HamLog+Lauren



__ **READING ASSIGNMENT 6: ACT 5.2** __ __Act5.2 Summary:__ This scene started out with Hamlet and Horatio’s conversation. Hamlet tells Horatio about how he survived from England by switching letters. Hamlet says that he doesn’t feel bad about what happened with Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, but he confesses that he feels bad about Laertus, who simply resembles himself. Osric, a courtier, enters and tells Hamlet about a sword fight between Laertus to settle everything down. Horatio warns him not to play but Hamlet insists that he could win. The sword fight begins as Gertrude, Claudius, and Laertus enter. Laertus poisoned his sword’s end so that a scratch could kill Hamlet. Claudius also put poison into the goblet of wine that he insists that the first one to hit should drink. Hamlet strikes first but refuses to drink the wine. Hamlet gets cut as well as Laertus with his own sword that got shuffled. Gertrude drinks the wine instead and dies of poison. Hamlet gets furious and Laertus confesses about the whole poison plan. Hamlet stabs Claudius and forces him to drink the remaining wine. Hamlet and Laertus forgive each other. Hamlet dies in Horatio’s arms asking him to live and tell the true story. As Fortinbras and his army come in, Hamlet asks for Fortinbras to be the next King of Denmark.

__Reaction to character:__ Hamlet finally killed Claudius. But he died as well. I was starting to wonder how Hamlet was going to achieve revenge since he hadn’t been performing much action after the mousetrap play. I started wondering if Hamlet was truly indecisive of his actions since he was only able to achieve his revenge when he was pushed to the edge of emotion due to his mother’s death. If gertrude hadn’t died and he was about to die himself, would he have been able to finally kill Claudius? I think his major flaw is indecisiveness indeed, which he seems to know himself as well. I think he pitied Laertus because he saw himself in Laertus. They were both in the situation where they are seeking revenge for their father, who had been murdered by someone else. I think Laertus is definitely a foil of hamlet in that Laertus goes right to action in his revenge while Hamlet procrastinates the final action. I felt sorry for everyone except for Claudius, who even until the end was sly and selfish.

__Question__: Why did Laertus confess about the whole poison plan when the queen died? Was it because he realized that it was all Claudius’s sly plan? That he was used by him? Or did he feel like he needed to confess everything before he died? But I understand Laertus since Hamlet did cause the death of his sister and his father...

__Diary__: Dear Diary,

Today, my dear lord Hamlet died. So did the dear Queen, noble Laertus, and the murderer King Claudius. I would have loved to follow my lord Hamlet but he insisted that I live and tell the story. He wanted be to tell the real story to the people apart from what appears to be real. Fortinbras was shocked to hear that Hamlet asked him to become the next King. When I told him about all the scheme and the secret that has been going on in Denmark, he accepted the offer to regain peace in Denmark. I’m still confused about what I shall do to achieve lord hamlet’s request. I would hate to hear people talk about Prince Hamlet as a lunatic that killed everyone around him. I shall tell everyone the whole story as that is now my reason to live. I hope being carried out like a soldier was what Prince Hamlet wanted as he was a soldier. Not a soldier at war but a noble soldier who fought against evil King Claudius to get revenge for his father, and to regain the nobleness of Denmark that his father once withheld.

Rest in peace my lord, I’ll make sure that every person in Denmark knows about the story. The real story.

Regards, Horatio

__ **READING ASSIGNMENT 5: ACT 5.1** __ __Act5.1 Summary:__ The act 5.1 starts out with the conversation between the two gravediggers. They talk about christian burial and whether Ophelia deserves one. They joke around until Hamlet and Horatio comes in. They ask whose grave it is but the gravediggers keep talking around in a circle. Hamlet realizes, after seeing his dad’s precious jester’s skull, that everyone eventually disintegrates to dust. Afterwards, Hamlet sees a funeral proceed and later realizes that it’s Ophelia’s funeral. He erupts with anger and sadness and fights with Laertus in Ophelia’s grave practically on who loves her more. Claudius and Gertrude says Hamlet is crazy once more and calms Laertus down, reminding him of the upcoming revenge.

__A) Diary:__ Dear Diary,

My heart aches as if I am soon to die. I feel as if my heart is empty and hollow. I am feeling an amount of sadness that I’ve never experienced before. Not even when my father died. Oh Ophelia what have I done to you. Is it that I faked to not love you? Is it that I killed your father? I could only think of what I’ve done wrong to you. I can’t think of anything that I dearly did for your happiness. Oh god, telling her to go to a nunnery didn’t mean death! God! Are you listening to me? Why did you have to take her right now when I can not follow due to my father’s will? Oh lord, I would only wish for a moment or reconcilement with Ophelia just to tell her how much I loved her. No, how much I loved her, love her, and will love her in the future. Please wait my dear Ophelia, I shall follow you as soon as my father’s revenge is done. Wait for me my love. I will follow you.

Heartbroken, Hamlet

B) Modern stage drawing C) My reaction to Hamlet's actions Wow. So he really did love her. So it was true that he did love Ophelia. So I guess it means then that he was hiding his love to proceed with his revenge? Didn't he know that him killing Polonius was going to affect her? I was kind of shocked at how passionately he was in love with Ophelia. Jumping into one's grave isn't that easy and fighting with her brother on who lover her more? Absolutely unpredicted. How would this change Hamlet now? Would he get colder? More violent? Maybe give up on his revenge? I am really curious about how he's going to react to her death and how it would affect his plan for revenge. __ **Character Questions Act 4: Gertrude** __ Character Questions: Now I clearly know how Gertrude is totally reliant on Claudius rather than her son. She now truly believes that Hamlet is crazy and we now know that she's on Claudius's side more than her own son's side. She says, "And breath of life, I have no life to breathe What thou hast said to me" in Act 4 but she quickly runs to Claudius to tell all about Hamlet. Though Hamlet has told her to stay away from him, she doesn't listen. Stubborn old queen... I was always confused which side she was on but now it's clear: she's on the king's side. Act4.1- Her objective in this scene was to practically betray Hamlet and tell Claudius about the whole murder. She wants to be safe from Hamlet's murder by taking the king's side Act4.5- //(aside) To my sick soul (as sin’s true nature is)// //Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss.////So full of artless jealousy is guilt,////It spills itself in fearing to be spilt.// She tries not to meet Ophelia but she does out of other's persuasion. She seems to feel a lot of guilt and fear. She suspects worst things to come as more people are going crazy due to her son's actions. In this scene, she also calls her people "danish dogs" in that they are accusing her husband of mother, which he actually did commit (just not Polonius). She wants no one to harm her husband as I think she thinks of him as protection. Act4.7- She appears briefly to tell Laertus that Ophelia has drowned. Her whole speech on how she dies seems to show pity and also seems to express her as beautiful from time to time. She's terrified and she feels awful in that she feels that more tragic is up to come soon. She feels sorry for Laertus and Ophelia as it was her son that killed Polonius. Regarding Hamlet, she now totally thinks that he is mad and relies solely on Claudius. Claudius seems to still love her and when he tells her that they should send Hamlet to England, she no longer protests as she now believes that he's crazy. Gertrude thinks Hamlet is crazy while Claudius is noble and strong, which is why she relies on him. She thinks pitifully of Ophelia and is scared at what Laertus might commit. The news that she brings in Act4.7 definitely changes Laertus's mood into extreme anger. In Act4.1, her confession about how she saw Hamlet in her room to Claudius makes him clearly decide on sending Hamlet to england, to kill him. She is drowned with fear from the events as she was frightened from Hamlet's violent actions. She's important in that she informs lots of people of important information. Through Gertrude, we learn that Ophelia has drowned, which would add on to why Laertus is that furious, and her news to the king continuously makes him want to kill Hamlet, leading the plot to the final climax. I gain insight on how Hamlet is now slowly starting to move away from cowardliness unlike how Gertrude is seriously a true coward--hiding behind Claudius for protection. I still wonder if she knows about the murder of her previous husband and I wonder if she now clearly thinks that Hamlet is crazy. She might just be taking Claudius's side because he's the king now. Does she even love Claudius more than her OWN son? I'm not sure. Obviously, she did betray her son. I didn't expect Gertrude to betray Hamlet as she did now and then try to protect Hamlet and worried about him. My question regarding if she knew about the murder was quite answered when she still doesn't believe that the ghost of the King is in her room. She seems to know of the cruel murder.
 * 1. What new information did you learn about your character in Act 4 that would help an actor or actress understand him or her better?**
 * 2. In each scene where your character appears, what is his or her motivation and objective? In other words, what does this person really want?**
 * 3. How does your character feel about the events in Act 4? about Hamlet?**
 * 4. What do other characters say about your character and how do they react to him? How does your character feel about other characters?**
 * 5. How does your character affect the events of each scene in which she appears? How is she affected by the events?**
 * 6. How is your character important to this act? In other words, do you learn something new about the plot through him? Do you gain any insights about Hamlet by comparing/contrasting him to your character?**
 * 7. What questions are raised by your character's words and/or behavior in this act?**
 * 8. What was unexpected? What questions that you've previously had are answered by your character's words and /or behavior in this act?**

__ **Act 3 Questions** __ Answer 5 of the 8. He advises the players not to exaggerate and not to make the play funny. He tells the actors that he does not want them to make the audience laugh and think the serious matter that's being discussed in the play is funny. He tells the actor, "let those that play your clowns speak no more than is set down for them." I thought this advice was to make the matter being discussed in the play to look serious and true. I think he wanted Claudius to clearly see his intention rather than to think it's a common comedy plot. That way, Hamlet will get a clearer reaction as well. Hamlet likes Horatio's skill of accepting everything the way that it is: whether it's good or bad. He says he's amazed at how Horatio calmly handles whatever comes in his way. He says, "blessed are those Whose blood and judgment are so well commingled," which represent how Horatio is reasonable, thoughtful, and calm. I think Hamlet sees Horatio different from him as he is currently not handling the revenge rationally. I think he thinks of himself as more of a emotional person that is easily altered by "Lady Luck", different from Horatio who rationally accepts the truth and handles it calmly. Four months have passed since beginning of Act 1, which is when King Hamlet had died. Claudius seems to be in panic and confusion as he rapidly asks for the light to turn on and leaves. Hamlet responds to his actions with glee, in that his original goal of trying to prove his theory through Claudius's reaction has succeeded. I think Claudius has learned that Prince Hamlet knows about he murder. There hadn't been a clear clue to why Hamlet was acting crazy but now he finally knows that Hamlet is up for revenge. I see a slight difference in this soliloquy. I find Hamlet more in control of himself in this soliloquy: more rational than previous emotional soliloquy. I also see a slight emotion towards his mother. He hated her deep inside but can not hate her. That's why he tells his heart to "let not ever The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom." I think the mood is more calm but more sad somehow. I think this soliloquy somehow shows Hamlet's resistance to carry on the revenge immediately. It's weird how he says that he despises mother but can not kill her, and how he could taste blood right now but not yet. I think Hamlet now finally has a plan all set for his revenge.
 * Act 3.2**
 * 1. What advice does Hamlet have for the actors? Why?**
 * 2. Why does Hamlet say he especially likes Horatio (Does Hamlet see Horatio as similar to him or different from him?)**
 * 4. Based on 3.2.119, how much time elapsed between Act 1 and Act 2 (since the action has been continuous since the beginning of Act 2)?**
 * 6. What is Claudius' mood as he stops the play at 3.2.247? How does Hamlet respond? If Hamlet has learned that Claudius is indeed guilty (if that's why he stopped the play and not for some other reason), Claudius has also learned something from the presentation of the play. What has Claudius learned?**
 * 8. Read Hamlet's fifth soliloquy carefully (3.2.358-69). How is it different from the other soliloquies? What is the mood of the soliloquy? How do you react to it? What about line 360? What is happening to Hamlet?**

He has decided to send Hamlet to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Rosencrantz explains how when a king dies, everything else gets pulled in like a gulf. His speech implies how Hamlet's craziness if due to the death of such a great leader-- King Hamlet. He tells how much effect a king can cause to a country and how the king's demise brings the country's demise as well. He's going to Gertrude's room to listen to their conversation. Claudius admits that he has killed King Hamlet, his brother. They play has had effect on him by making him want forgiveness. He know that his sin is heavy. However, he tries to pray but fails to pray for forgiveness because he still has all the gifts he earned from murdering: "My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen."
 * 3.3** -- Answer 3 of the following.
 * 1. What has Claudius decided to do with Hamlet? Who will go with him? What "theoretical" message about kingship does Rosencrantz tell to Claudius?**
 * 2. Where is Polonius going?**
 * 3. What does Claudius admit in his attempt to pray? Has the play actually had an effect on him? Why can't he ask for forgiveness?**

__ **READING ASSIGNMENT 4: ACT 3.2** __ __Act3.2 Summary:__ Hamlet tells the actors the story that he wants them to perform. He also asks Horatio to carefully look at Claudius's reaction during the play. In this scene, Hamlet finally admits that he's acting crazily in front of others to Horatio. He talks to Polonius and mock Ophelia sexually once again. The play is quite exactly the story of King Hamlet as the King is killed by poison through the ears as well. King Claudius shows clear signs of panic and anger by stopping the play. He leaves and Horatio and Hamlet confirm their hypothesis. Then Hamlet is called into his mother's room to talk. He reassures himself not to hate his mother but still to be honest and straightforward.

__Questions:__ So now, does King Claudius know that Prince Hamlet knows about the murder? Or is he just shocked that the play resembles his act? How is Prince Hamlet so sure about what the ghost has told him? If I were him, I would slightly still doubt myself. Exactly whose side are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in? I thought Prince Hamlet's side but they criticize him in this scene. Is it that they don't know about the actual murder? Or are they on the King's side?

__Soliloquy Questions:__ I think it has a deeper meaning. It might be a portrayal of Hamlet’s current status: alone with a secret that he needs to keep it to himself. He has been betrayed by his mother and hates his uncle, as well as other people who support them. These comparisons indicate that Prince Hamlet thinks of himself as useless person. He thinks of himself as a worthless being, low as a peasant slave, evil as a rogue, in that he still hasn’t carried out his revenge. He seems to be convincing himself that the revenge must be continued, fast. I think he compares himself to the player since he’s acting as well. He perceives his current situation as an act, where he acts as if he’s mad to deceive the King and the Queen: a necessary procedure for revenge. Just like actors do, he’s hiding all of his intentions and emotions. This reminds me of how King Hamlet was killed by poisoning through his ears. His speech seems to emphasize the importance of the ear in this whole plot. Hamlet thinks of himself as an actor, who’s acting to proceed with his revenge. Therefore, he uses theatrical terminologies as he thinks of himself in an act. He uses the word stage, play, cue, faculty and etc. He directly says,“Am I a coward? Who calls me “villain”? Breaks my pate across? [...] I should take it” (Act 2.1.530-536). I don’t personally think he’s a villain since he has done nothing wrong. Protecting the family honor must have been important but he’s right to be scared since he’s dealing with a “murderer.” It’s also apparent that he’s figuring out a way to handle the revenge for his father. However, Hamlet thinks of himself as a coward since he can not go against Claudius fast nor face to face confrontation.
 * It is obvious to the audience that Hamlet is alone onstage. What else, then, does he mean when he begins, “Now I am alone”?**
 * Why is the Prince calling himself a “rogue” and “peasant slave”?**
 * Hamlet compares himself to the player. What does this comparison reveal about Hamlet’s self-perception?**
 * Throughout the play, much violence is done to ears. How does Hamlet’s “cleave the general ear” relate to other “ear” references? Shakespeare uses the word ear twenty-seven times in this play. Do any of these resonate with you?**
 * Hamlet uses a lot of theatrical terminology in his speech. Find some examples (“cue,” “satage,” “play”). Why might Hamlet be thinking in theatrical terms?**
 * Find lines or phrases that explain why Hamlet thinks himself a coward. Do you think he is a coward, or is he acting cautiously by looking for external evidence to prove Claudius’s guilt?**

__**Hamlet Acting Question**__ //What does your character want in the chosen scene?// Polonius wants to find out if Prince Hamlet is really crazy or not. //What does the character do to get it?// He approaches Hamlet and asks him weird questions, starting from asking if he knows himself to asking him to get out of the air. //What obstacles stand in his or her way?// Prince Hamlet's answers seem to bug him in a way as he thinks they are sometimes "pregnant with meaning." //How does your character really feel about what is happening in the scene? How can you tell?// My character feels confused during the conversation but he is assured at the end with his opinion that Hamlet is crazy. I could tell this from his asides when he comments on Hamlet's responses and his speech with the King afterward. //What do other characters say about your character in the scene?// Hamlet calls Polonius a fishmonger, which I interpreted as someone not that important or low in social status. His lines when he describes about old people also seems to be about Polonius in a sarcastic way. //What does the character’s language reveal about his or her personality? Think about the meaning behind his or her words. Write down a few phrases he says that might demonstrate something about his personality or are characteristic of his mode of expression.// His language seemed to portray his slyness and cunning personality. His asides represent his characteristics the most. He says things such as, " How say you by that? Still harping on my daughter.", which shows how Polonius thinks of whatever Hamlet says and wrong and inappropriate. //How does this scene add to your knowledge of the character?// This helps me get to know that Polonius is not much of a noble character that I thought he was. He's more of selfish who only thinks about himself. I thought he was a bit childish as well.

__ **READING ASSIGNMENT 3: ACT 3.1** __ __Act3.1 Summary:__ Guildenstern and Rosencrantz tell the queen and the king that they weren't able to find out what's causing Hamlet's misery. Gertrude and Claudius plan to watch the play that seems to please Hamlet a lot. Polonius and King Claudius hide to spy on how Hamlet reacts to Ophelia. Ophelia follows her fathers orders and sees Hamlet come in talking to himself. The famous line, "To be, or not to be: that is the question" happens here (Hamlet 3.1.58). When Ophelia tells Hamlet that she wants to give him back the letters, Hamlet gets angry and mocks her. He evens saves that he hasn't loved her actually or did before and no longer. After Hamlet storms out, Ophelia now really thinks that Hamlet is mad and pities him slightly. Then Claudius and Polonius appear back from hiding and they discuss about Hamlet's madness. Claudius however disagrees with Polonius on why Hamlet became mad: love or something else. They plan to send Hamlet to England where he might regain his own mind again.

A) Questions I wonder if Hamlet is really mad. Until now, I thought he was acting as if he was mad in front of others but his speech on "to be, or not to be" confuses me. Maybe the whole speech is used to portray his deep agony and pain that he wants to get out from. His reaction to Ophelia also surprised me. He acted as if he was so passionately in love with her but he changes so suddenly. What's up with him?! Now I'm really confused whether he's really mad or acting or just in too much pain.

B) Reaction to Ophelia I would have been angrier than Ophelia was at the near end of Act3.1. She actually seems to pity him for losing his nobility and feels pain for knowing how noble he was before. When he has told her that he will "give thee this plague for thy dowry" when she marries, I would have smacked him if I were to be in her shoes. I would have been greatly offended when he says that Ophelia should go into a convent, practically a nunnery. He's mocking women overall and I thought Ophelia's reaction was too light. I might not be able to hit him, since he's the prince, but I would still be angrier than Ophelia is. She says, "O, how miserable I am to see Hamlet now and know what he was before" as if she's in love with him. WEIRD

C) Quote "To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there’s the rub, For in that sleep of death what dreams may comeWhen we have shuffled off this mortal coil,Must give us pause. There’s the respectThat makes calamity of so long life. " (Hamlet 3.1.66-70) I really likes these lines. I even likes them more than to be, or not to be line. This line seems to say that people tend to not commit suicide because they are scared what might come after death. He describes death as a long sleep, which he starts out with describing as peaceful as it ends all the heartache. However in these lines, he seems to say that he, as well as other people, fears what kind of dream might happen after death. It's quite hilarious how he fears death because of what he might dream afterward. However, I do kind of understand him. If death is an endless dream, the dream after death would last forever. Whether that is a good dream or a frightful dream, that worse than handling the pain in actual life, would be a worrying question.

__ **READING ASSIGNMENT 2: ACT 1.3-5 and ACT 2.1-2** __ __Act1.3 Summary:__ Laertes is about to leave to France but he warns his sister Ophelia about how Hamlet's love towards is fake. After Polonius enters, Laertus soon leaves to ride the ship. Polonius also says the same warning towards Ophelia how she needs to be careful and how he wants her to be nowhere near Prince Hamlet. __Act1.4 Summary:__ Hamlet follows the guards Horatio and Marcellus to wait for the ghost to appear at night. The ghost appears and motions Prince Hamlet to follow him into the forest. The guards try to block Prince Hamlet from following the ghost but he insists, so they follow the Prince to protect him in any danger. They all follow the ghost. __Act1.5 Summary:__ The ghost claims to be the spirit of dead King Hamlet. The ghost tells Hamlet that he was killed by the one who's in throne right now, Claudius. He talks more about his brother and his wife and explains to Prince Hamlet that his death was caused by poison, which was injected to kill him. The ghost tells Prince Hamlet to come up with a secret plan to have revenge but tells him to leave out the Queen, as she was just seduced by the evil. Hamlet says that he will revenge and the ghost disappears. __Act2.1 Summary:__ This act starts with Polonius telling Reynoldo to go spy on Laertes on how he's doing in France. He tells him to report the reactions of the people when he spread some ill comments about Laertes. Then Ophelia appears and tells Polonius about the weird encounter with Prince Hamlet. Hamlet has grabbed Ophelia with a scary look without talking. Polonius thinks he has gone mad from not seeing Ophelia and runs off to tell Claudius about this. __Act2.2 Summary:__ Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet's friends, come to Denmark after being called by the King and the Queen to help Prince Hamlet cheer up. Polonius, as well as Voltimand and Cornelius, enter to tell good news to Claudius about how the King of Norway has forbidden Fortinbras from planning an attack on Denmark. Polonius then tells them about how he thinks Prince Hamlet is crazy over his love over Ophelia. He shows proof such as the letters and swears to give up his life if he can not show them. He plans to hide with the King and the Queen while Ophelia could prove to them that he's mad by meeting him. Polonius then has a talk with Prince Hamlet that has appeared and confirms that he is really crazy in how he talks nonsense, thought he thinks they all have some meaning in them. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern also enter to meet Hamlet. They talk about what has been going on causally but Prince Hamlet finds out that they have come in King's call. Prince Hamlet says that he has lost all the joy in life and he perceives everything as meaningless. Actors come and they present to Prince Hamlet which pleases him. But their acting actually cause Hamlet to lament about his powerless status and plans to use the play as a trap for Claudius.

A) Significance: Act 1 scene 5's significance is that it leads the rest of the plot. It the play didn't include this scene, the whole story would sound like nonsense since the readers wouldn't know what's going on. We would not know how he was killed or by whom. If we hadn't known that Claudius has killed King Hamlet, we wouldn't know why Prince Hamlet wants a revenge on him nor why he no longer hates the Queen. This scene opened up a new major part of the play: revenge.

B) Quote: Prince Hamlet says in Act2.2, "Am I a coward? Who calls me "villain"? Breaks my pate across?" This line once again reminded me about how honor of the family was important in the old ages. Just like the Greek myths, here Hamlet's monologue shows how he's equal to a "villain" if he doesn't revenge for his dead father. He goes more than calling himself a coward but a villain, who's ought to get smacked by others. As honorable murder wasn't considered a crime in Shakespeare's times, revenge for the murder of one's father would have been perceived as something so obvious and necessary.

C) Relationship: Obviously in these scenes, Hamlet and King Claudius's relationship is not good at all. (At least in Hamlet's point of view) Hamlet calls King Claudius who has murdered his father a "scullion" and calls him "guilty" (Hamlet 2.2. 550-552) He swears that he will have revenge upon him and calls himself coward for not killing him. However, King Claudius has no clue about this and just tries to get rid of his bothering existence by using others. He calls in Hamlet's friends to take care of his “transformation” that had been bothering him and doesn't himself confront Prince Hamlet (Hamlet 2.2.5). Even when Polonius calls Prince Hamlet insane, unlike the Queen who truly worries about him, Claudius right away believes Polonius. If he had really thought of Prince Hamlet as a son, he would have argued with Polonius in my opinion.

__ **READING ASSIGNMENT 1: ACT 1.1 and 1.2 [3/31/2010]** __ __Act1.1 Summary:__ The play starts out with a scene where there are guards guarding the castle in Denmark. There are mainly three characters in this scene: Bernardo, Marcello, and Horatio. Francisco leaves soon after Bernardo replace his place. Bernardo and Marcello tries to show Horatio the ghost they had seen before that resembles the dead King Hamlet. Horatio doesn’t believe them but the ghost suddenly appears but son vanishes without answering any of the guards. They discuss about how the ghost does indeed resemble the dead King and they worry if the ghost might foreshadow a danger to the country in the future. They also clarify why they were heavily on guard by saying that the young son of Fortinbrad wants the previously conquered land back that dead King Hamlet conquered. The ghost appears again but once again does not answer Horatio and disappears at dawn. Horatio and the other discuss if they should tell Prince Hamlet about the ghost. __Act1.2 Summary:__ King Claudius announces that though mourning of King Hamlet must continue, he has good news that he has married the Queen, prior wife of dead King Hamlet. Norway asks King Claudius to give them back the conquered lang that King Hamlet once gained. King Claudius disagrees and send Cornelius and Voltemand to Norway to send his opinion on this issue. King Claudius and the Queen asks Hamlet why he’s still so sad, wearing black clothes, but Hamlet only answers that he’s still very sad about his father’s death. Claudius tries to explain that he should stop mourning since everyone dies eventually and that he should think of him as his new father. Claudius and the Queen also asks him to not go to Wittenberg and Prince Hamlet decides to follow. Hamlet feels disgusted how his mom has moved on so quickly by marrying his uncle Claudius and wishes that he could die right now too. Horatio and the other then come and tells him about the ghost and Hamlet wants to guard with them at night to see the ghost that could be his father.

__A)Ask Questions:__ I wonder why the guards thought the ghost resembling King Hamlet meant bad omen. Horatio says, " In what particular thought to work I know not, But in the gross and scope of mine opinion This bodes some strange eruption to our state." (Hamlet 1.1.66-68) I just don't get why the ghost of a previous brave king would be a bad sign of danger to the country. Did they believe in the past that ghosts were evil? If I were the guards, I would be happy to see the great king at least once,even it may be a ghost. Maybe the ghost wearing the armor that the king wore while fighting Norway foreshadows another war with Norway? __B) Describe your reactions to a character, action, or idea you confronted in the scene.__ I agreed with how Prince Hamlet felt in Act 1 scene 2. He felt disgusted and sullen about how his mother married his uncle so fast, not even two months after King Hamlet's death. While he was still mourning his father death, his mother was telling him to stop along with Claudius. I would have felt worse than Prince Hamlet if I were in such situation. Well first of all, it's incest (thought it may have been allowed in the past), and two months are not enough time for me to accept a new father-- especially not my uncle. It's not so radical that he thought of committing suicide since I understand how awful the situation must have been. The uncle all happily married with the queen would not have been a little bit of a good news to Prince Hamlet. He portrayed his continuous mourning by wearing black clothes and I thought it was his only way of rebellion against their take over. By reading, I felt as if Claudius sounded fake, even about giving the throne to Prince Hamlet. __C)Draw a picture__ (Prince Hamlet in grief) Hamlet 1.2.200 "Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt,Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew,Or that the Everlasting had not fixedHis canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God, God!How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitableSeem to me all the uses of this world!Fie on ’t, ah fie! 'Tis an unweeded garden That grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature Possess it merely" (Hamlet 1.2.129-136)

1. (1) Comment in one sentence on what you think is the significance of this scene. Then what would the play be like without the scene? 2. (1) Ask questions about the scene. Has anything in the scene caused you confusion? OR Ask one of the characters in the scene a question -- or ask ME a question. Example: 2.1 – Questions: Polonius – what’s your problem? Reynaldo – are you going to spread the bad word about Laertes? I hope you don’t. Ophelia – how strongly do you feel about Hamlet? You’d better avoid him totally before something terrible happens. 3.(1) Quote lines from the scene that you enjoyed and comment on them. Example: 1.1 – Horatio says “Most like. It harrows me with fear and wonder.” This line really explains to us what all three of the guards are feeling when they see this ghost. They are all frightened by it, yet they wonder why it came to them and why it is dressed the way it is. It really sets the mood for the whole scene because it lets us know that they are anxious. The first few lines in this scene really shocked me because we didn’t know anything about these characters yet they were all so nervous and jumpy. Plus they were very suspicious and cautious of everything. 4. (1) Describe your reactions to a character, action, or idea you confronted in the scene. Example: 1.2 – King Claudius seems like a flake to me. He seems to know what he’s talking about but to me it’s like it’s rehearsed or something. I can understand him trying to be friends with Hamlet, but it seems to me that he is just doing it to make himself look good. I don’t think he means anything of what he said to Hamlet. 5. (1) Talk about the relationships characters have to one another, quoting specific words or phrases to give evidence for your opinion. 6. Write a diary entry from the perspective of one of the characters. Get inside that character’s mind. Tell how the character feels about herself, about other characters, about the situation of the scene. 7. (1) At least twice, do an entry that is not writing. Draw a picture. Create a collage of characters. Draw what you think the stage should look like in a modern day production. Film yourself performing part of the scene. Create a soundtrack to the scene. Other?
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