Performance Choices

I performed the section of Act 2, Scene two on page 755 of the textbook and I played the part of Polonius. It was very interesting to play this particular character in the context of this scene because he has two distinguished characters within the character of Polonius. He starts of in a scheming manner as he plots with the king and the queen and then once Hamlet enters, he plays it cool without playing into Hamlet's craziness. Polonius also has to be aware that the king and the queen are hiding and listening without being obvious to Hamlet that they are spying on him. 

Page 833 #3

Shakespeare's play Hamlet, central theme is the idea of appearance vs. reality. The audience needs constantly be evaluate what is real and what is not. The truth must be deciphered from the lies. When the play begins we are introduced to this theme by Hamlet: "That can denote me truly: these indeed seem/ For they are actions that a man might play" (1.2.83-83). Emphasis is drawn to the words "seem" and "play." For the entirety of the play the audience has to "read" the characters to understand if what they appear to be are truly what their character is. We must determine if the King really does feel sorrow for his brother's death and him marrying his sister in law so close to the death. The audience also needs to determine if Hamlet is actually crazy or if its an act as he claims it to be. 

Page 832 #9 and Page 833 #7

9. Hamlet's soliloquy in Act I scene 2, lines129-159 is loaded with anger and sorrow. The sentences are filled with exclamations which further express his fury. Hamlet is fully invested emotionally in the death of his father, which in term makes his fully invested in the words he uses. In lines 149-153, the verb of the sentence come more than ten words after the subject and the sentence is interjected with strong words. His inability to finish a sentence further expouses his overwhelmed emotional state. All the of the words Hamlet uses are very truthful and trul express his feelings. He also uses figuratice language and allusions to biblical figures to further express his emotions.

7. A major conflict in the play Hamlet is the conflict between concealing and revealing, particularly relating to the characters of Hamlet and Claudius. We learn immediately as the play begins the difference between the two characters. When the play begins Hamlet Sr. is dead. There is a clear emotional difference between Hamlet and King Claudius. King Claudius makes his appearance in the play as he makes a speech in the castle fallowing his brothers. The King shows no sign of remorse as he is making his speech. He also seemed very unaffected by his brother's death, because he married his brother's wife only one month after his death. Constrastingly, a month had gone by and Hamlet was still moping around the house. We could hear the extent of Hamlet's emotions in his soliloquy ase he expresses all that he is feeling. There is an evident divide between the charcters who conceal, and those how reveal.

Page 830 #7&14

7. I think Hamlet tells his companions he is likely to put on an "antic disposition" so he lets them in on his plan. He also tells them, so if they see him acting crazy they will not think much of it, yet not let on to others that he is not actually crazy. I think his behavior is both a deliberate strategy and a natural reaction to his grief and anger, because it has elements of both sources. His plan is definitely fueled by his anger and desire for revenge But he acts crazy due to his plan, so the emotions are intermingled.

14. The assumption that underly Hamlet's response is that he has a feeling that his two friends have been sent to spy on him, because otherwise their drop-by seems rather random. He means that over thinking and questioning are not good ideas. Yes I do agree with what Hamlet is saying. The second quote suggests that there is method to Hamlet's madness. His craziness is sensible in that there is deep meaning in his craziness. I believe at this point in the play he is acting because there a clear thought pattern being put into his statements.    

Page 830 #4

The basis for both Laertes's and Polonius's objections to Ophelia's relationship with Hamlet is based on Hamlet's status. Both of them are aware that despite Hamlet's feelings, he has certain obligations to the throne, so marriage does not necessarily rely on love. They do not want Ophelia to fall in love with a man who probably wont be able to fallow through with his commitment due to the higher order of society. Polonius's argument seems less fair because it as if he is giving too much advice and his advice is too commanding in nature. Laeretes's advice is more of a warning than a command. Their treatment of Ophelia in this scene reveals the controlling nature of the characters and makes sense in the context of Polonius hiring spies to watch his children. It also expresses the idea that men are superior to women in the context of the play and women are almost submissive to the men. Class has a big role in their argument, that they both say that because Hamlet is part of the royal family, his loyalty is questionable.

Claudius and Hamlet: the Same--but Different

King Claudius and Hamlet can easily be described as the two most diverse characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Ironically, Hamlet and Claudius make use of similar speech patterns, specifically with their utilization of delayed syntax. If one is to say that the speech pattern a character uses defines that character, one would expect Hamlet to be fairly similar. However, the intentions behind specific speech pattern are what truly make each character individual.  Although both Hamlet and King Claudius make consistent use of delayed syntax, what distinguishes them as characters are their intentions for their usage; Claudius uses delayed syntax due to his deceptive manner and his manipulative intentions and Hamlet uses the device due to his sensitive manner and as a means to express himself. 

Prufrock: Section of the Poem analysis

"There will be time, there will be time/ To prepare face to meet the faces you meet" (Lines 25-56)
This specific section really sums up the entire poem because it has many significances within the context of the poem. The lines almost sounds as if he is reassuring himself in this own thoughts, which would make sense because of his indecisiveness. The entire poem seem like a random stream of consciousness that really comes together with the idea of time; which is conveniently mentioned twice in these two lines.  Prufrock is not really sure of what is real and fake, and that juxtaposition is represented by the different "faces" you make to meet people. There is no real resolution to this poem; Prufrock is still as indecisive as he is at the start of the poem. Because of his idea of time sort of being endless he is able to continue to be indecisive and continue to pretty much ramble in his own thoughts. Therefore, this section of the poem is the epitome of the general theme of the poem.

Mini Essay- Prompt 3

Without a doubt, Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress,” is centralized on the concept of time and seizing the day. However, what is interesting about this theme is not only the way he gets the message across through the actual words in the poem, but also the way his sentence structure and syntax is reflective of the theme. At various points in the poem, Marvell requires the reader to slow down and speed up while reading because of the way he forms his sentences and the punctuation he uses. In addition, emphasis is drawn to certain words relating to time, by him placing the words in a certain places in the lines of poem. 

The poem starts off with the line “Had we but world enough, and time” (line 1). Two words in particular stand out in this line: “had” and “time.” The word “had” indicates that what he is about to say is conditional; basically, there is not all the time in the world. Because “had” starts off the entire poem, emphasis is immediately drawn to this specific word. Furthermore, the sentence strategically slows down for the word “time” with Marvell’s use of punctuation. The way this first sentence is formed is only one of the ways in which Marvell incorporates the concept of time into his word choice, sentence structure, and syntax.

Another example of a way Marvell employs time in his poetry is through the intended speed of reading of each line. The slowness of the line “And the last age should show your heart” (line 18) contrasts with the speed of the line “And tear our pleasures with rough strife” (line 43). The way in which these lines are structures allows the reader to read with the speed Marvell intends him to. The contrast between slow and fast sentence structure outlines the overall concept of the poem that time is not endless and we must seize the day.  Even without understanding the words, a reader can pick up “To His Coy Mistress” and get the timely feel for the poem. 

One line from "To His Coy Mistress"

In Andrew Marvell's "To his Coy Mistress," the poem begins with a conditional statement with very intriguing syntax. "Had we both world enough, and time." The one word, "had" alone sets the tone for the rest of the stanza by showing that the scenarios about to be presented are conditional and not reality. Basically, what is to fallow is an ideal situation that does not exist or could not exist. The second part draws my attention because of its somewhat awkward syntax and punctuation. Marvell puts an intentional pause before the word time, which is the overarching theme for the poem. He slows done the pace of the poem with his punctuation as if holding time. In addition, was purposefully put as the the last word in the line to draw emphasis to that particular word. Andrew Marvell starts off his poem in a way that forces the reader to think about his intention even before the poem starts.