Write your name
Write your motif
Write all the references to your motif that you have found in acts one and two (act.scene.lines)
Copy a passage that includes your motif and that seems to deal with an essential theme of the play
The above is due by the beginning of class on Wednesday, March 19.
Be prepared to discuss your motif in class on Wednesday, the specific references, the context for those references, and the relationship between your motif and the play's themes.
I will use the discussion rubric to evaluate your understanding of the motif on Wednesday.
24 comments:
Michael McGovern
Water and other liquids
(1.3.45)
(1.4.11)
(1.4.21)
(1.4.77)
(1.4.83)
(1.5.21)
(1.5.62)
(2.1.28)
My custom always of the afternoon,
Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole
With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial,
And in the porches of my ears did pour
The leperous distilment, whose effect
Holds such an enmity with blood of man
That swift as quicksilver it courses through
The natural gates and alleys of the body
And with a sudden vigor doth posset
And curd, like eager droppings into milk,
The thin and wholesome blood. So did it mine.
And a most instant tetter barked about,
Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust
All my smooth body.
Paul Russo
Manliness
(Haven't encountered many yet)
1.2.150 (...frailty, thy name is woman!)
2.2.214
Slanders, sir; for the satirical rogue says here that old men have gray beards, that their faces are wrinkled, their eyes purging thick amber and plum-tree gum, and that they have a plentiful lack of wit, together with most weak hams; all which, sir, though I most powerfully and potently believe, yet I hold it not honesty to have it thus set down; for yourself; sir, shall grow old as I am, if, like a crab, you could go backward.
Kaylie McTiernan
Flora and Fauna
1.2.2
1.2.139-140
1.3.43
1.3.52
1.3.54
1.3.110
1.3.124
1.4.27
1.4.29
1.4.35
1.4.59
1.4.93
1.5.26
1.5.39
1.5.42
1.5.43
1.5.49
1.5.66
1.5.83
1.5.94
1.5.96
1.5.125
Act 2
2.1.70
2.2.190
2.2.197-198
2.2.206
2.2.221
2.2.273
2.2.331
2.2.367
2.2.403
2.2.479
2.2.604
2.2.606
(1.2.139-140)
"How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world! Fie on 't, ah fie! 'Tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature possess it merely."
Alicia Unis
Corruption
1.2.139-141
1.2.153-156
1.2.161-162
1.5.17-18
1.5.49-53
1.5.60-64
1.5.81-86
1.5.89-90
1.5.115
2.2.194-195
2.2.262
2.2.265-266
2.2.607-609
2.2.612-613
2.2.621
2.2.627-628
1.5.49-53
"Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, with witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts--
O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power so to seduce--won to his shameful lust the will of my most seeming-virtuous queen."
BRIAN HAND
Action and Inaction
1.1.187
1.5.105-120
2.2.525-530
1.5.105-120
".............I have sworn't."
Abigail Lechleiter
Madness and Sanity
(2.1.123)
(2.2.52)
(2.2.58)
(2.2.99-101)
(2.2.105)
(2.2.108)
(2.2.159)
(2.2.206)
(2.2.223-224)
(2.2.227-228)
"Though this be madness, yet there is method in't"
Kyle Smith
Words
1.1.99
1.1.105-106
1.1.110
1.2.35-38
1.5.110
1.5.188
2.1.121
2.2.115
2.2.117-132
2.2.119
2.2.183
2.2.210
2.2.445-446
2.2.566-567
2.2.614
"Words, Words, Words"
Sarah Johnson
Youth/Senescence/Age
1.3.8
1.3.45
1.3.48
1.3.114
1.3.133
1.5.21
1.5.45
1.5.101
2.1.56 (Old Age intimated by Polonius’s forgetfulness)
2.1.127 (129)
2.2.11 & 12
2.2.70
2.2.149
2.2.214-222
2.2.362/368/406 (children players)
1.3.48 “Youth to itself rebels, though none else near”
Life, Death, the Aterlife, Ghosts, Spirits
I have a lot...don't mind me
(1.1.48)(1.1.98)(1.1.121)(1.1.127) (1.1.139)(1.1.150)(1.1.169)(1.1.175)(1.1.186)(1.2.1)(1.2.19)(1.2.74)(1.2.94)(1.2.105)(1.2.135)(1.2.140)(1.2.208)(1.2.240-264)(1.2.277)(1.4.42)(1.4.76)(1.4.80)(1.4.95)(1.5.2)(1.5.14)(1.5.43)(1.5.61)(1.5.81)(1.5.96)(1.5.99)(1.5.103)(1.5.139)(1.5.154)(1.5.168)(1.5.204)(2.2.233)(2.2.477-489)(2.2.493-523)(2.2.612)
2.2.612
O vengence!
Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,
That I, the son of a dear father murdered,
Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,
Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words
And fall a-cursing like a very drab,
A scullion! Fie upon 't! Foh!
Alannah Gannon
Authority
(1.1.3)
(1.1.48)
(1.2.67)
(1.2.69)
(2.1.2)
(2.1.6)
(2.1.18)
(2.1.27)
(2.1.85)
(2.1.87)
(2.1.113)
(2.1.130)
(2.2.27)
(2.2.31)
(2.2.43)
1.2.67/1.2.69
"a little more than kin and less than kind"
"not so, my lord; I am too much in the sun"
Alannah Gannon
Authority
(1.1.3)
(1.1.48)
(1.2.67)
(1.2.69)
(2.1.2)
(2.1.6)
(2.1.18)
(2.1.27)
(2.1.85)
(2.1.87)
(2.1.113)
(2.1.130)
(2.2.27)
(2.2.31)
(2.2.43)
1.2.67/1.2.69
"a little more than kin and less than kind"
"not so, my lord; I am too much in the sun"
Angelo
fortune and fate
(1.5.89)
"let not the royal bed of Denmark be a couch for luxury and damned incest."
(maybe I'm just missing them, but i feel like there haven't been any references to my motif)
Women; virtue, vice, chastity
1.5.112
1.3.124-144
1.3.105
2.1.29
3.1.123&124
1.2.150 - "frailty thy name is woman!"
I'm almost positive there are a lot more lines referencing this motif within the first three acts. I could not find many specific lines. Most refrences to women are in the essence of the scene, or speach. Mostly they reflect Hamlets disgust toward women(his first soliloquy), double standards(act 1 scene 3), women as property ect.
Emily Castro
Playing and Acting
(1.2.78)
(1.2.79-89)
(1.5.53)
(1.5. 192-193)
(2.1.99-112)
(2.2.187-237)
(2.2.343)
(2.2.475-544)
(2.2. 577-634)
"...As I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on..."
Allie Lees
Honesty/Dishonesty, Appearance/Truth
(1.2.1-3) In that Claudius appears to be saddened by King Hamlet's death
(1.2.66)claudius appears to love Hamlet
(1.2.67) Hamlet's true feelings about Claudius
(1.2.79-89)
(1.2.114-116) same as ".66"
(1.2.144-146)Ham's father truly loved his mother
(1.2.147-155)Ham's mother appeared to love his father but according to Ham, didn't
(1.2.184-185)Ham thinks Horatio is lying to him
(1.3.78) comment on outward appearances
(1.3.86)
(1.3.122-123) Ophelia-Ham appears to love her
(1.3.124) Polonius to Ophelia "He's trying to snare you with his lies"
(1.3.134) Polonius to Ophelia "Don't believe his vows, they're lies"
(1.4.34-41) A little bit of wickedness in a man can make what would otherwise be an amirable man seem disreputable
(1.4.77-80) Horatio says maybe the ghost only appears to be harmless
(1.5.43-44)The kingdom of Denmark has been told a lie about king Hamlet's death
(1.5.45-48) the truth is that the king's murderer is Claudius
(1.5.53)
(1.5.115)
(1.5.191-192)Ham-I shall appear crazy
(2.1.70-73)
(2.2.15-18)Claudius asks the spies to find out the truth from Ham
(2.2.169-171)
(2.2.192)
(2.2.194-195)
(2.2.255-257)
(2.2.292) a lie
(2.2.315) the truth
(2.2.400-403)
(2.2.618-621)
(2.2.633-634)
(3.1.33-34)appearance
(3.1.37-40)we'll find out the truth
(3.1.59-61)
(1.5.115)That one may smile and smile and be a villain.
Alicia Unis
Corruption
3.1.56-62
3.1.64-96
3.1.117-118
3.1.127-128
3.1.131-132
3.1.146-152
3.1.169-174
3.2.70-74
3.2.85-92
3.2.422-423
3.3.40-76
3.3.80-87
3.4.34-35
3.4.49-60
3.4.64
3.4.90-98
3.4.103-106
3.4.167-173
4.2.15-16
4.2.23-24
4.3.67-77
4.4.58-59
4.5.22-25
4.5.87-90
4.5.130-134
4.5.148-154
4.5.183-187
4.5.204
4.5.237-242
4.7.144
4.7.145-146
4.7.160-168
5.1.78-82
5.2.7-12
5.2.64-69
5.2.76-80
5.2.337
5.2.342-343
5.2.344-351
5.2.352-353
5.2.356
3.1.64-96 (I'm sorry, I know its long, but its really important!)
"To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer (65)
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks (70)
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, (75)
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despis'd love, the law's delay, (80)
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life, (85)
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of? (90)
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry, (95)
And lose the name of action."
Corruption is a main theme of the play, the driving force of all of Hamlet's actions, whether it be because of his incestuous mother and uncle,or the murder and betrayal of his father.This is one of the most important and famous quotes from Hamlet. This soliloquy that Hamlet speaks in the play summerizes his feelings on corruption and what to do when you are faced with it. He uses it to explore corruption. He debates whether it is better to try and overcome corruption or just to let it be, and be victim to it. This soliloquy expresses the largest debate in the play, the one Hamlet struggles with the most, which is whether to fight corruption or not. He questions who suffers corruption, the oppressor or the victims and who will receive the ultimate punishment. He also talks about the "undiscovered country" which is death, another theme of the play. In the end he says that our consciences ultimately make cowards of us all(proving our egos and bold promises wrong at the consideration of real danger).He says that as we continue to outweigh and overthink the dangers of every move, we "lose the name of action"(losing the inner fight to take action, along with the nobility in the name of the task). This is a huge struggle Hamlet is challenged with throughout the play, to revenge his father or not. He debates this every time he loses focus of his revenge, begins to overthink and doubt it or fails to achieve it. I feel that this soliloquy is so important because it illuminates several themes of the play, along with Hamlet's consuming struggles.
Michael McGovern
Water and Other Liquids
(3.2.299)(3.4.104)(4.1.7)(4.5.109-111)(4.5.130-131)(4.5.169)(4.7.140)(4.7.200)(4.7.211-212)(4.7.181-184)(5.1.15-19)(5.1.61-62)(5.1.175-178)(5.1.290-293)(5.2.286-290)(5.2.297)(5.2.306)(5.2.317)(5.2.319)(5.2.340-341)(5.2.357)(5.2.360)(5.2.375)(5.2.390)
(4.7.211-212)
Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia,
And therefore I forbid my tears.
This passage helps explain the theme of death. Every time water or liquid is mentioned, it usually is accompanied by someone dying or someone talking about killing another person. Here, Laertes says that Ophelia has already had too much water because she drowned, so he will not cry. By having Opheila drown, she connects water to death for the rest of the play. Having Laertes refuse to cry also seems to say that he is not ready to give up like Ophelia did.
Courtland Kelly
Life, Death, Afterlife, Ghosts, Spirits
Acts 3, 4, 5
(3.1.64-96) (3.2.81) (3.2.87) (3.2.109) (3.2.111) (3.2.133) (3.2.137-144) (3.2.197) (3.2.235) (3.2.249) (3.2.265) (3.2.420) (3.3.12) (3.3.15) (3.3.17) (3.3.40-71) (3.3.79-101) (3.4.25) (3.4.29) (3.4.30) (3.4.34) (3.4.118) (3.4.136) (3.4.196) (3.4.227) (4.1.24) (4.1.43) (4.2.5-6) (4.2.27) (4.3.13) (4.3.22-28) (4.3.30) (4.3.37) (4.3.73) (4.4.26-30) (4.4..52-56) (4.4.60-69) (4.5.34-37) (4.5.84-91) (4.5.98) (4.5.103) (4.5.145) (4.5.148-154) (4.5.172) (4.5.187-191) (4.5.213-222) (4.5.238-242) (4.7.2-5) (4.7.27) (4.7.144) (4.7.165-168) (4.7.187) (5.1.1-33) (5.1.129) (5.1.139) (5.1.209-211) (5.1.216-223) (5.1.233-242) (5.1.245) (5.1.257) (5.2.28) (5.2.51) (5.2.319) (5.2.330-384) (5.2.390-396) (5.2.410-416) (5.2.441-446)
(4.3.30)
Hamlet: A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king and eat of the fish that hath fed on that worm.
In this line, Hamlet is speaking with the king and pointing out to him that in death, even a king again becomes part of the earth and is no different from a beggar. This idea of equality in death seems important to Hamlet, for he makes the same point again in act 5 (5.1.209) while in the graveyard, musing that even great men like Alexander and Caesar turn back into clay and could theoretically be used to plug a hole in a beer barrel or and wall. Equality in death is significant because it contrasts sharply with other views on death and the afterlife that are so central to major themes in the play. For example, in act III scene iii, Hamlet refrains from killing Claudius because he is praying and Hamlet fears that he will go to heaven and have a pleasant afterlife of which he does not deserve. This indecision regarding death and murder drives the plot of the play, making this quote an important insight into death that finally lets Hamlet’s next attempt at murder be successful.
Brian Hand
action and inaction
(3.1.64-68)
(3.1.91-98)
(3.3.77-83)
(4.4.34-69)
(4.4.144)
(5.2.352-360)
“To be, or not to be: that is the question…”
This soliloquy is the most essential to the motif of action vs. inaction because it is here where Hamlet blatantly raises the moral questions he and everyone else have been facing the entire play. I feel that action vs. inaction in itself is more of a theme than a motif—or more specifically the consequences of acting out of passion versus over-complicating in the place of decisive action. Shakespeare explores this theme extensively, with differing consequences. Action is illustrated first by Claudius’ action against King Hamlet. His action causes him to be paranoid—as shown at the conclusion of “The Mousetrap”—and leads him to act similar to Macbeth in his defense of his power. Laertes is also characterized by action (To cut his throat I’ th’ church) but his action is manipulated by Claudius to serve the King’s needs. But no one in the play thinks like Hamlet, and that is why Shakespeare uses Hamlet to pose these moral questions. Of course, the question of to be or not to be cannot be answered by simply [to be] or [not to be] and that is reflected in the complexity of the theme Shakespeare presents. He reasons that action is a deeply complex idea that is affected by numerous factors. I hate to disagree with the great Mel Gibson, but clearly Shakespeare did not mean his play to be interpreted as a statement for significant action. I think Mel is overlooking the complexity of action and is failing to take into consideration the factors affecting Hamlet, as well as the actions and fates of the supporting cast. And also Signs was a bad movie, just saying.
Kyle Smith
Words, Words, Words
(3.1.107-111)(3.2.102-103)(3.2.431-432)(3.3.102-103)(3.4.56-57)(3.4.108)(3.4.219-221)(3.4.225)(4.4.71-74)(4.5.11-12)(4.5.51-52)(4.6.3)(4.6.22)(4.6.24-26)(4.7.142-143)(5.2.143-144)
(3.3.102-103)
King: "My words fly up, my thoughts remain below; words without thoughts never to heaven go."
This particular line serves to exemplify the importance of both word choice and meaning that is very prevalent in Shakespeare’s writing. In this scene the King is acknowledging that although he has just prayed, there was no meaning attached to his words and he is aware that his pray of forgiveness will not be answered. It is interesting that he would go through the motions of praying even though he knows he does not mean what he says. This particular brand of “knowledge” is part of what make Claudius tick as a character and it also typifies the “words” motif. Words are only useful because of there intended meaning, and without that meaning, speech is useless.
Kaylie McTiernan
“Flora and Fauna”
3.2.372
3.4.74
3.4.101
3.4.189
3.4.216
4.1.10
4.1.30
4.2.12
4.2.14
4.2.18
4.2.20
4.3.22-28
4.3.30-32
4.4.37
4.4.42
4.4.49
4.4.56
4.5.36
4.5.41
4.5.43
4.5.47
4.5.90
4.5.93
4.5.120
4.5.168
4.5.181
4.5.191
4.5.199-201
4.5.204-209
4.7.193
4.7.197
4.5.199
5.1.250
5.1.254-257
5.1.293
5.1.304
5.1.305
5.1.311
(4.5.204-209)
“There’s fennel for you, and columbines. There’s rue for you, and here’s some for me; we may call it herb of grace o’Sundays. You must wear your rue with a difference. There’s a daisy. I would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died. They say he made a good end.”
This quote uses the flower motif to explore the bigger issue of the constraints of womanhood. Throughout the play Ophelia is passive and does not speak out. Through the flower motif Ophelia finds her voice. In this passage Ophelia is able to accurately critique her world, though none understand her. Every flower has a deeper meaning behind it that relates to her flawed world. The use of flower imagery makes Ophelia appear to be crazy. However, Ophelia is able to accurately release her feelings, even if no one is there to interpret them. The issue of womenhood is an essential theme of the play. Women are limited and not allowed to speak out. In this scene the use of flower imagery is the only way Ophelia’s voice can be heard.
Sarah Johnson
Youth/Senescence/Age (Acts III, IV, V)
(3.1.173)(3.4.78)(3.4.94)(4.5.65) (4.5.111)(4.5.183-184)(4.7.30)
(4.7.87-88)(4.7.91)(4.7.202)(5.1.63)(5.1.73)(5.1.143)(5.1.152) (5.1.231)(5.1.265)(5.2.277)
“A very ribbon in the cap of youth—
Yet needful too, for youth no less becomes
The light and careless livery that it wears
Than settled age sables and his weeds” (4.7.87-91)
In this scene, Claudius is trying to pacify Laertes in his blood-lust. If Laertes kills Hamlet outright, it will definitely not appear to be an accident, and then the both of them are suspects. Claudius is trying to justify Hamlet’s murderous deed, so that Laertes is content to wait until the time is ripe to avenge his father. The note on this passage interprets this as “clothes worn by youth are as becoming to the young as the garments of age are to their comfortably prosperous wearers”, and that the event was just “a mere decoration in youth’s cap”. While this is a true literal meaning, the figurative meaning is more important. What Claudius is saying is that Hamlet’s actions are a result of his youth. Because of his lack of life experience, young Hamlet can hardly be held responsible for rash actions. With age comes wisdom, and the ability to reason and make calm and efficient decisions. Claudius is arguing that Laertes is more likely to act in this more mature fashion, and therefore must wait until the opportune moment to dispatch of the rogue and infantile Hamlet. Claudius is also saying that Hamlet might have been reaching out for attention, to put a “feather in his hat”, because, like a child, he was lonely and angry, seeking comfort.
Paul Russo
Men, and Manliness
(3.2.56); (4.4.61); (4.5.65); (4.7.34)
"Man and wife is one flesh, and so, my mother."
The theme that this passage sheds light upon is Hamlet's hatred towards Claudius. At first, Hamlet says goodbye to Claudius, and calls him his "loving mother". He explains how once a couple is married, they become eachother, and therefore, Claudius is a woman.
Allie Lees
Honesty/Dishonesty, Appearance/Truth
(3.1.105),(3.1.113),(3.1.117-125),(3.1.141-142),
(3.1.154-158),(3.1.163),(3.2.85-92),(3.2.312-316)
(4.5.9-11)
Hamlet: I have heard of your paintings too well enough. God hath given you one face, and you make yourselves another. You jig and amble, and you lisp; you nickname God's creatures and make your wantonness your ignorance.
(3.1.154-158)
This quote follows the the themes of deception and dishonesty in the play. In this scene, Hamlet is angry with Ophelia and claims that he never loved her. He suggests that she is two-faced and has been beguiling him. Although there is not much evidence in the play that Ophelia has deceived Hamlet besides spying for her father on him, there are many characters in the play who are two-faced and conniving. King Claudius, Rosencranz, Guildenstern, and Osric are all examples of such characters.
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