You will choose one of the following questions and respond to it. You will also comment on one of your classmate's posts. You may also say bad things about Mr. Owens while you do it, or you can save all of your complaints and insults for lunchtime when they may reach their full potency in the slew of teacher bashing. (Two posts total).
P.S.-Thank you guys for working diligently on this discussion forum.
Why does this scene begin with two clowns trading jokes? Do their jokes make any sense in the context of the play?
Does Hamlet realize that he might not come out of this fight alive? See V.ii.225-238.
What is the outcome of the fight scene at the end? What thematic conclusions can you draw based on this conclusion?
When Gertrude drinks from the cup, Claudius asks her not to drink and she refuses. Has she ever disobeyed Claudius before?
Who is alive at the end of the play, and how do the others meet their ends? Is there a sense of redemption or restored order to the kingdom and the characters by the end of the play?
Why is Fortinbras's presence important?
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--When Gertrude drinks from the cup, Claudius asks her not to drink and she refuses. Has she ever disobeyed Claudius before?
ReplyDeleteBefore drinking out of the cup Gertrude has not disobeyed Claudius. The reason as to why he asked her not to drink from the cup was because Claudius had poisoned it in order to kill Hamlet. Gertrude might have known that Claudius had poisoned it and in order to protect her son she drank it. It also could have been because she wanted to prove to Hamlet that Claudius meant no harm. Another reason as to why she could have ignored him could be because she knew the cup was poisoned and she could have been depressed, because of what Hamlet had told her about what she was doing to her late husband, so she decided to drink from the cup in order to commit suicide but in a way that it would look more like an accident than the actual act.
"Does Hamlet realize that he might not come out of this fight alive?"
ReplyDeleteThere's so much that could be said, the guy is pretty damn crazy! He went into the fight maybe a bit too confident but he also asked for forgiveness right before the start of the fight. This could have been done for several reasons but in my mind Hamlet must have known there could have been a chance for him not to escape so before he died he wanted to be sure that he apologized.
When Gertrude drinks from the cup, Claudius asks her not to drink and she refuses. Has she ever disobeyed Claudius before?
ReplyDeleteIt's not a matter of whether Gertrude has obeyed or disobeyed Claudius before, it's more of a matter of whether or not she's had the opportunity. Gertrude is mostly apathetic, in a sense, and therefore didn't do much to upset anybody (except of course with Hamlet and the whole marrying of the uncle thingy -w-). Throughout the play there is no hugely big evidence of him giving an order to Gertrude. It's possible that Shakespeare purposely kept the new relationship with Gertrude and Claudius silent to let the reader interpret the many reasons why Gertrude disobeyed Claudius. Maybe Gertrude felt "done" with Claudius and was bored with him, therefore drinking the wine as a way to irk him. Or possibly, she wanted to make things right with her son and like any good mother, wanted to give Hamlet her full support. Getting caught up in the moment, she drank the cup without thinking or paying too much attention to Claudius, resulting in her demise. It wouldn't make much sense for Gertrude to disobey Claudius out of nowhere, so she probably had a reason for it. She could have been persuaded, by what Hamlet said to her in her room, to believe that Claudius was the one responsible to killing her ex husband. =O
What is the outcome of the fight scene at the end? What thematic conclusions can you draw based on this conclusion?/Who is alive at the end of the play, and how do the others meet their ends? Is there a sense of redemption or restored order to the kingdom and the characters by the end of the play?
ReplyDeleteAt the end, pretty much all the recognizable characters have died. Polonius had been killed by Hamlet earlier, causing Ophelia to commit suicide. Hamlet cunningly caused the executions of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. In the final end scene, Gertrude drinks form the poisoned goblet, Laertes poisons Hamlet with an envenomed blade, Hamlet does the same to Laertes, and then kills Claudius. Coincidentally, Hamlet takes the longest to die, and lives long enough to discuss matters of the future with Horatio, including that Fortinbras is to be crowned king. Horatio is the only real character alive at the end, virtually all the others are nameless.
Everybody dying, cynically put, shows everybody getting what they want, given that they’ve already lost most of what has meaning to them. Claudius and Laertes get Hamlet dead. Hamlet gets Claudius dead. In a sense, it testifies to the mutually assured destruction principles of the Cold War. Put on a much smaller scale, the world is ending and Fortinbras comes to usher in a sort of rebirth.
The fact that all the characters have died, signifies the purge of corruption, the start from a clean slate that one would hope to see if the world ends (something often associated with humans getting what they deserve). Leaving the kingdom to Fortinbras ensures that it is not left in total darkness and chaos. In many ways, he embodies the redemption, even thought the audience doesn’t really know about Fortinbras and hasn’t even encountered him all that often. It’s just a new beginning after all the events that Claudius caused to happen in his selfishness.
Commenting on Javier's Post
ReplyDeleteI agree when you say that she wanted to set things right with Hamlet. I think after their little encounter in the bedroom (that's sounds a lot worse than it is, whoops) they begin to demonstrate a much closer relationship. Gertrude shows more a little sympathy for Hamlet as opposed to the condescending attitude she had in the beginning. I think at this point, she cares a lot more for Hamlet than Claudius and just wants to support him, I mean, it's pretty ridiculous to say to not drink from it, given that she doesn't know that there's poison in it. It seems like she just wanted to make things right for her previous wrongs, it would be a symbolic gesture.
Does Hamlet realize that he might not come out of this fight alive?
ReplyDeleteAt the begininning of this part in the scene Hamlet is asking forgiveness from Laertes, I don't believe becasue he is afraid that he might die but from the change in Hamlet's character after the death of Ophelia. Of course Hamlet starts acting quite full of himself once the fight begins, seeing it more like a childish game instead of a duel that could take his life. There for you can tell that Hamlet is unaware to the dangers of Laertes' intensions and sword.I don't believe it was until Laertes actually first stabs Hamlet, that realization hits in that this is no game. Even at this point I don't think Hamlet knows he will die but that he going to have to fight for his life. When the queen, Gertrude, dies the thought finally sinks in. Hamlet will not make it out alive, and as this thought passes by his mind it is clarified by Laertes who rats out Claudius for the death of the Queen and soon to be himself and Hamlet. Hamlet, coming to death knows that there is no way out of it. I doubt he knew this would have happen but yet it does not seem like he was surprised from the outcome. It is as if he excepted his fate and a relief has spread over him, that he no longer has the thoughts of worry and deception on his mind. That he can finally be in peace.
To Respond To Salma Hayek's post:
ReplyDeleteWow! OwO I didn't even remember that Gertrude was not doing so hot at the time (after being humped by her son O_o). Like you said, what Hamlet said could have really depressed her, so an easy way to escape that depression was death. However, if Gertrude drank the goblet with death as her goal, then she must have known that Claudius poisoned the wine. This brings up the question of how Gertrude even knew that the wine was poisoned. If she knew that Claudius was planning to poison Hamlet's drink, she might have also been involved in King Hamlet's death. However, judging from her reaction from Hamlet's accusations (you know, at the humping part -.-;) I doubt she killed her late husband or knew about the wine. Either way, you also brought up another good point: that drinking the poison made Gertrude's death seem like an accident. If she knew the wine was poisoned then this shows another place were religion is controlling the characters. As we said before, if she committed suicide then she would have gone to h-e-double-hockey-sticks, but if she was murdered (or made it look that way) then she would have gone to heaven (or at least everyone else thinks she did).
Yay! Now Hamlet's done! \(^w^)/♥