Catch 22 - Act Three Scene Three of Hamlet.
Catch 22 As Elisabeth Kubler-Ross once said, "guilt is perhaps the most painful companion of death, most especially if you are the perpetrator of the single most heinous crime of humanity." It seems that Miss Kubler-Ross and the character of King Claudius of William Shakespeare's Hamlet share rather different philosophies on life and probably would not have gotten along too well with each other. In Act Three Scene Three of Hamlet, the newly crowned King Claudius of Denmark is quite the repentant king, languishing over past misdeeds throughout the scene. At the end of his remorseful soliloquy, he promptly continues on with his errant ways and rather than attempting to rectify his previous sins, he goes on to dig himself deeper into a hole of murder and mistrust. Most newly crowned kings do not find themselves in this less than desirable position, but then again most kings do not ascend to the throne in the devious and murderous ways in which Claudius did: killing his own brother and moving on to marry his brother's wife, Queen Gertrude, within months of the late king's death, thereby stealing the throne from the young but able prince Hamlet. Therein lies the conflict of outlooks between Miss Kubler-Ross and King Claudius. Most would agree that the act of murder would invoke the deepest feelings of regret and remorse and would stir up the zenith of moral struggles within
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 and the Three Soliloquies
Rosemarie Turner 12:2 Miss Stybelska Hamlet and the Three Soliloquies There are three soliloquies that Hamlet makes by p124; they are all very informative about Hamlet. They let the reader know how he is feeling, what his views on the world and Denmark are and his plans for what he will do next in the play. First Soliloquies (P74) This soliloquy is said before Hamlet knows the truth about how his father really died. It is quite soon after his father's death but already his mother has wed again and to make it worse it is to his uncle. The wedding has left Hamlet very confused and extremely upset as he feels his mother ahs betrayed his father by marrying so soon. "And yet within a month - Let me not think on't." L145. He also feels this is incestuous. Gertrude's actions have left Hamlet with a very low opinion of women, which will later be shown in the play in the way he treats Ophelia. "Frailty, thy name is woman." L146. The death of his father was very sudden and without warning, this has left Hamlet in constant turmoil with this departure. Had it been foreseen Hamlet might have been able to comprehend this event. This sorrow does not seem to be easing and Hamlet has noticed that everyone else has seemed to have forgotten their anguish and move on, especially Gertrude and Claudius. This soliloquies shows how Hamlet is quite sensitive, he feels raw emotion and
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 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 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 Scene I:1
ACT I Scene I:1 After encountering the ghost of his deceased father Hamlet gains a new view of Claudius. He finds that the new king, his uncle, murdered his father, King Hamlet. Claudius is more than just a committee of incest. The ghost reveals this information to Hamlet first in lines 38 and 39 of the scene, "The serpent that did sting thy father's life Now wears his crown," (Shakespeare, 34). After examining the ghost's description of the murder the following images and themes can be found to represent key events and symbols in Hamlet: Angelic (pg. 35, line 55): Gertrude is described by King Hamlet's ghost to be a radiant angel, thus forbidding Hamlet to ever hurt her in his plot of revenge. Demonic (pg. 35, lines 10-13): King Hamlet is a ghost, sentenced to walk the earth and in hell for a "certain term". This is central to the novel as Hamlet ultimately commits certain crimes in order to set his father's spirit free. Sleep (pg. 36, line74-75): sleep symbolizes death, "Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand of life, crown, of queen, at once dispatched." Garden (pg. 34, line 36): the garden is a leitmotif which is representative of Denmark. "Tis give out that, sleeping in my orchard..." Poison (pg. 35, line 62): "With juice of cursed hebenon..." King Hamlet was poisoned by his brother, Claudius. Milk (pg. 35, line 69): "And curd, like eager droppings into
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
Analysis of Hamlet Act II.2
Carina Comment on the Presentation of Hamlet in Act 2 Scene 2 Act 2, Scene 2 is an important scene for the audience's impressions of Hamlet, as it is the first time we can see the "antic disposition" of which he has previously spoken. He enters the scene on page 50, and immediately enters into conversation with Polonius. We can see that the act of his madness relies upon rhetoric devices such as puns and double meanings, which are deliberately intended to confuse. On page 51, for example, when Polonius asks him what matter he reads, he replies: HAMLET: Between who? In this, Hamlet is playing on the double meaning of the word "matter"- although Polonius intends it to mean his reading matter, Hamlet knows it could also mean personal matters, and picks the wrong interpretation, intending Polonius to think that his mental instability is such that he cannot follow the conversation. Although there are these occasions upon which Hamlet seems to be truly mad, the audience can see that he is being rather clever in constructing his act. When Polonius clarifies the meaning of the word "matter" which he intended, Hamlet responds with a thinly veiled attack on him: HAMLET: The satirical rogue says here that old men have grey beards, (...) and that they have a plentiful lack of wit. Here, Hamlet pretends to discuss the "slanders" of which he reads, but the audience can see that he is
