DRJ #3 - Hamlet, Act 3

Act 3 is the pivot point and the jelling of the whole play. This is the Act that reveals to me that it is not Hamlet that is mad, it is everyone around him and that he and Horatio are likely the only sane people in his circle of people. In Scene 1 it becomes evident that there is no sense of guilt or sensitivity toward Hamlet or his father’s memory by his family or friends. Hamlet is likely feeling crazy because frankly, it seems as though everyone around him is living in an altered reality. What kind of mother would not feel any sense of propriety toward the memory of her child’s father or the son’s mourning the loss of his father much less his mother forgetting her husband so soon that she was able to remarry?

Hamlet presents the play to try to see if his uncle is guilty by portraying the story of his father’s killing that the ghost had told him. Sure enough, the King’s guilt leads him to leave in anger confirming for Hamlet that he is indeed guilty. Now Hamlet knows that he is bound by the love and memory of his beloved father to avenge his death. He also uses the occasion to convey to Ophelia his angst toward his mother for her apparent disregard for her husband’s memory by marrying so soon after his death. By this it seems that he is pondering in his mind whether love is real or not.

Additionally, Ophelia is indifferent to his gestures and returns the things Hamlet has given her yet, she “loves” him. Through this Hamlet realizes that a women’s love is fickle and therefore does a woman really have the capacity to truly love or is love even real? Again, he is confused about the reality of love.

When he comes upon Claudius he finds him praying and decides not to kill him because he wants to kill him when he is unable to repent first just the way Claudius robbed Hamlet’s father of his ability to repent of his sins before his death. This shows that Hamlet’s sense of compassion for anyone is waning and he is turning more toward vengeance and his anger and distrust is building.

As Act 3 moves through Scene 4 we see very plainly his bitterness toward his mother. He is now voicing to her directly how he angry he is at her for marrying so soon after his father’s death. Also, he is trying to explain to her that Claudius killed her husband. It is as if he is trying one last time to bring her along in a way while rebuking her for her behavior.

Overall, this Act revealed the nature of the first two scenes and built the excitement and set the tone for the remainder of the play, especially with the killing of Polonius. Do you think Hamlet or most everyone around him is crazy, or both?

Drama Reading Journal #2 - Hamlet, Act II

This act is very short but it is also the most telling and insightful into the main characters is the play. It reveals the dynamics at work in Hamlet’s family as well as Ophelia’s. In this Act we see two different sets of parents working behind the scenes to direct their children’s lives. In scene 1 we see Polonius directing Reynaldo to go and spy on his son, Laertes, and see how he is doing. Then he expounds and wants Reynaldo to spread false and vicious rumors because he thinks his son is boring. In scene 2 we see the King and Queen calling some of Hamlet’s friends to come to keep watch over Hamlet to see if they can find out why he is acting so crazy. Why do they not go to him themselves?

While the Queen is likely self centered and needy of male attention, the King is wicked but Polonius is conniving, controlling and manipulative. A father that directs his aid to slander his son’s good name and destroy his impeccable reputation is a wicked as well. Additionally, he tells his daughter to play games with Hamlet by returning his letters and gifts to the point that she also becomes the object of Hamlet’s doubt and supposed insanity. We see at the close of the act a glimpse or the increasing insanity of Hamlet as he meets with his friends then his speech at the end where he doubts everything he has ever known.

I think that foreshadowing is the most prominent literary theme in this Act. In both cases, the parents seem concerned for their children but they may or may not realize that they are really the cause of the ills that will befall their children. The concern is superficial and self centered. The actions of each parent leads to the eventual demise of both families. The King and Queen by their own manipulation of the lives of others by killing Hamlet’s father and Polonius by manipulating his daughters behavior toward Hamlet as well as his sneaky, slanderous gossip about his son.

Do you think that the parents are in any way really caring and concerned for their children?

DRJ - Hamlet Act 1

DRJ - Hamlet, Act 1

In the first act of the play all of the characters remind me of people that I Know! It is surprising to me that characters created in the mind of a play write could reflect very pointed character types through the annals of time. As Solomon said in the Bible, “there is nothing new under the sun”. Hamlet is a typical angsty teenager that reacts to the terrible circumstances that come his way in a short period of time.

Claudius is a man that is more concerned with his own lust for power and prestige that his country. He speaks eloquently and likely won over Gertrude and convinced her to marry him so soon because of this. He is not a likeable character in any way. It is obvious that he intentionally caused the conflict in the story.

The theme that most impressed upon me in this first act was the platform before the castle where the ghost of King Hamlet was seen in two scenes. The imagery of the dark, middle of the night in Scene 1 and then the opening of Scene where Hamlet enters and says, “The air bites shrewdly, it is very cold”. It sets the tone for the frightening experience of seeing the ghost. He is first seen by Bernardo and Marcellus in Scene 1 and then by Hamlet in Scene 4. You can sense the chill of the ghostly figure get drawn into the scene.

Why do you think the ghost came each night about midnight?