polonius died because he was spying to get information to give to the king. Ophelia died because she was extremely passive and could not be aggressive towards the issues surrounding her, so she just let herself drown. Claudius died because he was living a lie; he killed his brother and took the throne. Hamlet is filled with examples of appearance vs. truth. It was one of the stronger points that Shakespeare was trying to get across to his audience.
Life and Death
ReplyDelete“Hamlet: You cannot, sir, take from me anything that I will more willingly part withal — except my life — except my life — except my life.” (2.2)
This quote is in response to a conversation had between Hamlet and Polonius. Polonius asks Hamlet what he shall take from him and Hamlet in reply says you may take anything except my life. This is a bold statement that Hamlet is sure to repeat three times. This quote is actually odd because of its contradiction. The contradiction comes from Hamlet’s character that I had seen in the previous acts. Hamlet is someone who has talked about the internal conflict of the purpose of living and weather he should kill himself or not. It was striking to see Hamlet feel so strongly about keeping his life when he has been so negative towards the world and its little purpose. It clearly relates to the overall motif because of the blatant begging for life, but it also relates to this theme because of the changing emotions of Hamlet.
“The time is out of joint; O cursed spite,
That ever I was born to set it right!” (1.5)
This quote comes from the time of the play where Hamlet has just seen what seems to appear as his father’s ghost. The ghost has made Hamlet swear to get revenge on the King for killing him, and also to leave his mother alone. This quote is Hamlet crying out in raging emotion almost angry at the fact that he was chosen to justify his father. I feel this quote is related to the thread because of its idea that in life we are all chosen to do certain things, and even though it may sometimes be a challenge, it is what we are here to do. Hamlet is always questioning the purpose of life, and I think in a way he was chosen to do this. He makes it his life to seek revenge.
“How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world.” (ACT.SCENE)
Also spoken by Hamlet, this quote is him questioning the world and what it has to offer. This quote backs up both of my previous idea, by showing Hamlet’s emotional roller coaster and his doubt in the purpose of living. This is one of the very moments that makes me question why Hamlet repeated over and over again to keep his life. It is also a moment in the book that clearly shows how negative his character is towards life itself. He believes that this world and everything or nothing in his case has to offer is unprofitable and flat. He is an angry man who sees darkness where the light of living should be. This quote also leads into him talking feverishly about the death of his father.
“O, tat this too, too sullied flesh would melt,
ReplyDeleteThaw, and resolve itself into a dew,
Or that the everlasting had not fixed
His cannon ‘gainst self-slaughter!” (1.2)
This quote is said a few lines before the last explication. This is clearly showing Hamlet’s hurt feelings and sadness of what has just happened in his life. It also shows his willingness to give up on life through considering suicide. This topic is one that is crucial to the story we see this topic come up later in the story with Ophelia as well. Hamlet is basically wishing for suicide in this quotation. He is saying that he wished his dirty flesh would melt away, and that he wishes that the church has not made a law against suicide. This is clearly related to the thread because of it harsh topic of suicide. Much like the others it is playing with the idea of ending life because its little purpose and corruption. That is an idea Hamlet clearly thinks as well, he believes this world is filled with harm and corruption. This quote deals closely with death along with life.
"I do not set my life at a pin's fee;
And set my soul, what can it do to that,
Being a thing immortal as itself?" (1.4)
Like all of the others, this quote once again is said by Hamlet. This is in response to Horatio asking Hamlet not to follow the ghost. This order lead Hamlet to say that he does not value his life so why should he be afraid, especially of someone that is immortal. Just like the previous selections it is clear that Hamlet finds no meaning to life. This quote is very specific to the topic of life. It shows how little Hamlet values life, and seems to not fear ending it. Life does not intrigue him, and death does not instill fear. Hamlet is a troubled man who feels trapped in a life that is horrible, and finds that it would be easier to end his being than deal with the horrid ways. This quote is directly and clearly related to the life and death thread.
This thread of life and death is extremely crucial to the play. Shakespeare has created Hamlet’s character to be intricate and complicated. He is often times hard to figure out. This theme is something that adds to Shakespeare’s idea. We as readers find that one of the largest struggles for Hamlet is whether to end life or live. This internal conflict is carried out when he questions his own life, and when he is contemplating taking others. It also appears with Ophelia. Although it was never blatantly stated like Hamlet had done, we find out that she too was emotionally hurt and was arguably bold enough to take action and end her life. A major reoccurrence of this thread is the many discussions about the king’s death and murder as well. On the other hand a minor mention of life and death is the murders of Polonius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern. This thread adds depth to the characters of the book and although it may not always be the major conflict or theme in the story it does not take away from its large importance and meaning.
In Hamlet, a thread that shows up consistently throughout the play is comparing madness, or what appears to be madness, to normalcy. Hamlet causes this idea because he often fakes insanity, or he thinks he fakes insanity.
ReplyDelete“Some little time: so by your companies
To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather
So much as from occasion you may glean,
Whether ought to us unknown afflicts him thus,
That open’d lies within our remedy,”
Claudius, 2.2.
In this quote, Claudius is talking to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and is asking them to spy on Hamlet to find the cause of his insanity. In fact, Hamlet is not insane, but he thinks it is important to hide behind a mask of insanity. This quote could also be in an obedience thread, because Rosencrantz and Guildenstern just go along with the idea that they should go spy on their old friend just because their new king tells them too. But in the madness against normality, this quote is the prime example of what people think of Hamlet compared to how he thinks about himself. Hamlet sees himself as a comedic yet tragic hero, whereas his family and friends (excluding Horatio) think of him as a madman who simply cannot man up even though his father has been dead two months. Claudius only says this because Hamlet has been screwing around and acting mad.
King: … where’s Polonius
Hamlet: At supper
King: At supper! Where?
Hamlet: Not where he eats, but where he is eaten.
King: Where is Polonius?
-----------------------------------------
Hamlet: In heaven; send thither to see: if your messenger find him not there, seek him I’ the other place yourself.
King [to attendants]: Go seek him there.
Hamlet: He will stay till you come.
4.3
In the first part of this quote, Hamlet gives another one of his “mad quips” where he tells Claudius that the dead Polonius is being eaten at supper. At first glance, this is simply insanity. But the punch line to Hamlet’s joke is that worms eat dead bodies, so Polonius will in fact be eaten at a supper. This backwards thought process would have been considered madness; Hamlet is simply taking the idea of social normality and showing that sometimes facts can be considered crazy, if you are not intelligent enough to look past fancy, roundabout ways of talking, and accept that perhaps social normalcy is not inherently normal.
“I essentially am not in madness, / But mad in craft” (Hamlet [to his mother] 3.4.205-6)
ReplyDeleteThis is when Hamlet admits he is not insane to his mother. However, if you look of it from the viewpoint of the queen, there is no evidence that he is sane. After all, she just witnessed Hamlet murder Polonius completely unprovoked, and besides that the only reason that Polonius was stabbed was because he was calling for help because he thought that Hamlet was going to murder his own mother. On top of that, Hamlet was considering it before the ghost of his father showed up and told him not to. So she really has no reason to believe that Hamlet is not mad. However, Hamlet is sane, even if he is really troubled. So despite the fact that he admits that he is simply acting insane, everyone still believes that he is mad. This passage, and the whole tread, is very closely tied in with appearance and truth. In this example, it would appear that Hamlet is mad because he thinks he can see his father’s ghost. (Or it looks that way from his mother’s view)
“I am but mad north-northwest: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw,”
Hamlet 2.2
Back in Act 2 scene 2, Hamlet is talking to Guildenstern, and is continuing to play the madman. This is right before Polonius shows up to tell Hamlet that the actors are here. There seems to be no normalcy to this statement, but Hamlet is simply playing on words, making a joke about the idea someone can be insane only part of the time. And then he hints that he is always crazy, again letting the reader know that he is in control, but making everyone else doubt his sanity. So the normalcy shows up in the idea that Hamlet is doing this on purpose; and because there is a goal, what would appear to be madness, (in this case bragging that he can tell the difference between a bird and a saw) is just a scheme.
“For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being god kissing carrion-Have you a daughter?”
Hamlet 2.2
Hamlet is talking to Polonius in this example, and has been insulting Polonius throughout their entire conversation and is getting away with it because Polonius thinks Hamlet is simply crazy. And Polonius thinks the reason Hamlet is crazy is that Polonius told Ophelia not to talk to Hamlet again. So the line about asking Polonius is he has a daughter strengthens Polonius’ and the King’s opinion that Hamlet is mad, because after all, how could he forget the woman he was probably going to marry unless he was insane. Also, this type of trickery is Hamlet’s idea of fun and his way of dealing with a situation that he has no control over. So in the play, Hamlet’s calculated madness is normal because it is the most logical way to deal with the troubles he has.
Much of Hamlet acting mad appears in Act 2 Scene 2, but that is partly because it is the longest scene in the play, and the fact that at this point in the story, Hamlet is faking being insane to get the better of the situation that he hates, specifically that he knows that his uncle murdered his father and that his mother married his uncle less than two months after his father’s death. So this may be just a ploy, but I also think that it is Hamlet’s coping mechanism. There are only two ways he can process the tragedy of his father’s death. Personal meditation, in this case his soliloquys and he can’t show those to everyone. So instead he hides his pain and his scheming to kill Claudius with humor that is interpreted as madness by everyone he does not trust to let in on his secret. So everyone but Horatio think Hamlet is simply insane, and they think he is insane for different reasons. But even Horatio can’t understand how Hamlet really feels because only the audience knows Hamlet’s thoughts. And those thoughts show that Hamlet is just masking depression. And this is why this theme shows up in every part of the play, but especially in Act 2 Scene 2. In Act 2.2 Hamlet is still wrestling with the idea of revenge murder, which drives him deeper into sadness. To mask his depression, he pretends to be mad and by doing so, humors himself and makes it easier to deal with the death of his father. He then drops the charade, and becomes all about action at the end of the play.
ReplyDeleteFlora (flowers, plants) and fauna (animals)
ReplyDelete“How wear, stale, flat and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on ‘t! ‘tis an unweeded garden,
That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely. That it should come to this!
But two months dead! Nay, not so much two . . .”
(Hamlet, 1.2)
This selection comes from Hamlet’s first soliloquy where he describes his many frustrations that come from the death of his father and his widowed mother marrying his uncle so suddenly. Hamlet is referring to his life as an unweeded garden. By that I believe he means that his life is like a garden that is not being cared for because of the disregard anyone seems to have for how his mother and uncle’s actions may affect him. I also think the tragic events occurring in life may symbolize the weeds that are overpowering it. The anger he has with his mother that he mentions in the quote I think is the most powerful of his frustrations and the amount of self-pity he has can clearly be seen. This first mention of plants on the play as how he views his life as going out of control relates very interestingly to the following selections.
“The canker galls the infants of spring.”
(Laertes, 1.3)
Here Laertes is speaking to Ophelia as he is preparing to leave the country and he continues to warn her of the harm Hamlet may cause her and that it would be best for her to stay away from him. He cautions not to let him seduce her and not to give anything up to him. I believe he also mentioned that what Hamlet may want could be different from what the state of Denmark wanted meaning that because he is royalty he has no real say in these kinds of situations no matter what his emotions are and that it is more likely for Ophelia to get hurt. Specifically from the quote I believe he meant that worms can ruin flowers before they blossom and that it all relates to the ability Hamlet has to spoil her both sexually and emotionally if she gives into to him and does not obey the instructions of her brother and father.
“Such an act
That blurs the grace and blush of modesty,
Calls virtue hypocrite, takes off the rose
From the fair forehead of an innocent love
And sets a blister there, makes marriage vows
As false as dicers' oaths—oh, such a deed
As from the body of contraction plucks
The very soul, and sweet religion makes
A rhapsody of words.”
(Hamlet, 3.4)
In this selection Hamlet has just murdered Polonius and is now addressing his mother and stating what he thinks of her now that she has married his uncle. Here he uses the word rose as something pure and then states that his mother’s deed, on the face of true love, has been replaced with something impure and harmful by marrying Claudius. It also implies that he viewed his father as being much more significant in regards to Claudius and that the rose stood for King Hamlet and the purity his mother had when she was with him. He mentions the disregard she has for marriage and the church which we know really mean something to Hamlet because of his inability to commit suicide because it is a sin. The Queen’s reaction to his words at first seems to be clueless but then she realizes what he is saying and cannot bear to think of the things she has done and begs Hamlet to stop.
“There’s fennel for you, and columbines.
ReplyDeleteThere’s rue for you, and here’s some for me; we
may call it herb of grace o’ Sundays. You must wear
your rue with a difference. There’s a daisy. I would
give you some violets, but they withered all when
my father died. They say he made a good end.”
(Ophelia, 4.5)
Here Ophelia is at the height of her madness in the play and in this scene she is surrounded by Laertes, Claudius, and Gertrude. Laertes talks of his sister’s madness and whenever Ophelia speaks she only enhances the verity of it. At first, I believe she is addressing Gertrude when she speaks of fennel and columbines because these symbolize adultery. Then when she speaks of rue I think she is addressing Claudius because it symbolizes repentance but when she says, “you may wear your rue with a difference” I think she intends that he should be repenting for a reason different from the sin his and Gertrude’s marriage has caused and that it could be that she thinks he was involved with her father’s murder. The daisies she speaks of I think represent unhappy love possibly between the King and Queen but it may possibly have something to do with her and Hamlet’s relationship and horrible way Hamlet has been treating her. Her mention of violets and how they withered when her father died I think fully shows the overwhelming affect her father’s death has really had on her
“Lay her i’ th’ earth,
And from her fair unpolluted flesh
May violets spring!”
(Laertes, 5.1)
Here Laertes speaks of Ophelia’s burial and becomes very frustrated with the priest because he believes Ophelia has committed suicide, which is a sin, and that she should not be getting a religious burial at all. The priest thinks that the only reason she is getting anything at all is because of the Kings order which only came in his attempt to keep Laertes calm. Laertes sees his sister as a symbol of innocence and cannot understand where the priest is coming from. I do not think the fact that she killed herself is something he wants to or is able to comprehend. He believes that the best should be given to her no matter what circumstances. I believe he means that violets will bloom from her pure flesh to represent the purity he thinks of her to always have. I also find it interesting that he used the term violets which were something she spoke of in her madness. This leads me to believe that instead of suicide, he may believe that her death was a result of her insanity and not being able to comprehend what was happening to her.
In Hamlet I believe that when all characters, aside from Ophelia, are speaking of flowers they use them as something that symbolizes purity and goodness and that only upon Ophelia’s state of madness is she able to use certain flowers as things that mean the very opposite. When Hamlet speaks of flora when first mentioning the unweeded garden I believe he sees a garden as something beautiful that can be managed but then that an unweeded garden is what his life has become with all the troubling things going on in it. When he mentions the rose, it stands for purity in comparison to the disgrace of his mother marrying Claudius. When Laertes mentions flowers in the play, they are always involved with the wellbeing of Ophelia. In his first statement where he states, “the canker galls the infants of the spring” the blossoms he refers to are something beautiful and genuine that he compares Ophelia to and he hopes that they will not be ruined by a worm. When he speaks of violets after her death he is talking about how he believes that the priest is wrong and that Ophelia still holds her innocence so that now that she is dead, beautiful violets will rise from her flesh. The meaning behind of all these flowers are how most of the other characters viewed Ophelia. Hamlet however, does not have these feeling until later in the play where he realizes the love he really has for Ophelia. This is why it was very interesting that when Ophelia herself uses these flowers when speaking, they have completely opposite meanings to how flowers had previously been used. Because she was in a state of madness it is interesting to think of how those types of flowers came to have those meaning to her and that it may have come from guilt she was feeling because so many thought of her as pure when she may, in fact, have already been sexually involved with Hamlet. Throughout the play, the impact the theme of flora had created an entirely different way of viewing Ophelia as a character.
ReplyDeleteFlora and Fauna
ReplyDelete“ But I am pigeon-liver’d and lack gall
To make oppression bitter, or ere this
I should have fatted all the region kites
With this slave’s offal*: bloody, bawdy villain!
Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindles villain!”
(Hamlet 2.2)
This is an interesting quote because of its comparison of pigeons and birds of prey, although that comparison is never clearly stated. Hamlet, who is angered by his mother’s marriage to Claudius as well as livid about the murder of his father, wishes he had sent all the birds of prey in the area after Claudius to eat out his innards when he had learned of how he killed his father. In the same sentence as the birds of prey though, he calls himself “pigeon-liver’d.” Pigeons are generally thought to be weaker more foolish birds, and birds of prey cunning, malicious, and without mercy. There is no doubt in my mind that Hamlet wishes he could find the strength of the birds of prey, or “kites” as he calls them, to help him kill his uncle and avenge his father. In his eyes, he is nothing but a stupid pigeon.
“There’s fennel for you, and columbines.
There’s rue for you , and here’s some for me; we
may call it herb of grace o Sundays. You must wear
your rue with a difference. There’s a daisy. I would
give you some violets, but they withered all when
my father died. They say he made a good end.”
(Ophelia 4.5.204)
The flowers used here are significant of something in the book, because during this period of time flowers were used as symbols for different moods and actions. An example of this would be rue, a common form of birth control at the time, which meant Ophelia could have possibly been pregnant with Hamlet’s child. The most important flower however is obviously the violet, which presumably means something along the lines of purity and goodness, as well as happiness. Therefore, Ophelia’s happiness would have withered and died with her father. This is also a hint to her later death and another reason it was probably intentional. The violets withering and dying are like herself, being crushed by her own father’s death and the rejection she’s feeling from Hamlet.
“How wear, stale, flat and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on ‘t! ‘tis an unweeded garden,
That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely. That it should come to this!
But two months dead! Nay, not so much two . . .”
(Hamlet, 1.2)
The use of “unweeded garden” by Hamlet in this quote is a metaphor for how the world is full of so many horrible things and people. It’s understandable that Hamlet would choose to say this too, seeing as his father’s dead and his mother’s just married his uncle. Weeds, in the literal sense, are the bane of a garden. They pop up everywhere even when you think you’ve got them all and suck the nutrients out of the ground that the welcome plants are suppose to use, and if left unchecked they will render the plants you need small and weak. That is what Hamlet is saying about the world. No one weeds it, so the weeds like Claudius feed off of others. Claudius is very much like a particularly invasive weed. He killed off the King to get what he wanted: the crown and Gertrude. And in Hamlet’s eyes Gertrude is a weed as well, because she went along with it without even seeming to care.
“ . . . my two schoolfellows,
ReplyDeleteWhom I will trust as I will adders fang’d . . .”
(Hamlet 3.4.225)
The irony in this passage is clear, because an adder is a deadly snake, and their fangs would be impossible to trust. Here, Hamlet is telling his mother about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern who are supposed to take him to England. Snakes in general are not seen as very trustworthy creatures. A lot of the time when someone calls another person a ‘snake’ that person is perceived to be untrustworthy and a liar. This is definitely the case with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who have already deceived Hamlet once by being spies for the king to see what he was up to. Hamlet suspected this and has made them confess it, bus still doesn’t trust them because once a snake, always a snake. Distrust for people is the attitude he seems to take on with everyone else too.
“For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being god kissing carrion—Have you a daughter?”
(Hamlet 2.2)
In this quote, Hamlet is calling people “maggots” that are born from “dead dogs” which seems to mean evil breeds evil. Dogs are sometimes viewed as lowly creatures that beg to be fed, and a dead one would be considered even lower. I don’t think I even have to explain why maggots, which feed off the dead, represent evil. Throwing in the whole ‘god allows this to happen’ though is an interesting twist to the whole quote. So in reality, Hamlet is saying that human nature cannot be stopped, although it can be wrong and unhealthy at times. Another way it can be looked at is that Hamlet is trying to say humans are animals, and they behave like parasites.
Throughout the book flowers, plants, animals, and insects are used in a variety of ways to express an abundance of ideas. The main idea though, at the heart of the matter, is that people are all animals, or if we are using plants, people are all weeds. For instance, the way Claudius acted to gain power was brutish and not unlike something animals do to command power and respect. Some of the animals, like Polonius and Osric, are tamed to do what the master wanted for praise. Both men were easily made to say completely contrary things to the previous statements they had made. Liars like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are turned into snake, their betrayals the poisonous fangs. Shakespeare makes us see that there is no escaping the animal inside us.
Then there are the weeds. Hamlet makes his thoughts about mankind clear when he says the word is nothing more than “an unweeded garden,” and honestly I can’t argue with him. Even the flowers that Ophelia listed off were either wild or types of weeds. Even the wildflowers can be considered weeds, because they can overrun a field. And some of the weeds may be pretty, but they are weeds nonetheless. They choke out what is good. So if we are comparing people to weeds, the people destroy themselves, because what little good is in them is overtaken. We see this in Gertrude and Hamlet’s perception of her. Hamlet once truly loved his mother, and that love disappeared when she married Claudius. To Hamlet, the good in her was gone, and it left him feeling empty.
Zoe P
ReplyDeleteWomen and womanliness: mothers, daughters, lovers, “strumpets”.
I have heard of your paintings too, well enough. God hath given you one face, and you make yourselves another.
(Hamlet, 3.1)
Hamlet is speaking to Ophelia. This quote is among the last of a long stream of insults delivered in a half-mad manner. He refers to the makeup that women wear, thus “creating another face.” This quote also ties in with the appearance and reality thread, referencing what Gad made, and the image that women present to the world. This is a perfect example of the mistrust Hamlet has for women, not just Ophelia, but also all women. This quote is tied with a long paragraph about how women lie, and spin stories, going on to say that Ophelia “makes your wantonness your ignorance.”
She swoons to see them bleed.
(King, 5.2)
This quote makes me really question whether Claudius ever truly loved the Queen. After she has been poisoned (indirectly by him), the King brushes away her behavior, using the explanation that she was simply upset by the sight of blood. The reason that this quote can be tied in with the thread is the fact that this excuse is possible, and that the actions and reactions of women were explained conveniently away by their “weaknesses”.
For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being god kissing carrion—Have you a daughter?
(Hamlet 2.2)
In this quote Hamlet equates the birth of a child with the maggots that would grow in a dead dog. He is addressing Polonius, and this line takes place shortly after Hamlet asks him if he is a fishmonger. Hamlet is clearly speaking of Ophelia with his “Have you a daughter?” comment, but the attitude towards women, and the comments made in 3.1 about breeding sin can also by applied to his feelings for his mother, and mothers in general. Hamlet expresses a deep level of contempt, and in this passage, even disgust for womankind.
Zoe P (2)
ReplyDeleteOphelia [talking to Hamlet about a speech in the play-within-a-play]: “’Tis brief, my lord”
Hamlet: “As woman’s love” (3.2.150-1)
This quote delivers a lot of its own explanation. Hamlet makes yet another jab to Ophelia about the unfaithfulness of women, showing his complete lack of trust. This comment comes along with a few nasty ones to his mother as well, detailing what Hamlet views as her betrayal of his father, the King. Most of Hamlets comments to Ophelia come without warning, and without provocation, leaving the reader with the impression of well; meanness.
“Nay, but to live
In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed,
Stwe’d in corruption, honeying and making love
Over the nasty sty—“ (Hamlet [to his mother after the Mouse Trap] 3.4.104)
Hamlet can’t seem to listen to the Ghost when it comes to speaking to his mother. In this scene Hamlet relentlessly attacks her, as he said he would, not with his any weapon, but with his words. She pleads with him to stop speaking, and he keeps going anyway, throwing words of disgust at her. “Rank sweat”, “Enseamed bed” (which the note clarifies as meaning greasy) all of these words painting a picture of absolute contempt. This contempt likely stemming from how deeply uncomfortable he is with the idea of his mother having a sexuality. It could be argued whether this discomfort stems from the attitude surrounding women of the time, and how much it is amplified by Hamlet personally.
Hamlets overall attitude towards women is impossible to miss while reading the play. His insecurities, angry episodes of lashing out, and irrational tirades appear fairly regularly, sometimes directed at Ophelia, sometimes at his mother, and occasionally at no one in particular. What strikes me the most is that in this attitude, Hamlet gives up what could have been valuable allies in his struggles, both internal and external. Instead of accepting the love that his mother and Ophelia wish to give him, he repels them with harsh words and judgment. I do not fully understand where the violence in Hamlets feelings towards women stems from. Is it solely the remarriage of his mother and that interpreted betrayal? Or is there a deeper history that the reader is unaware of? In any case, the truth remains; had Hamlet been more trusting, more rational towards the women in his life (however silent they may be) the dynamic of his isolation would be entirely rewritten.
Jessie C
ReplyDeleteLife and Death
Q1. One woe doth tread upon another’s heel,
So fast they follow. --Your sister's drowned, Laertes. (Gertrude, 4.7)
1. After receiving a letter from Hamlet announcing his return from France, in 4.7, Claudius and Laertes devise a plan to kill Hamlet. Gertrude enters and informs Laertes of Ophelia's death. Ophelia's death was not expected, but it is very important to the play. It raises a lot of questions such as: Did she commit suicide or was her death an accident? If she did commit suicide, why? Is she the one who has gone mad for love, instead of Hamlet, as everyone had thought? Was she depressed because of the death of her father? Everyone has the choice to either live or to die. Hamlet, for example, went through the tragedy of having his father murdered by his uncle, then his mother marrying the man who murdered his father within a month, and his fathers ghost telling him to get revenge. Hamlet could've easily killed himself right then and there, but he chose to live, which shows that Hamlet is noble and brave.
Q2. No, no, the drink, the drink!—O my dear Hamlet!
The drink, the drink! I am poisoned. (dies) (Gertrude 5.2)
2. Many deaths occur in 5.2. Hamlet figures out Claudius' plan to kill him then agrees to fence with Laertes. During the fencing match, Gertrude accidentally drinks the poison cup, that Claudius set up for Hamlet's death, and dies. Gertrude's death was also unexpected. I believe that Claudius is to be blamed for her death. Instead of whacking the cup out of her hand, in fear of her drinking it he says, "Gertrude, do not drink," and she proceeds to drinking it. Then aside he tells himself that is the poisoned cup and that it is too late for her. In a way, Claudius did kill Gertrude, even though it was accidental; his focus on revenge against Hamlet caused the death of the Queen.
Q3. Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damnèd Dane,
Drink off this potion. Is thy union here?
Follow my mother. (Hamlet 5.2)
3. In this quotation, Hamlet forces Claudius to drink the poison, and dies instantly. This is a great part in the book because after everything that has happened, including the deaths of: Polonius, Ophelia, Gertrude, Claudius, Laertes, Hamlet himself, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern, Hamlet finally gets revenge on Claudius, which is what this book is about. In the end, were these deaths worth it?
Jessie C
ReplyDelete4. During the fencing match, Hamlet cuts Laertes with the poisoned rapier. As he is dying, he tells Hamlet that Claudius deserves to die. He asks for his forgiveness, reassuring him that Polonius' death wasn't his fault, and that his death was not the fault of Laertes. Laertes's death should not have happened. After Claudius died, Laertes realized that everything was the King's fault and that he was tricked into killing Hamlet, only for Claudius' gain.
Q5. As thou'art man, Give me the cup. Let go! By heaven, I'll have't.
(takes cup from Horatio)
O God, Horatio, what a wounded name,
Things standing thus unknown, shall live behind me!
If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart
Absent thee from felicity a while,
And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain
To tell my story. (5.2)
5. After the death of Gertrude, Claudius, and Laertes, Hamlet is on the floor dying. Horatio lifts up the poisoned cup, attempting to drink it, in order to kill himself. Hamlet stops Horatio from doing this by telling him that if he ever loved him, he will live to tell Hamlet's story and die the way he was planned to. Horatio has been a loyal friend to Hamlet throughout this book. He is very noble at the end of the book where, everyone he had known is now dead; and his way of life will never be the same again, but he chooses not to drink the poison and lives to tell Hamlet's story. By choosing life over death, Horatio has shown revealed to us his true love for Hamlet, for Hamlet had said to him "If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart," live to tell my story.
This play is about revenge. Life and death plays an important role in this play, not only because there were many deaths, but the matter of life and death resulted in getting revenge. One reason why Hamlet chose to live was because he was afraid of the afterlife. If his father's ghost had not appeared to him, Hamlet would have most likely committed suicide not knowing what its like. The Old Fortinbras was killed by King Hamlet, Claudius killed King Hamlet, Hamlet kills Polonius, Ophelia commits suicide, Gertrude is accidentally killed because of Claudius, Hamlet kills Laertes, Rosencrantz , Guildenstern, and himself. One death came after the other, and each time the blame was put on someone, but at the end, it all goes back to Claudius. This is known because of Horatio's choice to live. Now, as Fortinbras goes through Denmark to avenge his father's death, he becomes the new King of Denmark.
Danielle P
ReplyDeleteResponses to authority: mocking, obeying, flattering, etc.
“the funeral bak’d meats / Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.”
(Hamlet 1.2)
Hamlet has never been a supporter of his mother's remarriage. In fact, he has ambitiously protested it since the day he heard of it. Sooner or later, he realizes there is nothing that can be done by him to change what is happening. He decides to rebel against her and her decisions by casually making snide remarks. Hamlet understands how much his mother cares for him, but her promiscuity hurt him. He seeks revenge for this, and is a man of words and passive action so it makes sense he would try and use words t hurt her. He clearly makes it known he does not support her newly-chosen lifestyle by his snide remarks, and hopes to embarrass her by ridiculing her decision whenever it is brought up.
In this passage Hamlet is remarking to his colleagues how quickly his mother did remarry. It is a pun on the fact that the food from his father's funeral did not spoil before her wedding day. This statement is exaggerated and is surely said to embarrass her and hint that he should feel guilty. Hamlet is ruining her reputation to repay her for how she disrespected his father's memory. This rude remark also shows how upset Hamlet is by her quick remarriage, and foreshadows the attitude he will direct to her from now on in the play.
“Do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?”
(Hamlet, 3.2.364)
Hamlet is as unsure about himself as he is of others. He often jumps to conclusions about what others are trying to say, and this occasionally causes a misunderstanding between him and others. Hamlet is witty, though, and can often tongue-tie someone so much that they admit the truth. When Hamlet said this line, he was speaking to Rosencrantz and Guilderstern and suspected that they were lying once again to him. He began talking in double meanings like he so often does, and asked Guilderstern to play upon a recorder for him. When Guilderstern continuously refused, Hamlet asked him “Do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?” He is basically asking the pair if they think he is stupid, and is unaware of their lies. He hopes by showing anger and his untrust, they may tell him more of the Queen's plans. Hamlet responded to them in such a witty way as to make them understand he is onto them, but not make a scene by shouting his distrust in such an open area. Hamlet is a wise, intelligent character.
[Polonius hides behind the arras . . .]
ReplyDeletePolonius [Behind]: what, ho! Help, help, help!
Hamlet [Drawing {his sword}]: How now! a rat? . . .
(3.4)
Polonius is an often overlooked character in Hamlet. He implants the idea that the cause for Hamlet's insanity is the unreturned love for his daughter Ophelia. The reader is aware this is not so, and this affects Polonius's persona for the rest of the novel. His obsession over Hamlet's love for Ophelia makes him seem less intelligent and even more gullible. He jumps to a conclusion that is in no way the cause for Hamlet's insanity, and this makes it easier for Hamlet to kill him. We know from previously reading that Hamlet has strong animosity towards those who are less intelligent than he, and those who can not think for themselves. Polonius is able to think on hi own behalf, but often is gullible and does not think situations through thoroughly. Hamlet realizes this and because of this is unaffected by his murderous act afterward. Polonius is just pawn in his rivalry with Claudius, and for that he is able to be murdered. This action can even be seen as a figurative slap in the face to Claudius because Polonius was one of his upfront most trusted courtiers. Its as if Hamlet was asking, “how do you like it when I hurt you, and kill one of your men?” Hamlet is passively defying Claudius's authority in this brief action.
Hamlet is neither a fan of Claudius, or of Polonius. He does not respect Polonius because for the way he acts and represents himself, but is even more hateful when he realizes how sneaky he can be. Hamlet is going through a time where he feels he can trust just about no one, and to have that fear strengthened by another person spying on him enrages him. He surely feels betrayed, and is clearly annoyed that Polonius would stoop to such a low to spy on business that seems to concern him not. Shakespeare is also setting the stage for a reason that Laertes can be mad at Hamlet, and a reason for Ophelia's suicide. If this action did not take place, than even more significant scenes could later on not of taken place. Hamlet even adds insult to injury when he disrespectfully and sarcastically refers to the hidden Polonius as a rat. This quick scene can be seen so complexly if one takes the time to look at it.
“Nay, but to live
In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed,
Stwe’d in corruption, honeying and making love
Over the nasty sty—“ (Hamlet [to his mother after the Mouse Trap] 3.4.104)
This scene is the first in which Hamlet is truly allowed some one-on-one time with his mother. He is enraged by her actions, and often feels she needs to be punished, but by orders of his father's ghost is not allowed to do so. Instead, he decides to punish her with words, his specialty. Hamlet wishes to make his mother feel guilty for what she has done, and emphasizes her deceitful actions during this scene. It certainly does the trick, and she admits to not ever being able to look herself in the eyes again. Hamlet responds with this quote, which once again adds insult to injury. His mother is already feeling bad enough, but for Hamlet to wish she lives miserably and guiltily afterward is almost unbearable for her. Hamlet has basically told his mother, whom loves him more than life, that he hopes she is never happy as long as she's with her new husband. Once again, Hamlet is responding negatively to authority, and in this case it is because he can not respond any other way. I believe Hamlet would wish harm onto his mother for her actions, but is unable to do so, so he harms her by conversation, a hidden dagger.
“King: Where is Polonius?
ReplyDeleteHamlet: In heaven; send thither to see: if your messenger find him not there, seek him i’ the other place yourself.
King [to attendants]: Go seek [the corpse of Polonius] there.
Hamlet: He will stay till you come.”
(4.3)
Hamlet shows no kindness towards Claudius. Claudius has ruined his life, and taken all that Hamlet holds dear. It is no wonder why Hamlet so often responds how he does to Claudius. Hamlet wants to both frustrate Claudius, and insult him. He frustrates him by refusing to admit to where Polonius's body is being kept, and then insults him by basically telling him to go to Hell. He does this when he says, “In heaven; send thither to see: if your messenger find him not there, seek him i’ the other place yourself.” Hamlet is informing Claudius that Polonius is dead, and therefore, he is either in Heaven or Hell, and if Claudius truly wants to find him then he should go to Hell. This can then be taken out of context and seen as Hamlet's double meaning telling Claudius he should go to Hell.
Hamlet is also playing “crazy” during this scene. He often talks in riddles, and refuses to directly tell where Polonius is. This is to both anger Claudius for Hamlet's own personal benefit, and to almost mock his authoritative power. By not answering Claudius's questions, Hamlet is inferring that Claudius can not make him do anything he does not want to do, which could also include being sent to England.
Responses to authority: mocking, obeying, flattering, e
Imagine losing everything you once found dear, losing everything that once seemed so solid and unchangeable. One couldn't argue that this may change the person's persona and attitude to those around him. This person may now find it impossible to trust anything or anyone, especially when he had been so hurt in the past. This person may rebel, isolate themselves, or even go insane. Hamlet was forced to go through this tragic experience when he lost his father, and in a sense his mother too, and showed signs of each of these aftereffects in the days after.
Hamlet is a rebel. He rebels against authority because the prime statue of authority, a King, hurt him so in-justly. His uncle killed his father and took the throne that was rightfully his. Hamlet distrusts all authoritative figures in his life now, and often belittles them with mockery and sarcasm as if to insult them. Hamlet's varying reactions and responses to authoritative figures is an underlying theme in, Hamlet. It happens often, and adds to his overall personality. By repetitively seeing him act this way, the reader is reminded why and it links back to what had happened to him two months ago, his fathers death, and all he has been put through since then. The reader may even question what they would do if put in Hamlet's place, and can either sympathize or empathize with his character because of it. This thread makes the novel more relative to the reader, and Hamlet becomes a character that anyone, of any given time period, can relate to.
The idea that Hamlet responds differently to authoritative figures than he would, per say to Horatio, is evident throughout the entire play. This theme shows the distrust Hamlet feels, and even hints at his need for revenge whenever he is involved in a conversation with Claudius. If Hamlet did not act in such a way, one may question how he is able to handle all the corruption and mistrust he is going through. This is Hamlet's way of acting out, which personalizes his character more and gives his thoughts deeper value. His way of responding to authoritative figures is Hamlet's way of rebelling, much like how we now often understand a child doing bad in school he interim of their parent's finalizing a divorce.