The interaction between Hamlet and
his mother, Gertrude, exhibits polar extremes between the two: Hamlet attempts
to justify his madness whereas Gertrude reactions emotionally to Hamlet’s
madness.. Hamlet misinterprets Polonius’ voice as the King’s for when Polonius exclaims,
“What ho! Help!” (III.iv.27) and proceeds to slay him while certain that
Claudius is behind the tapestry. In response to Gertrude’s shock, Hamlet comments
on his action by deliberating comparing it to the heaviness of Claudius’s
marriage to Gertrude. In doing so, he explains, “A bloody deed—almost as bad,
good mother, / As kill a king and marry with his brother”, as a justification
for why he mistakenly killed Polonius instead of his intended target,
Claudius. He justifies his thoughts as a
warning towards Gertrude, explaining to Gertrude, “Confess yourself to heaven,
/ Repent what’s past, avoid what is to come, / And do not spread the compost on
the weeds / To make them ranker” (III.iv.170-173). Hamlet can be seen as
someone who is protecting his mother from the malevolent claws of Claudius. He,
rather than revenging against Gertrude, attempts to warn her from the “compost
of weeds”. Unfortunately, Gertrude reacts emotionally rather than cognitively
to Hamlet’s justification for his action, where she states, “O Hamlet, speak no
more!” (III.iv.99) and “Alas, he’s mad” (III.iv.121). In doing so, Gertrude
does not give Hamlet the chance to justify for his jagged reasoning behind his
task to kill Claudius.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
Time
Time
You.
Were born
To fulfill
destiny.
The stars mark
the
journey you take
in life.
Take, into
account, all your choices
that will map
out how you live.
Make the best
out of all upcoming opportunities,
and let all everlasting
experiences move you forward.
Time will always
run its course against you,
despite your
attempts to slow it down
when you are feeling
incredibly overwhelmed.
When you slowly
fade away,
When time fails
itself
while beside you,
You are
Lost
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Starting Over Poem
Starting
Over
I’ve
lost what I truly held onto the most,
I’ve
thrown away my only opportunity
to
gain what I wanted the most.
Yet,
It is at this point where you will find
Two
different kinds of people.
You’ll
find people that learn from their experiences.
You’ll
find people that are optimistic about the future.
You’ll
find people that are willing to move forward
despite
the hardships they face at the moment.
All
in all, you’ll find people willing to seamlessly
ride
the everlasting current.
You’ll
find people that make the same mistakes
over
and over and over again.
You’ll
find people that are pessimistic about the future.
You’ll
find people that are stuck where they are,
Emotionally
and physically.
All
in all, you’ll find people that either refuse to move on,
or
are unable to do so.
Where
do I fall?
I’d
say in between,
But
I’m willing to start over even though I can’t.
I’m
willing to be optimistic after facing what seems to be a pessimistic future.
I’m
willing to move forward even though gravity is holding me back.
All
in all, I’m just trying, and truthfully,
I’m
trying to start over.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Hamlet's Speech Analysis (to be or not to be)
Hamlet’s
speech in the middle of the play holds significance to several proportions: not
only does it indicate a shift within a play, but it also focuses on Hamlet’s
personal opinion of man’s significance to the external world. Hamlet describes
death as an escape from the body as he states, “For in that sleep of death what
dreams may come, / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, / Must give us
pause” (III.i.74-76). Hamlet’s rationalization exposes itself as he attempts to
explain the significance of consciousness as compared to the physical body. According
to Hamlet, the body serves as a barrier that prevents the conscious from
drifting off and being free. Regardless of dealing with “outrageous fortune”
(III.i.66) or “take arms against a sea of troubles” (III.i.67), Hamlet’s justification
for death suits his desire “To die, to sleep— / To sleep, perchance to dream”,
rather than exposing himself to the yin yang of life (III.i.72-73). One’s
significance to the world is measured by a clear indifference to the hostile
world along with an individualistic approach to understand one’s consciousness.
Reaching this stage, according to Hamlet, is achievable through death alone
since he suggests that our unconscious desires are obtained through the passage
from life to death. Only in death are we able to assess ourselves while disregarding
any external conflicts.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Hamlet #4 Analysis
Hamlet’s detracted outlook of life
is evidently attributed by Claudius’s absurdity towards him. Hamlet’s father,
Claudius, carries out a condescending tone towards his son after Polonius attempts
to explain to Claudius the “cause of Hamlet’s lunacy” (II.ii.52). Claudius, in
response, remarks, “O, speak of that! That do I long to hear” (II.ii.53) as if
he is obligated to assess Hamlet’s behavior. Hamlet’s indifference to the world
is made apparent when he replies with, “Into my grave?” (II.ii.225) after
Polonius remarks “Will you walk out of the air, my lord?” (II.ii.224). Hamlet’s
disdainful response to Polonius’s question raises the question whether or not Hamlet’s
absurdist character is a product of the ghost’s influence upon him, or that his
absurdist character is attributed by his father’s opposition towards him. Although
he wishes to avenge his father’s death, Hamlet rationalizes this by directly
correlating the devil to his father’s spirit by stating, “The spirit that I
have seen / May be a (devil), and the (devil) hath power / T’assume a pleasing
shape” (II.ii.627-629). At this point, Hamlet recognizes the inevitable danger
with his father’s speedy marriage change of power to the throne of Denmark. However,
he also recognizes the disparity in how the spirit is, in fact, a
representation of the devil. This realization causes Hamlet to lose rationality
within himself and forces him to remain detached to others along with himself.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
It Takes Two
It
Takes Two
It
takes two
to
connect with one another
to
appreciate one another
to
understand each other.
It
seemed simple enough,
Yet
how did we fall apart?
We
were in harmony,
Yet
how did we fall apart?
We
were in bliss, paradise, heaven.
Yet
how did we fall apart?
We
had it all, until
Everything
started falling out of place.
We
broke the peaceful, melodious string of harmony.
We
rushed it, we forced it, and we messed up.
We
were too busy thinking about the future
while we failed to appreciate the present.
How
does it feel, knowing that we could have done better?
We
could have remained happy.
If
we were meant to be together,
Then
why did we dive to the cold depths of blackness?
We
had our ups and downs, but they got the best of us.
Even
if you forget me, or hate me, or ignore me,
Always
remember that,
It
takes two.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
College Perspective Poem
Make
Me Proud
You
have succeeded in numerous feats,
and
therefore, you have made me proud.
Now
take your pride, happiness, excitement,
and
go forth.
Wherever
the winds take you, you will succeed.
Whatever
you decide to do, your guiding wind will take you,
and
you will succeed.
Take
your happiness and excitement into the right direction,
and
you will make me proud.
I
promise that.
Just
remember,
I
want you to have the time of your life.
You
only deserve the best, but please,
Make
me proud.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Hamlet #2 Analysis
Hamlet’s family is undoubtedly
deemed as a dysfunctional family while compared to Laertes’s family.
Shakespeare deliberately juxtaposes both Hamlet’s and Laertes’s families in
hopes of exemplifying the constructive advice between Ophelia and Hamlet:
Polonius and Laertes offer advice to Ophelia in order to protect her wellbeing
while Claudius, the king, offers advice in order to protect his selfish
wellbeing.
The relationship between Hamlet and
Claudius can be thoroughly understood through the apparent disconnection
between the two. Amidst their conversation regarding Hamlet’s possible
education in Wittenberg, Claudius attempts to rationalize his reasoning not to
worry about Hamlet’s father’s death by explaining that maintaining high energy
of emotions “is a course / of impious stubbornness. ‘Tis unmanly grief” (Hamlet I.ii.96-98). In truthfulness, Claudius’s
rationalization behind Hamlet’s grief is a mere attempt to make Hamlet
understand that Denmark’s success, as a state, will only be beneficial with the
presence of Hamlet. If Hamlet leaves for Wittenberg, his departure will
completely reflect the change of power in the state. Claudius now holds power
instead of Hamlet’s father. Hamlet’s departure will yield a loss of power and
trust within the entire state and more importantly to Hamlet’s family.
Shakespeare deliberately contrasts
Hamlet’s family to Laertes’s family in order to highlight the caring, selfless
attitudes both Laertes and Polonius have towards Ophelia. Although Laertes
originally warns Ophelia of Hamlet’s wrongful feelings towards her, Shakespeare
deliberately incorporates another voice by including Polonius into Ophelia’s
wellbeing. By including Polonius as Laertes leaves, Laertes exclaims that “A
double blessing is a double grace. / Occasion smiles upon a second leave” (Hamlet I.iii.57-58). Both Laertes and
Polonius denounce Hamlet’s attraction to Ophelia in order to sincerely protect
her wellbeing. Unlike Claudius’s selfishness, Laertes and Polonius give advice
with the least amount of selfishness possible. Polonius, unlike Claudius,
allows Laertes to depart for his journey to France by stating “The wind sits in
the shoulder of your sail, / And you are stayed for. There, my blessing with /
thee” (Hamlet I.iii.61-63). The fact
that Polonius allows Laertes to depart while Claudius does not exemplifies how
Claudius is holding Hamlet down in order to benefit only himself. Laertes’s
family, in comparison to Hamlet’s family, undoubtedly exceeds in the selfless
words of advice whereas Hamlet’s family (particularly Claudius) is heavily
undermined by Claudius’s selfishness.
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