DRJ#1 Christina Putnam
Initial Reaction: Initially, I thought Hamlet was a little dry in the beginning, but after the Ghost was introduced I was hooked. Marcellus, Bernardo, Horatio, and Hamlet's sighting of the Ghost reminded me of the television show Gifted Man, which is about a doctor who sees the ghost of his dead ex wife. At first I wondered if the Ghost was telling the truth about the death of King Hamlet. Polonius and Laertes reminds me of the stereotypical over protective father and big brother. Ophelia is an interesting because she desperately wants to please her father and brother, but at the same time she wasn't afraid to criticize and warn Laertes against “doing as ungracious pastors do” (1.1.45-50). In other words, she warned him against being hypocritical.
Initial Reaction: Initially, I thought Hamlet was a little dry in the beginning, but after the Ghost was introduced I was hooked. Marcellus, Bernardo, Horatio, and Hamlet's sighting of the Ghost reminded me of the television show Gifted Man, which is about a doctor who sees the ghost of his dead ex wife. At first I wondered if the Ghost was telling the truth about the death of King Hamlet. Polonius and Laertes reminds me of the stereotypical over protective father and big brother. Ophelia is an interesting because she desperately wants to please her father and brother, but at the same time she wasn't afraid to criticize and warn Laertes against “doing as ungracious pastors do” (1.1.45-50). In other words, she warned him against being hypocritical.
Character
Analysis: The character Claudius is full of himself, power hungry,
unsympathetic to Hamlet, yet loving to his wife Gertrude. Ultimately,
he us all about using other people to accomplish tasks that will
cover up his problems. He is one of the main characters of the play,
and his fatal flaw is his desire for power. He wanted to be king so
bad that he killed his own brother. Claudius could be classified as
the antagonist because he killed Hamlet's father, and later seeks to
kill Hamlet. I'd say that the conflict caused by Claudius is
intentional because his lust for power caused him to kill his
brother. One doesn't just “accidentally” pour poison in their
brother's ear or accidentally sleep with his brother's wife. However,
Claudius does seem to genuinely care for his wife Gertrude; he just
wants to see her happy, which shows his heart isn't completely
blackened by greed and murder.
Theme
Analysis: Through repetition, Shakespeare is highlighting that while
suicide might have a certain appeal, the fear of the unknown
generally outweighs taking one's own life. Hamlet repeatedly
expresses how “weary, stale, and unprofitable” life is to him,
but his belief that God made a law against suicide holds him back
from doing it (1.1.129-1535). Hamlet has grown weary with living,
especially because his father just died, but he doesn't know what
will happen if he dies. Uncertainty about the after life is what
keeps most people motivated to live. We know what to expect on earth.
What would happen if Hamlet broke God's supposed “law” against
suicide?
Good analysis on Claudius, I totally agree with your assessment of his character. He certainly is an avaricious man. Any man who would kill his own brother for his wife and kingdom maintains no honor,and deserves nothing but death.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your insight on Claudius. Yet for some reason it seems to me like he totally cares for Ophelia, Polonius, and basically everyone that's not Hamlet and Hamlet's father, and people who aren't fazed about him being King. And for the suicidal Hamlet, I see him laughing in the face of death. He's very sarcastic and bitter, but its funny.
ReplyDeleteIf Hamlet kills himself, he will go to hell there are many editions of what hell is like, but mostly it invokes more suffering.By killing ourselves, we also kill god ( Adam and Eve man and woman are made from god's ribcage.)This is seen as murder, a commandment the Christians tend to follow to not kill anyone if they do, they will not be allowed into the gates of heaven. He doesn't think killing Claudius would be a sin because like the scene where he sees Claudius pray for repentance. Hamlet believes because even though Claudius killed his father, he will be let back to heaven because he prayed for once your dead, you can not pray for forgiveness you left the world in a bad act. (3.3 85-87)
ReplyDeleteI never really looked to much into Hamlet committing suicide. But it totally makes sense. How Hamlet toys with and contemplates the thoughts over suicide but thinks about what a sin it would be.
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