Hamlet Work

Now that you've finished reading the play here's the work that we need to complete.

1. Comic strip directions: Create a sixteen (or more) panel comic strip depicting the story of Hamlet from 3.3 (Claudius praying/not praying) to the end. Remember that the comics will be evaluated for their clarity, care, accuracy, and completeness. Don't leave out the subplots. You will hand in your comic strip on Friday, April 2.

2. Motif directions: In the comment box below write an open response explaining the significance of the motif in the play overall with particular attention to the second half of the play. Make sure you analyze at least three direct quotations in your response.

At the end of your open response type up all the references to the motif that you found from 3.3 to the end: write down the speaker, act, scene, and line (for example Polonius 2.1.97) for each reference to the motif.

This is due by class time on Monday, April 5. (Will you stay up to watch the Sox and Yankees Sunday night?)

3. "Ophelia Speaks" directions:

Role: Ophelia

Audience: Readers and viewers of Hamlet who want to understand Ophelia more deeply.

Format: 1. a soliloquy

2. 14+ lines*

3. The lines conclude with a rhyming couple in iambic pentameter. (*The other 12 lines may be in prose or in iambic pentameter (blank verse).

4. State where in the play you would insert the lines. (Would you create a 4.8? Would you place them somewhere in 4.4 or 4.6? Be precise: act, scene, line. She could even, I suppose, return as a ghost; or a letter she has written or a diary she has kept could be found. Be thoughtful and creative.)

5. Refer to song lyrics (from 4.4 and 4.6) and/or flower imagery (from 4.6).

Topic: What Ophelia is thinking and feeling at the moment in the play into which you decide to insert her soliloquy?

We will share these in class on Friday, April 2 then you will hand them in.

4. More SAT vocabulary.
Go here for the new words. Follow the study card/sheet directions:
For each word make a study card or sheet. Include the word in the middle in the top left place a definition, in the top right write a synonym (a word that means nearly the same thing), in the bottom left write (or draw) an example or write sentence with context clues, and in the bottom right write an antonym (a word that is the opposite of the word. (Not all words have antonyms.)
I'll check your study cards/sheets and we'll take another quiz on Monday, April 5.

Soliloquy 4.4

Soliloquy 4.4

How all occasions do inform against me, (35)
And spur my dull revenge! What is a man,
If his chief good and market of his time
Be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more.
Sure, he that made us with such large discourse,
Looking before and after, gave us not (40)
That capability and god-like reason
To fust in us unused. Now, whether it be
Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple
Of thinking too precisely on the event,
A thought which, quarter'd, hath but one part wisdom (45)
And ever three parts coward, I do not know
Why yet I live to say 'This thing's to do;'
Sith I have cause and will and strength and means
To do't. Examples gross as earth exhort me:
Witness this army of such mass and charge (50)
Led by a delicate and tender prince,
Whose spirit with divine ambition puff'd
Makes mouths at the invisible event,
Exposing what is mortal and unsure
To all that fortune, death and danger dare, (55)
Even for an egg-shell. Rightly to be great
Is not to stir without great argument,
But greatly to find quarrel in a straw
When honour's at the stake. How stand I then,
That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd, (60)
Excitements of my reason and my blood,
And let all sleep? while, to my shame, I see
The imminent death of twenty thousand men,
That, for a fantasy and trick of fame,
Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot (65)
Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause,
Which is not tomb enough and continent
To hide the slain? O, from this time forth,
My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!

NOTES
[Source: http://shakespeare.about.com/od/studentresources/a/allinform.htm Amanda Mabillard, B.A. (Honors) is a freelance writer specializing in Shakespeare, Renaissance political theory, theatre history, comparative literary history, and linguistic topics in Renaissance literature.]

inform against ] Accuse me.
market ] Employment.
discourse ] The power of reason. God gave human beings the ability to reflect on life's events.
Looking before and after ] Our intelligence allows us to analyze past experiences and make rational judgments about the future.
fust ] Grow mouldy. Hamlet is saying that God did not give us the power of reason for it to go unused.
Bestial oblivion ] The forgetfulness of an animal. Our capability to remember separates mankind from other animals or "beasts". But Hamlet forgetting Claudius's deeds is clearly not why he delays the murder.
craven scruple ] Cowardly feelings.
of ] From.
event ] Outcome.
quarter'd ] Meticulously analyzed (literally, divided into four).
Sith ] Since.
gross ] Obvious.
mass and charge ] Size and cost. Hamlet is referring to the army led by Fortinbras, prince of Norway. Hamlet wishes he had Fortinbras's courage.
puff'd ] Inflated.
Makes mouths at the invisible event ] Shows contempt for (or cares not about) the uncertain outcome of battle.
Rightly to be great...stake ] Truly great men refrain from fighting over insignificant things, but they will fight without hesitation over something trivial when their honour is at risk. "True nobility of soul is to restrain one's self unless there is a great cause for resentment, but nobly to recognize even a trifle as such as cause when honour is involved" (Kittredge 121). Ironically, "Hamlet never learns from the Captain or attempts to clarify what the specific issue of honor is that motivates the Prince of Norway. In fact, there is none, for the play has made it clear that Fortinbras's uncle, after discovering and stopping his nephew's secret and illegal revenge campaign against Claudius, encouraged him to use newly levied forces to fight in Poland...Since no issue of honor is to be found in Fortinbras's cause, Hamlet, through his excessive desire to emulate the Norwegian leader, ironically calls into question whether there is any honour in his own cause" (Newell 143). [Mr. Cook adds: or, perhaps, Hamlet’s mind has once again moved from the particular (Fortinbras and his army) to the abstract (consideration of what defines greatness). It seems Fortinbras and his army are not important in and of themselves but in how they “inform against” (indict, critique, etc.) Hamlet’s inaction.]
twenty thousand men ] In line 25, it was 20000 ducats and only 2000 men. It is undecided whether this confusion is Hamlet's or Shakespeare's.
blood ] Passions.
trick of fame ] Trifle of reputation. But is not Hamlet jealous of Fortinbras and his ability to fight in defense of his honour? "Fortinbras is enticed by a dream, and thousands must die for it. Hamlet's common sense about the absurdity of Fortinbras's venture shows the pointlessness of his envy" (Edwards 193).
Whereon...slain ] The cause is not significant enough to consume the thousands of men fighting over it, and the tombs and coffins are not plentiful enough to hold those who are killed (continent = container).

1. (Make connections!) In a paragraph compare what Hamlet says in lines 36-49 of this soliloquy to what he says in lines 91-96 of his “To be or not to be” soliloquy (below).

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.—

2. (Make connections!) In a paragraph explain how this soliloquy is similar to the “O What a rogue and peasant slave” soliloquy. (Think about the role that Fortinbras plays in this speech and that the First Player plays in the earlier speech: “What would he do, / Had he the motive and the cue for passion / That I have?”)

3. (What’s your opinion?) Hamlet contrasts his own cowardly thought with the actions of Fortinbras. Do you think Fortinbras is a good role model for Hamlet? In other words, should Hamlet be more like Fortinbras or not? Explain your answer in a paragraph. Use evidence from the play and this soliloquy to develop your answer. (Like Hamlet, you might be able to argue both “yes” and “no”.)

Post below by class time on Monday.

SAT Vocabulary

Click here to find the words. Follow directions. Prepare for a quiz on Monday.

Halfway through Hamlet

Tomorrow you will go to a seminar on interviewing skills, so we will not have class.

1. We'll watch the very end of the last Murder of Gonzago before heading down. Then you'll complete the assignment explained in the next blog post by class on Monday, March 22.

2. You'll also be responsible for creating a sixteen (or more) panel comic strip depicting the story of Hamlet through act three scene two (the Murder of Gonzago/Mousetrap). You will hand in your comic strip on Tuesday, March 23.

3. Here are your motif assignments:

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appearance and truth (Dan B)

honesty and dishonesty (Jacklyn L)

youth and age (Zachary M)

corruption and virtue (Ethan B)

madness and normalcy (Molly B)

playing and acting (Gil B, Jeremy N)

words and speaking (Kayla B)

women and womanliness: mothers, daughters, lovers, “strumpets” (Hannah C, Emily P)

men and manliness: fathers, uncles, friends, rivals (Cameron C, Jeremiah S)

action and inaction (Emily C, Grant W)

water and other fluids (Leila G)

responses to authority: mocking, obeying, flattering, etc. (Samantha H)

life and death (and the afterlife) (Kevin H)

ghosts and spirits (Mac H)

sleep and dreams (Stephanie K)

food and appetite (Tom M)

flora (flowers, plants)(Moriah O)

fauna (animals) (Chase K)

fortune and fate (Evan K)

I and eye (the self and seeing) (Nicole L)

First go here and here to help find some references to your motif. You can also visit any online text of Hamlet (such as this one) and use the control-f function to look for quotations related to your motif.

In the comment box below write an open response explaining the significance of the motif in the play so far. Make sure you analyze at least three direct quotations in your response. This is due by class time on Wednesday.

As we continue reading and watching the play keep track of the motif by writing down the speaker, act, scene, and line (for example Polonius 2.1.97). You will asked to do another analysis of the motif at the end of the play.

The Murder of Gonzago/The Mousetrap (3.2)

The Murder of Gonzago a.k.a. The Mousetrap

Watch Act III, Scene ii (The Mousetrap). You’ll watch, read along, and take notes on three different film versions of the Mousetrap.

The first version, which is unabridged, is directed by Kenneth Branagh. Branagh plays Hamlet and Kate Winslet plays Ophelia. This version is set during the Victorian period (19th century).

The second version is directed by Franco Zeffirelli (who also directed the older version of Romeo and Juliet that some of you may have seen). Mel Gibson plays Hamlet and Helena Bonham Carter (who plays Elizabeth in Branagh’s Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein) plays Ophelia. This abridged version is set during the late medieval or early renaissance period. (Here's the abridgment using the line numbers in your book: Player King, lines 176-181; Player Queen 200-203; Hamlet 204; Player Queen 245-246; Hamlet 247; King 256; Hamlet 257; King 260; Hamlet 261 and 268 (but not the lines in between). The rest is what you saw in class before the interviewing seminar.)

The third version, also abridged, is directed by Michael Almereyda. Ethan Hawke plays Hamlet and Julia Stiles plays Ophelia. Almereyda sets his Hamlet in mid-1990s Manhattan.

Write a one page response to the three versions of the Mousetrap. Be specific and insightful. Show an awareness of what lines are cut out of the abridged versions. Show an awareness of the different ways the three directors stage the “Mousetrap”. Think about the ways that each version is faithful to the time period in which it is set. Think about the behavior and reactions of each character, especially the three Claudiuses and the three Hamlets but differences in the Ophelias and the Gertrudes are interesting too. Be opinionated. Which “Mousetrap” is most powerful? Most effective? Which is most faithful to Shakespeare’s Hamlet? Explain. Which version do you prefer? Which version do you abhor? Why?

Hamlet's Third Soliloquy (3.1)

Re-read Hamlet’s famous soliloquy.

To be, or not to be: that is the question (3.1.64-98).

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 despised 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.-- Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember'd.

NOTES: [Source: http://shakespeare.about.com/od/studentresources/a/tobeornot.htm Amanda Mabillard, B.A. (Honors) is a freelance writer specializing in Shakespeare, Renaissance political theory, theatre history, comparative literary history, and linguistic topics in Renaissance literature.]

slings ] Some argue that "slings" is a misprint of the intended word, "stings". "The stings of fortune" was a common saying in the Renaissance. But in the context of the soliloquy, "slings" likely means "sling-shot" or "missile". This seems in keeping with the reference to "arrows" - both can do great harm.
outrageous fortune ] Fortune is "outrageous" in that it is brazenly defiant.
And by opposing end them ] If you cannot suffer the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" then you must end your troubles with suicide. [Mr. Cook’s note: other critics read this phrase more broadly.]
consummation ] Final settlement of all matters.
rub ] Impediment. The term comes from bowling, where the "rub" is any obstacle the pushes the ball off course.
shuffled off this mortal coil ] To separate from one's body (mortal coil = body).
respect ] Consideration.
of so long life ] So long-lived.
time ] Time = temporal life.
his quietus make ] Settle his own account.
bare bodkin ] A "mere dagger". Bodkin was a Renaissance term used to describe many different sharp instruments, but it makes the most sense here to assume Shakespeare means a dagger.
fardels ] Burdens.
No traveller returns ] Since Hamlet has already encountered his father's ghost, and thus proof of the afterlife, this line has raised much debate. There are four major current theories regarding this line: 1) Shakespeare made an egregious error and simply failed to reconcile the appearance of the ghost and Hamlet's belief that human beings do not return; 2) Hamlet has earlier revealed that he doubts the authenticity of the ghost and, therefore, he does not believe his father has truly returned; 3) Hamlet is referring only to human beings returning in the flesh and not as mere shadows of their former selves; 4) the entire soliloquy is misplaced and rightfully belongs before Hamlet has met his father's ghost. In my estimation, theory #4 seems the most plausible.
bourn ] Limit or boundary.
native hue of resolution ] Natural. Here Hamlet refers to the "natural color of courage".
pale cast of thought ] Sickly tinge of contemplation.
great pitch and moment ] Of momentous significance. The "pitch" was the name given to the highest point in a falcon's flight before it dives down to catch its prey.
With this regard their currents turn awry ] A reference to the sea and its tides: "Because of their thoughts, their currents become unstable".
Soft you now ] "But hush!". Hamlet hears Ophelia begin to pray and he must cut short his private ponderances.
Nymph ] See commentary below.
orisons ] Prayers.

1. Explication (We will discuss this in class.)
Write an explication of this soliloquy. Pay especial attention to Hamlet’s use of metaphorical imagery—“slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,” “a sea of troubles,” “this mortal coil,” “the whips and scorns of time,” “the undiscovered country from whose bourn / No traveler returns,” “the native hue of resolution / Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,” “enterprises of great pitch and moment / With this regard their currents turn awry, / And lose the name of action,” etc.

2. Pronouns (We will discuss this in class.)
Hamlet uses “I” more than a dozen times in his “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!” soliloquy, but no first person singular pronouns are found in this soliloquy. Instead, he uses “we” three times and “us” once. Think a bit about his pronoun use. How does the change of pronouns help explain the change in tone between the two speeches? (Think about which speech is angrier—both towards himself and others—and which speech is more thoughtful and philosophical. Explain how the tone shift is related to the shift in pronouns.) How might the change in pronouns also help explain why this soliloquy is the most remembered of Hamlet’s speeches? (Think about which speech is more particular to Hamlet’s circumstance. Think about which speech is more universal and more applicable to others, including us.) The shift in pronouns helps explain both the shift in tone between the two soliloquies and why the second soliloquy is the more famous of the two. Explain.

3. Blank Verse (We will do this in class.)
Much of Hamlet is written in blank verse meaning most lines do not rhyme but they do follow a particular meter (a pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables). The meter is called iambic pentameter. “Iambic” means unstressed syllables are followed by stressed syllables: “And makes us rather bear those ills we have”. Pentameter means there are five iambs.

a. Practice yourself. Use “/ ” to mark stressed syllables and an elongated “u” to mark unstressed syllables

“…And makes us rather bear those ills we have,
than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all…”

***

But notice the meter can often be ambiguous. Many actors deliver the first line of this famous soliloquy by varying the rhythm:
“To be, or not to be, that is the question” or “To be, or not to be, that is the question”

But it is possible without doing any violence to English language to read the line iambically:
“To be, or not to be, that is the question.”

Notice that the beginning of the line (before the caesura or pause) follows the iambic pattern: unstressed syllable then stressed syllable. Then many actors change the rhythm for emphasis. Where the audience expects an unstressed syllable he places a stressed syllable. Shakespeare puts extra emphasis on the word “that”. The variation in the rhythm makes the stress even more noticeable.

b. Is a slight difference in meaning conveyed by the variation? Explain.

***

Further notes about rhythm.
• A few more points: Notice that Hamlet’s soliloquy ends with the line:
“Be all my sins remembered.”
Then notice that Ophelia’s first words are indented.
“Be all my sins remembered.
Good my lord.”
Her line is indented to indicate that her words complete the iambic pentameter.
If you combine Hamlet’s last line and Ophelia’s first line you’ll find a perfect iambic line:
“Be all my sins remembered. Good my lord.”
You’ll notice this throughout the play!

• Finally flip back to act two scene two.
Notice that the writing changes from blank verse poetry to prose (regular writing) and then back again. Not all of Hamlet is written as blank verse poetry.
As you read on look for both prose and blank verse.

4. Three Hamlets and three Hamlets (*Do this.*)
After watching many interpretations of the 3.1 soliloquy in Hamlet—three from class directed by Kenneth Branagh with Branagh as Hamlet (1996), directed by Franco Zeffirelli with Mel Gibson as Hamlet (1990), and directed by Michael Almereyda with Ethan Hawke as Hamlet (2000) and perhaps the Laurence Olivier and Alexander Fodor versions found at gallagherseniorhonors.blogspot.com—decide which film best conveys the full meaning of the text.

Begin with the text: the meaning of the text and the language in the text. Then, consider how the director’s and actor’s choices influence the meaning and the effectiveness of the speech. Consider the actor’s portrayal of Hamlet. Consider his movements and the delivery of the lines. Consider the director’s choices of props, setting and images, lighting, editing, music and other sounds.

(Think, for example, about Branagh’s hall of mirrors (which creates double meanings and makes the speech not a soliloquy), Zeffirelli’s catacombs (which seems to emphasize Hamlet’s meditations on death), and Almereyda’s Blockbuster video store (which highlights Hamlet’s obsession with action.). Which depictions are most effective?)

Make sure you provide support using both textual details and visual details. Convince me and your peers that you are right.

Hamlet's Second Soliloquy (2.2): Write explication by class time on Monday, March 15 (Beware the Ides of March)

Hamlet’s second soliloquy (2.2)

Now I am alone. O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! (555)
Is it not monstrous that this player here,
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
Could force his soul so to his own conceit
That from her working all his visage wann'd,
Tears in his eyes, distraction in's aspect, (560)
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing!
For Hecuba!
What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,
That he should weep for her? What would he do, (565)
Had he the motive and the cue for passion
That I have? He would drown the stage with tears
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech,
Make mad the guilty and appall the free,
Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed (570)
The very faculties of eyes and ears. Yet I,
A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak,
Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,
And can say nothing; no, not for a king,
Upon whose property and most dear life (575)
A damn'd defeat was made. Am I a coward?
Who calls me villain? breaks my pate across?
Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face?
Tweaks me by the nose? gives me the lie i' the throat,
As deep as to the lungs? who does me this? (580)
Ha!
'Swounds, I should take it: for it cannot be
But I am pigeon-liver'd and lack gall
To make oppression bitter, or ere this
I should have fatted all the region kites (585)
With this slave's offal: bloody, bawdy villain!
Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!
O, vengeance!
Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,
That I, the son of a dear father murder'd, (590)
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! About, my brain! I have heard (595)
That guilty creatures sitting at a play
Have by the very cunning of the scene
Been struck so to the soul that presently
They have proclaim'd their malefactions;
For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak (600)
With most miraculous organ. I'll have these players
Play something like the murder of my father
Before mine uncle: I'll observe his looks;
I'll tent him to the quick: if he but blench,
I know my course. The spirit that I have seen (605)
May be the devil: and the devil hath power
To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps
Out of my weakness and my melancholy,
As he is very potent with such spirits,
Abuses me to damn me: I'll have grounds (610)
More relative than this: the play 's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king.

rogue ] Useless vagrant.
peasant ] A person of little integrity (see The Taming of the Shrew 4.1.113).
player...Hecuba ] This passage is often very difficult for students, and standard annotations leave them wanting. So it is best paraphrased:
Is it not horribly unfair that this actor, pretending to feel great passion, could, based on what he has conceived in his own mind, force his own soul to believe the part that he is playing, so much so that all the powers of his body adapt themselves to suit his acting needs, so that he grows agitated ("distraction in's aspect"), weeps, and turns pale ("wann'd")? And why does he carry on so? Why does he pretend until he truly makes himself weep? For Hecuba! But why? What are they to each other?
Hamlet wishes he could arouse his passions so.
Hecuba ] Trojan queen and heroine of classical mythology. Earlier in 2.2 Hamlet asks the First Player to recite a monologue retelling Hecuba's response to the death of her husband, King Priam. The Player tells us that Hecuba's grief was profound and "Would have made milch the burning eyes of heaven/And passion in the gods" (505-6). The contrast between Gertrude and Hecuba should be noted. To Hamlet, Hecuba has responded appropriately to her husband's death, while Gertrude has not.
cue for passion ] The reason for strong feelings.
Make mad the guilty ] "By his description of the crime he would drive those spectators mad who had any such sin on their conscience, and would horrify even the innocent" (Kittredge 68),
amaze ] Plunge into confusion.
muddy-mettled ] Dull-spirited.
peak ] Moping about; languishing, unable to act.
John-a-dreams ] A nickname for a dreamer.
unpregnant ] "Pregnant" here does not mean "with child", but rather, quick or ready. Thus to be "unpregnant" is to be unable to act quickly.
pate ] Head.
swounds ] God's wounds.
pigeon-liver'd ] In the Renaissance, the gentle disposition of the Dove was explained by the argument that it had no gall and thus no capacity to feel resentment or to seek revenge. The liver also was seen as the body's storehouse for courage.
region kites ] The birds of prey in the region, circling in the sky, waiting to feed. If Hamlet were not "pigeon-liver'd" (583) he would have long ago fed Claudius to the hawks.
kindless ] Unnatural.
drab ] A whore.
scullion ] A kitchen helper, either man or woman but usually a woman. It was a term used to show contempt. One should note that in the second quarto, scullion was actually "stallyon", which means a male whore. Scholars are still undecided on the matter, but scullion is the more generally accepted of the two.
proclaim'd their malefactions ] Announced their evil deeds.
blench ] Flinch.
Source: http://shakespeare.about.com/library/weekly/aa061500b.htm

2.2 Soliloquy Response
Write an explication (one page, 300 words) of this soliloquy. An explications is not a paraphrase or a summary, but explains and explores a text thoroughly. You will explain what Hamlet is saying and how he says it.

When explaining “what Hamlet is saying,” remember that the soliloquy is a tool that Shakespeare uses to show Hamlet’s mind at work. Ask yourself “what does this reveal about Hamlet?” and “how does what he says fit into the work as a whole?” Deal with the surface and the depths.)

When explaining “how he says it,” pay close attention to the language (particular word choices, sentence structure, etc.) and imagery (including figurative language, such as metaphors). Ask yourself “what does how he speaks and the language that he uses reveal about Hamlet?”

Hamlet Soliloquy 1.2

Re-read Hamlet’s first soliloquy and answer the questions that follow.

SOLILOQUY
O, that this too too solid flesh would melt (1.2.131-61).

O, that this too too solid flesh would melt
Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!
Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!
How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, (135)
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. That it should come to this!
But two months dead: nay, not so much, not two: (140)
So excellent a king; that was, to this,
Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth!
Must I remember? why, she would hang on him, (145)
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on: and yet, within a month --
Let me not think on't -- Frailty, thy name is woman! --
A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she follow'd my poor father's body, (150)
Like Niobe, all tears: -- why she, even she --
O, God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason,
Would have mourn'd longer--married with my uncle,
My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules: within a month: (155)
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,
She married. O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not nor it cannot come to good: (160)
But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue.

NOTES
too too ] The duplication of "too" intensifies Hamlet's feelings of regret. Repetition of this kind was a popular literary device in the Renaissance.
solid ] Many scholars ask whether Shakespeare intended "solid" to be actually "sallied", a form of the word "sullied". The second quarto of Hamlet contains "sallied", but the First Folio prints it as "solid". Modern editors have been quite divided on the issue. Editors of The Arden Shakespeare have chosen to use "sullied", while editors of The New Cambridge Shakespeare have decided upon "solid". The reasoning for the use of "solid" is fairly evident, as it logically corresponds to "would melt" (131). However, there are good arguments to support the claim that Shakespeare did mean "sullied". With "sullied" we have the "suggestion of contamination" (Jenkins 437), which is apparent throughout the soliloquy. Some critics stress "sullied" as the "contrast to 'self-slaughter' the resolving of the baser element into the higher, whereby Hamlet might return from melancholy to normal health, or, if to become dew is to die, then from 'misery' to 'felicity'. But there is surely no thought here of being restored to health or happiness, only of being free of the 'flesh' whether through its own deliquescence or through suicide." (Jenkns 187).
canon ] divine law; the Church regards "suicide" or "self-slaughter" forbidden by the Sixth Commandment, "Thou shalt not kill".
flat ] Spiritless.
unweeded garden ] A well-tended garden was symbolic of harmony and normalcy.
in nature/Possess it merely ] Although Hamlet accepts weeds as a natural part of the garden (and more generally a natural part of life), he feels that the weeds have grown out of control and now possess nature entirely (merely = entirely).
Hyperion ] {hy-peer'-ee-uhn} One of the Titans and the father of Helios, the sun-god.
Satyr ] {say'-tur} A grotesque creature, half-man and half-goat, symbolic of sexual promiscuity. Hamlet's reference to his dead father as Hyperion and to his uncle Claudius as a satyr illustrates Hamlet's contempt for Claudius. His father is godlike while his uncle is bestial.
beteem ] Permit. In anguish, Hamlet remembers the way his father would treat Gertrude with such gentleness and care. His father would not permit the wind to "visit her face too roughly".
ere ] Before.
Niobe ] {ny'-oh-bee} Symbolic of a mother's grief. Niobe, Queen of Thebes, boasted that her fourteen children were more lovely than Diana and Apollo, the children of Latona (Leto). Because of her arrogance, Niobe's children were slain by Latona's children, and Zeus turned Niobe to stone - yet still her tears flowed from the rock.
a beast, that wants discourse of reason ] Hamlet believes that even a creature incapable of speech would have mourned longer than Gertrude mourned for Hamlet's father (here wants=lacks). "The faculty of reason was traditionally recognized as the crucial difference between man and the beasts. This lends further significance to the Hyperion-Satyr comparison above. It was through his reason that man could perceive the relation of cause and effect and thus connect past with future, whereas the beast, precisely because it lacks reason, must live largely in the present moment. Hence the axiom that its mourning would be brief." (Jenkins 438).
Hercules ] {hur'-kyoo-leez} A Greek hero renowned for his super-human tasks. Having a father so strong and noble intensifies Hamlet’s feelings of inadequacy.
unrighteous tears ] See commentary below.
flushing ] Flushing refers to the redness in Gertrude's eyes from crying. She did not wait until the redness disappeared from her eyes before she married Claudius.
galled eyes ] Irritated and inflamed eyes.
dexterity ] One could take "dexterity" in this context to mean either speed or nimbleness.
incestuous ] Even though Claudius and Gertrude are related only through marriage, the union between a woman and her husband's brother, even if the brother was deceased, was considered incest (see Leviticus 16:20), and was explicitly forbidden by the Catholic and Anglican religions.
But break, my heart ] Hamlet's heart is heavy because he must keep his anguish to himself. "The heart was thought to be kept in place by ligaments or tendons (the heart-strings) which might snap under the pressure of great emotion" (Edwards 91).
Source: http://shakespeare.about.com/library/weekly/aa061500a.htm#niobe

RESPONDING TO SHAKESPEARE’S/HAMLET’S RHETORIC (In the comment box)
1. If you were hired as the editor of a new edition of Hamlet would you choose “solid” or “sullied”? Write a focused paragraph defending your answer.
2. Write a paragraph answering the following questions. What is Hamlet’s attitude toward his own life? Why does he feel this way? Given his circumstances is his attitude justified? Why or why not? If not what do you think his attitude should be? Dig below the surface. Have empathy. Put yourself in his shoes. Don’t just answer the questions create a cohesive paragraph (or paragraphs).
3. Write a paragraph answering the following questions. What imagery does Hamlet use to describe his feelings about the world? Is this imagery—and the feelings expressed by this imagery—appropriate given the circumstances of his life? Why or why not? What other images might be appropriate (or even more appropriate) in conveying his feelings about the world? Why? Dig below the surface. Have empathy. Put yourself in his shoes. Don’t just answer the questions create a cohesive paragraph (or paragraphs).
4. How does Hamlet feel about his mother? Why? In your paragraph, use at least two quotations from the speech to support your answer.
5. In a paragraph write about Hamlet’s attitudes towards his father and Claudius. In the paragraph you should explain the two contrasts Hamlet uses to show that his father (King Hamlet) is superior to King Claudius. (The notes will help you with these contrasts.)