Hamlet Notes: Act 4 Scenes 1-7

Hamlet Essay #1

Thin Lines of Insanity

Shakespeare’s Hamlet has been kept alive for generations. It’s complexity is enticing as it depicts some of human natures darkest qualities. The key issue of the play is the sense of ‘madness’ the characters possess in the play and the actions they commit that follow. This struggle is most prominent on the main Character Hamlet who battles his madness in both a mental and physical state. We connect madness to insanity or even anger. Hamlet certainly has anger, but has he really gone mad? He walks so perilously on the wire between sanity and insanity that he eventually hits his breaking point falling back into the reality and consequences of his actions. Or perhaps that’s only what he wants you to think. Perchance he is actually beyond intelligent and it’s all part of his big elaborate plan for revenge and everyone else is just along for the ride until he attacks. To explore Hamlet’s true intentions, we must first fully understand the play through plot and it’s characters, diction and syntax, and the mental state of madness that Hamlet has been cast under. From these critical viewpoints, we are able to comprehend Hamlet’s true intentions.

Shakespeare is known for his incredible dramas and captivating tones of despair in his plays. Hamlet embodies some darker moods and tones. Death of the innocent, denied love, and revenge for wrong doings are the building blocks of the play. Because the play has a dark twist in it’s plot, the characters also take on a dark side within themselves. Hamlet has become a misunderstood icon of nothing more than a teenage boy who can’t make up his mind. On the contrary, Hamlet is far from it. Consider one of the most well known and misinterpreted Shakespeare quotes: “To be or not to be, that is the question.” This quote has stood the test of time because it can be related to everything and anything. In the sense of Hamlet however, it’s relating back to Hamlet’s decision to act on his thoughts. The quote shows Hamlet is conflicted about suicide. He is debating if death would be easier than the efforts to follow through with taking revenge for his father’s death. Hamlet is constantly viewed as some indecisive kid, when in truth he’s just conflicted with putting his words into actions. 

Towards the middle of the plat, Hamlet finally confronts his mother about her scandal with Claudius,  but things escalate rapidly leaving Polonious dead. In addition to Hamlet, Polonious is a character who often conceals his true intentions. Polonious question’s Hamlet’s madness constantly throughout the play up until his death. He has fallen into Hamlet’s plan and is fully convinced he has gone mad, but fails to see the true reason as to why. This scene is often overlooked but it’s actually one of the most important scenes of the play for so many different reasons. This the first time Hamlet takes action. He is no longer just a boy with mad thoughts because now he is acting on them. Another important detail to this scene is Poloniou’s  death. He only died because Hamelt was anticipating Claudius. Polonoius being killed heightens the stakes making Hamlet a murderer. In this same scene Hamlet comes into contact with his father’s ghost yet again, this time in front of Gertrude. A critical detail is unveiled when Gertrude is unable to see the ghost. It seems everyone can see it but her. The ghost symbolizes not a mere spirit, but Gertrude’s crime against her once husband. She can’t see the ghost because she is unable to see what she did is wrong.

Hamlet’s master plan is to create a play closely depicting how Claudius killed his father. Depending on Claudius and Gertrude’s reactions, Hamlet will be able to prove they are filled with guilt. Well, Hamlet did manage to pull a reaction out of them. Claudius question’s the play almost immediately and Hamlet responds with a witty and shrewd response stating that anyone with a guilt free conscience would enjoy it. This causes Claudius to erupt. Hamlet is following through with action yet again, except this time Claudius is forced to endure Hamlet’s wrath. Hamlet’s elaborately devised plan is slowly unraveling and it’s working. Hamlet has successfully convinced everyone that he is no threat and is just a kid, when he really is a mad genius hiding his real evil intentions to kill Claudius. His charade has enabled him to be viewed completely innocent and has put attention onto Claudius. Hamlet is not mad, he has just flawlessly put on this act fooling everyone around him to get revenge against Claudius who has finally realized his plan.

Hamlet is not mad, he is forced to make difficult and irrevocable decisions. Nor is he indecisive, he is just extremely careful in planning. Hamlet managed to fool all these people into thinking he is just crazy and an ignorant kid. Hamlet is beyond complex and highly intelligent. At the beginning of the plat, Hamelt does have trouble deciding what’s wrong from right causing him to hesitate on putting his words into action. But once he overcomes this, he is basically unstoppable. Everyone over looks him and sees him as harmless. Once he takes action against taking down Claudius, everyone will see what he has done. Hamlet walks a thin line between insanity and sanity through the entire play, but he is never actually insane, it’s all just part of the plan. 

Hamlet: Act 3 Scenes 1-3 Notes

"Performative Utterance" Notes

Notes:
-Hamlet often viewed as a kid who can't make up his mind, when really we should consider it a play about a man who could not make real what was found in his mind.
-Hamlet is trapped within his knowledge/understanding and unable to move/act convinced of his duty and yet unable to move that duty from mental to real.
-Shakespeare's character's reveal themselves to the audience through speeches, soliloquies, etc. These "self overhearing" moments paint a picture of the character's thoughts and relay them to the outside.
-One important utterance being between hamlet and his father's ghost. They create a "promise/oath" set into the world. Whether Hamlet acts on this oath that exists in the world is concerned with a "perlocutionary force" -Requires action in simpler words.
-So whats the problem?!- Hamlet does NOT swear to avenge his father if you read closely. Hamlet swears to remember, not necessarily to act.
-Hamlet's utterances actually teach him a lot about himself, not just the audience.
-Consider the interaction between the first player and Hamlet. What moves Hamlet is verbal/emotional action not physical displaying his mourning for his father/mother
-All these utterances such as "I mourn", "I promise", etc. establish a connection between language and emotion.
-From here, we connect emotions to belief-An important distinction.
-It can be said that the main problem in the story is that it's characters represent their feelings/intentions in ways that contradict reality.
-Consider This: Hamlet's madness designed to hide his murderous intent, to cover his uncle's crime, and then to punish him. -Unrealistic right?
-Hamlet tells the actors (acting out the play-within-a-play) to not over exaggerate and to speak naturalistic. This makes the situation delicate. Hamlet doesn't want to over do it and make it obvious that it is a sham/comic. "Hold a mirror up to nature.."
-what difference does Hamlet's madness have to actual madness? It comes back to "pretending." To pretend you can't follow through with what you said you were going to do. In Hamlet's case, he's pretending to go through the motions in the play, but no one actually knows his real intentions/what he's "really" doing... murder.
-He's convinced Polonious of his "fake" madness.
-Hamlet has gone so mad, that he now hopes to find himself within his own madness. along the way of his self exploration, he considered suicide as it is the only true way of formless self.
-There's a line between emotional and moral realities.
-Summary: After all the bloodshed at the conclusion of the play, Hamlet's evolution reached"action" but rather to "faith, closure, and acceptance." Hamlet's utterances didn't contribute to him taking action, but rather shaped him. He opened his eyes to self realization. Powerful in the mind, but mercy to those around him that actually do take action. Hamlet finally grapes rarity, letting go of his mental/feelings/emotion etc.bringing his understanding of himself as well as everything else to completion as well as his life to an end.

Document Link: http://www.academia.edu/383737/The_Performative_Utterance_in_Hamlet

"To be or not to be: that is the question"

Sorry for the few pauses and stumbles, but here is me reciting Hamlet's soliloquy from Shakespeare's play.

-Enjoy!

Literature Analysis #2

1.) Exposition:

Primary characters include: Amir who is the main character of the story, the narrator, as well as the protagonist. Hassan who is Amir’s Servant. And Sohrab who is Hassan’s son. Setting: The story takes place in the city of Kabul located in Afghanistan during the 1970’s. During this time, the Taliban has taken over the country and caused drastic damages to it’s people and the culture they once thrived in. 

Although servants during this time played a low role in social class, they played an important role in the story’s plot. Amirs childhood friend was his servant Hassan. But Amir slowly built up some resentment towards Hassan living in his shadow through the eyes of his father. 

The resentment grew stronger as the story developed. The boys entered a kite flying tournament  where Amir took first place. Amir finally got attention from his father, turning his back on Hassan in the process. 

Hassan was sexually assaulted as a child and it haunts Amir and fills him with guilt 

As politics began to crumble in Afghanistan, Amir and his father fled to America. 

Amir learns the Hassan has died, and returns to Afghanistan to look after his son. 

Sohrab is being held against his will by criminal Assef and Amir risks his life to help/save him. Sohrab saves Amir’s life and they escape together. 

Sohrab refuses to really talk due to being abused, until Amir gains his trust. Amir discovers that he and Hassan actually were brothers. He thinks he is the reason the family fell apart. 

After Sohrab’s failed attempt of suicide, Amir brings him back to America. But Sohrab resents Amir for not helping Hassan when he had the chance

Years pass, to a day where Amir and Sohrab are flying kites together. 

The final scene of the story shows Sohrab exchanging a smile to Amir

2.) Theme: 

-“Running from the past” is a theme expressed in the novel due to Amir’s relationship with Hassan. Hassan being sexually harassed haunts and guilts Amir through out his life. At first he tries to ignore and forget, but knows he has made mistakes, and by the end of the novel he faces them when trying to save Sohrab.

-“Political battles” are descriptively described throughout the novel; Particularly the Taliban taking over Afghanistan. Historical/political events impact the story a great deal. It sets the stage of tension and damages for the story’s setting. These are valuable and important key details that  the reader experiences when reading the novel. 

-“Redemption” is definitely one of the biggest themes of the novel. Amir is trying to find forgiveness and future salvation in his life to redeem for his bad choices in his past. Although he made mistakes he can not take back for Hassan, he works to save himself through bettering the life os Sohrab. 

3.) Tone: 

The tone of the story can be described as hopeful. Hope is the driving force for the character’s in the novel. Hope for a better tomorrow (one without their country being at war and destroyed). Hope for a better life for those wronged. Even hope for those who made the mistakes. The tone always reveals a sense of sorrow and longing due to Amir’s struggles throughout the novel overcoming his mistakes. 

4.) Important Quotes

-“For you, a thousand times over”

-“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime...” 

-“And that's the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too.” 

-“There is only one sin. and that is theft... when you tell a lie, you steal someones right to the truth.” 

“It always hurts more to have and lose than to not have in the first place.”