Qoutes/Themes I thought were important!!!

Qoutation:
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 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 despis’d 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 these 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.

Act 3 scene 1 lines 56-88, this quotation I thought was very interesting and important. And it also was a theme in the play. What Hamlet was speaking about was suicide. Hamlet feels because of what he was taught religiously that the fact of whether to commit suicide or not was something that was and still is something that people believed you go to hell for that’s why he says “To be, or not to be,” that is, to live or not to live. Hamlet decides that the uncertainty of the after life, is not dependant upon committing suicide to end the pain of life. He outlines a long list of the miseries and things that he was concerned about. He talks about hard work political oppression. These where some of the problems that he thought could cause a person to commit suicide. That’s why Hamlet says “who would choose to bear those miseries if he could bring himself peace with a knife, “[w]hen he himself might his quietus make / With a bare bodkin?” He answers himself again, saying no one would choose to live, except that “the dread of something after death” makes people submit to the suffering of their lives rather than go to another state of existence which might be even more miserable. Then Hamlet talks about the moral sensitivity part of it that makes suicide impossible he says “conscience does make cowards of us all . . . thus the native hue of resolution / Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought.” This shows how they felt about suicide and how it bothered his conscience. That’s what I found interesting foor this weeks blog.

Assignment For Week Of 3-30-09! Hamlets Portrayal To Be Mad

This Blog I wanted to talk about Hamlets additude. Hamlet is very creative in his character. I feel that Hamlet is the one who really makes this play amazing and interesting to its audience and people. In act 2 scene 2 I think that even though Hamlet portrays to be mad and he really is’nt, he does a really excellent job at it. His portrayal is so convincing and decieving that many critics/people feel that his sanity shatters at the fact of him seeing his dead father’s ghost. People think this really has affected Hamlet to the full. However, if you really discern and observe Hamlet as the unique character he is his disposition and demeanor would show you otherwise. You can tell that Hamlet is only pretending.In act2 scene 2 line (390) he says “I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw” . This shows that he is only “mad” at certain times, and the rest of the time he’s fine. The foot note says when his mental state of mind is good “he knows what is what”. Therefore even though Hamlet is confused and upset, and his confusion is like an intense state of mind some say madness but its really just another interesting part of Hamlets character .
 

Assignment for the week of: 3-23_09!!

During my blog this week I wanted to discuss how Shakespeare includes characters in the book Hamlet as foils for Hamlet. Some of them are Horatio, Laertes, Claudius, and Laertes. Im going to talk about how they are alike and different espeacially when responding to crises. Horatio’s is very loyal which contrasts with Hamlet because he’s a person who is very changeable and has the quality of being excitable, even though they both share a love of learning, understanding and reason of thought. Claudius’s another character who is willing to disregard all moral law and act decisively to fulfill his fanticies and lust for power which contrasts powerfully with Hamlet’s concern for morality. Fortinbras’s has a great additude of willingness to go to great lengths to avenge his father’s death, even to the point of waging war and any sort of division that may come with it, this on the other hand contrasts sharply with Hamlet’s inactivity, even though both of them are concerned with avenging their fathers. Laertes’ is one who is single-minded, and has a desire to avenge Polonius whos a opposition to Hamlet’s inactivity with regard to his own father’s death.However even though these characters may differ, Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras are all in a position to seek revenge for the murders of their fathers, and their situations are deeply emotional personal and revengeful. Hamlet’s father killed Fortinbras’s father, and Hamlet killed Laertes’ father, exemplifying the fact that Hamlet occupies the same role for Laertes as Claudius does for Hamlet.