Hamlet (pronounced “Hammlayyyyy”) was written by William
Shakespeare. You may have heard of him. The setting is the castle of Elsinore,
in Denmark.
Hamlet: The main character. He spends the play agonizing
over whether he should kill his uncle for killing his father.
Claudius: Hamlet’s uncle. He killed Hamlet’s father.
Gertrude: Hamlet’s mom. She loves Hamlet(maybe a little too
much), but doesn’t understand the situation she is in.
Polonius- He is a pompous douche. Also the father of Ophelia
and Horatio.
Ophelia- Hamlet loves her. She is obedient to her family.
Laertes- The brother of Ophelia. He is a foil to Hamlet.
Hamlet(Dead version)- Hamlet’s dead father. Killed by
Claudius.
Shakespeare’s
writing style is legendary. He is well known for his use of Soliloquy. His “To
be or not to be” soliloquy is one of the most well-known passages in English literature.
He makes use of extended metaphors and he is known for his double entendres, bawdy
humor being a favorite of his. The tone of Hamlet is exceptionally dark, but
that comes with the territory, especially when incest is a motif. The ghost in
the novel is a symbol of death, and how no man can escape it, even the greatest
of kings. The most notable image in the
novel is in the beginning when the image of Elsinore as a dark, foreboding
place is etched in the readers mind, foreshadowing the rest of the novel.
The play begins with two watchmen
witnessing the dead king of Denmark floating around. They quickly summon Hamlet
and he speaks to his apparition. The apparition tells him that Claudius killed his
father. Its then that Hamlet begins his struggle over whether or not to kill Claudius,
although he swears to do it, the thought of it sends him to the brink of
madness. The new king and old queen notice and recruit some of his old friends
to intervene (they are dead). Ophelia agrees to let Polonius to spy on her
conversation with the humble prince. Hamlet goes ham on her.
Sometime
after a troupe of actors plays a scene very similar to Claudius’ killing of the
old king. When Claudius reacts vehemently to it, it proves his guilt in Hamlet’s
mind. Hamlet rushes to talk to his ma, and hears a noise behind ye old
tapestry. AH! RAT! *STAB* *POKE* *GASP* dead polonius. Hamlets friends plot to
kill him in England, on the king’s orders. Ophelia goes crazy and drowns
herself. Laertes is pissed. Claudius sees his chance and sets up a duel. He
poisons Laertes blade and a goblet. He has them fight, and hamlet hits first
but denies a drink from the goblet. Then the queen drinks from it and dies.
Laertes wounds Hamlet, then gets hit by his own blade, and on his death bed
professes the plan to Hamlet. Hamlet proceeds to kill Claudius and dies
himself. Fortinbras comes and buries Hamlet a hero.
“To be or not to be, That is the question”
Classic quote. He is discussing
whether or not to kill himself. It, and the rest of the soliloquy debate the
morality of the whole issue. Explores the complexity of human emotion,
particularly the dark side of the range, which much of the rest of the play
does as well.
“’tis an unweeded garden, that grows to seed; things rank
and gross in nature Possess it merely.”
This is a commentary on the Royal
house of Denmark. The incest had made it rotten. However, it wasn’t merely a
warning for Royal Houses or against just incest. It was a warning that any
excess, sin, or the like does not go unpunished, and Denmark was going through
hard times because of poor choices made.
Theme: It is impossible to be entirely certain of anyone one
action.
The
uncertainty of action and decisions is the overarching theme in Hamlet. Hamlet’s
directive, to kill his Uncle, is clear. Yet throughout the play he struggles
with that concept. He debates his own morality, and his possible madness,
seeking the right course of action. He sees in himself a lot of his uncle, the
man he seeks to murder. He ponders whether it is a power grab or a just action
that will serve the people of Denmark well.
For the plot summary: I think that Laertes decided himself to dip his blade in poison. Claudius didn't do it for him. Other than that one part, it all seems right to me. You somehow managed to keep all the important events in the plot in such a concise form. Nice job
ReplyDeleteYou know you don't have to do the narrative voice part for plays, right? There really isn't a narrative voice because we don't have a singular narrator. However, your discussion of Shakespeare's writing style, tone, imagery, and symbolism is a nice touch.
Nice choice of quotes. For the first one, I would add that he discusses the uncertainty of what lies ahead after death? We don't know, and we are scared of it. That's why we want to live as long as possible, and makes us grind through it. He discusses this in the rest of that soliloquy.
Your theme statement is a little jumbled, I can't understand it. For evidence, make sure you mention concrete examples, not just descriptions.
This is a fun to read summary.