Natalie+Whiting

Something Funny 03/25/12 Someone's probably posted this or another Bad Lip Reading video already, but that's ok. This is what I'm all about.

media type="youtube" key="js3BYcHmBhE" height="315" width="560" - Hamlet Blog #4 02/19/12 Even after finishing the play, my feelings toward Hamlet hadn't changed much. I still though he was an annoying, ungrateful what have you. And that's what I was going to have to blog about for the third week in a row. But, luckily for myself and anyone else reading this, I just listened to the clip from All Things Considered on the homepage and I find that they definitely have a point in saying that Hamlet, all things considered (hur hur), handled things pretty well once finding out the truth of his father's murder. His idea for The Mousetrap was actually ingenious, and the only explanation i can think of, of why I didn't see it before, was that I was too distracted by his unnecessary level of melodrama, which, of course, I'm still acknowledging. I do, however, think it was rather disrespectful of him to interrupt Ophelia's funeral so obnoxiously... even after Laertes had just jumped in her grave and hugged her body. Everyone still needs to calm down. Side note, did anyone else catch the irony of Hamlet (and pretty much everyone else) dying before he had the chance to return to sanity, despite Gertrude's speech about how he'd soon be back to normal at the end of act 5 scene 1? Or maybe he did and I missed something. - Hamlet Blog #3 02/12/12 Oh Hamlet, you crazy, whiny, ungrateful guy. I feel like I like him less and less as the play progresses. All he does anymore is complain about how hard his life is and how he wishes he could just make everything go away. Funny thing is, he's royalty. He is next in line for the throne, he's got money, he's a mad swordsman, and the ladies love him (he's on his cool J). Just kidding. It's not funny at all. It's just irksome. He's too wrapped up in himself to see the state of anyone else around him, especially those outside the palace, the majority of whom, undoubtedly, are covered in mud and dying from leprosy, or something along those lines. So he think's his life isn't worth living just because his uncle murdered his dad. Buck up! "There's the respect That makes calamity of so long life. For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th' 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 th' 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..." I can't respect a pansy-man that believes his life is what Hamlet describes in his famous soliloquy, when in actuality it's so far from it. I think this is contributing more to his growing insanity, as well. Like I said before, if one tells himself the same lie enough, he'll begin to believe it. He's becoming more and more delusional and i just want to slap him across the face with a dead fish. - Hamlet Blog #2 02/05/12 As we're getting further into the reading, our central question is becoming more relevant. We start to see changes in Hamlet's behavior during Act 1, Scene 4 when he gets sloshed and threatens to kill Marcellus and Horatio, and again in Scene 5 when he swears to kill Claudius (although the latter, all things considered, is somewhat understandable). At the end of Scene 5 Hamlet says that in order to go through with his plans he plans to act insane, and this, I believe, is where his perception of reality pivots. I have a feeling that the more he acts different outwardly, he'll change more as a person, and obviously not for the better. If a person tells himself the same thing enough, he'll start to believe it. That cray. On another note, I've been considering whether Hamlet's craving for revenge is purely in his father's name, or if it's more of a personal need. After some research, I found that Shakespeare never identified the specific time the play took place, but it is based on a legend dating back to about 1200. I wouldn't say I'm well-versed in social etiquette of thirteenth-century Denmark, but it seems that marrying the widow of your brother wouldn't be too terribly taboo. Of course, Claudius married Hamlet's mother just days after the King's death, but that alone doesn't seem like a reason to kill someone either. I suppose the poisoning of the king was the last straw, but Hamlet had been showing signs of deep unadulterated resentment before he found out about the poisoning. So is it possible that there's a more personal reason for revenge hiding away in that crazy little mind of his? Could it possibly be linked to the relationship between Hamlet and his mother? I honestly can't make any calls right now, but I wouldn't be surprised. The following lines are spoken by the ghost in Act 1, Scene 5: I find thee apt; And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed That roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf, Wouldst thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear: 'Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forged process of my death Rankly abused: but know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father's life Now wears his crown.

I wonder what compelled Shakespeare to make the king's ghost so articulate. I supposed it definitely adds to the creepy-ness factor. It seems in most works of literature and other media, the representation of ghosts is that they're somewhat unintelligent or at least unable to communicate with the living with such ease. Hm. - Hamlet Blog #1 01/29/12 Because we've not yet read much of Hamlet, and I can't really find much to talk about from what we've read, for this week's post I'm going to focus mostly on the film version I watched, which was Mel Gibson's take on the play. Talk about an unnecessary level of drama. A good portion of the movie consisted of Hamlet yelling, crying, dying of fatal poisonous wounds, or a combination of the three. And then of course Helena Bonham Carter made an appearance as a crazed, lovesick Ophelia, wandering Elsinore, singing madrigals and groping the guardsmen. I did actually find the film quite entertaining, and relatively easy to follow. As I remember, Mrs. Bear mentioned something in class about this version's explicitness in portraying the relationship between Hamlet and his mother. Well that's for sure. I'm not 100% certain but I think there might have been a rape scene near the end just before the ghost of Hamlet's father entered the bedroom. It wasn't graphic but there was definitely some thrusting so I don't know what other impression Gibson could have been intending to make. Other than that there was some uncomfortably suggestive kissing and wordplay throughout the film, but mostly during the second half. With regards to our essential question, whether or not one's perception of reality changes reality, I feel like the story of Hamlet is akin to The Turn of the Screw. In both plots we see a character certain of the existence of some sort of ghost or other such specter. It's extremely difficult, for me anyway, to determine whether, in this case, Hamlet and the Governess are actually seeing something or if it's just a figment of their imaginations. I do take into account the possibility that everyone's realities are varied per person, just some more than others. So yes, I think perception, in this case, does change one's personal reality.

09/05/11 I'm Nat. I like cats and executive decisions.