Molly+McConnell

something funneh:

I'm funny. I'm really funny. Everyone in 5th period would agree. Anyone who knows me would agree. My jokes are superior.

Here's something i think is funny:

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How long can you Nyan?

        **HAMLET: A compliation of blog posts**

**#1**


 * So, I just finished watching "David Tennant's Hamlet". I suggest two things:**
 * 1) Be prepared for emotional taxation
 * 2) A homemade chocolate/coffee milkshake is perfect accompaniment

I hope I'm not the only one that found this completely mad .

I mean I did enjoy it. And David Tennant makes a phenomenal Hamlet. I understood the basic plot too. Revenge and insanity are clearly the most played upon themes of the play, I don't need sparknotes to tell me that. But I guess I need help deciphering what the meaning of it all is? The different lenses we looked at in class can be helpful, but I feel like there's no overarching theme or lens that can be put on this play. Maybe it's complexity is what leads to its greatness, but I hope I'm not the only member of the audience that thinks complexity can take away from the meaning. Those who study Shakespeare or critic it, are often in disagreements especially with Hamlet. But knowing that crazy writer (or writers?), he probably intended for this.

**//So I sort of like words...//** and here are some of my favorites

Queen Be thou assur'd, if words be made of breath, And breath of life, I have no life to breathe What thou hast said to me. (215)

I don't know why but that quote stood out to me in the movie. This is the queen's response to Hamlet accusing her of being a messed up mother who basically helped kill her husband and slept with his brother all out of lust. This quote is important because I think it's her basically telling Hamlet, she's guilty and she doesn't know what to do with what he's accusing her of because it's too late to go back, but his love means something to her and i dont know, i think this is probably her being weak and helpless. I just love how Shakespeare can put quotes together like this.

Polonious Mad call I it; for, to define true madness, What is't but to be nothing else but mad? (100)

I think this quote is interesting as well, espeically because it deals with our essential question which is who defines madness?. Polonius here is talking about Hamlet to the Queen and King. He is telling them that surely, Hamlet has gone crazy. And he has no other word for this state Hamlet is in but "mad". I think it's peculiar that Polonius is the first to flat out say he's crazy because of the stories that Ophelia told him. Is it right for others to judge our "madness"? Can someone else just consider you crazy without your consent? For example, its possible for people to be admitted against their will to a mental hospital, but it's also possible to plead their "crazy" after they've committed a crime.

=** I found this while searching for Hamlet movies: **= why aren't we preforming Hamlet 2 in class?



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=THE END. =

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 250%;"># 2

I don't like this play. There's too much <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">incest. Or supposedly there is... My group in fifth period has Act 3 Scene 4 I see no incest in the written word, but these people do:

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Hamlet and his mother Queen Gertrude? Who knew! Hah lolz. My reaction to that is WTF and also curiousity... But seriously, how come no one ever talks about queen gertrude when they're talking about madness.

<span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Let me explain. Our essential question is "who defines madness?" And honestly I'm wondering that myself. Because whenever people think of madness in the play they think of Hamlet's madness or Ophelia's. But what about Queen Gertrudge? Can't people see that betch is cray!

1) She had an affair with her husbands brother 2) She maybe helped the brother kill her husband 3) Shortly after her husband dies she marries her brother 4) She maybe also has a weird sexual relationship with her son

I feel like all of those things equal madness. So why aren't people talking about Queen Gertrude, and putting her under the literary cannon? It's because there's too much speculation. And speculation is uncertainty. So it makes it hard to assume what the Queen is feeling.

Heres some lines that I believe show her craziness:

O Hamlet, speak no more: Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul; And there I see such black and grained spots As will not leave their tinct.

Here she's responding to Hamlet beating her down telling her all the gross stuff she's been doing and basically presenting the fact she's morally bankrupt. She recognizes here that what she's done is wrong, it's the first time she feels remorse. But later she goes back to normal. Is this because she writes Hamlet off for being crazy with out trying to figure out what's wrong with her self? Well anyways...

But I think she's crazy. And if you can't tell by what she says, you can certainly tell by her actions.

=<span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 160%;">#3 =

Well, this week I believe, has shown the greatness of fifth period. We are all<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> FABULOUS actors. There are many scenes we covered this week. But one in particular stood out. I really enjoyed the king's soliloquy, and Hamlet's as they're both on the stage together. Shakespeare does such a good job with the dramatic irony of the situation. The audience knows that Hamlet can hear the king praying, but the king does not know this. We also know that the king is not really praying, but actually doesn't really mean anything he says.

King Claudius:

My words fly up, My thoughts remain below Words without thoughts never to heaven go.

This quote is my favorite in that scene. I remember Nate Fisher had this quote on the first day of Hamlet. I like it because: a) it emphasizes the irony of what just happened (Hamlet being afraid to kill him) b) Again, Shakespeare has a way with words. And who hasn't felt like they've said something because they had to not because they meant it?

I think this scene shows Hamlet's <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">SANITY <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. Hamlet is scared to kill the king. He uses reason and rationality to determine that if he killed the king right now it would mean he's sending the king to heaven. These real emotions and logic are not that of a crazy person. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">which brings me to our essential question....

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; line-height: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">Who has the right to judge insanity?

Well, I don't think anyone in the play has the right to. They are all marked off for being insane themselves. Here I'll go through it. 1. The king- killed his brother and married his bro's wife 2. The queen- maybe helped kill her husband and married her husbands bro 3. Polonius- cynical old man who is sort of angry about what happened between Hamlet and Ophelia 4. Ophelia- super upset about Hamlet, goes crazy when her dad dies, drowns herself 5. Laertes- Mad jealous about Hamlet and Ophelia, angry and wants to kill Hamlet for killing his dad

I feel like every single character is insane. So how could they just declare "oh hamlets mad". And I feel like the madness just feeds and feeds until it goes stir crazy. I don't know but it seems to me the audience should be the true ones to decide who is crazy. And I don't think Hamlet is. I mean, he has his moments...but as demonstrated above, don't we all? His choosing not to kill Claudius right there is why I think he isn't insane. He still can rationalize, and he still can have fear. But this scene is also his downfall. Because things go awry in the end...and he could've easily prevented it.



<3


 * <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 220%;">#4 **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Okay. Is this the last blog post? I think it is. Because were done with the play. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The thing that has been drilled into my head after watching all those scenes last friday is this: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wow, I hate Mel Gibson <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">and omg Glenn Close is creepy as eff.

The close of the play is quite dramatic. Here's a spoiler: <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 180%;">EVERYONE DIES. But the thing that resonated with me, was Hamlet's last words. They were just....so lame.

The potent poison quite o'er-crows my spirit: I cannot live to hear the news from England; But I do prophesy the election lightsOn Fortinbras: he has my dying voice; So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less, Which have solicited. The rest is silence.



<span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 220%;">**Really?** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Shakespeare, you had the dramatic thing going, with everyone dying and all... <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">why didn't you captivate us with dramatic last words? I suppose "the rest is silence" could be choked out by any Mel Gibson to make it more corny.. but still.

The rest is silence.

Well here's my response to that: 1) When you die you're not exactly in a land mine of sound. I'm assuming you don't "Rest In Peace" at a death metal concert. 2) Perhaps by saying the rest is silence, Hamlet is accepting his fate, accepting that everything went wrong, and accepting that it's all done. 3) Silence sounds nice for Hamlet...I think he needs it.

I guess it relates to our essential question too because, who would pair <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 180%;">silence and <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 180%;">insanity <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At the end of the play if you ask the same question: what is insanity and who has a right to judge it? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You would have a very different answer than at the beginning or middle. Because at the end, I don't think Hamlet, or Laertes, or Gertrude, or even Claudius himself are mad. They're just human. And their death proves this. The fact the play ends with everyone dying emphasizes the question what is insanity? Was it insane that they all died? or was it necessary? As a reader, I'm not sure what to digest first. Answering the question of what is insanity, or who has the right to judge it? Could "no" suffice as an answer to both?

Who has the right to judge insanity? <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">NO. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Because I don't think anyone has that right. To judge someone else's state of mind, is to give up the solidity of yours. By judging someone else's sanity, you are assuming that you have some power that no one else does. A godly power, that allows you to tell whats crazy and what's not. No one has that right.

What is insanity? <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">NO. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Because if you can't judge insanity, how can you define it? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Insanity is a trend, a pattern. It's not something that is static through the ages. For example, a homosexual 400 years ago, would be "insane". Now, a homosexual is considered a person, rightfully so. We don't have the right to judge it, we don't have the right, or ability to define it.