Introduction/Reflection
Hello,
My name is Bre’Aun Glasper, this is my second year of college at Wilberforce University. Today I’m presenting my portfolio of all the different papers we were assigned throughout this semester. These assignments consist of my Short Story Analysis, Drama Analysis, and last but not least my Poetry Analysis. I wrote my Short Story Analysis on Behind Sonny’s Blues this story was about a young man who was a drug addict, but had so much love for his younger brother, and the things that he enjoyed. I did my Poetry Analysis on Theme for English B. This was a poem written by Langston Hughes one of the best poet writers. It was about a young black college student in an all white environment, and his instructor assigned them a paper but he really didn’t know the full meaning of it, he had to search deep within his self for the “truth”. I did my Drama Analysis on Hamlet by, William Shakespeare. This is a very prestigious piece, there have been books, and screen plays about this particular drama. It’s about King Hamlet being found dead by two watchmen, and soon after Hamlets death his wife marries his brother Claudius. Prince Hamlet was taken by Horatio to see this ghost who speaks to him, and now he’s convinced that it’s his dead father.
This course has definitely been challenging. By far one of the most challenging English courses I’ve ever taken. When I was first informed that I was going to be taking this class I was elated. I feel that English is one of my best subjects, so I didn’t feel that this would be a challenge at all. I was in for a rude awakening. Having this class three times a week at eleven am can be pretty tough. This was one of the things I disliked the most about the course. This semester has been the hardest by far. I have been faced with the hardest decisions. I feel that I have been burdened slightly, and that has really been taking a tole on me, causing me to be stressed, and also a little depressed. I feel that this has a lot to do with my sleeping habits. I noticed that I stay up at the peak of the night, and I sleep a lot during the day. This causes me to wake up late, and sometimes even miss classes. I also had a lot of trouble keeping up with the online blog assignments. Me being so used to having work handed out to me, It’s really easy for me to forget about the online assignments that you give out; Verses having the assignment in hand to remind me that it needs to be completed. On the other hand, this course has really been a journey. I really enjoyed being able to watch movies, and YouTube videos in class. I really liked when we watched the spoken word Poetry Def Jams by, Floetry. It was so moving, before then I had never seen anything like it. For those two ladies to be expressing themselves through, singing, and reciting a poem was beautiful. This was touching to me. I also really enjoyed Our Poetry Analysis the most. I really love poetry, and I want to become more familiar with it. It sooths me; I love the fact that you can express so many different things through this writing style. The assignment gave us a chance to really explain the meaning of our chosen poem, or even what we thought it meant. I liked the fact that we always had choices; we were never really forced to use one particular topic. In this class I learned plenty of things. The skills I’ve gained from this course are fairly simple but, most important.
I learned to really put my mind to use, and tear things apart, which kind of reminded me of a philosophy class. Different topics with different meanings there’s really not a wrong answer, it’s basically your own interpretation. I also learned the true meaning of what an analysis is. Previously I just used to give information on topics never really giving my own opinion, or valid sources, but now things are totally different. I find myself making sure I state my opinion somewhere throughout my essay, and making sure it’s a valid opinion. Most importantly, I learned about doing my work ahead of time. It’s always best to get a head start on your work especially when it’s a big assignment. You never know what could happen so always prepare yourself for the worst. I can recall times I do my paper, and try to save it to my flash drive, and I get to class, and it doesn’t be on there. You should always check twice, and double back on any homework that you do. Everything about your class was perfect but, Your next time around I would recommend that you give more assignments that requires the students to speak out loud. Although, I know that this isn’t a speech class I do feel it’s important to be able to read what you write, or to be able to explain what you wrote. When we had our presentation I was extremely nervous. Thinking about all the things that could go wrong I wanted to make sure my project was perfect. When I got in class I wanted to go first, to get it out of the way. When it was actually my turn I was still a nervous wreck. I got in front of the class, and read my power point, and everything went well. I feel that this would be good in the beginning of the semester verses the end because, it would be a great icebreaker. If the opportunity presented itself I would definitely change my attendance I think that this was my biggest downfall, and I think that if I was in class more often, there would be even more things for me to talk about in my reflection. Honestly, you were one of the calmest and understanding instructors I’ve ever had, and I just want to say thank you in advance. i know that everyone in your class would say that they deserve an A but, I want to be more realistic, and say I deserve to get a B, or a C at least. I know that I had poor attendance but I really put my all into the work I’ve done. I also can assure you that your hard work will definitely pay off for me in the future Thank You your student, Bre’Aun Glasper.
Short Story Analysis
FINAL – Grade 90%
Bre’Aun C. Glasper
November 17, 2010
English 115
Behind Sonny’s Blues
What is expression? How does one effectively express? How does one determine their best form for expression? This is a question frequently asked by many and can only be answered by self. The idea of self taught or driven expression is conveyed throughout the short story Sonny’s Blues. Expression is the idea of conveying, representing, or communicating through words, art, music, or movement; somewhat of a manifestation. One usually determines their best form of expression through a lifelong passion such as dancing or art, for Sonny it was music. Sonny’s Blues which is written by James Baldwin is the story of two brothers who both face opposite challenges; however the similar obstacle of struggle. Sonny is a young man who was pressured by the streets of Harlem, New York, where he falls to the hands of drugs and is incarcerated for some time. Meanwhile his older brother, who plays a nameless narrator, lives a more settled life, striving and struggling for balance. Upon the release of Sonny from prison, he now is closer but more distant than ever from his brother, as they both have different views, beliefs, and dreams set for one another. Sonny knew nothing else but music as his way of expressing, however his brother felt, Sonny can do more than play an instrument. In this short story, the older brother plays the protagonist, or main character, while Sonny plays the antagonist, the opposing, however due to the variety of different views, the importance of each character is swayed back and forth.
The story is conveyed in a conversational manner as opposed to a formal side which somewhat influences the reader with a more interpersonal relationship to the characters. The overall impression James Baldwin wanted to leave on the reader is one of hope, belief, and the ability to achieve goals. Baldwin succeeded in doing so, by presenting each conflict being faced by both Sonny and his brother. These consisted of man versus man, in relation to Sonny versus his brother, man versus self, in reference to Sonny versus himself as well as the narrator versus himself, and man versus environment, which both brothers faced being they lived in unhealthy conditions in Harlem. This story is a small reminder of a similar novel called Native Son where the protagonist, Bigger Thomas, faced all the elements of conflicts. Along with the defeat of the character in the sense of physically, being he too was incarcerated, however, mentally he was triumphant for the conclusion he reached about people and life itself. This is similar to the triumph of Sonny being able to live out his passion and lifelong dream.
Throughout the story Sonny’s brother constantly believed that there was more that Sonny can do and be successful at besides playing an instrument. “I somehow had the feeling that being a drummer might be all right for other people but not for my brother Sonny” (Baldwin pg 329) .This was a prime example that although Sonny had his own dreams that he felt he had a duty to fulfill, his older brother felt that music would not exert Sonny to his full potential. As a result of this statement being made in the discussion between Sonny and his brother, it ignited an argument which left Sonny somewhat unsure of what he really wants to do with his life. “I want to join the army. Or the navy, I don’t care. If I say I’m old enough they’ll believe me” (Baldwin pg 331). As a result of the discouragement of the older, Sonny is starting to lose desire to pursue his dream. This is indeed unfortunate because an option that works for one person does not necessarily mean it will work for another. For example, teaching students was the older brothers’ way of expressing, as opposed to Sonny’s through music.
This leads back to the question, how does one determines their best form of expressing? Expression is self discovered and cannot be taught or instilled. This is depicted in this short story, which shows the sometimes necessary obstacles that must be faced to achieve personal effective expression. Baldwin is indeed a genius for this work of literature. It evokes thought and the idea that one, without assistance, and criticism can be who or what they want to be.
Poetry Analysis
FINAL
Theme for English B begins by Hughes describing the specific instructions from an assignment given to him by an instructor. I feel the understanding of that assignment to be one of the major clues to the meaning of this piece of poetry.
"Go home and write
a page tonight.
And let that page come out of you-
Then, it will be true."
At my first glance of this poem I felt I had the idea Hughes was expressing down, but these instructions caught my eye. It grabbed my attention because I did not feel that the statement given by the instructor was necessarily true in itself. Since the instructor did not say "be true to you" at the end of this phrase, he was actually saying that whatever comes out of a person is true. Now in my lifetime I have found, early on as a matter of fact, that many thoughts that come from people are actually no true at all. This being my reasoning I was having a rather hard time moving on to the beat of the poem. So I begin to sort out other ideas of how this statement could be true and what the instructor actually meant.
First, I begin to think that the instructor surely meant to say "true to you". This makes good sense, for what a person feels, thinks and says often means a lot to their self. Therefore, it becomes very true to them; many others might not care to hear their thoughts or feelings at all, yet they thoroughly enjoy hearing themselves talk about their own thoughts and feelings. However, after thinking this through I realized that an instructor of Hughes would have a level of intelligence great enough to construct his words in a way to mean exactly what he said.
Next, I begin to ask myself what truth actually is. Does truth only include a single reality or can it include many alternate personal realities wherein only an absolute morality is constant. By holding to the latter, truth can then take many different shapes depending on the particular life situation of each individual. Even though this is a thought worth expounding, after I begin to think about it more deeply I began to experience physical pain. So, I decided to read the poem again.
After reading the poem once more I began to see the obvious. This was the same question Hughes asked and somewhat answered, and is also the basic meaning to the poem. I also found, contrary to my thinking earlier, that I did not have the basic meaning to this poem figured out, but what I was actually calling the basic meaning was really an internal observation which was only part of the basic meaning. Since I had missed so much even after my first six readings, I decided to read the poem yet again
In trying to understand poetry I feel the major keys to success to be: understanding who the poet was, reading upon reading of the poem, trying to understand the poets use of particular words, and the poets use of punctuation. I feel the last of these to be of utmost importance in this poem. If one scans this poem quickly (he or she politically correct) notices that Hughes uses two consecutive dashes in several places throughout the poem. These dashes aren’t the major keys to understanding the poem.
..."But I guess I'm what
I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you:
hear you, hear me--we two--you, me talk on this page.
(I hear New York, too.) Me--who?
Here if we look at the first set of dashes they contain "we two" and the second set contain "who?" preceded by "Me". In other words I feel that Hughes is saying that he is part of Harlem and Harlem being part of New York means that he is also part of New York. Then moving on to the next set of dashes we see the phrase "Bessie, bop, Bach". Three types of music are presented here: blues, bebop, and what we now call classical. Two of these types are stereotypically black and one is white. In other words his music is even influenced by an outside culture (or force). Then in the next set he shows us what it means to be American which is taking in the culture and ideas of other people and inevitably making it part of your own.
In conclusion this poem answers the question of what is true. It is not simply what is you because you are not even completely you. You are a body full of the thoughts and ideas of others, which you have attempted to mold and make your own in some way or another. The only true thing according to this poem is knowing the fact and not enjoying the reality behind it.
Drama Analysis FINAL
Bre’Aun C. Glasper
November 17, 2010
English 115
Composition II
Ms. Evans
FINAL
As one of the most famous tragedies written by William Shakespeare around 1600, Hamlet, the prince of Denmark seeks revenge on his uncle, who murdered the King and married Hamlet’s mother, the Queen. Hamlet is considered to be well versed in both polite letters and martial arts. I believe Hamlet is a tragic hero because his irresolution becomes his fatal flaw and it eventually brings him to his downfall.
The first appearance of Hamlet is in Act I- Scene 2, he is mourning his father’s, the King’s death."But two months dead-- …my poor father’s body…why she married with my uncle, My father’s brother, but no more like my father…Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears…But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue" Hamlet cannot accept what presents in front of him. Not only his father’s death but also Queen’s marriage makes Hamlet immense sense of grief, obvious feelings of anger and frustration. The combinations of these emotions at the beginning tell us that Hamlet is a very complex and conflicted man. Hamlet’s contradiction personality makes him irresolvable. Prince Hamlet both his father’s death and his mother, Queen Gertrude’s remarriage to Claudius took a major toile on him. The ghost of Hamlets father appears to him and tells him that Claudius has poisoned him. Hamlet swears revenge. He arranges an old play whose story has a parallel to that of Claudius. Hamlets behavior is considered mad. He kills the eavesdropping Polonius, the court chamberlain, by thrusting his sword through a curtain. Polonius’s son Laertes returns to Denmark to avenge his father’s death. Polonius’s daughter Ophelia loves the prince but his brutal behavior drives her to madness. Ophelia dies by drowning. A duel takes place and ends with the death of Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius, and Hamlet. The themes discussed in the plot include indecision, seeking revenge and retribution, deception, ambition, loyalty, and fate. Hamlet faced many trials, most people become stronger with experience but in Hamlets case I think that it honestly made him crack, and had A lot to do with his death.
"With an auspicious and a dropping eye,
With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage,
In equal scale weighing delight and dole."
- William Shakespeare, Hamlet
It is reasonable to wonder what Shakespeare had in mind while writing Hamlet. After all, Shakespeare wasn't a philosopher or historian, or even a literary critic. He was a playwright. He didn't leave us
critical essays examining his work. It is left to us to examine his work and decide for ourselves, if we care to, what Shakespeare was thinking. Did he know that he was writing a drama of deep
psychological significance, a play which would eventually be viewed and read the all over the world, produced many times over hundreds of years, taught in schools, and thought of as one of the world's greatest plays? I, for one, imagine him dotting the I in the last word of the play, silence, putting down his pen, and saying I hope it runs a year. Yet Hamlet is an extremely complex play. To appreciate the imagination which went into the creation of this tragedy, let's first delve into what is putatively Shakespeare's most complex tragedy, King Lear. Lear has three daughters: Cordelia, who is faithful and unappreciated by Lear, and Regan and Goneril who receive everything at his hands and betray him. These themes of misplaced love and filial betrayal are mirrored in the subplot of the play, the relationship between the Earl of Gloster and his two sons, Edmund, who is supported and approved by Gloster and betrays him, and Edgar, who unjustly becomes a fugitive from his father's wrath. The mirror is whole. In it we view Cordelia's reflection and see Edgar, while Regan's and Goneril's reflections, which are of one face, show us Edmund. In the main plot of Hamlet, Hamlet's father has been murdered. Hamlet swears revenge, but feign's madness and delays. In the subplot, the chamberlain, Polonius, is murdered by Hamlet. One of Polonius's children, Laertes, swears revenge, while the other, his daughter Ophelia, goes mad. Here, the mirror is cracked. Hamlet's reflection is splintered. We see one part of him, his revenge motive, in Laertes' action, and we see his pretended madness in Ophelia's piteous condition. More than this, Hamlet's image is dimmed compared to those of his counterparts. Hamlet speaks of revenge, but procrastinates; Laertes instantly raises and army and attacks the kingdom, but he must be satisfied over his father's murder. Hamlet only acts mad; Ophelia's madness is too real. In this play they use a lot of foreshadowing to show remembrance of someone, or even just to remind the audience of someone. A great example of foreshadowing is when Hamlet's father came to him as a ghost to inform him of his murder, this caused a rage within Hamlet that foreshadows his revenge. This revenge led to the death of his uncle, mother, and himself. It also created Hamlet's wild behavior, and caused him possibly to become insane… I honestly feel that those events had a lot to do with the way Hamlet viewed things. He became sort of a realist; someone who has their own way of thinking, doing everything in opposite of everyone else. Another example is Hamlet's sudden unusual behavior toward Ophelia, which foreshadows a fatal outcome for the two lovers. His treatment toward Ophelia was so horrible and devastating that it caused her great pain. After the death of her father she went crazy and ended up killing (drowning) herself, When she died you could tell apart of Hamlet died his self.
Although, you can compare this play to many things I immediately thought of a piece I learned about in high school by Kenneth Branagh. The play “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”, being of such a complicated variety of themes, contains many different story lines as well as being very extensive in nature makes it quite a challenge to be produced and acted. On paper, the reader can translate things, as they like. Since Shakespeare is not around to tell us the meaning of every theme or the truth about every nook and cranny about his works. It is up to the reader to decide what the importance of everything is. Thus when a producer decides to create a film based on “Hamlet” it is most certain that his creation will vary from any others. Each will create their own version of the story, stressing some issues more than others as well as completely leaving sections out. In this essay I will compare Kenneth Branagh’s presentation of the ghost with Franco Zeffirelli’s. In Kenneth Branagh’s version, the ghost is introduced at the very beginning of the film. We are unclear as to the purpose of the ghost’s visit through this vague first impression we are presented. Is he a good or evil spirit? He most certainly does not seem to be friendly and is reluctant to speak. One might question the whole purpose of the visit in the first place. It does not state the nature of its appearance and seems to almost attack the guards. However, Zeffirelli skips this first interlude completely and we are aware of the encounter with the ghost through a conversation...This automatically reminded me of the ghost (Hamlets father) coming back to tell him something. When he quoted
"It faded on the crowing of the cock.
Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long:
And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallow'd and so gracious is the time."
- William Shakespeare, Hamlet
It seems as if he’s speaking about his father. A man who was of great importance to Hamlet, but then it seems as if hes speaking about his God… It’s up to you how you preserve this caption, but I do feel that it’s very inspirational.
Hamlet is truly a great play. Any work of literature that generates so much debate and has lasted for four hundred years must be pure genius. One question that has puzzled readers and audiences alike is Hamlet's delay. Why does he wait so long to kill Claudius?
During and immediately following Hamlet's conversation with the Ghost, he is determined to fulfill the Ghost's wishes. Hamlet already has a plan to catch Claudius. However, the next time he appears in the play, which is long after the Ghost's visit, he has not yet done the deed. He admits he may have been deceived by the ghost.
"The spirit that I have see May be a devil, and the devil hath power T' assume a pleasing shape”
-William Shakespeare, Hamlet
To fully understand Hamlet’s inaction, it is important to look at revenge. In Richard III revenge is not exacted until Richard is dead and his fowl deeds found out. In Othello, Iago will not be revenged until Othello is completely destroyed. In Merchant of Venice Shylock wants to humiliate and then kill Antonio. Thus revenge is not exacted until the evil deeds of the offender are revealed and the public knows the truth. Only then does the thought of death come into revenge. Under this light, Hamlet cannot kill Claudius until he can prove that he poisoned the late king. Thus the first two acts are not only for the reader to understand Hamlet, but to allow Hamlet to gather needed evidence against his uncle.
It is not until act three, when Hamlet has not been able to prove his uncle is a murder that he decides to force Claudius’ hand. Hamlet comes up with the idea of the play to prove whether or not Claudius is guilty. But the play also causes another problem. Hamlet discovers Claudius’ guilt but has no evidence to present to the people. Thus, when Hamlet sees Claudius praying he stays his hand until he can absolutely prove his guilt. Another reason why Hamlet stays his hand is because Claudius is praying. It is Hamlet’s fervent belief that if he kills Claudius while he prays he might go to heaven; which makes the final lines of that scene so ironic. After Hamlet has left, Claudius says,
“My words fly up, my thought remain below, Words without thoughts never to heaven go”
-William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Claudius does not think that his words are reaching God. Thus if Hamlet would have killed Claudius, he still would have gone to hell.
Some critics attribute Hamlets inability to act to an Oedipus complex. These proponents say that Hamlet, in his subconscious mind, has a desire to do exactly what his uncle has done; that is, get rid of the husband so that he can have Gertrude for himself. If this is true, Hamlet cannot act because he is fighting against his subconscious; he knows he wants something that is entirely evil, and if he were to go through with it, he would be no better than Claudius.
Still other critics believe that Hamlet simply thinks too much. He wants the murder of the King to be perfect. Claudius has to go to hell. The people have to know about the murderer Claudius. Hamlet spends too much time planning and not enough time doing; thus, making the King's murder more complicated than other murders he has orchestrated. Also, he has to be careful around Claudius after the play because it revealed his sanity to the King as it revealed the guilt of Claudius to Hamlet. After the play within a play, Hamlet has proof and still cannot act. Not until everybody is dying, including himself, does he realize that he should not have waited so long. He understands the consequence of his delay, all of his pent-up rage explodes, and he murders the King; getting the revenge he was after from the beginning.
Fortunately, because of the great writing of Shakespeare any of these interpretations are valid and can be supported by the text. Hamlet is a suspenseful play that introduces the topic of tragedy. Throughout the play, Hamlet displays anger, uncertainty, and obsession with death. Although Hamlet is unaware it, these emotions cause the mishaps that occur throughout the play. These emotions combined with his unawareness are the leading basis for the tragic hero’s flaws. These flaws lead Hamlet not to be a bad man, but a regular form of imperfection that comes along with being human.
This tragedy was very unfortunate. You don’t see many situations like that now in this century. I couldn’t imagine how Prince Hamlet felt not knowing the truth about his father’s death, and not knowing the reason for it either. If you compared this drama to a lot of the drama that occurs in today’s reality you will find a lot unanswered questions, but nothing as intense as having ghost following you, and making you question were did this ghost come from. A lot of people relate the belief of ghost as being “crazy” but personally I disagree. Overall I really enjoyed reading, and learning about this drama, and it will always be a story that I can pass on, and refer to others.
Drama Analysis
Graded Draft
Bre’Aun C. Glasper
October 22, 2010
English 115
Composition II
Ms. Evans
As one of the most famous tragedies written by William Shakespeare around 1600, Hamlet, the prince of Denmark seeks revenge on his uncle, who murdered the King and married Hamlet’s mother, the Queen. Hamlet is considered to be well versed in both polite letters and martial arts. I believe Hamlet is a tragic hero because his irresolution becomes his fatal flaw and it eventually brings him to his downfall.
The first appearance of Hamlet is in Act I- Scene 2, he is mourning his father’s, the King’s death."But two months dead-- …my poor father’s body…why she married with my uncle, My father’s brother, but no more like my father…Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears…But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue" Hamlet cannot accept what presents in front of him. Not only his father’s death but also Queen’s marriage makes Hamlet immense sense of grief, obvious feelings of anger and frustration. The combinations of these emotions at the beginning tell us that Hamlet is a very complex and conflicted man. Hamlet’s contradiction personality makes him irresolvable. Prince Hamlet both his father’s death and his mother, Queen Gertrude’s remarriage to Claudius took a major toile on him. The ghost of Hamlets father appears to him and tells him that Claudius has poisoned him. Hamlet swears revenge. He arranges an old play whose story has a parallel to that of Claudius. Hamlets behavior is considered mad. He kills the eavesdropping Polonius, the court chamberlain, by thrusting his sword through a curtain. Polonius’s son Laertes returns to Denmark to avenge his father’s death. Polonius’s daughter Ophelia loves the prince but his brutal behavior drives her to madness. Ophelia dies by drowning. A duel takes place and ends with the death of Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius, and Hamlet. The themes discussed in the plot include indecision, seeking revenge and retribution, deception, ambition, loyalty, and fate. Hamlet faced many trials, most people become stronger with experience but in Hamlets case I think that it honestly made him crack, and had A lot to do with his death.
"With an auspicious and a dropping eye,
With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage,
In equal scale weighing delight and dole."
- William Shakespeare, Hamlet
It is reasonable to wonder what Shakespeare had in mind while writing Hamlet. After all, Shakespeare wasn't a philosopher or historian, or even a literary critic. He was a playwright. He didn't leave us
critical essays examining his work. It is left to us to examine his work and decide for ourselves, if we care to, what Shakespeare was thinking. Did he know that he was writing a drama of deep
psychological significance, a play which would eventually be viewed and read the all over the world, produced many times over hundreds of years, taught in schools, and thought of as one of the world's greatest plays? I, for one, imagine him dotting the I in the last word of the play, silence, putting down his pen, and saying I hope it runs a year. Yet Hamlet is an extremely complex play. To appreciate the imagination which went into the creation of this tragedy, let's first delve into what is putatively Shakespeare's most complex tragedy, King Lear. Lear has three daughters: Cordelia, who is faithful and unappreciated by Lear, and Regan and Goneril who receive everything at his hands and betray him. These themes of misplaced love and filial betrayal are mirrored in the subplot of the play, the relationship between the Earl of Gloster and his two sons, Edmund, who is supported and approved by Gloster and betrays him, and Edgar, who unjustly becomes a fugitive from his father's wrath. The mirror is whole. In it we view Cordelia's reflection and see Edgar, while Regan's and Goneril's reflections, which are of one face, show us Edmund. In the main plot of Hamlet, Hamlet's father has been murdered. Hamlet swears revenge, but feign's madness and delays. In the subplot, the chamberlain, Polonius, is murdered by Hamlet. One of Polonius's children, Laertes, swears revenge, while the other, his daughter Ophelia, goes mad. Here, the mirror is cracked. Hamlet's reflection is splintered. We see one part of him, his revenge motive, in Laertes' action, and we see his pretended madness in Ophelia's piteous condition. More than this, Hamlet's image is dimmed compared to those of his counterparts. Hamlet speaks of revenge, but procrastinates; Laertes instantly raises and army and attacks the kingdom, but he must be satisfied over his father's murder. Hamlet only acts mad; Ophelia's madness is too real. In this play they use a lot of foreshadowing to show remembrance of someone, or even just to remind the audience of someone. A great example of foreshadowing is when Hamlet's father came to him as a ghost to inform him of his murder, this caused a rage within Hamlet that foreshadows his revenge. This revenge led to the death of his uncle, mother, and himself. It also created Hamlet's wild behavior, and caused him possibly to become insane… I honestly feel that those events had a lot to do with the way Hamlet viewed things. He became sort of a realist; someone who has their own way of thinking, doing everything in opposite of everyone else. Another example is Hamlet's sudden unusual behavior toward Ophelia, which foreshadows a fatal outcome for the two lovers. His treatment toward Ophelia was so horrible and devastating that it caused her great pain. After the death of her father she went crazy and ended up killing (drowning) herself, When she died you could tell apart of Hamlet died his self.
Although, you can compare this play to many things I immediately thought of a piece I learned about in high school by Kenneth Branagh. The play “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”, being of such a complicated variety of themes, contains many different story lines as well as being very extensive in nature makes it quite a challenge to be produced and acted. On paper, the reader can translate things, as they like. Since Shakespeare is not around to tell us the meaning of every theme or the truth about every nook and cranny about his works. It is up to the reader to decide what the importance of everything is. Thus when a producer decides to create a film based on “Hamlet” it is most certain that his creation will vary from any others. Each will create their own version of the story, stressing some issues more than others as well as completely leaving sections out. In this essay I will compare Kenneth Branagh’s presentation of the ghost with Franco Zeffirelli’s. In Kenneth Branagh’s version, the ghost is introduced at the very beginning of the film. We are unclear as to the purpose of the ghost’s visit through this vague first impression we are presented. Is he a good or evil spirit? He most certainly does not seem to be friendly and is reluctant to speak. One might question the whole purpose of the visit in the first place. It does not state the nature of its appearance and seems to almost attack the guards. However, Zeffirelli skips this first interlude completely and we are aware of the encounter with the ghost through a conversation...This automatically reminded me of the ghost (Hamlets father) coming back to tell him something. When he quoted
"It faded on the crowing of the cock.
Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long:
And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallow'd and so gracious is the time."
- William Shakespeare, Hamlet
It seems as if he’s speaking about his father. A man who was of great importance to Hamlet, but then it seems as if hes speaking about his God… It’s up to you how you preserve this caption, but I do feel that it’s very inspirational.
Hamlet is truly a great play. Any work of literature that generates so much debate and has lasted for four hundred years must be pure genius. One question that has puzzled readers and audiences alike is Hamlet's delay. Why does he wait so long to kill Claudius?
During and immediately following Hamlet's conversation with the Ghost, he is determined to fulfill the Ghost's wishes. Hamlet already has a plan to catch Claudius. However, the next time he appears in the play, which is long after the Ghost's visit, he has not yet done the deed. He admits he may have been deceived by the ghost.
"The spirit that I have see May be a devil, and the devil hath power T' assume a pleasing shape”
-William Shakespeare, Hamlet
To fully understand Hamlet’s inaction, it is important to look at revenge. In Richard III revenge is not exacted until Richard is dead and his fowl deeds found out. In Othello, Iago will not be revenged until Othello is completely destroyed. In Merchant of Venice Shylock wants to humiliate and then kill Antonio. Thus revenge is not exacted until the evil deeds of the offender are revealed and the public knows the truth. Only then does the thought of death come into revenge. Under this light, Hamlet cannot kill Claudius until he can prove that he poisoned the late king. Thus the first two acts are not only for the reader to understand Hamlet, but to allow Hamlet to gather needed evidence against his uncle.
It is not until act three, when Hamlet has not been able to prove his uncle is a murder that he decides to force Claudius’ hand. Hamlet comes up with the idea of the play to prove whether or not Claudius is guilty. But the play also causes another problem. Hamlet discovers Claudius’ guilt but has no evidence to present to the people. Thus, when Hamlet sees Claudius praying he stays his hand until he can absolutely prove his guilt. Another reason why Hamlet stays his hand is because Claudius is praying. It is Hamlet’s fervent belief that if he kills Claudius while he prays he might go to heaven; which makes the final lines of that scene so ironic. After Hamlet has left, Claudius says,
“My words fly up, my thought remain below, Words without thoughts never to heaven go”
-William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Claudius does not think that his words are reaching God. Thus if Hamlet would have killed Claudius, he still would have gone to hell.
Some critics attribute Hamlets inability to act to an Oedipus complex. These proponents say that Hamlet, in his subconscious mind, has a desire to do exactly what his uncle has done; that is, get rid of the husband so that he can have Gertrude for himself. If this is true, Hamlet cannot act because he is fighting against his subconscious; he knows he wants something that is entirely evil, and if he were to go through with it, he would be no better than Claudius.
Still other critics believe that Hamlet simply thinks too much. He wants the murder of the King to be perfect. Claudius has to go to hell. The people have to know about the murderer Claudius. Hamlet spends too much time planning and not enough time doing; thus, making the King's murder more complicated than other murders he has orchestrated. Also, he has to be careful around Claudius after the play because it revealed his sanity to the King as it revealed the guilt of Claudius to Hamlet. After the play within a play, Hamlet has proof and still cannot act. Not until everybody is dying, including himself, does he realize that he should not have waited so long. He understands the consequence of his delay, all of his pent-up rage explodes, and he murders the King; getting the revenge he was after from the beginning.
Fortunately, because of the great writing of Shakespeare any of these interpretations are valid and can be supported by the text.
