Logan+Quinn

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= =To Blog, Or Not To Blog: That Is The Question =

=Post 4: Feb. 20= =Hello. My Name is Laertes. You Killed My Father. Prepare To Die=

At last we have reached the end of Hamlet and what an ending it was. I'm not one for dramatic sword throwing, but Kenneth Branagh pulls it off. Seriously, who could forget the way that that majestic piece of steel flew through the air? Magic! I have to say though, when I think of Hamlet I don't exactly see him launching his sword at Claudius and cutting down a chandelier to further injure him. It was wicked awesome, don't get me wrong, but I have to say that it was a bit freely adapted. Don't get me started on the David Tennant version though. Hamlet's all, "Drink off this potion!" and Claudius just goes along with it and downs a nice cold glass of death.

Anyway... the entire time we were reading or watching Hamlet's duel with Laertes there was one line that just kept repeating itself over and over in my head... That's right! You guessed it. media type="youtube" key="6JGp7Meg42U" width="249" height="205" align="left"Basically the entire duel and what happens directly after it relate almost perfectly to period 2's essential question of "To be, or not to be? When is a life not worth living? Who gets to decide if someone should live or die?" Everyone in Denmark has plans to kill everyone else it seems. Laertes is gonna kill Hamlet because of the part he played in both Polonius' and Ophelia's death, and if he fails then Claudius will be there with the poison cup, meanwhile, Hamlet's still gunnin' for Claudius. Oh yeah... and in comes Fortinbras to "take back his land." Everyone seems to believe that taking someone else's life is either necessary or justified. The relevance to the essential question gets better when we look at the film versions of Hamlet. In the David Tennant version Claudius realizes that his life (whatever's left of it after being cut by the poison blade) isn't worth living anymore and just downs what's left of the poisoned wine.

One interesting passage that I couldn't stop thinking about was Act 5 Scene 2 lines 212-238. Reading and watching multiple interpretations of it, I'm still at a loss as to whether or not either Hamlet or Laertes mean what they actually say before they duel. Hamlet begins his small speech asking for Laertes' "pardon" proclaiming that "[he's] done [him] wrong" (line 212). Hamlet goes on to state that he has also been wronged because it was not him acting before. He asserts that his actions were the result of madness and "if Hamlet from himself be ta'en away, And when he's not himself does wrong Laertes, Then Hamlet does it not," (lines 220-222). Hamlet claims that "his madness is poor Hamlet's enemy" (line 225). After Hamlet finishes talking, Laertes seems to accept Hamlets apology asserting that he is "satisfied in nature... but in [his] terms of honor [he] stands aloof," (lines 231-234). To me, this feels like a sort of verbal battle between the two figures before they actually draw swords on each other. I believe that Shakespeare meant to emphasize that the two men are clearly fighting one another and not just sparring.

=Post 3: Feb. 12= =What Is It Lassie?! Ophelia Fell Into The River?!=

Alrighty then! This week we heard and saw A LOT of performances of various scenes throughout Hamlet. Wonderful performances all of you! I was surprised to notice how much easier it is to understand Shakespeare. The various takes on scenes along with paraphrased versions really helped me understand what was going on. I gotta say one of my favorite performances was the scene where Hamlet kills Polonius and Gertrude fails to see the ghost of Hamlet Sr. when Hamlet Jr. clearly sees it. The paraphrased version ended up being performed as a Western with a hilarious Suthurn Draaawwwl. This scene in particular relates to the essential question of period 2. In it, Hamlet "believes" that whoever is behind the curtain in Gertrude's room is Claudius and so he stabs him through the curtain and end his life. Of course the main argument is whether or not Hamlet knew that it was in fact Polonius, not Claudius behind the curtain. It's vaguely strange that Hamlet should think that when he just came from watching Claudius praying for forgiveness but that's beside the point. Whatever Hamlet thought he came to the conclusion that the man behind the curtain needed to die. I mean seriously! What gives him the right to make that decision. Just 'cause your the prince of Denmark doesn't mean you can just run around stabbing people through curtains! That's some fine drapery you just ruined.

I guess it's about time that I explained my choice of a title. One of the scenes that I felt was fairly interesting was Gertrude's explanation of Ophelia's death to Laertes in Act 4 Scene 7. She begins in line 163 by personifying woes as "treading upon another's heel" to mean that shortly after Polonius' death, Laertes loses Ophelia. She goes on in intense detail to describe the scene (because she knows that Laertes wants to picture it perfectly). In lines 166-167 she personifies the willow that Ophelia sat on, explaining how "[he] shows his hoar leaves..." There is a moderate shift in Gertrude's tone at line 176 when she begins describing how Ophelia is enjoying herself before she drowns. Overall, I found Gertrude's monologue interesting because she used a lot of personification almost as if to blame nature itself.

=Post 2: Feb. 5= =O, That This Too Too Wordy Blog Would Melt...=

Well, this week we took a look at Hamlet's first soliloquy where he bemoans the loss of his father and his mother's marriage to his uncle. He goes on and on about how the world is "weary, stale, flat and unprofitable," and how his father was far superior to Claudius and bla bla bla... In the beginning of his shpeel we can see how distraught Hamlet is but about half way through we can see him growing increasingly irritated specifically when he comments on the "frailty" of women.

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Sorry but I found this while looking for Hamlet's "Irritation" --Enjoy-- From the very beginning, Hamlet seems to question his existence hoping against hope that his "flesh would melt." Hamlet's soliloquy seems to touch on the first two parts of our essential question (To be, or not to be? When is a life not worth living?) Hamlet mourns his father months after his passing when all others have moved on and begs to die. One passage that I found particularly interesting was Act One, Scene 2, Lines 152-155. In this short passage Hamlet describes how a "beast... would have mourn'd longer" than his mother. He almost demonizes her by placing her below the "beasts" of the land. Hamlet also references Hercules comparing the difference between Hamlet Sr. and Claudius to himself and Hamlet. This small section is full of strange comparisons.

=Post 1: Jan. 29= =The Most Essential of Questions...= Ok, we just started Hamlet and Period 2 has already nailed our essential question. I mean come on, how could we do better than "To be, or not to be? When is a life not worth living? Who gets to decide if someone should live or die?" Of course, these may not relate to all things Hamlet all the time. Fortunately for us, we did watch several interpretations of Claudius' ascension to the throne. I ended up watching the Mel Gibson version of that scene a total of three times (don't ask) and took a lot away from it, mostly dealing with how the current king (Claudius) came to the decision that the past king (Hamlet Sr.) deserved to die. I mean, really?! What gives him the right to just kill off his brother and marry his wife? I'm sensing some family tension.

And what's with the Queen? Shouldn't she be asking herself "to be, or not to be?" I mean she did just lose her husband. Apparently, while Hamlet grieves his father's death she comes to the revelation that her life is obviously still worth living even if it means marrying her brother-in-law (she actually seemed quite giddy at the thought...)

In Act 1 Scene 2 a very stark contrast is presented when we look at the demeanor of the new king and queen in comparison to Hamlet. In lines 64 and 66 Claudius greets his new son, Hamlet, and questions why he is still depressed, indirectly stating that he is no longer depressed at his brother's death (if he ever was). Gertrude goes on in lines 68-73 to tell Hamlet to "cast thy nighted color off." She tries to put him at ease by telling him that "all that lives must die," but Hamlet will not be easily swayed. The overall atmosphere emanating from Claudius and Gertrude is one of almost gaiety celebrating the new marriage and the new king, but Hamlet is far from over the fact that he has lost his father lashing out at his mother in lines76-86 explaining that it doesn't "seem" like he's depressed. He IS depressed. In lines 87-117 Claudius attempts to fill the role of surrogate father, counseling Hamlet to do away with his grief for it is "unmanly," (line 94). He goes on to ask Hamlet to "think of [him] as... a father," (lines 107-108) and he states that he imparts the same love "which dearest father bears his son," (lines 110-112) unto Hamlet.The contrast between Hamlet's heartache and the King and Queen's lack of sadness sets up a division between the characters that will endure for the remainder of the play until the final scene.