Hamlet: Act Two, scene two
Hamlet: Act Two, scene two The second soliloquy is divided into three parts: * Hamlet's feelings of cowardice and worthlessness for not fulfilling his own promise after witnessing a scene from the Player that is filled with passion and emotions ( 560-587). * Hamlet then comes to realize that he must take action upon Claudius and with an explosion of anger, plans to do so (588-594). * Hamlet plans to test Claudius to see if he is really guilty by adding a scene like the murder of his father into the play (595-617). Section 1 1. In his soliloquy, Hamlet conveys a tone of worthlessness. He is feeling useless and inept, because the Player has performed a scene with such passion and emotion. Seeing this, Hamlet finds it "monstrous (562)" that he has not yet fulfilled his commitment of avenging his father's murder. The Player is engorged with emotions over a fictitious character, and Hamlet compares this to his own struggle to find the strength and courage to murder Claudius. This is seen in the lines " but in a fiction, in a dream of passion, could force his soul to his own conceit...visage wanned, tears in his eyes...(563-566)" and "And all for nothing! For Hecuba!(568-569)". Hamlet uses diction to compare himself with the Player, and portrays himself as a pitiful, weak, and miserable fool who "lacks gall(589)" to fulfill his commitment. This is shown in the line "a dull
Hamlet Act I
Hamlet Act I The first time that we are introduced to Hamlet is in Act I Scene II. It is apparent that the predominant thought in the atmosphere is the death of King Hamlet, Hamlet's father. Claudius says; "Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's death the memory be green". This first introduces the Hamlet as mourning for his father's death, setting the scene for Hamlet's mood. The first time that that hamlet speaks is just after Claudius has called him his cousin and son, where Hamlet replies; "A little more than kin, and less than kind". Here he is making a pun on the words kin and kind, saying how feels now too closely related to Claudius. He also says; "Not so my lord, I am too much I'th'sun". Here he is saying that he feels too much like Claudius's 'son'. Both of these show that Hamlet is quite witty, and also that he is a good listener, and picks up on other things that maybe other people don't. Hamlet feels that the wedding of his mother and Claudius is too soon after the death of his father, and he planned to go back to school, however when his mother asks him not to he says; "I shall in all my best obey you madam". This shows that although he does not want to stay he will to please his mother. His displeasure at the wedding is also shown in his soliloquy at the end of the scene, where he says; "She married. Oh most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity to
Hamlet Act 1 Soliloquy commentary
Good morning teachers and students, Today my speech is on a small excerpt from Hamlet from the second scene of the first act. Hamlet is a tragedy play by the famous playwright William Shakespeare. This play is set in the Kingdom of Denmark and revolves around two different countries; Norway and Denmark, where both kings are being replaced by their successors as they have recently passed away. In the first act, Hamlet and his men find out that there is a ghost that seems to be Hamlet's deceased father and seems to be telling the truth above his death rather than the version that was revealed to the public. This sets the scene for the excerpt that is in focus. It provides a background to the story that allows the tragedy to be built upon. Hamlet finds out that his father did not die of natural causes but instead is killed by Claudius. This adds to his rage, as he associates his father with all things good, while associating Claudius with all things evil. This along with Claudius becoming King has made Hamlet feel that his world has been turned upside down and has been taken over by evil. This scene begins at the court of Claudius and Gertrude, the King and Queen of Denmark. They have just been married. This marriage has followed quickly after the death of the former King of Denmark, Old Hamlet, Claudius' brother. Claudius addresses the quickness of the marriage,
Hamlet Act 3 scene 1
ACT III SCENE I - HAMLET AND OPHELIA Hamlet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It recounts how Prince Hamlet of Denmark goes about taking revenge for his father by killing his murderer, Claudius. In act 3, scene 1 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern fail to report the reason for Hamlets 'madness', so Ophelia, Hamlet's lover, is instructed by Claudius to see if his 'madness' is caused by her. I chose to perform this scene because it shows key elements of Hamlets character, his contemplative yet cynical side, shown fully in his famous "to be, or not to be" soliloquy and Hamlet's rash and impulsive side, showing his anger at Ophelia as well as his unpredictability. The area that I focused on was from the start of his soliloquy to where he leaves Ophelia before her "oh what a noble mind" speech. I started the scene in silence, keeping a neutral body posture, and slowly began with "to be, or not to be", instead of making it a huge dramatic statement, I chose to make it more hesitant, with a lengthened pause at the comma, this was done to make it look like it was a statement that had just come to Hamlet. Hamlet is a scholar and a philosopher and I was trying to portray this by making it seem as if he had discovered this notion of the 'point of existence', a key recurring theme throughout the whole of the play. Hamlet is not talking about a wish to commit suicide, in fact he does not
Hamlet Act II Questions and Answers
Jacqueline Chung Ms. Ledman AP Literature 2 March 2012 Hamlet Act II . One scholar has noted that in Act II the reader sees Hamlet as a devoted fan of theatre and actor. What evidence supports each of these roles? Use a quote for each role. In the middle of Act II, scene 2, Hamlet reveals himself as a devoted fan of theatre while talking to Rosencrantz: He that plays the king shall be welcome; his Majesty shall have tribute of me; the adventurous Knight shall use his foil and target; the lover shall Not sigh gratis; the humorous man shall end his Part in pease the clown shall make those laugh Whose lungs are tickle o' th' sere' and the lady shall Say her mind freely, or the blank verse shall halt For't. What players are they... (II.ii.328-335). Hamlet talks about different roles in a play and how each role can particularly rebuke a certain emotion, but Hamlet devotion of theatre shows because he already knows the types of roles the actors play and how to tell if they are adequate enough to proceed into entertaining him. Towards the end of Act II, scene 2, Hamlet again shows himself as a devoted fan of theatre amongst his fellow players. He greets the players as old friends: "You are welcome, masters, welcome, all. I am glad to see thee well. Welcome, good friends" (II.ii.430-431). By treating the players as old friends, Hamlet already associates himself with
Hamlet - Act 3 Scene 2
Hamlet - Act 3 Scene 2 In this scene, staged in the Great Hall of Elsinore, Hamlet's cunning plan to determine his uncle's guilt comes together. Hiring players to act out a play based on his father's death (as his father's ghost described it), he awaits Claudius' reaction. The whole point of this is Hamlet putting to rest his insecurity over the matter, once he discovers for certain Claudius did murder his father and was the snake in the orchard, only then can Hamlet feel at rest and kill him. This scene is one of the many examples throughout the play which demonstrates one of many weaknesses in Hamlet's personality, in which he comes across as immensely pensive and unsure about nearly everything. The significance of the scene is evident in that both Hamlet and Claudius plotting each others death begins here. For Hamlet as he is now finally at ease with what his father's ghost told him earlier in the play, thus he can now kill his uncle without any remorse and for Claudius as he is now alarmed to the fact Hamlet is aware of his crime. Although this scene shows a negative side to Hamlet, we also get a glimpse of Hamlet as an intellectual. He takes role as an authority on acting, advising that the actors should use moderation and not to excess (even though this is a contradiction in sense - as his relentless verbal assault to Ophelia earlier in the play suggests). There is
Hamlet Act 3 Scene 4.
English course work - Hamlet Act 3 Scene 4 The scene begins with Hamlet instructing the players how to act out the scene that Hamlet has altered to look similar to the death of his father, the scene then goes on to Hamlet telling Horatio to observe his uncle Claudius whilst the play is being acted out so they may then determine whether the ghost seen by Hamlet is lying or telling the truth. Once the play is about to start Hamlet initiates his act of derangement whilst he is before Claudius and Gertrude he also acts vulgarly around Ophelia. The actors of the play enter and Hamlet expresses his animosity for his mother due to her hurried remarriage, also his cynicism is taken out on Ophelia. The players act and when the scene close to his father's death comes Claudius shows his guilt by rising in fear and suspicion of Hamlet's wisdom. Horatio also believes in Claudius' guilt. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern both now try to make Hamlet go to his mother by endeavouring to cause him concern for his mother's well being, Polonius then enters and is mocked by Hamlet, they all leave he states his intentions for his mother and then the scene ends. This scene also reveals that Hamlet is a man of learning and is already very intelligent, we see this in the fact of Hamlet instructing the players how to perform the play. This can also be seen as Shakespeare's way to state his views on
Hamlet Act 3 scene 4
Act 3 Scene 4, so called the closet scene, is the first time we see Hamlet and Gertrude together alone. In this scene Hamlet releases his anger and frustration at his mother for the sinful deed she has committed i.e. her marriage to her brother-in-law and the murderer. We can see that Gertrude is unaware of her husband's murder when she says `As kill a King?' and it is the first time she confronts her own behavior. There is a conflict between the two; Hamlet gives powerful replies `Mother you have my father much offended' `Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue' Hamlet takes control of the conversation from the very beginning of the scene although it is Gertrude who was meant to be rebuking him and doing much of the talking. Hamlet succeeds in shaming her until the point when she begs him to stop. Hamlet having the upper hand in the conversation, asks his mother to change her ways, which she agrees to and asks for his advice, showing that she has submitted herself to her son. Hamlet does not really show much respect for his mother while reproving her and forcing her to sit down but he does love her. Some critics believe that his love shows sexual connotation and that is a reason why he gets so upset at her remarriage. There is a point in this scene when Gertrude thinks her life is in danger of Hamlet and gets frightened, which shows us that she considers him to be mad
Hamlet Act I Questions and Answers
Jacqueline Chung Ms. Ledman AP Literature 5 March 2012 Hamlet Act I . How do the setting and events and style of the first several lines of Act I, scene 1, establish a mood of foreshadowing or impending disaster? Cite and explain specific words, details, techniques, and events. Within the first few lines of the Act I of Hamlet, Shakespeare already establishes a tense, dark atmosphere when two soldiers, Barnardo and Francisco, exchange a few words about their guard shifts on the platform of the Elsinore castle at midnight in Denmark and Francisco describes his shift: "'Tis bitter cold, And I am sick at heart" (I.i.7-8). The cold, dark, and depressing atmosphere shares the negative connotation with evil since cold and darkness are usually considered evil, which foreshadows the evilness within the play. The atmosphere then further heightens when Horatio and Marcellus accompany Barnardo on guard duty and Marcellus asks if "this thing appeared again tonight," the "thing" representing the ghost that Bernardo and Marcellus encountered a few times in the past. The ghost suddenly appears and Barnardo describes the ghost as "the same figure like the king that's dead," Hamlet's father who passed away not too long ago (I.i.41). The presence of the ghost establishes the mood of impending disaster because a ghost appears for one of three reasons: an omen, unfinished business, or
Hamlet Scene 1 Act 1
HOW EFFECTIVE IS ACT I SCENE I AS THE OPENING TO THE TRAGEDY? Thomas Kyd is the author of the 16th Century play A Spanish Tragedy which was highly influential and introduced a new variant of tragedy that includes a ghost and a mad hero. Many subsequent works followed that developed Kyd's original idea into the sub-genre known as revenge tragedy. A piece of literature that falls under this genre is Shakespeare's Hamlet and in order to meet the specification to become an effective tragedy it is heavily based upon Aristotle's criteria used to measure tragedies and Ancient works of literature such as Virgil's Aenied. In Hamlet dialogue accomplishes a variety of things. It develops relationships but most importantly displays the hostility of the characters towards the "strange" and "gross" ghost. Shakespeare uses dialogue to describe the setting including the "cold" weather and the time so that a contemporary audience in an Elizabethan theatre would be able to imagine the scene. The description is able to evoke a mood and create and sinister atmosphere. The language used in Hamlet is dramatically intense and unfamiliar due to the use of heavily-charged words such as "harbingers" which are uncommon in both contemporary and modern vocabularies. The diction and syntax of these words are not problematic during a performance of Hamlet but can cause difficulties when studying the
