Death in Hamlet

Death is considered final. This is because of it's relation to life, life is the beginning and death is the end. Life and death are opposites yet they go together because you cannot have one without the other. Since death is the end there is no wonder as to why it is seen with curiosity. Nobody has any clue what happens after so we make our amends and say our goodbyes. Death is considered the ultimate sacrifice and the ultimate revenge. Hamlet wishes to get the ultimate revenge on his uncle after he has enacted such a horrible crime upon his family.

"No, faith, not a jot; but to follow him thither with
modesty enough, and likelihood to lead it: as
thus: Alexander died, Alexander was buried,
Alexander returneth into dust; the dust is earth; of
earth we make loam; and why of that loam, whereto he
was converted, might they not stop a beer-barrel?
Imperious Caesar, dead and turn'd to clay,
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away:
O, that that earth, which kept the world in awe,
Should patch a wall to expel the winter flaw!
But soft! but soft! aside: here comes the king."-- Hamlet

Death has been a reoccurring theme in Hamlet. It has caused the play to retain an ominous tone, one in which there is a tug of war between heart and mind. "to be or no to be.." Hamlet questions whether or not to enact revenge on his uncle in his mind, but he is bound by an oath to his father that burns a passion in him greater than morality. In Hamlet's soliloquy's, he comments on death through this ominous tone. He talks of the dread of the afterlife as an unknown country turning brave men into cowards as a result. Even in the quote above, Hamlet speaks in this ominous tone. Anyone and everyone no matter greatness will return to the earth and we become skulls, indistinguishable skulls that will degrade as everything does. Before this quote he spoke of an old jester he knew, who has lost his gibes and remains a skull of the earth. Hamlet sees several skulls and learns that these could be anyone from a lawyer to Alexander. In the last lines of this quote Hamlet wishes that this Earth would allow life to go on and expel the winter flaw, death. Perhaps the ominous tone that is so present throughout the play is a result of the looming threat of death.

Hamlet speaks these lines at the end of the play as death is at his door, maybe even knocking. He learns that his revenge will cause him to lie in the ground a skeleton as any other man. Hamlet wishes life to go on as death is looming over him. As Hamlet understands this, he sees his revenge as being but nothing and loses his mad visage. His true feelings come out during Ophelia's burial, he watches his mother die and his anger comes to lite as he makes Claudius drink the poison he so swiftly dished out. As other character's see their end nearing, Gertrude and Laertes make amends and say their goodbyes as they are about too enter the undiscovered country. Even Hamlet finds himself tying up loose ends. He tells Horatio, the good man he is, to tell Fortinbras only of what happened here and avoid the beginning of the affair. Even though Horatio is not dying, he too makes his goodbyes with Hamlet. Both the living and the dying fear death.

Econ test

Nesper postponed the test to Friday. He says to direct people towards the blog. Notebooks will be graded in class tomorrow.

Overgeneralization in the US

I find that as Americans we tend to be lazy, yet all we do is complain about the system that we created. We have some of the lowest voter turnouts in the world, yet we complain when shit doesn't get done. The people that do vote quickly pick a side of an important measure before they know the true meaning of either side. When big measures appear on the ballot, both sides are overgeneralized. They are so overgeneralized that the true points in the measure are muddled by these simplifications. People see both sides as black and white , when in actuality they are varying shades of grey. This causes people to quickly jump to one side without fully understanding the other and the opportunity of change was gone as quickly as how people choose sides.
Politics is not the only place where Americans see things as being black and white. Unfortunately we carry a mentality that is You're either American or you aren't." To those people I ask you to define American. Please inform me on what race American is because if you haven't noticed we were a country founded on immigrants with various backgrounds. So American shouldn't be defined as one race. In the future, race is going to become irrelevant because of the increasing globalization, so maybe instead of defining ourselves based on this or that race, we can define ourselves as being a part of this world.

HAMLET (THE MADMAN?)

     "Screaming at the window  Watch me die another day Hopeless situation endless price I have to pay Sanity now it's beyond me there's no choice. " If mad is defined as being consumed with one thought to the point of bringing the thought to life, then yes, Hamlet is a madman. With the death of his father, Hamlet is consumed on getting revenge on the one that committed the crime. When he learns  the perpetrator is his uncle and his incestuous mother stands beside him, how can he not want avenge his father. After all, murder with a purpose is justifiable in the context of this play. His integrity is unquestionable and his actions are blunt. He purposely psychs out his mother and uncle with a play. This crime of passion is the result of a madman's attraction to avenge his father's death.

     Hamlet's most famous soliloquy is evident of his madness. To commit this crime or not to, once it is done it's done. This infection in his family has bared ill wills on him and to his father's name. But if Hamlet were to commit this sinful deed what will happen to him after in this life, or after this life? This is why relying on the ghost is risky. Hamlet knows the goes shows himself as his father but is it truly him? The ghost could be a representation of Hamlet's conscious telling him the right thing to do is to kill his uncle. The ghost represented as Hamlet's conscious is a result of the "manic depression that befriends" him. The ghost sits on hamlet's shoulder alone , a cross between and angel and a demon. Hamlet chooses to do the "right" thing despite what might happen to him in the afterworld.

    
    Hamlet creates an obsession for murdering his uncle that is so intense that it is like a person who is experiencing tunnel vision. Hamlet wants to rid his family of the guilt, of the corruption, and of the lies in his surrounding family. Hamlet becomes so focused on this that he has an x-ray vision that can see bullshit with just a look. He knows that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are playing him so he gave them no information to give to his uncle. This is one of the many reasons Hamlet acts insane, to get rid of any sense of threat, yet his uncle can sense it. As his uncle, Hamlet can sense that a storm is brewing even going so far as to say that "all but one will survive". He even tries to get Ophelia out of the way by convincing her he's a sinner and that she must get herself to a nunnery where she'll be safe.

     Hamlet knows with all his heart his uncle did it, but still he has to see the guilt on his face.  to confirm his uncle's guilt, Hamlet integrates a special part into "The Mousetrap" which is strikingly similar to how his father was killed. Hmm, maybe he was trying to trap his uncle like a mouse? With this confession Hamlet is ready to kill. His passion is set on fire and his obsession grows stronger. After the play, Hamlet is called upon by his mother. He explains to her the sins she has committed and tells her to save herself before it's too late but it is doubtful that she'll listen. At his most fervid moment, Polonius walks in and is killed by Hamlet, a casualty of a bigger crime.

     Hamlet's madness is very elaborate and focused. Once he had confirmation of his uncle's guilt, Hamlet is determined to kill him. But Hamlet does not just want justice. He wants his uncle to feel what he has done. Hamlet wants a revenge that is justifiable for the murder of his father. To be consumed with these thoughts of murder, Hamlet may have to give up more than he thought to get true revenge.

Food for thought

So today in class we talked about how our culture is seen as conservative. I think that our culture is not so conservative as we come off to be. Maybe compared to other nations we are considered conservative. For example, in Europe there are advertisements with models having half an ass cheek hanging out. Also, Europe seems to be more comfortable in the nude. Got to any nude beach in Europe and you'd understand. If you were to go to a nude beach here, its probably vacant because of what we've been taught. Our conservative nature is a result of past generations. Each day our culture erotisizes men and women through ads and yet we're considered to be conservative. Maybe this description of our culture is also a result of American tendencies to be so stubborn when it comes to introducing new ideas. Instead of evolving, we choose to stay stuck in ways that don't fit in this time period anymore.

The performative utterance in hamlet

• hamlet is unwavering in his duty
• trapped in a cognitive paralysis where he cannot make rel whats in his mind
• performative utterances influence reality instead of merely describing resality.
• this is seen in the language of Shakespeare
• characters overhear themselves so they realize their actions which causes them to change or individualize
• the oath between the boys when hamlet meets his father is an utterance
• hamlet's evolution is a result of faith, closure and acceptance

Act 3 notes

 

 

Scene 2 continued

•  the play commences and hamlet sees the guilt in his uncle and mother
• the play is called the mousetrap; the king reacts to the play
• h distrusts Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, he knows that they betrayed him
• speak daggers to his mother but use none

Scene 3

• the king feels guilty?
• wants to be free of sin
• has gone back to where he started
• why can't the king repent?
• h has the chance to kill the king but can't because of wanting a more horrid death
• (king) his words are not his thoughts, really is not guilty?

Scene 4

• kills polonius while he's spying
• mother is completely oblivious to why h is mad at her
• trys to knock some sense into his mother, but she still can't get it.
• he's hitting her with dagger words and he likes it
• ghost comes while h is chastising his mother
• tells h to do what he asked him to do and not get carried away
• h asks his mother to repent and keep secret stay away from the king
•  

What have we done

Atlas élémentaire D'Anatomie.: http://youtu.be/GE6ZUd2QBV4

To be or not to be

To be or not to be...: http://youtu.be/NhDG7xuz5Q8