Hamlet Notes ~ Act II Scene II

• Hamlet is "transformed" in the eyes of those who surround him
• King Claudius asking Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to ask Hamlet questions (very similar to the Polonius and Laertes situation)
• Voltimand and Cornelius > nephew wanted to attack Denmark but was imprisoned by Voltimand and instead told to attack Poland (needs to go through Denmark to attack Poland)
• "brevity is the soul of wit" - Polonius
• Polonius tells Claudius and Gertrude what is "wrong" with Hamlet> says to cut his head off if he is wrong
• Gertrude figures that he is still grieving his father's death, and is angry about the fast marriage> changes her mind after Polonius' evidence (letter)
• Hamlet calls Polonius a 'fishmonger' > acts crazy as well as insulting him> Hamlet toying with Polonius
• "Though this be madness, yet there is method in't."
• "For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." - Hamlet
• Hamlet + Rosencrantz + Guildenstern = fooling no one, Hamlet knows his friends are being paid to get information about him, knows they are being fake
• Men admit to being sent for by the Queen and King
• What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason!
  how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how
  express and admirable! in action how like an angel!
  in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the
  world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me,
  what is this quintessence of dust?
• Polonius returns, Hamlet calls him a big baby, Rosencrantz says that "an old man is twice a child"t,
• "O Jephthah, judge of Israel, what a treasure hadst thou!" > Polonius would sacrifice his own daughter for his own advantage, just like Jephthah did
• I'll have these players
  Play something like the murder of my father
  Before mine uncle: I'll observe his looks;
  I'll tent him to the quick: if he but blench,
  I know my course. The spirit that I have seen
  May be the devil: and the devil hath power
  To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps
  Out of my weakness and my melancholy,
  As he is very potent with such spirits,
  Abuses me to damn me: I'll have grounds
  More relative than this: the play 's the thing
  Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king.
• Above statement> Hamlet is going to give 12 lines to 'First Player,' something similar to the death of his father, Hamlet will watch his uncle and his reaction to know his conscience> also the first time that Hamlet questions whether the ghost was his father or the devil in disguise

Hamlet Notes ~ Act II Scene I

• Polonius seems to be sending monetary gifts as well as word to his son Laertes through Reynaldo > also asks Reynaldo to bring news about his son, to see whether his son is being unruly > Reynaldo is told to question Laertes' friends and say things such as "isn't he wild" and report back their reactions
• "That's not my meaning: but breathe his faults so quaintly" > Laertes faults being "Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing, quarrelling, Drabbing: you may go so far."
• Polonius also wants to know what other Danes are in Paris
• Characterization: way Polonius operates, he plays tricks, thinks he is very smart (although he loses his train of thought)
• "bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth."
• "By indirections find directions out."
• Reynaldo departs, and Ophelia enters
• Ophelia runs in scared, Hamlet seemingly crazy (as he claimed he would act) entered her room, clothes loosened and practically falling off; he grabbed her by the wrist, sighed profoundly and then exited
• Polonius immediately wishes to tell the King that Hamlet is "deeply in love" with Ophelia, and that her rejection has driven him mad > other reasons for Hamlet's actions: all part of his plan, Ophelia is lying, Hamlet is feeling the pressure of his revenge
• "More grief to hide than hate to utter love." 

Hamlet Notes ~ Act I Scene V

• Old Hamlet is presently in limbo > never had the opportunity to atone because of his sudden death
• Young Hamlet is "bound to hear" as well as seek revenge
• DIRECTIVE: "Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder."
• story to justify king's death > bit by a snake in the apple orchard > truly killed by Claudius
• Claudius first seduced his Queen, then poisoned King Hamlet (life, crown, queen stolen)
• Old Hamlet tells Young Hamlet to avoid falling into his feelings, always keep his honor, always have a straight head
• "taint not thy mind" > don't go crazy thinking about revenge
• directions are to kill his uncle, Gertrude will be handled by God and her own guilt
• Young Hamlet knows exactly what he has to do; knowing & doing are two separate things
• "O, wonderful" - Hamlet has confirmed the murderer > doesn't take the men into confidence because he is a calculating guy
• Hamlet makes men swear that they will say nothing
• "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." > Hamlet is addressing Horatio, as well as the audience
• "The time is out of joint: O cursed spite, that ever I was born to set it right!"
• Hamlet tells the men that he may be acting odd, reminds them to say nothing, and that he wants people to think that he is a bit lunatic

Hamlet Notes ~ Act I Scene IV

• Claudius celebrates his coronation ~ festivities make the royal family look "swinish" and irresponsible
• "Shall in the general censure take corruption
  From that particular fault: the dram of eale
  Doth all the noble substance of a doubt
  To his own scandal.
• Claudius adds to suspicion with the above, should still be grieving the loss of the king
• Ghost arrives > Hamlet recognizes his father
• Image: A crypt opening and releasing his father
• WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE FATHER?
• Ghost beckons Hamlet & he wants to follow, Horatio thinking the ghost is a threat will not allow it
• "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."

Hamlet Notes ~ Act I Scene III

• Laertes is Ophelia's brother
• "let me hear from you"; Laertes departing but wants word often on his sister
• Ophelia seems to want to marry Hamlet, but Laertes warns her that she is not a princess and may not be fit for a wife in the eyes of King Claudius
• Ophelia seems to suggest that Laertes isn't as perfect or pristine as he believes
• Lord Polonius - gives Laertes last minute advice; above all he says to stay true to himself
• Laertes exits, Polonius turns his attention to Ophelia and her relationship with Hamlet
• Polonius questions his daughter, she responds that Hamlet has importuned her with love > Polonius believes that Hamlet is only tricking his daughter and therefore forbids her from seeing him, which she obeys

To be, or not to be

(From Hamlet Act III Scene i)

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.--Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember'd.

LITERARY FICTION & EMPATHY

Guiding Questions: How can reading fiction help you understand others?  Use Hamlet as an example to explore your own thinking process and reactions to a character's innermost thoughts/struggles.

 

Literary fiction can aid readers in understanding others by putting them directly into the characters mind, putting them in their position, and making it real to where they feel the pressure or range of emotions that the character is feeling. When a reader is forced to make connections and feel what a character is feeling, it allows them to build a skill that they can use with people, that being to successfully read others emotions. Being exposed to someone else's emotions, even a characters, builds empathy and understanding.

 

“Frankly, I agree with the study,” said Albert Wendland, who directs a master’s program in writing popular fiction at Seton Hill University. “Reading sensitive and lengthy explorations of people’s lives, that kind of fiction is literally putting yourself into another person’s position — lives that could be more difficult, more complex, more than what you might be used to in popular fiction. It makes sense that they will find that, yeah, that can lead to more empathy and understanding of other lives.”

 

When characters, such as Hamlet, reveal their innermost thoughts, it allows the reader to make a connection to their own lives. For example, Hamlet's anger towards his mother's lack of grievance, any child would be mad at the lack of respect their mother has for their deceased father. Although I read more popular fiction, than literary, I feel as though when I am exposed to a character's thoughts, I tend to feel as they do. If the character experiences a situation such as Hamlet's, being accused of willingly grieving, called a coward and unmanly, and being too diplomatic and disciplined to respond, then I definitely feel the fueled anger rising and welling up to the point of exploding. And when Hamlet is finally able to release his thoughts in his first soliloquy, I formed a connection, as that is what I do when I am angered by a situation where it was impossible for me to respond. I must also say that when I feel a character is being over dramatic with their range of emotions or their level of emotion, then I just feel disgusted and extremely non-empathetic, as it may all be just an act, and I merely set the book down. (This rarely occurs though.)