Hamlet #5

            The play-within-a-play in Act 3 Scene 2 gives the audience some insight into how Hamlet interprets his father’s death and the events that have since unfolded. When reading the play, it is important to keep in mind the intended audience: Claudius and Gertrude. Hamlet is trying to elicit a strong response from Claudius, so he obviously will try to emphasize the moral reprehensibility of the king’s murder in the play. However, he also places a large focus on the queen’s knowledge and opinions. The play begins with an interaction between the king and queen in which they express their joy and love for each other.  Unlike Hamlet, this play follows the typical form of a tragedy in which the epitome of joy sets the standard from which the characters will fall. The king says that it has been thirty years “Since love our hearts and Hymen did our hands / Unite commutual in most sacred bands” (3.2.180-1). Before his father’s death, Hamlet seems to have thought his parents’ love came across as infinite and true. Their marriage, Hamlet believes, was sacred. However, knowing what he knows now, Hamlet inserts in the king’s lines, “The world is not for aye, nor ‘tis not strange / That even our loves should with our fortunes change; / For ‘tis a question left us yet to prove / Whether love lead fortune or else fortune love” (3.2.223-6). The king suggests that if the queen’s luck were to change, she may not love him as she does now. Essentially, he insinuates that if he were to die, the queen may retract her love in order to improve her fate. The queen refutes his claim, swearing, “Both here and hence pursue me lasting strife, / If, once a widow, ever I be a wife” (3.2.245-6). Although not absolving her of blame, Hamlet does seem to concede that Gertrude may not have intended to betray old Hamlet before his death. However, Hamlet adds in her vow to never marry if her husband dies, or else she will be pursued by “lasting strife.” Hamlet may believe that Gertrude did not plan to marry Claudius before old Hamlet died, but he also believes that she must pay the consequence for her actions. Whether or not Hamlet’s interpretations of his parents’ attitudes are correct, his representation of their attitudes succeeds in eliciting strong responses from Claudius and possibly Gertrude.    

Hamlet #4

How Everyone in Hamlet Would Benefit From a Family Chat

            Lack of communication and honesty threatens to continue causing problems for Hamlet and those around him. Rather than make assumptions about what others are thinking, each character should take it upon himself to directly address the issues at hand. For instance, Claudius and Gertrude should perhaps take initiative with Hamlet and explain their actions. The King seems to display profound concern for Hamlet when he asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to essentially spy on him, commenting, “What should it be, / More than his father’s death, that thus hath put him / So much from th’ understanding of himself / I cannot dream of” (2.2.7-10). Perhaps if the King had put a little more thought into the situation, he may have realized that his nephew-son feels a little confused and angry about the relationship between his “uncle-father and aunt-mother” (2.2.399). Hamlet is bound to make assumptions (as he already has), and if those assumptions lead him to believe that Claudius murdered his father (which they have), then everyone may benefit from some clarification about the events leading to King Hamlet’s death. Even if Claudius did murder Hamlet’s father, admitting the truth now will save him from the repercussions of allowing the idea to fester and twist itself in Hamlet’s mind. At the same time, Hamlet also needs to take on some responsibility and approach Claudius with his concerns. Acting crazy has thus far served no other purpose than to convince Polonius that Hamlet is madly in love with Ophelia. Through his deception, Hamlet is perpetuating the spread of false interpretations of his actions which is ironic given his supposed contempt for fake appearances. Indeed, Hamlet is disgusted with himself when he realizes that the actor conveyed deeper emotions than he has been able to express in response to his father’s supposed murder. Rather than try to directly address the problem, however, Hamlet decides to “have these players / Play something like the murder of [his] father / Before [his] uncle” (2.2.623-5). He believes that observing his uncle at the play will provide more conclusive evidence than just the ghost who may, Hamlet admits, be a devil playing on his emotions. Unfortunately, appearances can be deceiving, so Hamlet’s plan may result in another misunderstanding. Only honesty and communication can help avoid tragedy.

An example of a heart-to-heart chat circumventing some problems:

“Hey Hamlet, you seem to be acting a bit crazy lately. Is there anything particularly bothering you that I can help clear up?”

“Actually uncle-king-dad, there is. See, the ghost of my father came and told me that you poisoned him, stole his wife, and took the throne. It’s been bothering me a bit lately.”

“Well Hamlet, I must admit that this is an unforeseen problem. I wasn’t banking on Hamlet coming back from the grave. However, the answer is yes, I did in fact murder your dad. I understand that you are probably a bit angry right now.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty upset. However, I appreciate your honesty. Now I know that if I kill you, I won’t find out later that there was some miscommunication.”

“Yes. However, you should also consider whether the ghost was your dead father or the devil. It may make a difference to you if you are seeking to avoid eternal damnation.”

“That’s a good point. Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“No problem. I think these chats are good for us. Provided that you decide not to murder me anytime soon, I think we should make this a regular thing.”

Unfortunately, this would not make for a good Shakespearean tragedy.

Sound & Sense chp. 14 Poem

Please Let Me Go

I sense the darkness seeping through my lids

As black as night, and yet I feel no chill;

Though yearning for the end, my heart forbids

To cease its laboring thrums and just be still.

The misty tendrils of my earthy ties

May seek to catch me, but their fingers slip;

My ears, now deaf, will fail to hear their cries

As, gently, I begin to break their grip.

The warmth, the light, the glowing beckon me

And lift the burden that so long I held;

Without the pressure all my worries flee:

I find but peace where once my fears had dwelled.

Do you deny my right to leave you so?

I know that it is hard, but I must go .

College Poem

Time Moves On, And So Must You

I look at you, and all I see

Are bright eyes squinted in determination,

Shirley Temple curls bouncing as you walk,

Hands on your hips, pink cowboy boots on your feet.

Eavesdropping on adult conversations

Before you could even read

And adding in your own commentary—

There was never a silent moment in the house

Living with high-pitched Halie.

I miss the shows you put on in the living room,

Singing and dancing, your brothers dressed up too,

Such an imagination in that head of yours.

You’d memorize the books we read

And “read” them back to me every night—

“One berry, two berry, pick me a blueberry…”

“‘No, no’ you say, ‘that isn’t right, pigs say oink all day and night’…”

“And roared their terrible roars, and gnashed their terrible teeth…”

I still know them by heart, too.

I look at you, and all I see

Is the little seventh grader

With a huge backpack, half as big as her,

That I’d have to carry to the bus stop every morning.

I didn’t mind getting up early to walk with you.

Those were the days when I still drove the carpool to swim practice,

And your friends would call me “Mr. Olson.”

You’d ask me to read over your essays,

And I knew that someday you’d be a better writer than I was,

But it hadn’t happened quite yet.

I’d make you eggs for breakfast,

And we’d watch the news, just you and me.

I’d drive you to the bus stop if the temperature dropped below 15 degrees.

You needed me.

I look at you, and I can’t see

How I’m going to fill the hour before bed

That I set aside for the inevitable, “Hey dad, can I talk to you for just a sec?”

The house will seem so quiet

Without your greeting each time someone passes through a room.

I’ll have to remember to lock the door

And shut out the lights, now that you won’t be the last one to bed.

The cat might start sleeping with me now.

I’ve been grasping onto the last few “Good night Dad, love you”s

Because I’ve heard them every night for eighteen years

And I don’t want to give them up.

I look at you, and I can finally see

The confident, independent young woman

Ready to take on the world.

I know you’ll find the right path,

Or maybe even forge a new one.

Trust your instincts, find your rhythm,

And just go with it.

Hamlet #2

            Like Claudius, Polonius imparts advice unto his son, but Laertes is much more receptive than Hamlet. When Polonius arrives, Laertes is pleased to see him: “A double blessing is a double grace. / Occasion smiles upon a second leave” (1.3.58-9). Laertes clearly values his father and respects whatever his father tells him. Hamlet, in contrast, gives a snarky response when the king refers to Hamlet as his son: “A little more than kin and less than kind” (1.2.67). Hamlet does not consider Claudius to be his father, and he refuses to speak civilly to him. Perhaps part of the disparity between these two relationships can be attributed to the respect each father gives his son. When advising Hamlet, Claudius does not seem to hold Hamlet in high esteem. Although he initially tries to somewhat praise Hamlet for his “sweet and commendable” nature that allows him to mourn his father’s death, Claudius quickly begins to fault Hamlet for lacking reason and distorting normal mourning (1.2.90). He calls Hamlet’s excessive mourning “a fault to haven, / a fault against the dead, a fault to nature” (1.2.105-6). By criticizing Hamlet, Claudius strains the already precarious relationship between the two of them.

            In contrast, Polonius genuinely seems to care about his son when he offers advice. He has Laertes’ best interest at heart when he says, for instance, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be, / For loan oft loses both itself and friend” (1.3.81-2). Polonius wants to help Laertes make good decisions, but he does not force his opinions on him as Claudius does to Hamlet. Polonius’ final piece of advice is “to thine own self be true” (1.3.84). Hamlet tries to be true to his emotions and Claudius criticizes him for it whereas Polonius encourages self-honesty in Laertes. Polonius and Laertes seem to have a much more stable relationship based on a shared respect that Hamlet and Claudius lack.