The following directions replace the forecast I sent to you last week.
(Because I felt we needed more work on explications I've made a few
changes.)
As you all know we've been working hard on explications
(unfolding a text to show what it means and how it conveys that
meaning). We broke the Hamlet's 3.1 monologue into sections. Then we
analyzed what it means and how it conveys that meaning sentence by
sentence. Based on your questions about other areas of act three we've
explicated other passages too. I want to give you all a chance to try
out the explication strategies for yourself.
1. Each of you has
been assigned a different passage between 3.1 and 4.4. You will
explicate the passage this way: (1) introduce the passage by providing
context and discussing the overall dramatic and thematic significance of
the passage; (2) take your readers through the passage, (a) explaining
the meaning (sentence-by-sentence and/or speech-by-speech), (b)
exploring the significance of how* Shakespeare conveys meaning,
and (c) exploring dramatic and thematic connections to other parts of
the play; (3) conclude with strong assertions summarizing the dramatic
and thematic significance of the passage as revealed in your
explication.
Jordan W and Hope W: 3.1.99-160 Hamlet and Ophelia after the "To be or not to be" speech
Hannah E & Zach S: 3.1.161-202 after Hamlet departs
Corrine D & Kevin R: 3.2.1-97 Hamlet to the actors, etc.
Kacie Q & Olivia P: 3.2.98-296 Murder of Gonzago/Mouse Trap* [A-block explicate 3.2.98-3.2.175; F-block explicate 3.2.176 to 3.2.296]
Christina S & Seiken O: 3.2.207-417 after the play within the play* [A-block explicate 3.2.297-3.2.373; F-block explicate 3.2.374-3.2.417]
Diana D & Cara O: 3.2.418 to end Hamlet's mini-soliloquy
Kelly F & Emily M: 3.3.1-39 Claudius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Polonius
Ivy G & Liz M: 3.3.40-103 Claudius confesses? Hamlet is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought?
Anna G & Katie M: 3.4.1-40 a rat behind an arras
Bethany G & Carren J: 3.4.41-116 Hamlet and his mother
Logan H & Michael J: 3.4.117-240 Ghost reappears to end of scene [A-block explicate 3.4.117-3.4.176 F-block explicate 3.4.177-3.2.240]
James K & Sydney I: 4.1 Queen and King after "unseen good old man" is slain
Arly M & Alan D: 4.2 Hamlet messes with R & G
Kirsten S & Josh D: 4.3 Hamlet messes with Claudius and is sent to England
Yazmeen S & Nicole B: 4.4.1-33 Fortinbras crossing Denmark; Hamlet leaving for England
Your explication must be posted to the blog by Monday, November 19.
In your explication use your first name and last initial; also indicate
the lines you are explicating. Your explication must represent your own
work. Do not plagiarize. To help you understand tricky passages you may
use the notes in the Folger's edition of Hamlet (the book you have) and
the notes provided by the enotes Hamlet text (link here)
but do not rely on the enotes "modern translation". You must cite the
passage at the top of your explication; you must cite lines, phrases,
and words (act.scene.line) as you quote them; you must cite notes that
you use. (For Works Cited Page: Mowat, Barbara A and Paul Werstine, eds.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2009. "Hamlet Text and Translation." eNotes. 2012. Web. 15 Nov 2012. For in-text citation of notes: (Mowat page#) or ("Hamlet Text and Translation").
**********************
*How do I write about how Shakespeare conveys meaning?: When exploring the significance of how the passage is written think of these elements: imagery (literal and metaphorical), word choice (denotation and connotation), sentence structure (parallel structures, periodic structures, antithesis, complex/compound sentences, questions, exclamations), dramatic and rhetorical structure (look for shifts in the action and in the language), patterns (comparisons, contrasts, repeated words/images/situations within the passage or in the passage and elsewhere in the play), sound (iambic pentameter, rhyming couplets, alliteration, assonance), etc.
**********************
2. That leads us up to Hamlet's final soliloquy (4.4). Respond to the two 4.4 soliloquy prompts on the blog by class time on Tuesday, November 20.
3. By class time on Tuesday you also will have read to the end of act four (the end of 4.7) with notes on the narrative and your motif.
4. We'll have a brief class on Wednesday in which I'll explain the work you'll be doing about Ophelia, motif writing on acts 3-5, and reading the final act of the play.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
3.2 (The Murder of Gonzago / The Mousetrap)
If you're looking for the 3.1 "to be or not to be" assignment scroll down...
Write a response to the three versions of the Mousetrap. (Due Wednesday, November 14.)
Choose an analytical argument question to respond to:
Which “Mousetrap” is most powerful?
Or, which "Mousetrap" is the most effective?
Or, which is most faithful to Shakespeare’s Hamlet?
Or, which version do you prefer?
Or, which version do you abhor?
Or, how do the different versions each suit the settings the directors have chosen?
Or, write your own question.
Explain your position. Support your position with specific detail from the scenes and from the text. Convince me you're right. This will take the form of an informal, persuasive essay.
Post your response in the comment box below. Make sure you include the question you are answering.
Additional thoughts:
Be specific and insightful. Be opinionated. To develop your position you might need to show an awareness of what lines are cut out of the abridged versions. (Is it okay to cut the lines? Is meaning adequately conveyed without the lines? If something is lost what?) You'll certainly need to show an awareness of the different ways the three directors stage the “Mousetrap”. You might need to think about the ways that each version is faithful to the time period in which it is set. Think about the behavior and reactions of each character, especially the three Claudiuses and the three Hamlets but differences in the Ophelias and the Gertrudes are significant too.
Click here and scroll down to watch the three versions of the "The Murder of Gonzago" which Hamlet also calls "The Mousetrap".
Due Wednesday, November 14.
Write a response to the three versions of the Mousetrap. (Due Wednesday, November 14.)
Choose an analytical argument question to respond to:
Which “Mousetrap” is most powerful?
Or, which "Mousetrap" is the most effective?
Or, which is most faithful to Shakespeare’s Hamlet?
Or, which version do you prefer?
Or, which version do you abhor?
Or, how do the different versions each suit the settings the directors have chosen?
Or, write your own question.
Explain your position. Support your position with specific detail from the scenes and from the text. Convince me you're right. This will take the form of an informal, persuasive essay.
Post your response in the comment box below. Make sure you include the question you are answering.
Additional thoughts:
Be specific and insightful. Be opinionated. To develop your position you might need to show an awareness of what lines are cut out of the abridged versions. (Is it okay to cut the lines? Is meaning adequately conveyed without the lines? If something is lost what?) You'll certainly need to show an awareness of the different ways the three directors stage the “Mousetrap”. You might need to think about the ways that each version is faithful to the time period in which it is set. Think about the behavior and reactions of each character, especially the three Claudiuses and the three Hamlets but differences in the Ophelias and the Gertrudes are significant too.
Click here and scroll down to watch the three versions of the "The Murder of Gonzago" which Hamlet also calls "The Mousetrap".
Due Wednesday, November 14.
Hamlet Soliloquy (?) 3.1 ("To be, or not to be")
Due Tuesday, November 13.
Note: HannahEllis noticed that Branagh's version is no longer available on the page I've linked to above.
So here is another link to it.
Another note: The reason I've put a question mark after the word "soliloquy" in the title of this blog post is because in some versions (including Branagh's) the director chooses to have Polonius and Claudius listen to the speech, so in those versions the speech is not, strictly speaking, a soliloquy; it's a monologue. How is this choice significant? How do you think it should be played? Why?
To be, or not to be: that is the question (3.1.64-98).
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer (65)
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks (70)
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, (75)
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, (80)
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life, (85)
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of? (90)
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry, (95)
And lose the name of action.-- Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember'd.
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer (65)
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks (70)
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, (75)
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, (80)
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life, (85)
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of? (90)
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry, (95)
And lose the name of action.-- Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember'd.
NOTES:
slings ] Some argue that "slings" is a misprint of
the intended word, "stings". "The stings of fortune" was a
common saying in the Renaissance. But in the context of the soliloquy,
"slings" likely means "sling-shot" or "missile".
This seems in keeping with the reference to "arrows" - both can do
great harm.
outrageous fortune ] Fortune is "outrageous" in that
it is brazenly defiant.
And by opposing end them ] If you cannot suffer the
"slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" then you must end your
troubles with suicide.
consummation ] Final settlement of all matters.
rub ] Impediment. The term comes from bowling, where the
"rub" is any obstacle the pushes the ball off course.
shuffled off this mortal coil ] To separate from one's body
(mortal coil = body).
respect ] Consideration.
of so long life ] So long-lived.
time ] Time = temporal life.
his quietus make ] Settle his own account.
bare bodkin ] A "mere dagger". Bodkin was a
Renaissance term used to describe many different sharp instruments, but it
makes the most sense here to assume Shakespeare means a dagger.
fardels ] Burdens.
No traveller returns ] Since Hamlet has already encountered his
father's ghost, and thus proof of the afterlife, this line has raised much
debate. There are four major current theories regarding this line: 1)
Shakespeare made an egregious error and simply failed to reconcile the appearance
of the ghost and Hamlet's belief that human beings do not return; 2) Hamlet has
earlier revealed that he doubts the authenticity of the ghost and, therefore,
he does not believe his father has truly returned; 3) Hamlet is referring only
to human beings returning in the flesh and not as mere shadows of their former
selves; 4) the entire soliloquy is misplaced and rightfully belongs before
Hamlet has met his father's ghost. In my estimation, theory #4 seems the most
plausible.
bourn ] Limit or boundary.
native hue of resolution ] Natural. Here Hamlet refers to the
"natural color of courage".
pale cast of thought ] Sickly tinge of contemplation.
great pitch and moment ] Of momentous significance. The
"pitch" was the name given to the highest point in a falcon's flight
before it dives down to catch its prey.
With this regard their currents turn awry ] A reference to the
sea and its tides: "Because of their thoughts, their currents become
unstable".
Soft you now ] "But hush!". Hamlet hears Ophelia
begin to pray and he must cut short his private ponderances.
Nymph ] See commentary below.
orisons ] Prayers.
Let's try the comparison again:
In the comment box address the following prompt: compare and contrast
how two versions of the soliloquy use different strategies to convey the
meaning of the soliloquy. Pay close attention to choices made the
actors and directors. Interpret the significance of those choices.
Note on compare/contrast structure: try to write a "shuttle" comparison. This means that you'll start with a bold, insightful assertion comparing and contrasting how the two versions convey meaning. Then you'll "shuttle" back and forth between the two versions comparing and contrasting. Use this method instead of writing about the two separately.
Note on dramatic strategies: Consider the actors' movements and the delivery of the lines. Consider the
directors' choices of props, setting and images, lighting, editing, music and
other sounds. Think, for example, about Branagh’s hall of mirrors (which
creates double meanings and makes the speech not a soliloquy),
Zeffirelli’s
catacombs (which seem to emphasize Hamlet’s meditations on death),
Olivier's water imagery, Doran's emphasis on Hamlet's face, and
Almereyda’s Blockbuster video store (which emphasizes--or
overemphasizes--Hamlet’s obsession with
action.).
Don't forget to use first name and last initial. This is due by class time on Tuesday, November 13.
Note: HannahEllis noticed that Branagh's version is no longer available on the page I've linked to above.
So here is another link to it.
Another note: The reason I've put a question mark after the word "soliloquy" in the title of this blog post is because in some versions (including Branagh's) the director chooses to have Polonius and Claudius listen to the speech, so in those versions the speech is not, strictly speaking, a soliloquy; it's a monologue. How is this choice significant? How do you think it should be played? Why?
Monday, November 5, 2012
Responding to Motifs in Hamlet Act 1 and Act 2
The motif response will be due on Thursday.
By Wednesday finish reading act two and finish writing about the 2.2 soliloquy. (See below.)
In the comment box below do the following.
Write your first name and last initial.
Write down your motif (or thread).
Write down a quotation that develops your motif. (Include act, scene, and line.)
Write an explanation of what the quotation means (in context) and how the quotation develops the motif.
Write down another quotation that develops your motif. (Include act, scene, and line.)
Write an explanation of what the quotation means (in context) and how the quotation develops the motif.
Write down a third quotation that develops your motif. (Include act, scene, and line.)
Write an explanation of what the quotation means (in context) and how the quotation develops the motif.
Then write explain the development of the motif in play so far. Use quotations and other details to support your explanation.
By Wednesday finish reading act two and finish writing about the 2.2 soliloquy. (See below.)
In the comment box below do the following.
Write your first name and last initial.
Write down your motif (or thread).
Write down a quotation that develops your motif. (Include act, scene, and line.)
Write an explanation of what the quotation means (in context) and how the quotation develops the motif.
Write down another quotation that develops your motif. (Include act, scene, and line.)
Write an explanation of what the quotation means (in context) and how the quotation develops the motif.
Write down a third quotation that develops your motif. (Include act, scene, and line.)
Write an explanation of what the quotation means (in context) and how the quotation develops the motif.
Then write explain the development of the motif in play so far. Use quotations and other details to support your explanation.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Hamlet Soliloquy 2.2: Explication and Performance Comparison
This work is due by class time on Wednesday, November 7.
2.2 Soliloquy Performance Comparison
Hamlet’s second soliloquy (2.2)
Now I am alone. O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! (555)
Is it not monstrous that this player here,
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
Could force his soul so to his own conceit
That from her working all his visage wann'd,
Tears in his eyes, distraction in's aspect, (560)
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing!
For Hecuba!
What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,
That he should weep for her? What would he do, (565)
Had he the motive and the cue for passion
That I have? He would drown the stage with tears
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech,
Make mad the guilty and appall the free,
Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed (570)
The very faculties of eyes and ears. Yet I,
A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak,
Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,
And can say nothing; no, not for a king,
Upon whose property and most dear life (575)
A damn'd defeat was made. Am I a coward?
Who calls me villain? breaks my pate across?
Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face?
Tweaks me by the nose? gives me the lie i' the throat,
As deep as to the lungs? who does me this? (580)
Ha!
'Swounds, I should take it: for it cannot be
But I am pigeon-liver'd and lack gall
To make oppression bitter, or ere this
I should have fatted all the region kites (585)
With this slave's offal: bloody, bawdy villain!
Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!
O, vengeance!
Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,
That I, the son of a dear father murder'd, (590)
Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,
Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words,
And fall a-cursing, like a very drab,
A scullion!
Fie upon't! foh! About, my brain! I have heard (595)
That guilty creatures sitting at a play
Have by the very cunning of the scene
Been struck so to the soul that presently
They have proclaim'd their malefactions;
For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak (600)
With most miraculous organ. I'll have these players
Play something like the murder of my father
Before mine uncle: I'll observe his looks;
I'll tent him to the quick: if he but blench,
I know my course. The spirit that I have seen (605)
May be the devil: and the devil hath power
To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps
Out of my weakness and my melancholy,
As he is very potent with such spirits,
Abuses me to damn me: I'll have grounds (610)
More relative than this: the play 's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king.
Is it not monstrous that this player here,
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
Could force his soul so to his own conceit
That from her working all his visage wann'd,
Tears in his eyes, distraction in's aspect, (560)
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing!
For Hecuba!
What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,
That he should weep for her? What would he do, (565)
Had he the motive and the cue for passion
That I have? He would drown the stage with tears
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech,
Make mad the guilty and appall the free,
Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed (570)
The very faculties of eyes and ears. Yet I,
A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak,
Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,
And can say nothing; no, not for a king,
Upon whose property and most dear life (575)
A damn'd defeat was made. Am I a coward?
Who calls me villain? breaks my pate across?
Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face?
Tweaks me by the nose? gives me the lie i' the throat,
As deep as to the lungs? who does me this? (580)
Ha!
'Swounds, I should take it: for it cannot be
But I am pigeon-liver'd and lack gall
To make oppression bitter, or ere this
I should have fatted all the region kites (585)
With this slave's offal: bloody, bawdy villain!
Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!
O, vengeance!
Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,
That I, the son of a dear father murder'd, (590)
Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,
Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words,
And fall a-cursing, like a very drab,
A scullion!
Fie upon't! foh! About, my brain! I have heard (595)
That guilty creatures sitting at a play
Have by the very cunning of the scene
Been struck so to the soul that presently
They have proclaim'd their malefactions;
For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak (600)
With most miraculous organ. I'll have these players
Play something like the murder of my father
Before mine uncle: I'll observe his looks;
I'll tent him to the quick: if he but blench,
I know my course. The spirit that I have seen (605)
May be the devil: and the devil hath power
To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps
Out of my weakness and my melancholy,
As he is very potent with such spirits,
Abuses me to damn me: I'll have grounds (610)
More relative than this: the play 's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king.
rogue ] Useless vagrant.
peasant ] A person of little integrity (see The Taming of the Shrew 4.1.113).
player...Hecuba ] This passage is often very difficult for
students, and standard annotations leave them wanting. So it is best
paraphrased:
Is it not horribly unfair
that this actor, pretending to feel great passion, could, based on what he has
conceived in his own mind, force his own soul to believe the part that he is
playing, so much so that all the powers of his body adapt themselves to suit
his acting needs, so that he grows agitated ("distraction in's
aspect"), weeps, and turns pale ("wann'd")? And why does he
carry on so? Why does he pretend until he truly makes himself weep? For Hecuba! But why? What
are they to each other?
Hamlet wishes he could arouse his passions so.
Hecuba ] Trojan queen and heroine of classical mythology.
Earlier in 2.2 Hamlet asks the First Player to recite a monologue retelling
Hecuba's response to the death of her husband, King Priam. The Player tells us
that Hecuba's grief was profound and "Would have made milch the burning
eyes of heaven/And passion in the gods" (505-6). The contrast between
Gertrude and Hecuba should be noted. To Hamlet, Hecuba has responded
appropriately to her husband's death, while Gertrude has not.
cue for passion ] The reason for strong feelings.
Make mad the guilty ] "By his description of the crime he
would drive those spectators mad who had any such sin on their conscience, and
would horrify even the innocent" (Kittredge 68),
amaze ] Plunge into confusion.
muddy-mettled ] Dull-spirited.
peak ] Moping about; languishing, unable to act.
John-a-dreams ] A nickname for a dreamer.
unpregnant ] "Pregnant" here does not mean "with
child", but rather, quick or ready. Thus to be "unpregnant" is
to be unable to act quickly.
pate ] Head.
swounds ] God's wounds.
pigeon-liver'd ] In the Renaissance, the gentle disposition of
the Dove was explained by the argument that it had no gall and thus no capacity
to feel resentment or to seek revenge. The liver also was seen as the body's
storehouse for courage.
region kites ] The birds of prey in the region, circling in the
sky, waiting to feed. If Hamlet were not "pigeon-liver'd" (583) he
would have long ago fed Claudius to the hawks.
kindless ] Unnatural.
drab ] A whore.
scullion ] A kitchen helper, either man or woman but usually a
woman. It was a term used to show contempt. One should note that in the second
quarto, scullion was actually "stallyon", which means a male whore.
Scholars are still undecided on the matter, but scullion is the more generally
accepted of the two.
proclaim'd their malefactions ] Announced their evil deeds.
blench ] Flinch.
Source: http://shakespeare.about.com/library/weekly/aa061500b.htm
2.2 Soliloquy Explication
In the comment box write an explication
(one page, 300 words) of this soliloquy. An explications is not a paraphrase or
a summary, but explains and explores a text thoroughly. You will explain what
Hamlet is saying and how he says it. (What the text says and what it does.)
When explaining “what Hamlet is saying,” remember that
the soliloquy is a tool that Shakespeare uses to show Hamlet’s mind at work.
Ask yourself “what does this reveal about Hamlet?” and “how does what he says
fit into the work as a whole?” Deal with the surface and the depths.)
When explaining “how he says it,” pay close attention to
the language (particular word choices, sentence structure, etc.) and imagery
(including figurative language, such as metaphors). Ask yourself “what does how
he speaks and the language that he uses reveal about Hamlet?
At the beginning of your comment write your first name and the first initial of your last name. Then write "2.2 Soliloquy Explication"
At the beginning of your comment write your first name and the first initial of your last name. Then write "2.2 Soliloquy Explication"
2.2 Soliloquy Performance Comparison
In the comment box address the following prompt: compare and contrast how two versions of the soliloquy use different strategies to convey the meaning of the soliloquy. Pay close attention to choices made the actors and directors. Interpret the significance of those choices. I'm looking forward to reading these because
of how passionate and thoughtful you were about your act one
scene two preferences.
At the beginning of your comment write your first name and the first initial of your last name. Then write "2.2 Soliloquy Performance Comparison"
At the beginning of your comment write your first name and the first initial of your last name. Then write "2.2 Soliloquy Performance Comparison"
First clip: 2.2 soliloquy, directed by Kenneth Branagh, Hamlet played by Kenneth Branagh (1996)
Second clip: 2.2 soliloquy, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, Hamlet played by Mel Gibson (1990)
Third clip: 2.2 soliloquy, directed by Michael Almereyda, Hamlet played by Ethan Hawke (2000)
Fourth clip: 2.2 soliloquy, directed by Gregory Doran, Hamlet played by David Tennant (2009)
Fifth clip: 2.2 soliloquy, directed by Laurence Olivier, Hamlet played by Laurence Olivier (1948)
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Hamlet Soliloquy 1.2: Analysis and Evaluation
Re-read Hamlet’s first soliloquy and answer the questions
that follow.
SOLILOQUY
O, that this too too solid flesh would melt (1.2.131-61).
O, that this too
too solid
flesh would melt
Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!
Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!
How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, (135)
Seem 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. That it should come to this!
But two months dead: nay, not so much, not two: (140)
So excellent a king; that was, to this,
Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth!
Must I remember? why, she would hang on him, (145)
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on: and yet, within a month --
Let me not think on't -- Frailty, thy name is woman! --
A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she follow'd my poor father's body, (150)
Like Niobe, all tears: -- why she, even she --
O, God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason,
Would have mourn'd longer--married with my uncle,
My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules: within a month: (155)
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,
She married. O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not nor it cannot come to good: (160)
But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue.
Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!
Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!
How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, (135)
Seem 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. That it should come to this!
But two months dead: nay, not so much, not two: (140)
So excellent a king; that was, to this,
Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth!
Must I remember? why, she would hang on him, (145)
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on: and yet, within a month --
Let me not think on't -- Frailty, thy name is woman! --
A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she follow'd my poor father's body, (150)
Like Niobe, all tears: -- why she, even she --
O, God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason,
Would have mourn'd longer--married with my uncle,
My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules: within a month: (155)
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,
She married. O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not nor it cannot come to good: (160)
But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue.
NOTES
too too ] The duplication of "too" intensifies
Hamlet's feelings of regret. Repetition of this kind was a popular literary
device in the Renaissance.
solid ] Many scholars ask whether Shakespeare intended
"solid" to be actually "sallied", a form of the word
"sullied". The second quarto of Hamlet
contains "sallied", but the First Folio prints it as
"solid". Modern editors have been quite divided on the issue. Editors
of The Arden Shakespeare have chosen
to use "sullied", while editors of The New Cambridge Shakespeare have decided upon "solid".
The reasoning for the use of "solid" is fairly evident, as it
logically corresponds to "would melt" (131). However, there are good
arguments to support the claim that Shakespeare did mean "sullied".
With "sullied" we have the "suggestion of contamination"
(Jenkins 437), which is apparent throughout the soliloquy. Some critics stress
"sullied" as the "contrast to 'self-slaughter' the resolving of
the baser element into the higher, whereby Hamlet might return from melancholy
to normal health, or, if to become dew is to die, then from 'misery' to
'felicity'. But there is surely no thought here of being restored to health or
happiness, only of being free of the 'flesh' whether through its own deliquescence
or through suicide." (Jenkns 187).
canon ] divine law; the Church regards "suicide" or
"self-slaughter" forbidden by the Sixth Commandment, "Thou shalt
not kill".
flat ] Spiritless.
unweeded garden ] A well-tended garden was symbolic of harmony
and normalcy.
in nature/Possess it merely ] Although Hamlet accepts weeds as
a natural part of the garden (and more generally a natural part of life), he
feels that the weeds have grown out of control and now possess nature entirely
(merely = entirely).
Hyperion ] {hy-peer'-ee-uhn} One of the Titans and the father
of Helios, the sun-god.
Satyr ] {say'-tur} A grotesque creature, half-man and
half-goat, symbolic of sexual promiscuity. Hamlet's reference to his dead
father as Hyperion and to his uncle Claudius as a satyr illustrates Hamlet's
contempt for Claudius. His father is godlike while his uncle is bestial.
beteem ] Permit. In anguish, Hamlet remembers the way his
father would treat Gertrude with such gentleness and care. His father would not
permit the wind to "visit her face too roughly".
ere ] Before.
Niobe ] {ny'-oh-bee} Symbolic of a mother's grief. Niobe, Queen
of Thebes, boasted that her fourteen children were more lovely than Diana and
Apollo, the children of Latona (Leto). Because of her arrogance, Niobe's
children were slain by Latona's children, and Zeus turned Niobe to stone - yet
still her tears flowed from the rock.
a beast, that wants discourse of reason ] Hamlet believes that
even a creature incapable of speech would have mourned longer than Gertrude
mourned for Hamlet's father (here wants=lacks). "The faculty of reason was
traditionally recognized as the crucial difference between man and the beasts.
This lends further significance to the Hyperion-Satyr comparison above. It was through
his reason that man could perceive the relation of cause and effect and thus
connect past with future, whereas the beast, precisely because it lacks reason,
must live largely in the present moment. Hence the axiom that its mourning
would be brief." (Jenkins 438).
Hercules ] {hur'-kyoo-leez} A Greek hero renowned for his
super-human tasks. Having a father so strong and noble intensifies Hamlet’s
feelings of inadequacy.
unrighteous tears ] See commentary below.
flushing ] Flushing refers to
the redness in Gertrude's eyes from crying. She did not wait until the redness
disappeared from her eyes before she married Claudius.
galled eyes ] Irritated and inflamed eyes.
dexterity ] One could take "dexterity" in this
context to mean either speed or nimbleness.
incestuous ] Even though Claudius and Gertrude are related only
through marriage, the union between a woman and her husband's brother, even if
the brother was deceased, was considered incest (see Leviticus 16:20), and was
explicitly forbidden by the Catholic and Anglican religions.
But break, my heart ] Hamlet's heart is heavy because he must
keep his anguish to himself. "The heart was thought to be kept in place by
ligaments or tendons (the heart-strings) which might snap under the pressure of
great emotion" (Edwards 91).
RESPONDING TO SHAKESPEARE’S/HAMLET’S RHETORIC
1.
Word choice in
context. If you were hired as the editor of a new edition of Hamlet would you choose “solid” or
“sullied”? Write a focused paragraph defending your answer.
2.
Analyzing
Imagery. Write a paragraph answering the following questions. How does the
imagery in the soliloquy convey Hamlet’s attitude toward the world? Don’t just
answer the questions create a cohesive paragraph (or paragraphs).
3.
Analysis and
Evaluation. Write a paragraph (or paragraphs) answering the following
questions. What is Hamlet’s attitude toward his own life? Why does he feel this
way? Cite and explain textual evidence to support your answers. Also, given his
circumstances is his attitude justified? Why or why not? If not what do you
think his attitude should be? Dig below the surface. Have empathy. Put yourself
in his shoes. Don’t just answer the questions address them in a cohesive
paragraph (or paragraphs).
4.
Analysis and
Evaluation. How does Hamlet feel about his mother? Why? In your paragraph, cite
and explain at least two quotations from the speech to support your answer. Also,
given what you know from the play is his attitude justified? Why or why not? If
not what do you think his attitude should be? Dig below the surface. Have
empathy. Put yourself in his shoes. Don’t just answer the questions address
them in a cohesive paragraph (or paragraphs).
5.
Analysis and
Evaluation. In a paragraph write about Hamlet’s attitudes towards his
father and Claudius. In the paragraph you should explain the two
contrasts Hamlet uses to show that his father (King Hamlet) is superior to King
Claudius. (The notes will help you with these contrasts. Hint: Allusions help
to reveal Hamlet’s attitude.) Also, given what you know from the play is his
attitude justified? Why or why not? If not what do you think his attitude
should be? Dig below the surface. Have empathy. Put yourself in his shoes.
Don’t just answer the questions address them in a cohesive paragraph (or paragraphs).
Respond in the comment box. Use your first name and last initial. Number your answers appropriately. You may need to break your response into two or more comment posts.
Respond in the comment box. Use your first name and last initial. Number your answers appropriately. You may need to break your response into two or more comment posts.
Hamlet Soliloquy 1.2: Branagh, Gibson, Hawke, Tennant, Olivier
Click on this link for the five clips of Hamlet's 1.2 soliloquy.
Take careful notes on the acting and directorial choices made in each soliloquy.
Then address the prompt in the comment box below:
Make an argument: which performance of the 1.2 soliloquy best conveys the richness found in the language of the soliloquy and in the context of the dramatic situation Shakespeare has created? Be insightful. Be specific. Be persuasive. Additional requirement: make sure that while supporting your position that you discuss all of the performances (by comparing superior acting and directing choices to inferior ones--or ones that are, perhaps, successful and interesting but simply not as rich).
(Use your first name and last initial to identify your comment.)
Take careful notes on the acting and directorial choices made in each soliloquy.
Then address the prompt in the comment box below:
Make an argument: which performance of the 1.2 soliloquy best conveys the richness found in the language of the soliloquy and in the context of the dramatic situation Shakespeare has created? Be insightful. Be specific. Be persuasive. Additional requirement: make sure that while supporting your position that you discuss all of the performances (by comparing superior acting and directing choices to inferior ones--or ones that are, perhaps, successful and interesting but simply not as rich).
(Use your first name and last initial to identify your comment.)
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