Sunday, November 2, 2014

Act I and II Notes

Act 1
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Metaphor of the snake to the uncle of killing King hamlet 
Queen knew that the uncle killed her wife. Klaudius seduced he queen 
Hamlet didn't have his last rights and was able to come back according to the religious customs of that time. He was in a state of sin when he died.
Hamlet was poisoned and died. Only knows what he knows because he is a ghost.
Hamlet says don't punish the queen. He says leave her to her own guilt and to heaven. But punish King klaudius. King hamlet tells hamlet to get revenge. 
I have sworn 't. He is resolved. He has a heroic roll. He has the obligation to get revenge for his father. He needs to be a man and strong and heroic, but this puts a lot of pressure on him and weighs him down dramatically. This is the conflict for the rest of play. 
He's at peace. He has validation and knows now. 
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, then are dreamt of in your philosophy. 
The time is out of joint: o cursed spite, that ever I was born to set it right. He lives now to avenge his fathers death.
Revenge is a difficult motif.
The play is now taking place in a more formal setting. They seem to be at a sit down dinner with the king and queen and hamlet. 
The king talks about how everyone is sad about the death of the king but it is time to move on now and continue on with the line of royalty. 
After king hamlet died the uncle became king and married Hamlet's wife.
King sends Cornelius to give a message to fortinbras. 
King talks about laertes who is the child of a good family friend and how he encourages him to go to England to study more.
Hamlet "A little more than kin, and less than kind" situational irony from the aside audience knows something to be true while the character does not 
Not letting him in just taking it in not being rude back. Denying his assumption 
Hamlet is saying the things happening are just ritual not what is happening inside of him
Visage- facial expressions 
Hamlet is acknowledging that you can do all those things but it doesn't mean you are unhappy. You don't know a persons inside. He is beginning to call out those who are or may be faking the ceremonies but don't feel the same inside. He feels horrible inside and is hiding them.
King (uncle) find something he can honor them stabbing his ideas. Grow up and snap out of it you are acting unmanly. And by the way you aren't going back to school. Your next to the thrown but we are going to treat you like a baby. Making hamlet seem crazy or mentally unstable. The idea of keep your friends close and your enemies closer. King is keeping Hamlet close. 
He says he will try to obey his mother.
See directly into the mind of the character through Hamlets monologue 
Hamlet is pissed. Characterizes his dad as such a great king then his uncle to satyr which is a goat and horrible acts. Hamlet implies that he wishes he didn't have to sit here and see all of this happen. Hamlet is now thinking about suicide because he doesn't have to see this not because he is sad or crazy. He's not giving up he's pissed. Also bashing on his mom. Implying that she did not love his father, that she was a slut, and recognizing incest. Ashamed of her and feels betrayed. Should have mourned a lot longer. Allusion to bible about suicide and being a sin. Against biblical references. 
His tone of the questions was now investigative detective, asking very detailed questions. Fact based questions. Dispassionate more interested in details. Contrast between passionate and dispassionate. Very intelligent teenager who is in his wits. Very appropriate and mature conversation with Horatio and Marcellus.
Laertes is the brother of Ophelia. 
Hamlet likes Ophelia. Feels good but not a good idea. 
Laertes is being protective of his sister. 
Keep your self distant. 
She says she's going to take advice. She said don't tell me how to live my life if your going to do what your telling me not to do.
Family of advice givers. 
Cautel means caution 
Wants him to be independent, think before you speak, if you have good friends be loyal, don't go and have a million friends, quality over quantity. 
Polonius says what teenager wants to hear that she doesn't have her life in order.
Act 2 scene 1 
Lord polonius wants Reynaldo to investigate his son.
Reynaldo objects to saying that he does things such as drinking and things that may not be true.
Characterization polonius loses his train of thought. Talks more than he thinks. 
When people know you enough they will fill in the blanks. So get to know him. Throw out the bait and you catch the fish that will tell you what is happening in laertes life
By i directions find directions out. Foreshadows how he will get information out of Ophelia to get info about laertes. 
Ophelia is telling her dad that hamlet had approached her. He had grabbed her. He was the dark side she was the light side. He was confused. 
Lord polonius thinks he came to get some. 
He wasn't trying to he was just possessed by some emotional state and couldn't understand where she was coming from. He was there for misery not for her. 
Ophelia loves him even though her dad says not to see him. 
She hasn't been seeing him.
Possibilities: 
Hamlet was grieving his dad and thinking about how he has to kill the king. 
Hamlet could be faking it so that she will go back and tell the story to her dad.
Hamlet could be sad that he doesn't have Ophelia's love.
Act 2 scene 2 
King is doing the same thing as lord polonius. To get information about hamlet. He is sending hamlets friends to get more information about him.
King has been notified of hamlets eradicate actions.
The queen is paying the friends for their service.
Polonius:
False humility. Aren't I a clever guy is what he is saying
Fortinbras thought that his nephews taxes were against the polish but when he found out that it was toward King he became angry. So the uncle sends out for his arrest and says he won't go against King klaudius anymore. But now they want to go through Denmark to attack the polish. 
Brevity is the soul of wit. Makes a long story longer. The news is good which confirms klaudius power. But he uses that compliment to talk badly about hamlet.
Gertrude is right. Polonius is wrong 
Fishmonger- someone who sells fish in a market acting like a crazy person 
Though this be madness, yet there is madness. 
Each of hamlets answers have a double meaning is being hinted by polonius 
Hamlet was faking he knows exactly who they are.
For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. 
What a piece of work is a man! 
Hamlet read them like a book knew that they were sent for him. We can assume he is in a state of grief.
He is a very passionate character. He confesses he is not himself but he he knows they are evil in his life. 
Actors that are coming to the castle to give a play.

-" what a piece if work is a man". Cliche line. Theme of play and how we are contradictory and are able to creat beauty and destroy it with at the sane time. Powerful 
- hamlet is saying that he is kinda mad and testing g and r
- hamlet tells player 1 to tell story if king who was in scandal and then dies because not righteous
- hamlet is changing play and writing in lines and starting to hatch a plan
-make play resemble fathers murder and watch how Claudius reacts 
-" the plays the thing wherein I will catch the conscience of the king". Starting to beat himself up. Like when you take a test and know you did bad. Compare himself to actor and how actor can cry and feel emotion fir fictional but hamlet can't feel anything. Feels about coward because keeping everything to himself. Alone with no one to give him tough love and has to motivate himself. Compare himself to whore and how words have no meaning like a whores because they always lie. He judges on action. Mentions "the play within the play". Trying to make himself look weak so no one will see him coming

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