Megan+Morrell's+blog+on+Hamlet

Hamlet Blog #1: Understanding Shakespearean Language is a difficult task for many. It contains words, phrases, and clauses that are no longer used in today's "dumbed" down society. If the language is read correctly, and by read correctly I mean the words pronounced adequately and pauses inserted where needed, it's truly beautiful writing and much easier to comprehend and appreciate. The other works of Shakespeare I've read during past English classes have been hard to follow and understand because the different levels of reading styles of my fellow students. I would be the one that started to find different translations to modernized language so I could understand the writing. So for those of us who have really no clue what Shakespeare is trying to express..... O good old translation media type="youtube" key="t0CqUTmwKiM" width="425" height="350"

Then... WEIRD... my friend Jacqueline has a talent with the language. She has acted in several plays and her interpretation just comes naturally to her. I would sit and listen to her and help her memorize her lines and by doing so, by listening and observing her techniques on deliverance and how to get the lines engrained in her head I started to connect how to read Shakespeare and understand it. His writing makes me speechless at times.... (Something extremely hard to do), but understanding his writing definitely takes work and isn't something most of us put the effort into doing. I didn't, and now that I have... I love it.

With that said... The first part of Hamlet we can already tell that this play is going to be extremely MESSED UP. I'm intrigued to find out what has made Hamlet who he is? And where the corruption in his family has come from. I'm having a hard time connecting with my period's question. I think the first two scenes in Act 1 show that Hamlet, the king, queen, and the weird obsession the queen has over Hamlet truly shows just how corrupt and insane their entire family is. It's hard writing this blog now that I've seen the movie, and I know exactly what's coming because I want to make references to so much more. But seeing that our essential question deals with insanity vs. sanity and how much we can trust it...Every blog I'm going to post insane moments on all character's parts and if it is something that can be judged for trust I will also post that as well.

**Megan's guide to insane moments in Shakespeare's work of Hamlet:**
Signs of insanity in first two scenes and in versions we have seen:
 * INSANE MOMENT 1**: In Kenneth Branaugh's version Hamlet, his mother, and his uncle have an extremely deep and heart felt conversation in front of the entire kingdom.
 * INSANE MOMENT 2:** Guards seeing a ghost that Hamlet later sees... If more than one person saw the ghost to begin with: Trust it
 * INSANE MOMENT 3:** In Mel Gibson's version- The strange affection between Hamlet's mother and him- Family is corrupt: Trust

At this point I don't know if it's necessarily a question on Hamlet's insanity or if it's more of a question of who else in this work of literature is insane and to what extent? And how are the insanities of each person affecting the others?


 * STAY TUNED FOR MORE INSANITY MOMENTS IN MY NEXT BLOG!**