DRJ#4 Hamlet, Act IV and V

These two acts put an end to the story and the ongoing conflicts between various characters. The only character that reminds me of anyone is Gertrude, she is a typical mother. Her feelings for her son never seem to be unwavering; this is something that I can relate to as I have two children of my own. It was very sad to see her affections for her son as he was fencing with Laertes, and then with her last breath warning her son of the poisoned wine.
Hamlet of course was a major character throughout both of these acts. He is first sent away to England, where Claudius was going to have him murdered, but Hamlet devised a scheme to go back to the castle. So we can see that he is very much sane and not crazy at all. Then with the sudden understanding of Ophelia’s death, Hamlet confesses to being in love with Ophelia. I wonder whether Ophelia would have still gone crazy and killed herself if Hamlet would have confessed his love to her in the beginning. I also wonder how much longer Hamlet would have delayed in killing Claudius had his mother not consumed the poisoned wine; this obviously was a big factor in Hamlets final action to kill Claudius. In the end Hamlet keeps his cool as though being okay with the coming of death, noting that he is being punished for killing Polonius.
The theme within these acts is revenge/friendship. Throughout these scenes we see friendships hold on such as that of Hamlet and Horatio, and the relationship quickly obtained between Claudius and Laertes. The revenge which was a constant want between many characters finally plays out within these final acts. Laertes completes his revenge when he cuts Hamlet with his poisonous blade and avenges his father’s murder. But before dieing from the poison Hamlet finally completes his and his dead father’s wishes by killing Claudius. Hamlet then goes on to tell Horatio that he wishes to have Fortinbras become the new ruler of Denmark.

DRJ#3 Hamlet, ACT III

There were tons of scheming conducted within this act, first with Polonius and the King spying on Hamlet to determine his feelings for Ophelia, which ends with Hamlet renouncing his love for Ophelia and marriage in general. The next scene Hamlet plots to determine the truth about his uncle’s actions by having the players act out a story which was very similar to his father’s death. Through this Hamlet identifies the truth, and we get to see the torment going on within Claudius over killing his brother. All of this reminded me of high school girls scheming and potting to make others miserable.
The character that stands out to me within this act is Claudius. Within this act we not only get to see how obsessed he is about finding out what is bothering Hamlet, but also we get to have a glimpse of the truth. After viewing the play put together by Hamlet, Claudius demands the lights to be turned back on while he leaves the room in a huff. Through this Hamlet becomes positive that his uncle did kill his father, and we get to see Claudius admit to the murder of his brother. He obviously let his greed and selfishness get into the way, allowing it to control his actions while he killed his brother. I only say this because of the torment that was seen while Claudius was alone and praying for forgiveness.
This act is full of guilt/sin. This is first seen with the conduct that Hamlet shows against poor Ophelia, telling her that he had never loved her but then telling her that he had loved her. He was very hypocritical. Then later he acts very aggressive and rude making sexual comments towards her throughout the play. We also get to see Claudius’s guilt because of his sins commented toward his brother. Having seen what he did within the play seemed to break Claudius enough for us to see the torment going on inside him while he is alone and praying for forgiveness for his sins. The last scene was full of guilt and sin as Hamlet pretty much let’s his mother have it, causing her to look at herself and her hasty actions of marriage to Claudius. Finally we see Hamlets sin again when he hastily and blindingly kills someone behind the arras or tapestry in his mothers room. He was hoping that it was Claudius, but turned out to be Polonius.

DRJ #2: Hamlet, Act II

Within Act II of Hamlet, the plot begins to branch out as a wide variety of spying and instigating is taking place between various characters. Within scene 1 Polonius sends his servant Reynaldo to spy on his son Laertes to see how he has been behaving while in France. Then in scene 2, the King and Queen bring in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet to see why he is still acting so melancholy. Polonius then comes into the scene expressing that Hamlet’s love for his daughter is the reason for his crazy behavior, because of this the Kind and Polonius conspire to spy on Hamlet, while left alone with Ophelia, to identify his true feelings for her. The whole while Hamlet is playing everyone, making them all think that he is truly mad. But with Hamlet’s smart observations as described within the final scene, we know that Hamlet truly isn’t mad at all.
The character that stood out to me within this Act would have to be Polonius. At this point within the story Polonius is beginning to be viewed more as an antagonist than simply a foil, having to be involved in other people business and know what everyone is up to. He is definitely a busy body within this Act. Both scene one and two had Polonius present, within scene one Polonius sends his servant to spy on his son who is currently in France, the only reason for this would be for Polonius to know his son’s actions while being in France. Then in scene two Polonius suggest to the King that they spy on Hamlet to help identify Hamlet’s feeling for Ophelia. When this idea doesn’t work, Polonius continues to keep a close watch on Hamlet whenever he is present within the scene.
One of the themes viewed within this Act is madness. Hamlet did a wonderful job of making everyone around him think that he was mad, first shown with his conversation with Polonius in the castle. Hamlet first refers to Polonius as a “fishmonger” (1619), then jumping from one notation to another, speaking about honest men and then changing to conversation asking if Polonius has a daughter. Of course he has been acting mad before this point within the story as everyone around him is trying to identify the root of Hamlet’s madness.

DRJ#1 ACT I

Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo remind me of three close and devoted friends willing to do anything or Hamlet. These characters remind me of the Dogberry, Verges, and Sexton within “Much Ado about Nothing”. These three were quirky, good hearted, and willing to serve.
Out of the three characters, Horatio stuck out the most to me. I think it was because from the start he seemed to be the leader of the three friends; Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo. He was the rash, calm person who had no problem trying to communicate with the ghost from the start. He definitely appeared to be the most educated.
Most of the conversations presented when Hamlet was speaking to the ghost were between Hamlet and Horatio. If Horatio hadn’t been there then there would have been a gap in the story. I think that Horatio was used as a foil to help develop Hamlet.
I thin that the main theme within Act I was love/family/friendship. The Friendship is represented by Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo recognizing the ghost as being the late king, Hamlet’s father. The three of them felt that it was important to have their friend Hamlet speak with the ghost incase it truly was the deceased king with a message for Hamlet. Later the three of them went out late at night with Hamlet as he looked for the ghost, all of which tried to insist to remain with Hamlet to ensure that nothing happened to him. The family was presented with the depictions of Hamlets mother, uncle, and father. You can feel the closeness that Hamlet has for his family, striving to do right by each of them. First shown with his mother and her request that Hamlet stay behind from school “I pray thee, stay with us; go not to Wittenberg” (page 1587), and Hamlet replies noting that he would do his best to obey her. Then when the ghost comes, Hamlet promises yet again to his father’s ghost that he would “sweep” to his revenge.