Hamlet - Summary and Analysis

Hamlet

Summary:

~Author - Shakespeare
~Setting - Denmark
~Plot - So basically there is this guy named Hamlet. His father, Old Hamlet, was killed by his brother, Claudius. Now Claudius rules alongside Gertrude, who was married to Old Hamlet and is currently married to Claudius. Yes... Gertrude married her husband's brother. Hamlet didn't like this too much....
So then there's this ghost that tells Hamlet the truth about Claudius... and Hamlet doesn't like it too much. He does test the ghost's truthfulness, though, by putting on a play about... well... Claudius. When he reacts, Hamlet will know the truth.
Side note... all the while young Fortinbras is mad because Old Hamlet killed Old Fortinbras... so now Young Fortinbras wants to attack Denmark. But when his uncle puts a stop to it... Fortinbras plans to just "pass through" on his way to Poland to attack.
Back to Hamlet... he decides to play crazy and the whole play is about him deciding whether or not to kill Claudius. People die *echem Rozencrantz, Guildenstern, Polonius, Ophelia...* and Hamlet is still in this whole "to be or not to be" funk.
Finally, Claudius has had enough. After one murder plan failed (Hamlet getting killed in Europe), he gets Laertes in on the job. A fencing match, he says; oh Hamlet you'll win, he says; drink when you get a hit, he says. But really, he just wants Hamlet to die.
Oh and when Hamlet refuses to drink from the cup, Gertrude does. And Claudius lets her. SHOCKER
So finally Laertes cuts Hamlet and then Hamlet does the same... so now they're both doomed. On his way to  death, he tells Horatio not to kill himself because life is too precious. Aw... good Hamlet. And then he dies and saves the kingdom from the Chaos that is his family.
Oh and Fortinbras walks in and is like...cool... I win! And he is now the ruler. He does, however, let Hamlet have a proper kings' burial.


Significant Characters:

~ Hamlet: The prince of Denmark
~ Claudius: Brother to Old Hamlet, Married to Gertrude, uncle/dad to Hamlet
~ Horatio: Hamlet's best friend, the only man Hamlet really trusts/cares about;
 ~ Ophelia: Lover to Hamlet, daughter to Polonius and sister to Laertes
~Polonius: Suck-up to Claudius, dad to Ophelia and Laertes
~Laertes: Son of Polonius
~Fortinbras: Prince of Norway
~ Rozencrantz and Guilenstern: Old friends of Hamlet, help the kind

Narrative Voice and Author's style:

~View: No narrator, nobody knows all
~ Tone: Dark, ironic, contemplative
~Imagery:
     * the palace with many places to hide and deceive parallel with the ways in which the people are able to disguise themselves
     * Images of death all throughout the play - skull, ghost, dark
~ Symbolism:
     * Ghost - the spiritual consequences of death
     * Yourick's skull - the physical consequences of death
 

Quotes
~ Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

 Marcellus says this as he and Horatio debate whether or not to follow Hamlet and the ghost into the dark night. The line refers both to the idea that the ghost is an ominous omen for Denmark and to the larger theme of the connection between the moral legitimacy of a ruler and the health of the state as a whole. The ghost is a visible symptom of the rottenness of Denmark created by Claudius’s crime.

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

This is the beginning to Hamlet's long soliloquy basically questioning life itself. It's all about morality and suicide and weighs the consequences of living or dying. He goes on to say that not knowing what waits in the afterlife is what stops people from committing suicide. This quote plays with the themes and motifs about life and death. 

Theme: Revenge is never rewarded in life

The name of the whole work is The Tragedy of Hamlet, which, had he chosen to revenge his father, would not be fitting. Nobody would have felt bad for Hamlet had he killed Claudius and ruled, in fact we might just hate him even more. This shows that he was rewarded for his death and not seeking revenge, the people are able to feel for him and he gets a king's burial. Also take into consideration Fortinbras. He listened to his uncle, didn't seek revenge, and was rewarded with a new kingdom. Those who sought revenge, like Laertes, were faced with death and got nothing out of the deal. All of these things show that revenge not being rewarded is a key theme in Hamlet. 

Prompt Revisions - Jan. 20

1970. Choose a character from a novel or play of recognized literary merit and write an essay in which you (a) briefly describe the standards of the fictional society in which the character exists and (b) show how the character is affected by and responds to those standards. In your essay do not merely summarize the plot.

Lennie, from John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, is a character that exists in a society that renders him incapable to thrive. In this fictional society, Lennie and his mental disability are not thought of as he stumbles through life unable to stay in one place. Through the narrow-minded standards of society, Lennie is set up for failure in this life, which shows that the world can be a hard place and that not everybody has it easy. 

In Of Mice and Men, people are highly regarded when they work hard without much controversy. Those who work hard, say little and follow the rules of the boss are set for life. For Lennie, this is hard. Since he is mentally unable to understand societal norms and mannerisms, he is often a target for trouble and can't understand what rules are and, if he breaks them, what he did wrong. The only thing society cares about is his strength, which is the only reason he is able to work and have any sort of life at all. These standards in society make it so that certain people thrive, but not everyone gets to have opportunities - even if it is out of their control. 

Lennie, a strong and hard worker, is hired for his strength... and nothing else. This would seem to be a grace on first glance, but when he is always jumping from town to town, readers see that he is unable to find a place to stay. Lennie tends to cause trouble, but not out of evil intent. For instance, in one place of work he grabbed a girl's skirt because it was soft; he just wanted to feel something soft and didn't understand that grabbing a woman's skirt is wrong in society. Instead, he is a simple minded man that doesn't understand the difference between right and wrong. Even though that is true, other people are unable to see that. This makes Lennie a target for misfortune and affects his everyday life. Instead of staying in one place and having a home like he wants, he is forced to the confines of his troubled world, which shows that the world is an unforgiving place and not everyone can have a good life. 

Even though Lennie does not get everything he wants and cannot seem to please anyone, that doesn't stop him. Lennie's mind is unable to see the problems. Instead, he responds with hopes and dreams to one day reach his goal to have a house and animals. These societal standards are barely shown in the way that he responds, which is part of his problem. His lack of recognition makes it even harder for others to sympathize, which leads to his ultimate downfall. Lennie never had it easy, and never will, which is shows the world isn't set up for everyone to thrive and that reality is not always good. 

In Of Mice and Men, Lennie is unable to have a good life. Even though it is not his fault, society does not recognize his mental disability. Even more, Lennie does not understand that he is causing trouble, which makes society even harsher towards him. This shows that the world is a bad place and doesn't always recognize the misfortune of others. 

Response to Course Material - Jan. 14

Since our last course material post, we have really been focusing mainly on Hamlet. Hamlet the play and different versions of Hamlet acted out. 

In the first movie, the BBC version, there was a lot more left to the viewers. The director allowed for more ambiguity and such so that it wasn't just his interpretation of the play. While I hated this version when I first watched it, now I can say it wasn't too horrible. There are a lot of different ways to go about making this play into a movie, and I kind of liked the way it stayed close to the play. The scenes and props were terrible, Hamlet overacted way too much and was a bit too angry... but I can appreciate it more after watching the other versions. 

In the next Hamlet movie, Branaugh's (?) version, I was more visually stimulated but decided less things on my own. The director really based a lot of this on his interpretation of the play, especially when he had Fortinbras invade Denmark. Overall I felt it easier to watch this version and concentrate, but there wasn't much left up to interpretation. 

In the last movie, it was a much more modern version of the play, visually at least. There are cameras, modern clothes, ect. Again, I was able to pay more attention to everything because it was visually set up very well and felt I could relate more due to the modern take. I especially like how they did the ghost, but the director made everything his interpretation. There was an emphasis on the beginning when Horatio says Hamlet is mad when he follows the ghost... and from that point on... he seems very mad. In this version, Hamlet goes crazy from the beginning, which is arguable compared to the play. 

In class we have also started mood and atmosphere practice.... which apparently I missed the best day to do this. But basically, we look at a picture and a piece of poetry or prose and write about the mood of the picture.