Hamlet vs. Momma

     Queen Gertrude and Hamlet each responded to King Hamlet's death in very different ways. The queen tried to ignore her husband's death by trying to replace him. Only one month after the king's death, Queen Gertrude chose to marry her late husband's brother, Claudius, who took the position as King of Denmark. Despite her attempt to keep the balance of things in this way, this action only fueled the anger in her son Hamlet. Unlike his mother, he was deeply bothered by the loss of his father. While she had simply forgotten him, he just couldn't let go. Hamlet could not understand why she had acted this way as he describes the strong love she once had felt for her husband. But now that was gone. This show of weakness infuriated him. In addition to this, Hamlet was visited by the ghost of his father who tells him that his brother had murdered him. After learning that his father was murdered by his own brother, the very same man his mother had married, the hatred for Claudius increases and a strong desire for revenge grows in him. The burden becomes too much for Hamlet to carry, but he tries to suppress his emotions by telling himself, "Let me not think on't"(11). Later in the story when Queen Gertrude calls him to her room to speak with him, he decides that he can't hold in how he feels any longer. He tells her that she married a wicked man and called her senseless and blind. Hurt by this she begs him to stop and tries to refuse to believe any of it to be true. Although Hamlet was a very cunning character, he let the tragedies in his life destroy him. Despite the fact that Queen Gertrude and Hamlet each had their own ways of handling their problems, in the end they both fell.

Hamlet vs. Queen Gertrude

     A tragedy affects everyone in some way. People have different reactions and problems they have to work through. Hamlet and Queen Gertrude face the death of King Hamlet. A good father, a loving husband and a great king was lost when he fell to the hands of his brother Claudius. Although Hamlet and Gertrude suffer the same tragedy, their handling of the situation is anything but the similar.
     After King Hamlet's death, Gertrude spent the rest of her life deceiving herself. She married his brother, Claudius, perhaps believing that she could live life close to the way it was before. She may have thought that Claudius would remind her of King Hamlet or the marriage may have been out of convenience. Either way, she tried her best to move on. She even urged Hamlet to accept his father's death as something normal and insignificant. The queen dealt with arising problems with ignorance. For example, when Polonius died, his daughter, Ophelia, went insane. Gertrude refused to talk to her until Horatio and a gentleman told her of Ophelia's condition.
     The queen's traits consist of care and strong will. An instance of her care is found before she died. She warned Hamlet of the poisonous drink. Her last words were, "No, no the drink, the drink! O my dear Hamlet! The drink, the drink! I am poisoned" (99). She also protected King Claudius. When Polonius died, his son, Laertes, asked the king as to where his father's body was. Claudius, replying "Dead" (75), was followed by Gertrude saying "But not by him" (75). Her strong will was proved when she insistently said that she was going to drink the wine, not knowing at the time that it was poisoned. Her will is further evident in the suppressing of her emotions and trying to move on with life after her husband's death.
     Hamlet, on the other hand, grieved over the loss of his father. After seeing his father's ghost and with plenty of hesitation, he took action and fulfilled his father's wish of revenge. He resorted to acting crazy to get by with things and questioned life itself. He asked "Who would fardels bear, to grunt and sweat under a weary life but that the dread of something after death..." (45).
     His characteristics are composed of cleverness, craft, and determination. He also had some major anger issues. He was mad at his mother for marrying his uncle Claudius, he was absolutely livid at his uncle for killing his father, and he was very upset with his situation. He was very skilled at lacing sentences with sarcasm and wit. He would insult somebody and they wouldn't even know it.
     If Hamlet and Gertrude were to deal with their problems together, they might have kept each other in check and not let things get out of hand. It is a shame that they didn't feel comfortable enough to trust the other to what they were going through. This lack of trust resulted in a down ward spiral of their lives.

Homework this week

- Finish reading and annotating hamlet
- write an essay (post it on the blog) comparing/contrasting EITHER
Hamlet Vs. Gertrude
Hamlet Vs. Dorian Gray

Be ready for five minute Hamlets in class this week!:) Bring Nerf swords if you have them. 

Hamlet

To be, or not to be: that is the question:  Hamlet is questioning suicide.
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer   He wonders if it is nobler to live through misery
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, and all of the misfortunes life throws at you
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, or to take arms and kill yourself thus ending all of your troubles.
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; In essence, to oppose would be to end them.  So what shall it be?  Death or life? 
No more; and by a sleep to say we end  No more misery if I were to take a deep sleep/death
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks  All of those moments of heart-ache
That flesh is heir to, ’tis a consummation that we are destined to bear
Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep; can end if we die.
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub; But if we were to take our life and bring death/sleep upon oneself what will our everlasting dream be?
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come  What dreams will come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,  after we have wastefully killed oneself.
Must give us pause: there’s the respect  It is this very reason
That makes calamity of so long life;  that people live so long.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, For why would someone bear the pains of life
The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, such as an oppressor's wrong or contemptuous language,
The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay, or the pangs of love and law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns or insolence,
That patient merit of the unworthy takes, or the failings of undertakings,
When he himself might his quietus make  when one can end their life
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear, with a large blunt needle?
To grunt and sweat under a weary life, It is because, even after so much grunt and sweat in life,
But that the dread of something after death, the dread of something after life keeps us living.
The undiscover’d country from whose bourn  The unknown of such a place as death
No traveller returns, puzzles the will   where no one ever returns and where death is such a mystery to us
And makes us rather bear those ills we have that we would rather bear life's pain
Than fly to others that we know not of?  than to quickly turn to the unknown pain's that wait for us after death.
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;  It is this conscience that makes us all cowards and prevents oneself from taking our life.
And thus the native hue of resolution  So now I have turned pale
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,  over this new theory of thought.
And enterprises of great pith and moment  Now all great undertakings of mine
With this regard their currents turn awry, turn to one side.
And lose the name of action.–Soft you now!   And all of my motivation to take action is lost.
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons  Ophelia! 
Be all my sins remember’d.  Pray for me!  

To be, or not to be; that is the question

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
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
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,
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,
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,
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?
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 pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.–Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember’d.


I think this was vary instrumental in the English and American culture . This passage from Hamlet questions of whether life is worth the pain of living. This is a somewhat difficult question for Hamlet who goes through the resent murder of his father, and of his girlfriend Ophelia. I thought it was funny that he compared her to a Nymph and I looked it up and found that they were always seen as beautiful maidens in Greek mythology. This is a passage that is most likely vary prominent to youth as growing up they can go through problems which are, to them are to difficult do endure. I thought Hamlet is a vary good read. The grammar and story are compelling and it is a challenge to those who are unfamiliar with Shakespeare.  

To be? Or. Not to be?

To be, or not to be: that is the question:            - Whether to live or to die: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer           - Is it better to suffer mentally
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,    - The stumbling blocks of destiny, 
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,         - Or attack the problems,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;    - And end them by opposition? To die; to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end            - No more sleeping; and yet by sleep we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks  - all the heart ache and pain
That flesh is heir to, ’tis a consummation           -  That people are doomed to face.
Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep;              - It is something I desire: to die and sleep...
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub;  - To die: possibly see the afterlife: there's the problem 
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come  - For in death's sleep what might happen
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,        - When we no longer belong to our mortal bodies,
Must give us pause: there’s the respect            - Must make us stop and think: there's the thing
That makes calamity of so long life;                  - That makes our troubles last so long
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,  - For who would withstand the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,  - The wrongs of the oppressor, the proud mans insults,
The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,        - The pains of unreturned love, the delay of justice,
The insolence of office and the spurns              - The scorn of officials and the rejection
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,           - That happens to those who don't deserve it,
When he himself might his quietus make          - When he himself might end it all
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,     - With a mere knife? Who would bear the burden,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,             - The blood, sweat, and tears of a labored life,
But that the dread of something after death,     - But the fear and dread of life after death,
The undiscover’d country from whose bourn    - The unknown land from which 
No traveller returns, puzzles the will                  - No one returns, confuses the mind
And makes us rather bear those ills we have    - And makes us prefer to bear the burdens of life
Than fly to others that we know not of?            - Rather than face the unknown troubles of death.
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;  - Thus our thinking does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution                 - And so the natural color of courage
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,     - Is sickened by the paleness of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment        - And actions of great importance 
With this regard their currents turn awry,        - With this thinking in mind, are forgotten,
And lose the name of action.–Soft you now!   - And lose their reputation. Quiet!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons        - The beautiful Ophelia! Fair lady, remember my sins 
Be all my sins remember’d.                              in your prayers.

Soliloquy

To be, or not to be--that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

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 heartache, and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wished. 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,

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,

Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely

The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,

The insolence of office, and the spurns

That patient merit of th' 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,

But that the dread of something after death,

The undiscovered 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?

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 enterprise of great pitch and moment

With this regard their currents turn awry

And lose the name of action. -- Soft you now,

The fair Ophelia! -- Nymph, in thy orisons

Be all my sins remembered.

Should i continue to exist or not

would i think more highly of myself if i just suffer

all the trials of bad luck

or if i go against the tide(meaning life)

and just end my life

it would stop all the heart ache

and all the bad surprises life brings

the difference between sleeping and dying is dreams

when you die you don't dream

that's what makes life so long

so why suffer if you can die and ease the pain

some people would rather deal with life than the uncertainty of where they will go after 

when we retire from life we will be worthless

why worry about the burdens in life

when there is uncertainty about the after life

the after life is an unknown place from which 

travelers never return

maybe it is better to keep living rather than dying

and going to some unknown place

the thought of the great endeavors slur the "native hue of resolution"

it makes you sick just trying to imagine it

at some point the troubles of life will go away though

so Ophelia please remember me in your prayers