Morgan+Kitzmiller

media type="youtube" key="B-Wd-Q3F8KM" height="315" width="420" It's also really funny to consider that a teacher of mine showed this in front of the class. Keep in mind that he is actually talking about how much he loves to count...  ** //Hamlet  //Comes to an End  ** ** Blog **** Post #4 **** February 20, 2012 ** After missing a whole week of school and this class as well, my understanding of the events that have been read and performed this past week have become slightly unclear. For me, it's much more difficult to understand when simply reading the text, opposed to seeing characters interact and talk right in front of you. But, nevertheless, I conquered the rest of the play. I thought it was especially interesting to note the interactions between Hamlet and Laertes in the grave, basically fighting over Ophelia, that later heavily contrasted Hamlet's desire to seek Laertes' good favor. Also, Hamlet's train of thought when talking to the gravedigger revealed deeper thought within Hamlet, opposed to the pure state of insanity that he has depicted to be in in the most recent scenes. The last scene is also rather chaotic, and fully captures the craziness that has building up over the course of the play: Claudius accidentally manages to poison Gertrude, Hamlet kills Laertes with his own sword, Hamlet forces Claudius to finish the rest of the poisoned drink, thus killing him as well, and then Hamlet dies, leaving Horatio to tell the story. Such a strikingly chaotic string of events if you would ask me. This leads me to think about their insanity over the past few scenes. I don't think that Hamlet has grown any further insane, though his words and thoughts regarding his love for Ophelia struck me as kind of strange and obsessive, seeing that they never really formed a legitimate relationship. Also, the ending scene clearly proves the insanity that has flooded this group of people. Revenge has taken over the minds of all the people, except Gertrude and Horatio, and what tragically ends in the death of them all. However, if they weren't "insane" and didn't act in spite and out of rage, then the story would have ended much, much differently, or would have continued in a much different direction. Bottom line, these people let revenge and selfishness get in the way and drove them into insanity, which clearly shows that we cannot trust the insane, as they could not trust each other. Close analysis:  Claudius: And let the kettle to the trumpet speak, The trumpet to the cannoneer without, The cannons to the heavens, the heavens to earth, "Now the kind dunks to Hamlet." Come, begin.- And you, the judges, bear a wary eye.

 In this above passage, Claudius is capturing what he is trying to make look like his good will towards Hamlet, and how he says that he wants Hamlet to win the fight between him and Laertes, though in reality he is on Laertes' side. The first three lines all contain a parallel structure, in which objects are personified to speak to another telling them about Claudius' wish for Hamlet to win. I think this is interesting because it reveals how Claudius is making this event seem very important, almost like a celebration with his inclusion of cannons and trumpets and also how the heavens and the earth will know. ** //Hamlet// ** ** Blog **** Post #3 ** ** February 12, 2012 ** As we've continued reading the play, I've definitely noticed how things are progressively getting more and more disastrous. Multiple events can very easily capture how things have progressed to craziness in the play. These include: Hamlet deciding to kill Claudius when he is sinning, Hamlet accidentally killing Polonius, and Ophelia getting a little out of control, and then dying. The series of events just keeps on progressively getting more and more ridiculous, especially with all these people dying left and right. Though I do find all of these interactions and side plans to kill each other very interesting and entertaining as a part of the play. Essential Question: **"Where do we draw the line between sanity and insanity? To what extent can we trust the insane?** I think about up to the point that Hamlet had the actors come and do the play that Hamlet was sane. He seemed to have complete reason behind his actions and thoughts. At the play and in 3.4 he begins to lose his sanity. In 3.4 he saw the ghost of his father, though his mother was unable to see it. This definitely is a sign of insanity, as he is imagining the ghost, and it does not actually exist. Either that, or for some reason his mother is unable to see it. Also, seen in 3.3 Hamlet doesn't kill Claudius because he is praying and thinks that it will impact if Claudius would go to either heaven or hell, and Hamlet clearly wants him to go to hell. Also, Ophelia goes crazy as well. After the death of her father, her singing and strange actions clearly show her to be insane. Her death, though, is very questionable whether or not it helps to determine her sanity, because it is very unclear whether she killed herself, or whether it actually did happen by accident. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Close analysis: Hamlet: Why, this is hire and salary, not revenge. 'A took my father grossly, full of bread, With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May; <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Here, Hamlet is determining whether or not to kill the king while he is praying. Hamlet compares him killing Claudius with a job. This juxtaposition of ideas allows Hamlet to convey that killing him is beneficial to him, and that he's going to get something out of it, just like a salary is gotten out of a job. He also uses a simile in the second sentence that captures how clearly seen and obvious his crimes were, like the flowers in full bloom in May. Since flowers are blooming in may and are clearly visible, it is reinforcing the idea that what he did was really obvious, and he can't trick Hamlet. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;">** //Hamlet// Begins to Develop ** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;">** Blog **** Post #2 **  <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;">** February 5, 2012 ** The scenes that we read this past week added lots of action and excitement to the play, and gave me a better sense of the play itself. The story gained depth, and is developing in complexity. We were also able to see into more regarding the death of Hamlet's father, and how Hamlet's newly gained knowledge is going to drive his actions and potentially drive him toward becoming insane. I also think it's critical to note Ophelia's commitment that she made to not get involved with Hamlet, because his ultimate rejection (if it follows through) could have several consequences, and may add many twists to the already twisting plot. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;"> Essential Question: **"Where do we draw the line between sanity and insanity? To what extent can we trust the insane?** I think insanity is the point at which one's emotional responses are completely uncontrollable, and when reason and logic become diminished. I definitely think that insanity is not beneficial and only creates more problems in a situation, which is seen through the reading we did this week. At this point in the play, I would say that the only actions that are questionable might be Hamlet and the other character's interactions with the ghost of his father, and if any of that actually did happen. Since we do not know if the ghost actually exists, that cannot lend any help to determining if Hamlet is considered sane or insane. But, I would say that Hamlet has complete control of himself at this point, and has every right and reason to be thinking and feeling the things that he is. However, as things seem to be progressing, I feel that this is subject to change very, very soon. Hamlet finding out that his uncle murdered his father, and what might be Ophelia's rejection of Hamlet's love could be catastrophic to his sanity in the very near future. Close Analysis:  <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">Hamlet: "O, most wicked speed, to post  <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">With such dexterity to incestuous sheets~It is not nor it cannot come to good:But break my heart; for I must hold my tongue." (1.2). <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> I thought this excerpt from Hamlet's first soliloquy was especially interesting. It let's you see exactly what is going on in his head, and the actual pain that is inflicting him. I think how this sentence is naturally split up into different sections is also interesting. He feels very strongly toward both ideas (that his mother's doings are very bad and were unbelievably fast and absurd and his disability to speak his mind is causing his heartbreak), and so emphasis is put on both things. Hamlet also metaphorically expresses his disability to speak his mind through saying "for I must hold my tongue," and shares that that is the reason for his heartbreak. I think this is extremely interesting, especially in supporting his current state of sanity. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">** My Introduction to Shakespeare's //Hamlet// ** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">** Blog Post #1 **  <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">** January 29, 2012 ** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">My initial reaction to the introduction of the play was confusion and was a little shocking. Before we plunged into the reading of Act 1 Scene 1, I had never heard of anything about //Hamlet// before, so I had no idea of the complexity of the overall plot, as well as of the characters and the relationships among them. //A ghost? What? King? Who? Killed? How? Say whaaaaat?// Pure confusion wouldn't even describe the state that I was in. But progressively, some things have come together (despite the difficulty that I'm experiencing with making sense of the language) and it's starting to make a bit more sense. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I think the beginning of the play is especially notable and interesting because it opens the window to see how the play can be transformed and brought to life in so many different ways. It also makes me question many things. How is Hamlet going to respond to the news about the ghost of his father? How is the death of his father going to impact further and actions made further in the play? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">As we saw when we watched the differing versions of Act 1 Scene 2 in class, this play and how it overall looks is open to a vast interpretation, which is thanks to the lack of directorial details. Lighting, character presentation, time period, placement and many other details are free to be decided, which makes the beginning the interesting, especially when looking at it through the different lenses and details that ultimately result in different productions of the play.

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Simply by looking at the above three different versions that have been created of Hamlet's character, it's clear to see how different these interpretations and ideas actually are.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The essential question for my class period is: **"Where do we draw the line between sanity and insanity? To what extent can we trust the insane?"**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Though I haven't had a significant exposure to //Hamlet// and it's events as a whole, I am certain that there are certainly some very crazy characters that I will meet through the course of the play. Act 1 Scene 1 made me question the first characters that I was introduced to, as well as how reliable they are. They claim that they have seen a ghost, who appears twice in one night. In the David Tennant version of the play, a different perspective was taken towards the play: parts of it were seen on surveillance cameras. What was seen through the surveillance cameras, though, was much different than appeared to actually happening. While the regular camera saw three men and a ghost, the surveillance camera proved to only show the three men, as if the ghost didn't actually exist, and it was simply their insanity that was causing this ghost to appear. This definitely made me further explore what actually was going on. Are these characters insane and does the ghost not even exist? Or, are these characters sane and is the ghost actually there?

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Marcellus: "The nights are wholesome. Then no planets strike, <span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Grande',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, <span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Grande',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">So hallowed and so gracious is that time" (1.1).

<span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Grande',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I thought this passage was very interesting, mostly due to the nature of Shakespeare's descriptive language. It is describing the night as a holy thing in which fairies cannot use their powers and witches cannot use their spells and magic. It is extremely interesting to note how our language has changed from then until now. The way someone might describe the night today would probably sound much, much different. This also adds to the complexity of Shakespeare's language, and clearly demonstrates the difficulty that it presents in understanding exactly what it is that he is trying to say. <span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Grande',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">