Hamlet Reading #8 and #9

“Let my disclaiming from a purposed evil Free me so far in your most generous thoughts” (V. ii. 255-256).

            Hamlet illustrates a shift in his characterization as an insane person during the conversation with Laertes. Hamlet asks for forgiveness from Laertes and believes that it was not him that killed Polonius, but his madness. Hamlet does not take full responsibility for the murder, but he is able to think about how Laertes must be feeling. Before their exchange Hamlet seemed to only be consumed with himself and achieving his own goals. Later in the scene Claudius is cause of Gertrude’s death when she drinks out of the poisoned cup that was meant for Hamlet. Claudius has a surprising reaction to her impending death: “It is the poisoned cup. It is too late” (V. ii. 319). Claudius really just makes a statement and makes no real attempt to stop her from drinking the poisoned cup other than asking her not to. Claudius is supposed to be in love with Gertrude, yet he does not try to save her. It appears that Claudius was never in love with Gertrude, and he is just consumed by his power. If Claudius had strong feelings for Gertrude he would have jumped up and grabbed the cup from her hands, instead he just watches it happen! When she dies he does not even appear to be very upset about it, and any possibility of sympathy for Claudius from the audience disappears.

Hamlet Reading #6

      In Act III scene iv, Hamlet and Gertrude begin their conversation with a banter that goes back and forth. Hamlet will repeat what Gertrude says but change her lines a little in order to how he sees fit. After Hamlet kills Polonius, Hamlet has longer lines, but is more straight forward in what he wants to say to her. Their exchange in this scene is really the first time they have had the time to speak to each other without anyone watching, and Hamlet is definitely taking advantage of that fact by being blunt about how he views the Queen. Gertrude exclaims “O Hamlet, speak no more! Thou turn’st my eyes into my (very) soul, And there I see such black and (grained) spots As will (not) leave their tinct” (III. iv. 99-102). Hamlet prior to these lines went on in great length at what she had done to his father. Gertrude seems to realize the brevity of the situation and how mad Hamlet is. She for once seems to agree with Hamlet, yet she does not want to talk more about the situation, because she believes that no matter what she God will never forgive her. Hamlet does continue on though, and she continues to beg Hamlet to stop. The Ghost then comes in, and makes Hamlet look crazy, and Gertrude shifts her attention to her son, and her concern over his sanity.

The Fall

The Fall

There I sat perfectly content on the very packed T

Getting anxious as we finally arrived at my stop

I gathered my things, and stood up

Maneuvering my way through the crowd

Politely excusing myself the entire distance of 3 feet,

The T screeched to a halt and I desperately looked for a place to hold on to--

With little luck, it was too late, I fell on the middle of the T.

Blinking my eyes to check if it was true,

It was, because there I was still on the ground

Shocked that first I was on the ground, but secondly

No one was helping me,

So to make things worse I stated, “Oh my gosh I just fell”

I hoisted myself up, almost falling again

The doors finally opened, and gaining composure, I walked off

But with just a tint of regret,

For I should have yelled

“Ow my ankle”

Because maybe then I would have gotten a response

Sound and Sense Chapter 16: The Weary Blues

             In the poem, The Weary Blues, Langston Hughes uses a distinct colloquial and vague description in order to express that the music reflects the performer’s and speaker’s tone. The Blues is more subdued than other types of music, and has a worn down tone. The speaker’s tone remains monotone and does not express any excitement about seeing the performer; he maintains a calm tone throughout the poem, just like Blues music usually does. The performer also seems tired of his life: “Ain’t got nobody in all this world, Ain’t got nobody but ma self” (19-20). His use of slang allows any reader to hear the music and imagine the scene as the speaker of the poem would. Even though his poem is mostly made up of description, Hughes leaves enough questions answered, which allows the reader to create their own scene. The poem ends with the lines “While the Weary Blues echoed through his head. He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead”(35). These lines express that the performer is drained from his life, yet he still has a sense of peace with his life, because he is able to get into a heavy sleep. Even though, the performer is not completely fulfilled by his life he is still content, like a dead man who can be okay with the way that he lived his life.  

Hamlet Reading #5

“The undiscovered country from whose bourn No traveler returns, puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have” (III. i. 88-89).

            Hamlet states that people choose to continue living, even if life is tortuous for them, because they are not sure what happens after life. He also comments on the fact that nobody returns after they die, it seems that he has forgotten that the ghost of his father did return, and he told Hamlet that he was in purgatory. Hamlet believes his father when he tells Hamlet that Claudius killed him, but he seems uncertain about the afterlife. Hamlet already believes that there was something going on with Claudius, and Hamlet could have been willing to believe the ghost about King Hamlet’s murder, because he already was suspicious of Claudius. Hamlet may not believe in the afterlife in the first place, and that is why he is forgetting why he knows about his father’s murder. If Hamlet did believe in purgatory, hell, and heaven before the ghost appeared he would have had more of shock that his beliefs were right, whereas Hamlet pushes the fact that the ghost is in purgatory away, and just looks at the fact that he saw a ghost who looked like his father, who confirmed his suspicions about Claudius.