Scene 1
Gertrude describes hamlet as insane.
Two solutions:
Send him away or sweep it under the rug it was advisable.
Let's get the inter circle around to make our decision.
Hamlets threat is to Claudius
Scene 2
Rosencrantz and guildenstern question hamlet and he gets very defensive don't look at me like the king and you have no right to blame me. First time acting like a prince. Sponge metaphor.
Hamlet is saying polonius is with his dad.
It's not the actions that get judged it's whether the people like him or not. And he is really liked. Claudius is talking about hamlet.
Hamlet combines his character. We've seen all parts of him but now he brings them together he is very complex. Hamlet is saying that the king is not bigger than everyone.
Claudius is sending hamlet to England where he will then be killed. Claudius will hire someone to kill hamlet.
Hamlets characterization: getting called to see the king when your guilty of something. Hamlet doesn't care he is confident and content with what he has done. He is now a man. He was vacillating now he is certain.
Scene 4
Captain says if I tell you the truth we are going to fight over something very worthless. Shakespeare includes this because when you see a soldier you think of honor and inner commitment which triggers Hamlet. He compares himself to the captain
Hamlets soliloquy.
One hand it's hard for me to carry out the ghosts order but on the other hand I want to so bad.
What is the difference between him and a dumb animal. All he does is sleep and eat but has no purpose. We have a brain to think and carry out action why isn't he using it.
Ignorance of an animal or overthinking an event.
How can he continue to put things off but not do it. He has the resources he is just putting it off. Seeing the captain reminds him that he isn't doing what he promised and he needs to take action.
He is a prince he has at hand an army and he is comparing himself to the captain and fortinbras and he is saying how they are so much better because they use their power and fight whereas he does not.
Now he is going to beat himself up. How do I have all of these family members like this and I have done nothing.
On one hand there is a piece to all of us. At the same time there is also an occasional benefit to not thinking so much and just taking action.
He resolves that he is just going to act and not think about right and wrong. He will just finish the deed.
Scene 5
Gentlemen is talking about Ophelia. Saying that she is crazy.
Ophelia has lost it and is singing like a crazy person. She is talking about her dead father who has gone to the grave. She is talking about love. Love unrequited. Rejection has made someone mad not only hamlet.
Although she was nutty, she is making a good point. Claudius believes he has gotten rid of all his problems but now he has Ophelia is another problem and is going to tell her brother that they are excusing hamlet from the action.
Laertes shows up and confronts the king.
Any bit of me that is not furious right now is not my fathers son.
King Claudius confronts him/ questions him.
Laertes is saying that Ophelia has lost her mind and wits. Hamlet was sent away. Laertes is twice as mad at hamlet.
Claudius is saying that he is trying to take laertes down from his combat. Laertes is saying that the way is death was treated must be acted on and Claudius says it will it will.
Scene 5
Horatio tells them that hamlet is not on his way to England that rosencrantz and guildenstern are and that Claudius's plan is falling apart.
Scene 6
Hamlet wrote the letter. The letter is to Horatio. Hamlets ship was taken captive by pirates and even though pirates would hold the prince captive they didn't. Hamlet promised Horatio that he would be returning to Denmark. Horatio is to give the other letters to the king and meet hamlet for the news he has.
Scene 7
The king has finally gotten laertes to see his way. But laertes wants to know why the king has made hamlet pay for his bad deed.
The king has two reasons: one being he loves Gertrude and she lives by hamlets looks and the second being hamlet is liked by the people of the society and any accusations may backfire.
The king may be lying but has some truth to it and needs hamlet gone in England rather than where everyone can see because the people may turn against him. The king thinks hamlet knows who killed his father.
Laertes tells the king that he seeks revenge on hamlet. And the king says laertes doesn't need to lose sleep over it
The messenger brings hamlets letters to the king one is for the queen and one if for the king but the one to the queen will never be mentioned again. The king reads the letter in front of laertes. It says that hamlet is back in the kingdom and he is alone.
The king makes up this story to stop laertes from killing hamlet. The story is about Lamond who praised laertes and that is why hamlet envies laertes.
The king questions laertes love for his father and tells him that love can die too. But that if laertes is going to act he much act fast.
The interaction between laertes and the king brings flashbacks from hamlet and his journey in killing the king. The last line regarding how laertes will kill hamlet in the church is a flashback to when hamlet had a chance to kill the king while he was praying but he didn't.
The king has laertes hooked and will now reveal the plan. He says that when hamlet returns laertes is to leave him alone and they will build up hamlets reputation And laertes reputation in the crowd then create a fencing challenge between the two to show who is better and laertes will not have the protective button on his sword and while fencing hamlet will accidentally purposely kill him.
They begin to think of back up plans and laertes says he will put poison on his sword to ensure hamlets death then the king says you will make the match so intense that hamlet needs to get water and the king will give him poisoned wine to also ensure his death.
Now Gertrude enters to tell laertes that his sister is dead. She had died in the woods from flowers and song. The willow symbolizes forsaken love, a garland of willow is what a lover does when their beloved has left them, daisies symbolize dissembling and nettles sting. Ophelia has died because of lost love not because of her father. She went to hang her garlands and the branch breaks and she falls in the water. Her clothes get waterlogged and pull her down. She drowns.
Laertes begins to cry and makes a sad joke about the water. He then says that once he is done crying he will be done being a woman and be a man again. He exits crying with a famous line.
The king says they must follow laertes because his rage may come again with the news of Ophelia's death. The king is still afraid of laertes.
Act 5
Scene 1
- Shakespeare introduces sacrifice in nonchalant way
- clown done this so much that he is detached to burying people, very humorous and not sensitive to the death. Makes jokes of it.
The clowns contemplate if Ophelia killed herself in self defense or f it was suicide. People kill them self because of self defense, they reach the point where they just can't do it anymore.
Clowns continue to make jokes using the wrong words to mean other things. Stupid clowns, not really funny
Hamlet is becoming more comfortable with the thought of death and talking about death.
Hamlet begins joking about the dead and thinking how it doesn't matter what you have because eventually all you will have is your grave. Hamlet decides to talk to the gravediggers and realizes they joke just like him.
Hamlet asks who's grave the man is digging but the man said it is neither a woman nor a man rather a woman who is now dead. Hamlet never realizes that it was Ophelia's grave. The gravedigger continues with the jokes about death.
Hamlet asks how long the man has been on the job and the man began talking about hamlet saying he started when he was born and he was talking about the hamlet that went crazy and was sent to England to gain his wits. He doesn't realize that he is talking to hamlet.
- hamlet 30 years old
Hamlet asks how long a body will last and gets a straight answer of 8 or 9 years. Then another skull is shown and it is yoricks skull, the tables turn.
- "alas poor yorick! I knew him horatio: a fellow of infinite jest , of most excellent fancy" yorick was like a father figure to hamlet giving him thousands of piggy back rides. Hamlet looks into the empty skull and talks to it about its features. Hamlet made a horrible pun at yoricks expense. The skull reminds hamlet that one day we will all come to this. One day we will all be dead.
At a funeral and the deceased is upper class but not royal and was a suicide. Hamlet questions why this dead person is being buried on sanctified ground if it is a suicide.
Hamlet notices laertes who is arguing with the priest. The priest wanted the ceremony to proceed like it would for a suicide but due to the Kings request it did not, but laertes still wants more but the priest cannot do that for him.
Laertes jumps into the grave and holds Ophelia again telling them to dig him and her together. Hamlet is enraged and jumps into the grave as well and tells laertes he is being melodramatic.
Laertes begins to fight hamlet but not with the intent to kill because hamlet is able to ask laertes to get off of him. Others jump in and separate the two but now they have disrespected Ophelia's dead body.
- grandest among us be humble
- hamlet lived Ophelia
- thinks laertes thinks he didn't and now he is talking out loud
Laertes is trying to out do hamlet in grief and hamlet calls him out. Hamlet expresses how he loved Ophelia.
The king and queen calm laertes down but as soon as hamlet leaves the king reassure laertes about the plan to kill hamlet.
- "the dog will have his day"
Scene 2
While talking to Horatio, hamlet reveals his plan against the king by accident out of rashness.
Hamlet took the letter from guild and rose that was meant for the king of England. The letter was from the king and it ordered the king of England to kill hamlet. Hamlet has the orders in his hand and must act upon it.
- found guild and rose. Fear opened commission. Found scheme that guild and rose were going to him
- hamlet forging new commission to Kill guild and rose
Horatio tells hamlet he must act fast because the king will soon hear what happened to guild and rose and will know that hamlet is out to kill him. Horatio is telling hamlet he must kill the king as soon as possible.
Osric comes to invite hamlet to the fencing match between him and laertes, but hamlet is giving this man a hard time and barely letting him deliver his message.
Hamlet talks good about laertes as well and with better language. Horatio laughs at osric
Hamlet agrees to the fencing match. Everyone is coming to start the match right away. Hamlet and Horatio have a few moments to themselves in which Horatio expresses how he thinks hamlet will lose but hamlet feels confident.
Hamlet is now having second thoughts and Horatio offers to tell everyone the match is off, but hamlet insists to let it be. Hamlet says that he will die now or die later in three different ways which seems comical. Then he says he is ready so he is ready for death. Then he explains how he can't take anything with him when he dies so why not die now but he wants revenge on the king first.
Everyone comes and hamlet decides to partake in the fencing match.
As laertes and hamlet shake hands hamlet apologizes and says that his actions were caused by his madness ( this must be a lie because hamlet never thought of himself as mad, he is just trying to be nice)
Laertes says he accepts the apology and will do hamlet no wrong which is obviously a lie.
Hamlet is trapped the sword or the wine will kill him. Hamlet wins the first round but doesn't drink. He wins the second round and doesn't drink but his mother steps forward congratulates him wipes his sweat and offers to drink it for him. The king must now do something or his wife will be killed.
Gertrude drinks some and offers hamlet some but he does not take it but she insists on wiping his eyebrows. Laertes thinks about killing hamlet right then in a cowardly way, but hamlet gets ready for round three and laertes loses his chance.
They tie the next round and as hamlet walks away laertes attacks and nicks hamlets shoulder hamlet gets the sword with the poison and offers another round to laertes but laertes is very hesitant.
The queen falls and is dying so is laertes who was hit with the sword and gives up the king as he is dying. Hamlet stabs the king with the poison sword and makes him drink the poison.
Hamlet is now dying and says his last words to laertes ( they are at peace) and his last words to his mother. He then turns to Horatio and tells him to tell hamlets story about his revenge for the king and how the king had betrayed him. Horatio tries to drink the poison to follow hamlet but hamlet insists that Horatio stay and tell his story.
Hamlet tells Horatio he wants fortinbras to be king.
Hamlets urgency to have Horatio tell his story seems odd he never cared what people thought before.
Everyone doesn't know who to give thanks too because everyone is dead.
Horatio will tell the story with no one the hero just as a story that needs to be told.
Fortinbras says he will be king because has the rights from a long lost relationship. Fortinbras orders the bodies to the stage where Horatio will give his speech. Fortinbras has cannons shot off and music played in honor of hamlet.
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