Nell+Rollins

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Oh... This one is just for fun.. ;)
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Blog #4
This week for Hamlet, our class looked at Scene 5, Act 2, almost every main character dies (Hamlet, Laertes, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia who is buried in 5.1). It's related to P2's essential question because I ask myself, "Why did Hamlet accept the duel?" He could have easily said no and went to England since he was safe there. So I wonder if he still thought that life wasn't worth living to willing to risk his life. Or was he trying to live up to someone's expectations? Or fighting for Ophelia, maybe? His decision to be in the duel conflicts with his final decision in his To Be of Not To Be soliloquy, which was to live. Another question that pops in my head is, "Why did the King and Laertes believe they had the right to decide Hamlet's fate?" Even when Hamlet tries to apologize before the fight, Laertes (kind of) forgives him, but still wants to do the duel. Maybe this is because he wants to make the King happy. But if not, does he really believe he has the right to kill him because of what happened with Ophelia. And does the King have the right to kill Hamlet (HIS NEPHEW?!?!?!) because he fears his own life is in danger? I don't think so.I chose this

RAWR.

On guard!!


 * //Ham.// Give me your pardon, sir; I’ve done you wrong; || ||
 * But pardon ’t, as you are a gentleman. || ||
 * This presence knows, || //152// ||
 * And you must needs have heard, how I am punish’d || ||
 * With sore distraction. What I have done, || ||
 * That might your nature, honour and exception || ||
 * Roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness. || //156// ||
 * Was’t Hamlet wrong’d Laertes? Never Hamlet: || ||
 * If Hamlet from himself be ta’en away, || ||
 * And when he’s not himself does wrong Laertes, || ||
 * Then Hamlet does it not; Hamlet denies it. || //160// ||
 * Who does it then? His madness. If ’t be so, || ||
 * Hamlet is of the faction that is wrong’d; || ||
 * His madness is poor Hamlet’s enemy. || ||
 * Sir, in this audience, || //164// ||
 * Let my disclaiming from a purpos’d evil || ||
 * Free me so far in your most generous thoughts, || ||
 * That I have shot mine arrow o’er the house, || ||
 * And hurt my brother. ||

I chose this passage because it was the part when Hamlet attempts to apologize. And I thought it was interesting how he blames "madness" as the reason for his actions and the results of his actions. And at one point he refers at himself in 3rd person, and I found that interesting as well.

**Blog #3 **
This week for Hamlet, we looked at "Hamlet's Dilemma". Personally, I loved it, because it was unlike most of Shakespeare readings with difficult language. This soliloquy rolled off the tongue and it was easy to understand. In the group that dissected "Hamlet's dilemma", we came to the conclusion that Hamlet was just being a baby and that he was creating excuses not to kill his uncle, Claudius. Hamlet had told himself that if he had killed Claudius while he was praying, he would go to heaven, and Hamlet wouldn't have gotten his revenge. But towards the end of his speech, he had decided that he would kill him while he was either "drunk asleep, or in his rage, or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed" because Hamlet believes that that is when a person is at their weakest point.

In relation to P2 essential question, "To Be or Not To Be? Who has the right to decide someone's fate? And who decides if someone gets to live or die?" Earlier in the week, we looked at Hamlet's "To Be or Not To Be" soliloquy and throughout the speech he looks at the pros and cons of life and death at the same time. The whole soliloquy is about Hamlet deciding whether or not he wants to live or die. At first, he relates life to being shot by arrows, and a sea of troubles, that he wants to escape. But towards the end, he says death is an "undiscovered country" that no one comes back from. He decides to live, because he's rather deal with pains that he known of instead of ones that he does not know of, and how they feel. I think the only person who can decide their fate, is that person, and no one else. Life is not supposed to be someone else's control.

__ Phrase: __ But that the dread of something after death, The undiscovered country, from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of?

== I chose this passage because it is the reason why Hamlet decides to not kill himself. It relates to most people because it is the reason why a lot of people don't want to die: Because they are afraid of what happens after death. I think that this passage teaches a lesson to most people to deal with the problems in life, because there are far worse things. ==

== ** My period's essential question is based off Hamlet's question "To Be or Not To Be?" ** ** We haven't looked into the question in our period as much as we have looked at the role of the ghost in Hamlet because ** doesn't come into play until after Act I. ** So, I'm going to focus on the ghost. **== == When we were reading aloud the scene of Hamlet and his (ghost) father, I kept wondering how his father was viewed by Shakespeare himself. While reading the lines, I thought it was obvious that he just wanted revenge, but he seemed sad about being "Doom'd for a certain term to walk night, And for the day confined to fast in fires", and then when he described his murder, he seemed angry and even though he was doomed "Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature, Are burnt and purged away". This is the part of Act I, Scene V that I looked at and that gave me the thought of what the ghost's feeling were like: ==

[[image:ham.jpg align="right"]]

 * HAMLET || Where wilt thou lead me? speak; I'll go no further. ||
 * Ghost || Mark me. ||
 * HAMLET || I will. ||
 * Ghost || My hour is almost come, ||
 * || When I to sulphurous and tormenting flames ||
 * || Must render up myself. ||
 * HAMLET || Alas, poor ghost! ||
 * Ghost || Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing ||
 * || To what I shall unfold. ||
 * HAMLET || Speak; I am bound to hear. ||
 * Ghost || So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear. ||
 * HAMLET || What? ||
 * Ghost || I am thy father's spirit, ||
 * || Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night, ||  ||
 * || And for the day confined to fast in fires, ||
 * || Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature ||
 * || Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid ||
 * || To tell the secrets of my prison-house, ||
 * || I could a tale unfold whose lightest word ||
 * || Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood, ||
 * || Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres, ||
 * || Thy knotted and combined locks to part ||
 * || And each particular hair to stand on end, ||
 * || Like quills upon the fretful porpentine: ||  ||
 * || But this eternal blazon must not be ||
 * || To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O, list! ||
 * || If thou didst ever thy dear father love-- ||
 * HAMLET || O God! ||
 * Ghost || Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder. ||
 * HAMLET || Murder! ||
 * Ghost || Murder most foul, as in the best it is; ||