Wednesday, October 8, 2014: Act II

Act II.ii
Hamlet's third soliloquy

Vocabulary Lesson - Quiz tomorrow!

Hamlet's dual character and theme of revenge: We will review what we talked about yesterday in terms of Hamlet's internal struggle and the dual sides of his character pertaining to inaction versus action. We will also go over how the theme of revenge is manifesting in the play.

There is a helpful handout on character and theme that will help you write your essay - please see Ms. Bowering if you missed class and need the handout. The handout is copied and pasted below.

In-class writing for the remainder of class. Respond to the following prompt:
What are the dual sides of Hamlet’s character in terms of inaction versus action? How does Shakespeare accentuate the play’s central idea of revenge? Use evidence from the text.

Remember: introduction paragraph states a claim, and body paragraphs use evidence to back it up!

We will continue to write in class tomorrow. Essays are due by the end of the day on Friday.



Handout distributed in class:

Hamlet is:

·      Alone

·      A recluse

·      A slave to his situation

·      Inactive

·      An observer

·      Passive

·      In a daze, not acting on his worthy cause (as opposed to the players)

·      Unable to make decisions

·      Struggling against himself

·      Confused/unsure – especially by the ghost of his father (is it real or the devil?)

·      Hesitant

·      Cowardly

·      Depressed

·      Angry at himself

·      Degraded/dejected

·      Crazy/can’t get his thoughts straight

·      Unstable

·      Deranged

·      Full of rage

·      Passionate

·      Emotional

·      Loyal, which may cause him to take action depending on the outcome of the play

All of these feelings are channeled into staging the play – his plot to catch Claudius!

Hamlet’s dual character: evidence from the text

Inaction: Coward

¡  “Now I am alone” (559)

¡  “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!” (560)

¡  “Yet I, / a dull and muddy-meddled rascal, peak / Like a John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause, / And can say nothing” (577-580)

¡  “Am I a coward?” (582)

¡   “I am pigeon-livered and lack gall” (588)

¡  “What an ass am I!” (594)

¡  Self-hatred, disappointed in himself and unhappy with who he is

Action: Vengeful

¡  “What would he do / Had he the motive and the cue for passion / That I have? He would drown the stage with tears” (570-572)

¡  “That I, the son of a dear father murdered, / Prompted to revenge by heaven and hell” (595-596)

¡  “Bloody, bawdy villain! / Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain! / O vengeance!” (591-593)

¡  “If ‘a do blench, / I know my course” (609-610)

¡  “Fie upon ‘t! foh! About, my brains.” (599)

¡  “The spirit that I have seen / May be a devil” (611)

¡  “I’ll have grounds / more relative than this” (615-616)

¡  “The play’s the thing / Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.” (616-617)

¡  Enraged, overcome with emotion, committed to changing and taking action

Theme: revenge

¡  Hamlet is obsessed with revenge.

¡  Why?

¡  Depression/Grief – He is mourning his father.

¡  Anger – He is mad at his mother for marrying his uncle so quickly.

¡  Disgust – He is appalled by his uncle and does not want to be his “new son.”

¡  Curiosity – He needs to see if his father really was murdered by his uncle, like the ghost claims.

¡  Blood loyalty – Hamlet feels it is his duty to avenge his father.

¡  Why hasn’t he done anything yet?

¡  He needs proof of his Uncle Claudius’s guilt before he can move forward with revenge.

¡  He needs to overcome his cowardice.

¡  Solution – what’s going to happen?

¡  “The play’s the thing / Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.” (616-617)

Essay Question:

What are the dual sides of Hamlet’s character in terms of inaction versus action? How does Shakespeare accentuate the play’s theme of revenge? Use evidence from the text.

¡  Remember: Introduction paragraph states a claim, and body paragraphs use evidence to back it up!