Mr. Thomas

1. Present answers from yesterday's groups

• Group 1

  • Act 1

    • 1. As the play opens, what is the mood? Look closely at the text, and list words or phrases that Shakespeare uses to help set the tone and prepare us for what's to come. Why is there a strict watch being kept outside the castle of Elsinore?

      • The mood that Shakespeare conveys to the audience by these words and phrases are eerie and paranoid. The way the guards are on edge and quickly react to anyone passing by, ready to attack, also puts the reader/audience on edge and creates paranoia. The eerie mood seems to fade out after the first act has ended, but the paranoia within the audience and the characters remain throughout the entirety of the play. The guards were keeping a strict watch around the castle of Elsinore because the king of Denmark killed the king of Norway, causing tensions to rise and a war to break out. 

    • 2. Re-read Hamlet's first soliloquy carefully (scene 2). What is it that is really bothering him about what has happened since his father's death? How would you describe the tone of his feelings - detached, impassioned, rational, ironic, or what? Now compare and contrast his tone of feelings against the festivities and mood of Claudius's court. 

      • Hamlet is still not completely over his father’s death, and his feeling can be described as mourning and detached. He also has feelings of ill will against everyone else in the castle. His mother is moving on too fast, his uncle is replacing the king. And everyone in the court is excited about the up and coming wedding. Hamlet walks with a dark cloud over his head while everyone else has forgotten about the king and moved on. Hamlet’s high regard for his father prevents him from moving on, his melancholy is derived from him clinging to the past.

    • 3. Read Hamlet's second soliloquy carefully (scene 5). What does Hamlet say he has learned? In other words, what general piece of wisdom does he want to save from this encounter? Is Hamlet too easily foiled or is he just becoming "grown up,” losing his youthful innocence about the world?

      • Hamlet’s encounter with the ghost of his father is what propelled Hamlet’s actions. The ghost tells hamlet that he was not killed by a snake but killed by claudius. The wisdom he kept from this encounter is the idea that someone can smile while still being a villain. Hamlet is not easily fooled, he is skeptical and wonders if the ghost is being honest, Hamlet is forced to grow up and this conversation with the ghost of his father marks a coming of age, and how he will have to carry out a task to help his father pass to heaven. A life or death task should not be placed on the shoulders of a child.

    • 4. Notice how quickly Hamlet moves from the specific name(Claudius) to the general ("one"). Compare the same movement he makes from the specific person (Gertrude) to "frailty, thy name is woman" in his first soliloquy. Explain the effect of shifting personal names to these less impersonal descriptive names (what does this say about Hamlet’s state of mind?)

      • The way Hamlet addresses them differs after his encounter with the ghost. After learning of Claudius's sin, he no longer sees him as a man, he sees him as a smiling villain “one”. The way Hamlet addresses his own mother shows that he no longer sees her as anything other than a whore that left the true king for a cheap replacement. Hamlet’s state of mind is deteriorating because of all the events occuring, his father is dead, his mother is remarrying, everyone has forgotten about his father and with no one to understand his emotions, he begins to lose sanity.

• Group 2

  • Act 2

    • 5. One of the play's major themes, Illusion versus Reality, begins to take center stage in Act 2. What possible messages could Shakespeare be trying to convey?

      • In the instance such as the presentation of the Ghost, Shakespeare forces the audience to question whether the play itself is reliable, or if it depends upon a fundamental illusion to create a facade of Hamlet’s reality. Hamlet’s illusion of madness he creates conceals the reality of his intentions and behavior when interacting with other characters in the play.Characters within the play struggle to discern the reality behind others’ illusions and thoughts, as opposed to what those characters are pretending to think. The characters attempt to shatter others’ illusions by creating illusions of their own, as exemplified by Hamlet’s play, which was intended to subtly expose Claudius.

      • Shakespeare aims to present the idea of man’s fundamental struggle to seek truth within deception, and look beyond the simply accepted truths.

    • 6. What is the significance of Hamlet's referring to Polonius as Jephthah? Jephthah's story is interesting in this context (see Judges 11:30-40). 

      • Literary Allusion = Biblical 

      • The story is from Judges 11 in the Bible which promises God a burnt sacrifice of the first person who comes to his door if he can claim victory over the Ammonites

      • Pg: 118

      • The allusion (which also involves sacrifice) foreshadows Ophelia’s apparent suicide later

      • Jephthah sacrificed his daughter hastily. Polonius is sacrificing the good of the play by using bad actors, in Hamlet’s opinion.

      • Polonius inadvertently sacrifices his own daughter. Polonius is so caught up with his own “lovesick” theory that as soon as he sees a daughter reference he sees it as proof of his own theory (“He’s still obsessed with my daughter!”) He doesn’t appear to get the “sacrificed his own daughter” connection.

      • Irony: “There’s a method to his madness”  -Polonius

      • Recognizes a deeper, relevant meaning in Hamlet’s gibberish

      • Doesn’t realize it’s more than coincidence

    • 7. Read Hamlet's second soliloquy carefully (2.2.). Compare and contrast what Hamlet says about the player’s “factious” response in the upcoming play against Hamlet’s own realistic situation and response. 

      • In Hamlet’s own situation his father has just died and his uncle decided to marry his mother. The ghost of his father informs Hamlet that Claudius poisoned his father. Hamlet devises a plan to use the play and the players within to reveal the evil deed Claudius has done. The players create an interpretation of Hamlet’s reality. (Hamlet laments this fact, yet views it as an unfortunate necessity).

    • 8. Also in this soliloquy, Hamlet complains that he hasn't acted on his vengeance. Why hasn't he? Why does he need the play? What will he learn from it? And how will this play connect to the theme of illusion vs. reality?

      • Hamlet is not sure if the Ghost is truly his father’s ghost or if it is the devil in disguise, trying to trick him into eternal damnation through revenge on Claudius. He expresses this fear when he claims, “yea, and perhaps out of my weakness and my melancholy, as he is very potent with such spirits, abuses me to damn me.” Hamlet’s plan is to write the play based on his father’s death, then have it performed in front of his uncle, Claudius, and then depending on Claudius’ response Hamlet will decide if he will seek revenge. He decides that “the play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.” All Hamlet wants to find out from the play is if his uncle is the one who killed King Hamlet. The theme, Illusion v. Reality comes into play when the ghost is involved. The ghost presents itself to Hamlet as Hamlet’s father and tells him how he was murdered by Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius. The audience may have a perception that the ghost is not real and is a part of Hamlet’s imagination, so for Hamlet he will find out if the ghost is really his father and the way Claudius reacts will determine for the audience if the ghost is real or an illusion.

• Group 3

  • Act 3

    • 9. Read Hamlet's soliloquy carefully (To be or not to be…). Compare the differences of Hamlet’s mindset from the first and second soliloquies. (Think about the way Hamlet's mind works within the first two—are the same ideas and thoughts happening here?) 

      • In the first soliloquy, Hamlet is mostly angry about his current situation concerning his mother marrying Claudius. He does wish even then that he could end his own life (“Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon against self-slaughter!”), but he mostly directs anger at the actions of Gertrude. However, the second is far more philosophical. It is as if he has already accepted his fate in death, and is pondering why people put such weight on removing one’s mortal coil: “To die, to sleep―No more―and by a sleep we end the heartache…’tis a consummation Devoutly to be wished!”. He does not mention anything about his family or situation; this is a picture of his deepest thoughts unobscured by his position in reality.

    • 10. Hamlet and Ophelia "Nunnery scene: Why does he want her to get to a nunnery? (Consider Jephthah’s story – Biblical Allusion). Does he say this out of love or hate or both? 

      • Hamlet is under the impression that Ophelia was using her beauty to deceive him. The quote “Get thee to a nunnery,” is him implying her to be impure. He says that sin breeds more sin and blames his mother for his own faults. He doesn't say this in pure hatred, but more in a sense of betrayal. In a way, he still loves her, he just feels wrong for doing so.

    • 11. Read Hamlet's soliloquy carefully (scene 2). What is the mood of the soliloquy? (Again think about the way Hamlet's mind changes from soliloquy to soliloquy) What is happening to Hamlet?

      • The mood of Hamlet’s soliloquy is introspective and reflective due to the diction Shakespeare decides to use, language such as “For in that sleep of death what dreams may come” makes one think about not only Hamlet’s fate, but also one’s mortality as well. At this point in the play, Hamlet is beginning to change internally, questioning his own motives and what exactly needs to be done to resolute the conflict.

  • Act 4

    • 12. (scene 5) In Gertrude’s aside, what do we learn about the state of her soul? What does this say about holding up false impressions? 

      • Gertrude’s character is one of the least developed in the play - with besides her monologue about Ophelia’s death, many of her lines are short sentences with no substance. She is defined by her relationships to the other characters and not how she truly is: Claudius’s wife, Hamlet’s mother, King Hamlet’s widowed wife, and Queen of Denmark. But, this is the only time during the play where she is on the stage by herself with no one to manipulate what she says. She does not have to pretend to be a persona - she is her true authentic self with her authentic feelings. She is “sick”, her soul to be more specific. “Sins” have followed her everywhere she goes - her marriage, her son, her power struggle. She feels guilty for what has happened and her part in that madness (marrying Claudius.) By marrying Claudius and staying the queen, she has sent Hamlet on this path of chaos with the rest of the characters. In the second sentence, she shows that she is questioning everything about Claudius, Hamlet, and the situation because the guilt is starting to overwhelm her. But although she feels sick and is overwhelmed with guilt and suspicions, as soon as someone comes to see her and she is not alone, she puts on the face of the smiling, supportive queen, wife, and mother.

    • 13. (scene 5) The court assumes Ophelia's madness is caused by her father's death. Judging from her songs, what else is on her mind and coming to the surface in her madness? What might this suggest about her relationship with Hamlet? 

      • From Ophelia’s songs, we can assume that, not only is she upset about her father, but Hamlet has severely disturbed her. His madness has led to her own because she thought he loved her, but then he took it back. He used her, presumably physically from the lyrics “Let in the maid that out a maid never departed more,” and then left after killing her father. While she does not know that Hamlet was the one to kill Polonius, his sudden leaving her after promising to wed her has left her even more emotionally traumatized. This is proven in her lyrics, “‘So would I ha’ done, by yonder sun, An thou hadst not come to my bed,’” taking on Hamlet’s perspective. This suggests that Hamlet and Ophelia had had a previously normal, loving relationship before it was destroyed by his despair over his own father’s murder. Further, Ophelia’s songs suggest that her father’s death was only the final straw on her descent into madness. Hamlet was the ultimate cause.

• Group 4

  • Act 5

    • 14. Describe the tone of the scene between the gravediggers. Why does Shakespeare introduce this tone at this moment of the play?

      •   The tone of this scene is fairly light hearted. The conversation between the gravedigger and Hamlet is filled with joking euphemisms. It is introduced to offer some comedic relief for the audience as it is between other high stress scenes. It is also rather ironic because the two are having a joking conversation while Hamlet’s dead lover is in fact about to be buried.

    • 15. Explain the significance of Hamlet's meditation on Yorick’s skull, and Alexander and Caesar. How has his mind changed toward the subject of death? How is perception different than his soliloquies (especially “To Be or Not To Be…)? 

      • This meditation shows Hamlet’s changed views on death. Previously, he seemed to romanticize the idea of death. He made it into something beautiful and to be feared. Through this meditation though, Hamlet acknowledges the harsh reality of death. In the end everyone still ends up 6ft under, turning to dirt. He calls attention to the fact that it doesn’t really matter who you were when you were alive as everyone is the same in the end.

    • 16. (scene 2) As Hamlet speaks to Horatio, he seems to have a new attitude toward life itself (consider his words about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern). Detail this change in his perception of life. 

      • Hamlet appears to view life almost as a game, an opportunity to further oneself. The big players in the “game” such as Hamlet and other Lords and kings’ ordeals are more important than the lives of those below them. This   contrasts his earlier conversation with Guildenstern and Rosencrantz in which he told them they were friends, not servants.

    • 17. What are we to infer after all the bodies are cleared away? Does Denmark come into a time of peace and healing or are they headed for greater troubles? How do you know?

      • After all the bodies are cleared away we inferred that Denmark would come into a time of another potential war under Fortinbras as he led his country into an unnecessary fight, we believe that he will try to do it to a vulnerable Denmark. With all obvious heirs to the throne dead, Denmark is likely to crumble under the pressure of a foreign threat and fighting for power within its own country.​

2. Examine essay prompts on Hamlet

• Prompt 1: (From AP Exam 1984) In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake.  Choose a novel or play of literary merit and discuss how a scene of violence confronts the reader or audience.  Explain the scene and how it contributes to the meaning of the work.  Avoid mere summary

• Prompt 2: (From 1994 Exam)  In some works of literary merit, a character who appears briefly, or does not appear at all, is a significant presence.  Choose a work that features such a character and write an essay where you show how the character functions in the work.  Discuss how the character affects action, theme, or the development of other characters.  Avoid mere plot summary.

• Prompt 3: (From 2001 Exam)  One definition of madness is “mental delusion or the eccentric behavior arising from it.”  But Emily Dickinson wrote:  Much madness is divinest Sense – To a discerning Eye – Novelists and playwrights have often seen madness with a ‘discerning eye.’ Select a novel or play  in which a character’s apparent madness or irrational behavior plays an important role. Then write a well-organized essay in which you explain what this delusion or eccentric behavior consists of and how it might be judged reasonable.  Explain the significance of the ‘madness’ to the work as a whole.  Avoid mere plot summary.

3. Begin viewing film version