Carlene+Blaugher


 * Funny Blog Post 3/26/12**

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I'm scotch........... tape..

Hamlet Blog Post #2

So during this reading of Hamlet, we got to meet Hamlet Senior. Or, rather, his ghost. Hamlet’s father, we learn, was indeed slain by his brother Claudius.

Ghost: “Murder most foul, as in the best it is, But this most foul, strange and unnatural. ” (Act I, Scene V)

From this we can ultimately gather that Hamlet’s father’s ghost is aware of the happenings within the castle (i.e. that Claudius and the Queen shacked up together) because he calls it “strange and unnatural”. Honestly, I have to agree with the ghost. What kind of brother kills his brother and moves in on his wife? Strange and unnatural indeed. From this meeting between Hamlet and his father’s ghost, we get a sense of Hamlet’s hate of his uncle. When his father’s ghost, which may or may not actually be there (it’s debatable), tell him,

Ghost: “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (Act I, Scene V)

Hamlet hardly even hesitates. He jumps right in on the crazy murder train to avenge his father’s death. This whole exchange is just begging for the application of 2nd hour’s essential question of “To be or not to be? When is a life not worth living? Who has the right to decide if someone should live or die?” To begin with, Claudius wasn’t in the place to make the decision to kill his brother because, really, it was his brother. I mean, come on, it’s murder. It was fratricide (I used some Latin vocab right there, that’s what’s up). Hamlet’s father (who is a ghost) I guess has some say about the life of Claudius because of the whole murder deal. But Hamlet really has no business messing around in the matter of murder between these two brothers because he is biased. It is no secret that Hamlet dislikes his uncle, even though it has been suggested that Claudius is a better king. Therefore Claudius and Hamlet shouldn’t really have any say if someone should live or die, but, because he was murdered, Hamlet Senior has a bit of say.

Hamlet Blog Post #1:

When I first heard that we would be reading Hamlet, I was pretty indifferent to it. I knew the basics of the story (Hamlet, murdered father, uncle marrying his mother, etc). I did not expect, however, that the story would be as interesting as it has turned out to be.

Well, 2nd period came up with the question "To be or not to be? When is a life not worth living? Who gets to decide id someone should live or die?"

But in the first two Scenes of Hamlet, our essential question really doesn’t apply. We are, however, introduced to the ghost of the former king (AKA Hamlet’s father). From this we can draw the solid that the former king is, in fact, dead. That is really the end of what our question can cover. We are not really given any grand speeches on the value of life or who deserves to live it. But, because we are AP students, we do have some background knowledge to the how the plot will play out. We know that Claudius killed Hamlet's father and that Hamlet swears to get revenge after seeing his father's ghost.

So now, all we can really do is wait and see how this question will apply to various places in the plot and give 2nd period some riveting things to blog about.