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.)
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34 comments:
I think the word sullied should be used in the monologue with Hamlet. It is a more modern term so today's readers would understand the meaning better than solid. solid usually means to the modern day speaker as a state of matter. While sully means to stain or dirty. The definition of sully goes well in the way of defining Hamlet's monologue.
Hamlet is angry because of the dramatic changes made in his family recently. His mother married his uncle within a month of his father's death. Not only does his mother remarry so quickly but she marries his uncle. Hamlet feels as if that his uncle and mother never had any real respect for his father whom he loved dearingly.
In this monologue it hints to us that Hamlet has somewhat of a low self esteem. But this is very debatable. Towards the end of his rant he compares his father to his uncle like himself to Hercules. In my opinion he is kinda putting himself down. Maybe I'm wrong because Hercules is after all a legendary hero.
Hamlet definitely does not like his mom. In this next quote Hamlet says how did his father disrespect his mother so much to where his mother remarried so quickly. "So loving to my mother that he might beteem the winds of heaven Visit her face too roughly. In another quote he clearly states his feelings for the speedy marriage through adjectives. "She married o, most wicked speed to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets.
1) Sullied or solid?
If I were the editor of Hamlet then I probably would have gone with the word sullied in the first soliloquy of the tragedy instead of the word solid. If I were to put my self in hamlets shoes than I think I would feel me sullied in my own skin rather than solid. Sullied provides the reader with the feeling that hamlet feels sullied or, soiled or stained rather than the feeling that he is put together or a hole. At this point in the tragedy Hamlet feels that he could die in fact the beginning of the soliloquy that is what he is mainly talking about, killing himself. Therefore I feel that Hamlet would be using sullied rather than solid.
2) Attitude
Well how would you feel if your father died and your mother remarried to his bother with in a month?! After reading hamlets first soliloquy in the tragedy he feels pretty bad about himself. Hamlet is talking about self slaughter “suicide” and is clearly upset about the remarriage. He said the his uncle/father is not even close to what his father should be. Hamlet also knows that that he is just going to have to suck it up and that there is nothing he can do about it. The situation that he is currently in, in the story sucks Hamlet is negative and to say at the least in a bad mood.
3) Imagery
Hamlet uses imagery to describe his feeling to the world. His feeling to the world can be very much related to the feeling he has at this moment, weary, slate, flat and unprofitable. Hamlet himself is weary and thinks that the marriage is quite unprofitable. Hamlet also continues to call the world an unweeded garden. He doesn’t think much of the world at this point. If he calls the world an unweeded garden that that most likely means that it is not pleasant. A garden that has weeds than its not that attractive the browns and grays and unattractive plants that take over and destroy what was once beautiful, just like hamlets life before the death of his father.
4) Mother
Hamlet does not respect his mother or her decision to the situation. Hamlet calls her mothers’ tears “unrighteous” or not far or right. Almost fake. His mothers feelings were almost fake in a sense. Her tears from the death of her father were not right. Hamlet shows his feeling towards the marriage blatantly when he says, “It is not nor it cannot come to good” (160). Her decision is not good and no matter what she does to make it better it will never become good.
5) Father and Claudis
Among all the haterage that Hamlet feels now he is also confused. Hamlet wonders what is father could have possible done to make his mother do what she did. Hamlet cannot accept the fact that Claudis is his father. Hamlet says that Claudis is no more like his father than Hamlet is to Hercules. This contrast in feelings to the two different characters reveals Hamlets relationship with his past Father and Claudis. His relation ship to Claudis is not as close to what he had with his father.
If I was hired as the editor of a new edition of Hamlet I would choose the word “sullied” over “solid”. I would choose sullied because I believe that the word has a stronger meaning than solid. The idea is that the word solid is referring to the idea of the skin melting off of Hamlet which would lead to the idea of the word being solid, but sullied means contamination. The word sullied holds more merit because Hamlet throughout the soliloquy Hamlet refers to the contamination of his family. For example he feels that his uncle is beast like compared to his god-like father so it shows contamination of the family. Also the idea on incest is somewhat present in this soliloquy also lending to the idea that sullied would be the better word choice. That is because many believe incest to be contamination. Therefore if I was hired as the editor of a new edition of Hamlet I would choose the word “sullied” over “solid”.
In this passage Hamlet shows that he believes his life is expendable. This is shown in the aggression towards his uncle with the idea that he cannot return back to school. Hamlet views this as his happiness is not accounted for and he therefore is expendable to his mother and uncle. He feels that his mother has no love for him or his now deceased father. To some extent Hamlet feels betrayed because his mother did not really grieve much for his father. Hamlet has every right to feel this way. The fact is that Hamlet is lost and lonely and to him he feels as though he has no one to turn to. Hamlet is in fact a teenager whether hundreds of years ago or today every teenager is going to react the same way to a parent getting remarried. To them it is not a new parent, but a threat that their parents affection will be taken away from them. For Hamlet’s mother to have married his uncle and so close after his father’s death Hamlet is feeling betrayed and replace. Hamlet has every right to feel the feelings he does during this soliloquy.
The imagery that Hamlet uses to describe his feelings is appropriate for his situation. When he references the world being like a weed filled garden he is saying that people who you do not want to be in your life weed their way in and your life becomes a cluttered mess. He is referring to his mother marrying his uncle when he says this. Something that might have been better was if Hamlet referenced more towards a less vast comparison so that it pertained more to him because this situation does not affect the whole world just his country. He is also referencing the idea that his uncle does not deserve such a high place in the castle when he talks about rank in nature. This metaphor was really good and to the point that the reader got it right away. When he says,” O, that this too too solid flesh would melt Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!” He is talking about how he himself could die because of the despair he is in due to the fact that his uncle has now become his father. This would have been better if Hamlet referenced an animal being killed by their own family member. This would have shown Hamlet’s vulnerability and despair better.
Hamlet is disgusted by his mother. He hates the fact that his mother married right away because he knows that she could not have properly mourned his dead father. In this quote Hamlet shows his anger at his mother,” 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!” This shows that Hamlet thinks that his mother rushed into the marriage not allowing her tears to properly flow for her deceased husband. He also thinks that his mother has degraded herself by marrying his uncle who Hamlet thinks is a beast. He thinks that his mother betrayed him by marrying his uncle because he is nothing like his god-like father. This proves that Hamlet views that his mother marriage was to a beast, “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!” Hamlet is angry and disgusted by his mother’s action and feels that his mother has betrayed him.
Hamlet’s view on his father is very different from his views on his uncle. To him his father is like a god and was a magnificent king. Hamlet feels that he is no Hercules so to be in the presence of his father made him feel weak and inadequate. To him his father was above everyone and no one could ever replace him. Hamlet viewed his uncle, on the other hand, as a satyr. A satyr was a beast like creature who was always looking for fulfillment of his needs. Hamlet thinks that his uncle is disgusting and that he does not deserve to take his father’s place. He wants his uncle to leave and never come back because Hamlet believes he has no right to be in the castle. Hamlet also thinks that his uncle could ever take the place as his father or as his mother husbands. To Hamlet his father is god-like while his uncle is bestial.
I think solid fits better. I think it fits better because Hamlet is basically saying he just wants to melt. The word solid brings across the point of how futile it is because it cannot happen and Hamlet knows it.
Hamlet is understandibly mad. His mother has remarried after hardly any time passed and thus Hamlet feels betrayed. What makes things worse for him is that it was his uncle who she married. Hamlet dislikes his uncle because he feels disrespected by him, and rightly so. Also, he feels like his mother is slowly becoming the same way.
Evan Kidder
If I were hired as the new editor of Hamlet i would choose sullied over solid. My choice is that because sullied really describes how he is feeling. Sullied means to be dirty or contaminated and at the time Hamlet says this he feels very dirty because of his mothers deed of marrying his father’s brother.
Hamlet is very angry and depressed because he is forced to live with the situation at hand. Which he is not happy with, he is not allowed togo to school to even get away from the despicable situation and on top of that he can’t see his girlfriend. Thus his attitude toward life is justified because he can do nothing about the situation, he is powerless. He can’t even take out his aggression so he just locks it away as sorrow.
The imagery used is at the beginning when Hamlet says he wishes he could just melt away and vanish into sweet nothingness. This stems from the fact that Hamlet can not escapes the troubles and toils of his life at the moment and sometimes when you have no control in our life you just want to give up.
Hamlet is extremely angry with his mother. “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 tearsHad left the flushing in her galled eyes, She married. O, most wicked speed,to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” He is saying that she barely even mourned her husband before she remarried. “Let me not think on't -- Frailty, thy name is woman!” Hamlet goes so far as to group all woman in with his mother calling them frail.
Hamlet thought greatly of his father but he thought nothing of Claudius it shows when hamlet states,”My father's brother, but no more like my father Than I to Hercules.”and again with “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!”
The soliloquy shows that Hamlet is disturbed by his mother and by all that is going on around him. He is basicly saying its so bad that he wants to die. What this shows is that he is deeply troubled. I think he feels that he must prove himself to his uncle by measuring up to his father and believes he cannot do this. Therefore, he is sad.
1.) It most definitely should be sullied for the very reason that it best represents what the the author is trying to allow the reader to picture. Hamlet wanted to have its readers imagine a very contaminated flesh from the word sullied. The meaning of Hamlet’s original play should not be changed in order for the text to make more sense in modern times. With solid in its place it does make more sense but it takes away the true meaning and description of the entire text. The reader already knows it is a solid piece of flesh since it states “would melt Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!” That should make it obvious to the reader already that it is a solid that must be thawed out for it is to be a liquid. Sullied is the correct word since it does not deny that the flesh is solid but also explains the condition of the flesh. Denying the word sullied is denying a great part of information that Hamlet left for the readers.
2.) This soliloquy is all about Hamlets emotions and his reaction to his mothers marriage to her dead husbands brother. He feels such hate towards Claudius and Gertrude and their unkind, foolish, and forbidden actions they took in their marriage. He is so overwhelmed with sadness and distress that he expresses the idea of suicide to end this most horrible situation for himself. There is no other form of attitude that Hamlet could possibly represent in reality. He must respond with this disapproval of this man and his mother. The talk about Claudius not even being a little like his father and the talk about his mother showing less sadness about his fathers death than someone who is speechless, are both examples of a normal and justifiable attitude in result of his situation. He did nothing to deserve this punishment and I feel Hamlet is handling the situation even better so far than most people would. He talks about trying to keep this sadness to himself and try and deal with the situation by not saying anything to make things worse.
3.) Hamlets view on his situation and his feelings in response to his situation are very appropriate. Considering the circumstances Hamlet uses powerful imagery for his powerful feelings he has against the world that are fueled by Claudius and Gertrude. When he expresses disapproval in Gertrude as a father he shows how unalike Gertrude and his father are with the imagery of Hamlet himself and Hercules. He also shows great disapproval in his mothers pathetic attempt to reason with his fathers death. Shakespeare uses imagery to by using The description of a beast unable to speak to represent his mothers lack of mourning for their loss. He is using imagery to show the lack of reason in Hamlets mother that Hamlet feels so strongly she lacked. The imagery that so strongly expresses Hamlets view of the world is when he compares the world to an unweeded garden. It shows how helpless Hamlet feels in his situation since it would be pointless to eliminate one problem if many more would just arise in its place. It is these powerful images that so truly define the great emotions expressed by Hamlet.
4.) Hamlet has powerful and uncomfortable feelings towards his mother. He expresses deep disapproval of her actions but I feel he shows great concern for her as well. Hamlet shows great disapproval in his mothers pathetic attempt to reason with his fathers death. The description of a beast unable to speak is used to represent his mothers lack of mourning for their loss. “a beast, that wants discourse of reason, Would have mourn'd longer”, shows the lack of reason in Hamlets mother that Hamlet feels so strongly she lacked. By the end of the soliloquy Hamlet says, “It is not nor it cannot come to good: But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue.” which I feel shows great concern not just for himself but also for his mother. Hamlet wants to keep his talk to himself and not make the situation worse for him and his mother. A person in that place would still have love for his mother despite the hate, and for that reason I feel that the final quote is trying to show Hamlets existing concern for his mother.
5.) Hamlet has powerful feelings to his father and Claudius. He shows great respect to his father expressing deep passion in his defense and what he stood for. Hamlet shows great disrespect and disapproval to Claudius and his actions.
He expresses disapproval in Gertrude as a father when he shows how unalike Gertrude and his father are with the comparison of Hamlet and Hercules. He says, “My father's brother, but no more like my father Than I to Hercules” which is so obviously representing how Hamlet feels King Hamlet is superior to King Claudius. Hamlet’s comparison of his father to Hercules also shows his powerful feelings to his fathers abilities. By comparing him to this great greek god, it shows his feelings about his father as a strong, powerful and nobel man. It is obvious that Hamlet’s feelings towards both his father and Claudius are very opposed to each other. He shows great approval and admiration towards his father and great disapproval and disgust towards Claudius. These two totally different feelings is the perfect contributor to Hamlet’s powerful and uncomfortable attitude.
1) If I was the editor of the new edition of Hamlet I would choose solid. I would only choose solid because it is explaining flesh and how it would melt and thaw itself out. By using solid, it exaggerates how the flesh would thaw because it isn’t really solid. Hamlet is explaining how he wanted to die and his flesh would turn into dew. Although sullied means stained, solid would fit better in the new edition.
2)After Hamlet’s father died and his mother married his own uncle, Hamlet wants to actually commit suicide. He doesn’t understand how that can happen and he is in so much grief and pain that he feels that that is his only solution. The only reason he doesn’t kill himself is because he is very religious and believes in God and to God, it is a sin to ‘self-slaughter.’ Hamlet’s attitude considering the circumstances is actually justified. If his father and him were very close and then all of a sudden his father is murdered, it is natural to be depressed and in extreme grief, sadness, and pain. Then to find out that his mother is actually getting married, not to just any guy but his own uncle. That is horrible and his attitude toward this is completely necessary. Ending your life might seem a little over the top and some people might think that that is awful and no one should think that but Hamlet is greatly hurt by this situation. He should try and become a little more happy and become out of a depressed state but losing someone is very hard, especially a parent. I would never talk to my uncle or even my mother again if I was in Hamlet’s shoes.
3)Hamlet feels that the world is useless and doesn’t even know what the use of the world is. He says how the world is an unweeded garden where seeds grow. Hamlet uses this imagery to explain how ugly things and bad things just keep growing and its not going to go away. He doesn’t understand how this can happen and come to this. The situation that Hamlet is in, it is understandable that he is expressing his thoughts about the world to be ugly and bad. It is totally appropriate for Hamlet to feel this way about the world because if I was in his shoes, I would definitely feel the same way.
4)Hamlet is so hurt towards his mother’s actions. Hamlet feels like his mother should have been in more grief and misery for more than just two months. “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.” His father loved her and she just moved on. “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” Hamlet would have wanted to see his mother mourn for longer but instead, she just married his uncle. Hamlet feels that his uncle is nothing to him and that he is no father to him at all.
5)Hamlet’s attitude toward Claudius is totally different than his attitude toward his father. Hamlet doesn’t feel that Claudius is a father to him and that he is not a king. His father was an excellent king and Claudius is not. His feelings toward Claudius show disrespect and not as much closeness that he had with his own father. He doesn’t know what his own father could have done to have his mother move on so quickly and marry so fast.
1. Solid to me is matter that has a definite shape and volume. A solid turns to a liquid at its melting point. Hamlet seems to be just about at his melting point in life. After everything he has been through with his father dying and his mother remarrying his father’s brother no longer than a month later, if I were Hamlet I would want to melt away too. I think I would choose the word solid over sullied because it’s a feeling that people can relate to and understand, humans are solid and sometimes when things get bad people want to disappear or melt away and just be done with and away from everything bad. Sullied is dirty, stained, defiled I think that Hamlet feels much more like melting than he feels dirty, guilty maybe, but not dirty.
2. Hamlet’s attitude towards life is that he no longer wants it. Hamlet thinks of suicide and his many problems. He is upset over his father’s death. He is angry at his mother for remarrying so soon after his father’s death. He’s even angrier at her for remarrying his uncle, his father’s brother. I think that Hamlet’s attitude is justified, the killing himself part is a little extreme, but his angry is understood. If my mother married my uncle after my father died I would be discussed with her. First because they are all married and second because she didn’t even seem to mourn my father’s death. I might, after I calmed down see the reasoning in it, brothers sometimes share traits maybe she just wanted someone around that reminds her of him. It’s still sick and I would hate her for it, but I wouldn’t kill myself over it…I would probably just leave.
When stuck between using the word sullied or solid in Shakespeare Hamlet. I feel sullied would be the appropriate choice. It has a more damaging effect. Sullied shows that what Hamlet is talking about is dirty and impure. To use solid would be seen as an ironic answer but sullied has much more depth and meaning to the emotion of what Hamlet is trying to get across. It shows the contamination of his whole family which gives emotion instead of the literal term solid. By using a word that describes the dirtiness and contamination of something seems most suitable.
Hamlet is in a very bad situation. He feels upset over his fathers death and also angry at his mothers quick recovery. He is traumatized by the marriage of his mother and uncle. He has a reason to be so upset. I would be torn over the fact that you could recover over the death of your spouse so soon. I would also wonder if my mother was so upset that maybe she just needed someone. Hamlets anger is seen reasonable to some extent because of the actions his mother made.
Hamlet uses imagery that show his feelings as a mess. He says the whole world is an unweeded garden. And those gross things appear. They should not be here though. His mother remarrying is a mess. Her remarriage is just another weed. Making the whole word a little less pretty and a little more cluttered.
Hamlet is very upset and angry at his mother. She has done something unimaginable to him. For she remarried so soon after his fathers death. Hamlet describes his mother as fragile. “Frailty, thy name is Woman!” He sees all women as weak. His mother could not stand strong after his fathers death. “Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears” Hamlets describing as mothers tears as almost fake over her husbands death. Her emotions were not right in a sense that she did not care over her husband.
Hamlet views his father as a strong moral man. A man of great power. His views on his uncle contrast heavily to that of his father. He describes them as if they could not be any more different, as different as him to Hercules. It shows that there must be a large gap in between the two men. Hamlet seems to look down on as his uncle. He is not nearly as great as his father. Hamlet sees these differences as bad since his mother is marrying a whole new person.
1. If I was the editor of a new edition of Hamlet, then I would choose the word sullied over solid. Between the two words, I think that sullied would be more appropriate. First off, the definition of sullied is disgusting, contaminated, or dirty. As Hamlet is citing his soliloquy he talks about his family as being disgusting and dirty now that his father has died. He feels like his new father, yet recent Uncle Claudius is sullying the family by suddenly taking over as king. Hamlet is not taken to his new father one bit, and he is sickened by the fact that his uncle thinks he can just do this to the family. Also, he feels like his mother’s sexuality has become contaminated. He thinks, how could she so suddenly find love again, even after her husband’s death? Hamlet feels that his mother is dirtying the family in this way also. Sullied also fits better in the soliloquy because if solid was used, the meaning Shakespeare is trying to get out of the dirtiness and contamination wouldn’t have been portrayed. As a result I would choose sullied rather than solid.
2. Ever since his father’s death, Hamlet has not been too happy with his life. Aside from the fact that his father just, he doesn’t feel that it is right that his mother would remarry so soon after. Hamlet feels betrayed by his mother for what she has done, and frowns up on her actions. He doesn’t understand how his mother’s feelings could change in that short amount of time. Also, Hamlet was just told that he could not return to Wittenberg, his home for schooling. Hamlet is in his teens and after dealing with what he would call a crisis in the family, an escape is what he yearns for. Yet his escape is no longer and option for him. Not only this, but Hamlet was also just told that he could no longer meet or be with his lover Ophelia. Crushed by this, there is no doubt of the way Hamlet is feeling over everything that has happened. Hamlet’s feeling is completely appropriate and necessary to what he is going through. The help and aide from his friends is the only thing going for Hamlet right now. Along with the possible return of his father.
3. As Hamlet goes on talking about his feelings of the world, he uses a very distinguished piece of imagery. He relates the world to that of an un-weeded garden. Due to the things Hamlet is going through the feelings expressed by his imagery are definitely appropriate. Given the circumstance of his mother re-marrying so suddenly, Hamlet has every right to be angry at this and especially with his mother. He portrays his mother as not having any feelings of sorrow from her husband’s death. Hamlet is saying here, that she is almost being cold- hearted. However, because of everything that’s happened to Hamlet is why he describes the world as an un-weeded garden. He can’t go back to school, see Ophelia, and his father has just died. Yet, though all of this is happening, Hamlet doesn’t know what to do for weeds grow back in time. This being said, the emotions Hamlet expresses are appropriate for his age, and the imagery he uses is very profound.
4. As of now in the story of Hamlet, Hamlet is not to loving towards his mother. At the moment, Hamlet does not like her one bit and he disapproves with the way she has recently behaved. In the play Hamlet refers to his mother saying “a beast, that wants discourse of reason, Would have mourn'd longer”. Hamlet thinks of his mother now as being a beast. If she really loved her husband then she would have mourned over him longer or she wouldn’t have even gotten remarried in the first place. Hamlet also says “It is not nor it cannot come to good: But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue.” Here, he is saying how no good will come from this and it seems that he is perhaps worried for his mother. Or at least he feels sorry for her and the decisions she has made. Overall, Hamlet feels disgusted and betrayed by Queen Gertrude and as of now it seems like he is in no rush to mend things with her.
5. The attitudes Hamlet has between his father and his uncle are very different. Hamlet sees his father as a mighty king, almost the equivalent to a god. He loves his father very much and respects and honors his authority even after his death. Hamlet reveals that his father was so great, that none are like him nor could they replace him. In contrast, Hamlets views his uncle as a beast, and thinks nothing superior of him. He detests his uncle and speaks sarcastically to him often. He doesn’t think he is fit to be king, and Hamlet has no good feelings towards him. This being said, Hamlet is still faithful to his father despite that his uncle is now his new one. Hamlet’s attitude towards each of them is very different according to the way they have affected his life.
3. The imagery Hamlet uses to describe his feelings about the world is weary, stale, flat and unprofitable. He describes the world like a weed. You can kill it several times but it always grows back. Hamlet’s problems just keep coming up. His father dies. His mother barely mourns it. She marries his uncle. They keep him away from his school, the place he loves to be. His world is exactly how he describes it, weary, stale, flat and unprofitable.
4. Hamlet has much anger towards his mother. He feels she married too soon after his father’s death. So soon after his father’s death that it’s like she didn’t mourn at all. He is even more angry about the fact that his mother marrying his uncle. He thinks that the marriage is inappropriate after such a short time. He respects his mother but doesn’t think she mourned long enough.
5. Hamlet clearly adored his father. If he did not adore he at least liked him much more than he likes Claudius. Hamlet’s feelings toward Claudius are cold and distant. Claudius wants Hamlet to think of him as Hamlet’s father; however Hamlet doesn’t want to consider Claudius his father. He is discussed with the fact that Claudius has married his mother so soon after his noble father’s death. His view of his father and his view of Claudius are completely different. He compares the contrast between the two to himself and Hercules.
1. If I were to publish my own version of “Hamlet” today I would use the word “sullied” instead of the word “solid”. I believe sullied fits the topic of the soliloquy because it talks of being unworthy, and contaminated. It does this when it describes the earth as being an un-weeded garden, (the garden being contaminated). Also the soliloquy compares King Hamlet’s brother as being unlike his father, and unworthy, (Hamlet senior described as being Hercules). Also I feel that to put solid in place of sullied would take away some of the dramatic meaning of the soliloquy and just fit a literal translation. Because it seems to fit the meaning and dramatic nature of the soliloquy I would use “sullied” over “solid” if I were to publish a version of “Hamlet”.
2. Hamlet feels his life is worthless, and un-necessary. He wants to commit suicide because he feels his life is meaningless and wishes that God had not made it a sin. He feels this way because he has lost faith in the people around him; he says that the world is an un-weeded garden that the weeds have taken over. Hamlet considers characters such as Claudius and in some ways his mother a weed. Hamlet is deeply upset that his mother has so swiftly remarried to King Hamlet’s brother following his death; he believes she was faking her lament over his death because she remarried so fast. Given the circumstances of Hamlet’s life at this moment in time I feel that yes in a way his attitude is justified, he needs time to mourn his father and he sees his mother already replace him with another husband. If I were in his shoes I would be deeply upset at my mother, and would probably lose respect for her and for her new husband as Hamlet does. I can’t see myself becoming suicidal, but I would probably lose my ability to trust most people for fear that they are the “weeds” that seem to cover the earth. Hamlet’s depression and anger at the world around him seem to be completely reasonable to the situation he was thrust into.
3. Hamlet uses imagery to express his feelings about the world around him. One example of this is when he says the world is an un-weeded garden. What Hamlet is trying to express by this is that in all the nice people in the world there are unwanted and unworthy ones, the weeds. However at this point he considers the garden un-weeded because he believes there are too many unworthy weeds around him that surround the good flowers. Also Hamlet refers to his father as Hyperion (a god) as compared to his uncle a satyr (a beastly symbol of sexual promiscuity). This shows his belief that Claudius is an unworthy, beastlike unwanted “weed in the garden of his life” and shows the dislike Hamlet has for Claudius. Hamlet also uses imagery to show how inadequate he feels compared to his father by saying that Claudius is compared to King Hamlet, as he would be compared to Hercules, a Greek hero. This imagery expresses appropriate feelings that Hamlet has in this tough situation. For example it is natural that he be freaked out by his uncle marrying his mom so quick, so he considers him to be like a beast that cannot reason, and is sexually promiscuous. Also he loved his father, and naturally would consider him to be so perfect like a god, but I feel like he shouldn’t feel so inadequate to be his father’s son because as far as we know he hasn’t done anything to fail him. He needs to gain a little self respect. Another image that could have been used to show his respect for his father could have been a fragile sapling compared to a mighty oak. This would not necessarily mean he is inadequate to his father, but still emphasizes how Hamlet looked up to his father.
4. Hamlet is both disgusted and disappointed in his mother at this point in the story. He does not believe that she has mourned enough for her dead husband, and that she has married a beast. In the soliloquy Hamlet calls his mother and all women frail or weak “Frailty, thy name is woman!” Also Hamlet says that “a beast, that wants discourse of reason, would’ve mourned longer” Hamlet also calls his mother promiscuous in a way, he describes her marriage as “with such dexterity to incestuous sheets”, or that it was too fast for her to be sleeping in a different bed. Hamlet is disgusted with his mother because of her almost immediate marriage to Claudius the king’s brother, and her lack of adequate mourning.
5. Hamlet considers his dad and Claudius just about exact opposites. He uses a god to contrast his father against his uncle, called a satyr or a sexual beast that lacks reasoning. Also he calls his dad like Hercules a superhuman in contrast to Hamlet himself who would be Claudius in this comparison. Hamlet uses these contrasts to show that he felt that his dad was above human faults, and was like a god. On the other side he wanted to show that Claudius was like a beastly human with many faults and that lacks reason and is selfish. Through these contrasts Hamlet establishes his view of his father as a god and Claudius as a selfish, sexual beast.
1. Personally if I were editing this soliloquy I would have to choose “sullied” instead or “solid”. I would choose Sullied simply because of the context. I believe it fits better. In this particular soliloquy Hamlet is describing his mother and her recent marriage; he is clearly disgusted by his mother’s marriage to his uncle so soon after his father’s death. It would make more sense for sullied to be used because sullied means defiled, tainted, soiled or stained, this how he feels about his mother, uncle and life at this time, that is why I would used sullied, it fits in context better.
2. Hamlets attitude towards his life is very difficult, because he is so saddened and even depressed about all the problems in his life which seem to keep hitting him one after another. He feels abandoned and doesn’t understand why people are taking the actions that they are, is any of it even real. These absurdities are almost too ridiculous to believe that they are actually happening. I happen to think his attitude is justified, he has just experienced a tragedy (the death of his father) and he feels as though everyone is abandoning him, he has a right to be angry.
3. Hamlet uses imagery at the beginning, such as when he says he wished he could melt away and vanish, to show how bad he hates his life and wants to escape, but cannot, so he must resort to these fictional ways like melting or vanishing. I think darker imagery could have been better in that place, more appropriate, instead of fantasy ways of disappearing it could have reflected his attitude a bit more.
4. Hamlet feels let down by his mother, he sees her as weak, and she just gave in and married his uncle. “Must I remember? why, she would hang on him, (145)
As if increase of appetite had grown” “-- why she, even she –“, in the first quote you can see how he is disappointed by her and in the second how surprised “..even she”
5. My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules.” Shows how he feels about his father, how proud he was, and how miniscule Claudius is compared to him.
1.) If I was hired as an editor of Hamlet I would chose 'sullied' over 'solid'. Sullied seems to have a deeper meaning than solid. Sullied seems to be a better fit for Hamlet. Sullied refers to contamination, and it appears that Hamlet thinks his family has been contaminated. Solid usually refers to something that can hold its own, and something that is stable. Hamlet is not stable and therefore if I were an editor of Hamlet I would chose 'sullied' over 'solid'.
2.) Hamlet feels his own life is worthless and talks about self slaughter or suicide. He feels this way because he has been betrayed by his mother. He is upset that his mother remarried so quickly, and to his uncle! Hamlet seems to make all these witty yet rude remarks about his family, it appears that he sees them as bad people. I think that Hamlets behavior is justified, he has every reason to be upset, if I were in his shoes I'd probably act the same way.
3.) Hamlet uses vivid imagery to describe himself and the world. He mentions that the world is like an unweeded garden. This mention of the garden full of weeds gives us a vivid image of how he is feeling. A garden that is left unweeded is overwhelmed and crowded. The unweeded garden refers not only to the world but to his own family. His family has become crowded-his uncle is now his father. These images and feelings are appropriate as Hamlet has experienced a lot of change, and his mind is probably crowded as well.
4.) Hamlet does not really like his mother. He is upset that he married his fathers brother just shortly after the death of his father. He is disgusted that his mother would remarry so quickly. ”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!” This so vividly describes how he feels. She cried unrighteous tears, meaning the tears were not sincere, they were fake. He states that she married so quickly, and to a family member. The 'incestuous sheets' refers to his mother marrying a family member creating incest within the family.
5.) Hamlet thinks that his father was a better person than Claudius is. 'My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules' That reference shows that Hamlet does not think that Claudius is anything like his father. Hamlet insinuates that he is nothing like Hercules who is mighty and strong, meaning that Claudius is nothing like his father who was probably mighty and strong. Hamlet even questions why his mother married Claudius, how could she replace King Hamlet so quickly? Hamlet makes it clear that Claudius is not his father.
If I was the editor for a new edition I would choose the word sullied. The word sullied applies more to a humanly state, and it is being spoken of the decay of Hamlet. The word solid seems to apply better to an object than a person. Sullied makes it more personable for Hamlet.
Hamlet wants to kill himself. He no longer values life and is depressed. The only thing that keeps him from committing suicide is because it is against God. Given the situation it would not be the right thing to do because killing yourself is never the right answer. His attitude should be that of remorse and disdain, but he should understand that he must continue living his life and he must do something that will make his life worth living. He must take control of his life. He will of course feel pain and confusion, but the right attitude should be that of one looking to fulfill his life and make his life better than that of the people around him that are making foolish decisions.
He describes women as frail. He calls his mother frail because she cannot do things with her own mind. She decided to become involved with another man right away. “Ere
yet the salt of most unrighteous tears Had left the flushing in her galled eyes, She married.” Here he is saying here that his mothers tears about his fathers death were wrong because she did not intend to truly honor his death. He uses the idea of tears throughout the passage, and he compares his mother to a beast. He uses harsh ideas here, but they are understandable because of the wrong that was done to him. His is expressing his anger.
“O, God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason, Would have mourn'd longer--married with my uncle.” Here Hamlet compares his mother to a beast. He is completely disgusted with his mother and he does not understand her reasoning. “Why, she would hang on him, As if increase of appetite had grown By what it fed on: and yet, within a month.” She did not wait more than a month to remarry. Hamlet feels betrayed by his mother and he feels as though she did not think of him or his father.
Hamlet sees his uncle as incestuous and he does not respect Claudius at all. He calls his father a Hyperion and calls his uncle a Satyr. He is saying that his father Hamlet is superior to Claudius in this way. He also compares them between heaven and earth. Hamlet despises everything that Claudius has done. He respects his rather and believes he was the better of a king and person.
1.) Solid or Sullied?
Without a doubt I would say that this word remains solid. I think many would argue that sullied gives more depth to the statement, but we have to respect Shakespeare’s words. In the very sentence, it reflects so obviously to the fact that this “solid” flesh would melt. No matter how much we want to have challenging and insightful arguments as to why sullied should be there, when emotion is removed, solid makes far more sense. Hamlet does not feel that he himself has been dirtied, so much as his father has, and his mother is. He speaks multiple times of wishing he could kill himself. In fact, the next three lines are about him wishing death upon himself, not about how dirty his personal soulful body has become. It doesn’t say he felt he did something wrong, and thus without solid evidence we cannot say that solid should be changed to sullied. Some may argue that the ideas of incest and bestiality linger throughout the soliloquy, which I would not disagree with. Even as dirty as these things are, Hamlet at no time addresses them as being placed upon him. They don’t dirty him and Hamlet does not take any guilt for them. Although solid, to some, might appear as almost filler, Shakespeare’s word choice is meant to shock us. The idea of a solid human melting and then vaporizing is meant to be very shocking and to engage the listener as Hamlet voices his woes. Although the idea of sullied as a poetic replacement might be appealing to some, in context it simply does not make sense.
2.)
Hamlet’s attitude is very depressed. He feels betrayed and alienated and he wants to die. He hates the fact that now he must be immersed in this sick world because he does not have his sanctuary of school. With the recently unfolding events, I would say that his feelings aren’t unjustified for the moment. If he continues to want to commit suicide, then I feel this is unreasonable. I don’t think it is overreaction, but at the same time, he needs to look at it from the mother’s point of view. Although it is suspicious and insensitive, if he doesn’t eventually come to terms with the fact that, whether true or not, his mother supposedly loves his Uncle, then he is being selfish and unreasonable. For all he knows at this point, she misses him as much as he does and he needs to understand that. Do not get me wrong, for initially I would want blood. I would feel like neither of them mourned his death properly or respectfully. I simply feel he should at least try to understand what his mother is going through initially.
3.)
Hamlet uses various images in this passage. One of the images was that of his Uncle as weeds in “an unweeded garden, that grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature Possess it merely.” He is basically saying that his Uncle and actually all of these events are uninvited like weeds that have grown out of control. These weeds have taken over his life and ruined it. Other imagery he uses is that of “solid flesh would melt Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!” Where he is in so much turmoil he wishes to die by having the skin melt off of his body, which of course is very graphic and dramatic imagery. These images were extremely appropriate, and I would have felt the same why. I would hate what’s happening and be upset with my personal situation as well. I feel maybe more appropriate imagery would have been to depict his uncle as not just a beast, but an animal who could not in a fair fight dethrone its pack leader, but once the pack leader dies unexpectedly, he swoops in to claim a spot not rightfully his. His mother could have been depicted as the bitch in this pack who is more worried about her own well being than anything else. I think this image would have been appropriate because he was dehumanizing both of them for their weakness, and this would have been an effective transition.
4.)
Hamlet despises his mother. He hates how easily she forgot his father. How little compassion for his memory she has. In the soliloquy, Hamlet feels his mother is “incestuous”, and married with “wicked speed”. He also feels she married much lower than his father was. He feels that his uncle is a beast and his father is god-like. This shows how low he feels his mother has stooped to be with him.
5.)
Hamlet feels that the comparison of King Claudius to King Hamlet is simply not even a contest. Claudius is a beast, and his father is a god. There is no comparison between the two. Hamlet, being the humble one he is, feels that he is as close to Hercules as Claudius is to King Hamlet. Hamlet also said his Uncle is satyr, which is essentially a very selfish demon bound by lust. It was also a mix between human and animal, which shows his view of his uncle as a beast.
Grant Weaver
E Block
3/10/10
1. I believe that the word sullied would fit better in the sentence, so if I was editor that is what I would impose. In the soliloquy Hamlet has a gloomy view on life, and so the mood gives the setting that Hamlet is depressed, and some of this must be directed at himself. Also solid is a little to clean. Of course flesh is solid. It also just stands out, in the middle of this poetry, solid stands out like a sore thumb.
2. Hamlet at this point in the tale is full of regret and anger. He is feeling regretful because of his fathers death, that maybe he could have helped him, or maybe he should of spent more time for him. He is angry because his mother betrayed him by marrying his uncle, as if King Hamlet never existed. Considering the present circumstances I do believe that his feelings are justified.
3. In this soliloquy Hamlet uses two major pieces of imagery. He first piece of imagery is of an unweeded garden, which is a metaphor for the world. By this he means that what is the point of pulling up he weeds (or the bad in the world) when more will “grow” back. The second major piece of imagery is of his mother in relation to Niobe, and how instead of being sad at the death of her loved ones (like Niobe) she goes off and marries within two months. His present situation allows him to have these feelings, I mean we all feel similar feelings if we were in the same situation. The anger is very understandable. This imagery hits the feelings that Hamlet is having. Shakespeare is as close to describing his feelings as possible.
4. Hamlet is feeling several things in regards to his mother. His first feeling is anger, mainly because his mother remarried so fast. “Why, she would hang on him” is one quote that proves this anger, and its roots. The other feeling is sadness. “T is not nor it cannot come to good” (this quote is in regard to his mothers remarriage). Hamlets true issue is really with his mother remarriage, not with his father’s death.
5. Hamlet truly believes that his father is a much better leader than his uncle. “My father's brother, but no more like my father” is just one of his many references to his fathers greatness and how is uncle can’t even begin to compare to it. “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.” Hamlet is more fixated on the greatness of his father than on the failures of his uncle, although he does hint at it in this soliloquy.
1. If I were the editor of a new edition of Hamlet I would choose the word sullied rather than solid. Hamlet uses this word when he is speaking about ending his own life. Sullied is defined as dirty, stained and defiled. His skin is now stained with the terrible things that have happened to him like the loss of his father. He wants his flesh to melt away and for it to “resolve itself into dew”. Dew is more peaceful and beautiful, showing the opposite of stained or defiled and shows the contrast. The word sullied also goes along with how Hamlet now views his own family. He sees them as dirty people now that his father has died and his mother remarried his uncle so quickly. Hamlet is disgusted in the way his mother has acted and what has recently happened. Sullied fits well because it shows how dirty and defiled Hamlet now sees things.
2. Hamlet does not have a very positive attitude of his own life. He says, “Or that the everlasting had not fixed, his cannon ‘gainst self slaughter!” Hamlet is saying that he would take his own life if God did not frown upon it. Hamlet has every reason to feel this way. He feels very betrayed and for good reason. His father has just died. His mother has already remarried just a short while after to his uncle. Hamlet is disgusted and confused as to how his mother has gotten over his father’s death so quickly. He wants to run away and not have to deal with what is going on. Hamlet is also forbidden to see Ophelia who he loves. So many terrible things happen to Hamlet all at once that it is not wonder he views his life in the way he does.
3. Hamlet views the world as an “un-weeded garden”. There will always be bad people in the world just like weeds. Once you get rid of a weed another one returns in its place. This is the same with people. Using this imagery he does not show a very hopeful attitude toward the future. Hamlet says that his father had only died about two months earlier and his mother had already moved on. His father had cared deeply for his mother and she had not shown the same love for him. He is disgusted by her sexuality and just wants to see her as being a woman, still innocent. He views his mother and uncle as “weeds” in the world and is very disappointed in them. His mother appeared to be upset over his father’s death, but they were only false tears. Hamlet’s feelings are completely appropriate given his situation. Hamlet almost sees the world as evil and he does have hope for people and himself.
4. Hamlet is disappointed and disgusted by his mother. He says, “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!” He thinks that she only faked her tears over his father’s death and that she was not truly sad. He disapproves on how quickly she remarried and it seems to Hamlet that she may never have loved his father as much as he thought. He also disproves of the fact that the man she is marrying is Hamlet’s uncle, the king’s very own brother. He views this as incest. Hamlet also says, “O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason would have mourned longer!” Hamlet thinks that even a beast would have mourned longer than his mother for the death of her husband. Hamlet would possibly be more at ease with his mother remarrying if she had mourned for longer. She moved on so quickly that it seems she may never have loved her husband. Hamlet does not see his mother as a good person and feels betrayed by her.
5. Hamlet views his father very differently from his uncle. Hamlet thought of his father as a great king and almost like a god. He looked up to his father and saw him as a great man. Hamlet never felt as strong and great as his father. His father was superior to many and was irreplaceable. Hamlet views his uncle in the complete opposite way. He says, “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!” He compares his uncle to a satyr which is a grotesque creature, half-man and half-goat, symbolic of sexual promiscuity. His uncle was very loving toward his mother and Hamlet finds this terrible. Hamlet believes his mother and uncle have done things that are sexual and not acceptable. He thinks his uncle has no right to be king and will never be as great as his father. Hamlet does not approve of his uncle as the new husband of his mother. He does not think he is fit for either of the roles he is about to take on. Hamlet viewed his father as god-like and his uncle as a satyr.
1. If I were an editor of a new edition of Hamlet I would choose the word sullied because I feel it most explains how Hamlet feels throughout the soliloquy. Sullied loosely suggests contamination and Hamlet was definitely feeling disgusted and awe struck upon hearing the news of his uncle and Mother getting married. The joining of Gertrude and Claudius was considered incest in the renaissance and Hamlet looked at it as contamination or something filthy. That is why I would use sullied for my new edition of Hamlet.
2. Hamlet’s attitude toward his life is most summed up by betrayed/disgusted and confused. Hamlet, suffering from grief is now looking back on his fond memories of his parents and how his Father would treat Gertrude with such gentleness and care “His father would not permit the wind to visit her face too roughly”. Now seeing his mother with another man especially his uncle is just mind blowing. He can’t grasp how in just a short period of time that the burning passion that flowed through his parents is just forgotten. If I were in his place I would whole heartedly feel the same way about his circumstances.
3. One imagery Hamlet uses that I found most intriguing was when he compared his life to an unweeded garden being rank and gross in nature “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. That it should come to this!” Because “unweeded garden” refers to a well tended garden (that symbolizes harmony and normalcy) which he then compares the weeds to his problems; father dying, uncle marrying mother, and holding his tongue, and how they are growing out of control and engulfing the natural harmony of nature. He feels that the world is at a shift and punishing him somehow with all these series of unfortunate events. Another image that might help conveying his feelings about the world would be the burning of a house. This imagery would help because a flame consumes whatever it is burning (loved ones, memories, personal belongings, and treasures) without warning and almost as fast as lightning. Just like Hamlets tragic life at the moment.
4. Hamlet feels surprised and confused. Hamlet is surprised because just two months have passed or maybe even less and his mother is ready to move on and wed again “But two months dead: nay, not so much, not two:” This confuses him because his mother adored senior hamlet and cried profusely for his loss “With which she follow'd my poor father's body, 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…” Niobe’s passion was so strong for her children that when they were slain and she was turned to stone she still wept. So if Gertrude’s passion was so deep for Hamlet how could she recover so quickly?
5. Hamlets looks to his father as a superior who is all mighty and to his uncle like a lecherous school boy. He compares the two to Hyperion and Satyr. Hyperion was one of the Titans and the father of Helios, the sun-god. Satyr was 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. Hamlet also says that his uncle compared to his father is like comparing Hercules to himself. Hamlet is basically saying that having a father so strong and noble intensifies his feelings of inadequacy.
1.As the new editor of Hamlet I would choose sullied because the significance of the soliloquy best explains disgust or contamination. If I were Hamlet and my Mother married my uncle almost simultaneously after my Father died, I would be filled with disgust and sickness. Sullied best suits these feelings because it roughly translates into contamination and that is exactly what his uncle is to Hamlet.
2.Hamlets attitude in the soliloquy is very confused and depressed. He can’t help but to relive memories in his head of how happy his mother and father were and how she was madly in love with him and how it changed in the blink of an eye; “Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him, 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!” The thought of his uncle being his new father disgusts him and all he can think about is breaking free from it. But unfortunately he has to hold his tongue and stay put. He ponders at the thought of suicide but doesn’t quite know what to do. If I were in his shoes I wouldn’t go as far as thoughts of suicide but under the duress he faces choices would become very tough.
3.The imagery that Hamlet used towards the end of the soliloquy to describe the new marriage confronted a new problem in the world back then. 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, and was explicitly forbidden by the Catholic and Anglican religions. He uses the example of his uncle and mother to address a wider problem world wide. Which was incest throughout families whether for inheritance purposes or otherwise. Hamlet is trying to express his anguish and confusion to other readers in similar situations and provide options for people in such predicaments. I would also try and warn people about this horrid problem because what if the future became one giant incest in trying to preserve thrones or government positions.
4.Hamlet is feeling confused. His mother was still weeping and had flush or redness still in her eyes when she married, “Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears had left the flushing in her galled eyes, She married.” This baffles him because he recalls a time where his mother clung to Hamlet like a koala bear to a tree, “she would hang on him,
As if increase of appetite had grown By what it fed on:” The sight of his mother with his uncle is one big question mark awaiting an answer.
5.Hamlets attitude toward his father is superior respect and toward his uncle it is dislike. He compares his uncle to his father and himself to Hercules to show how lopsided the superiority is between them. He also compares them to Hyperion and Satr. Hyperion was an all mighty titan who was the father of Helios, the sun-god and Satr was a half-man/ 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.
1. If I was the editor of a new edition of Hamlet, based on what I thought the original play would say, I would choose the word sullied. I think that Shakespeare would have chosen the word sullied because it fits well symbolically. This word has a deeper meaning, one that looks further into Hamlet’s emotions. If the word was sullied, it would mean that Hamlet was describing his skin as dirty and tainted. It is very appropriate that he would feel that way because of his situation with his mother. He doesn’t handle his mother’s sexuality well and it makes him feel dirty. Both make sense, and there is a good argument for both, but if I was to go by what I thought Shakespeare wrote, I would choose sullied.
2. I think that Hamlet is a very honest person. He says exactly what he feels, and he also shows what he feels. He doesn’t hide his emotions behind a strong exterior, and he doesn’t fake being sad about his father’s death. He really is sad about it. He is also unhappy with the fact that his mother married his uncle right after his father died. I think Hamlet has every right to feel this way. On top of the death of his father, he has to deal with the feeling of betrayal from his mother. And then on top of that, he has his uncle/stepdad telling him that he needs to act more like a man about it. It is a lot for anyone to handle. Hamlet just wants to disappear, “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!” He says that he would even kill himself if it wasn’t frowned upon by God. He calls the world useless and stale.
3. “'tis an unweeded garden, That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely.” This is an image that Hamlet comes up with to describe his feelings about the world. He compares it to un “unweeded garden”, meaning that no matter how many problems you try to fix, more will just keep popping up, like weeds in a garden. Hamlet believes that the weeds posses the world entirely. He is starting to feel like the world is hopeless. It is appropriate that he feels this way, given what he had been going through. Hamlet is very depressed, thinking about suicide because of the situation. Being in that state of depression would definitely make someone think about the world and what it is good for.
4. Hamlet is very uncomfortable with his mother’s sexuality. He doesn’t like the fact that she went from his father to Claudius so quickly. “O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets.” Hamlet thinks that it is absolutely wrong that the two of them are together. It makes it even worse that it was so soon after the death of his father. Its like the sting of putting alcohol into an open wound. “Frailty, thy name is woman! -- A little month, or ere those shoes were old With which she follow'd my poor father's body, 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” The first line shows Hamlet’s feelings towards all women, that they are weak and frail. Then follows his feelings about the quickness of the wedding. He questions if her tears for his dead father were real. Hamlet thinks that his mother should have mourned longer.
5. Hamlet was very fond of his father. He thinks that Claudius is not and never will be the man that his father was. “So excellent a king; that was, to this, Hyperion to a satyr” In Hamlet’s eyes, his father was like a mighty Titan and Claudius is a hideous satyr, a half man, half goat creature. “My father's brother, but no more like my father Than I to Hercules.” In this comparison, he is comparing himself to Hercules, a hero of Greek mythology who had extraordinary strength. His father was courageous and strong compared to his uncle.
1. If I was hired as the editor of a new edition of Hamlet I would choose to use the word sullied. I feel as though this has more symbolic meaning than solid. Sullied describes how Hamlet feels about his mother, and therefore himself, after her marriage to his uncle. He feels disgusted by how quickly his mother married his uncle after his father’s death. It makes him feel dirty, or sullied.
2. Hamlet feels as though his own life is dirtied by the actions of his mother. He also is very sad after the loss of his father. He says in the soliloquy that he would kill himself if it wasn’t against god. The actions of his mother have made him think less of not only her, but all women. I think that Hamlet has a lot of reason to be feeling upset. Most people put in place would be going through similar emotions.
3. Hamlet uses some very powerful imagery in this soliloquy. He uses the image an unweeded garden to describe the world as he sees it, “‘tis an unweeded garden, that grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature possess it merely.” This shows a lot about his bleak outlook on life after the traumatic experience he has just been though. This shows that he does not believe that simply dealing with his mother would change the world, because the world is full of weeds. Pulling up one will not make a difference, more will soon grow in to replace it.
4. Hamlet’s mother has deeply upset him. He cannot believe that she would move on so quickly, he finds it disturbing that not even two months later she has married his uncle. “Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears,” Hamlet does not fully believe that his mother cared for his father as much as he did. If she had then she would not have moved on so quickly. His mother has led him to think of all women in a negative light. “Frailty, thy name is woman!” He has lost faith in his mother and this has an effect on his thoughts on the rest of women too.
5. Hamlet loved his father very much and his uncle, who is now attempting to call himself his father, does not even come close to measuring up to him. Hamlet thinks his father was “So excellent a king.” He describes his relationship to his uncle as, “My father's brother, but no more like my father than I to Hercules.” He wants nothing to do with Claudius.
Tom Martin:
1.If I was the editor of a new edition of Hamlet, then I would choose “sullied” over “solid” in the first line. Between the two words, sullied just seems more fitting and appropriate. The word itself means disgusting, dirty, and contaminated. That is how I believe Hamlet feels in this moment, or at least how his body feels. As Hamlet states his family as being disgusting and dirty now that his father has died, he definitely feels that he has been contaminated by their “filth”. He feels like his new uncle/father who is now the king, Claudius, has brought a sense of incest into his life, and he is sullying the family by suddenly taking over as king. Hamlet despises his new father and he is sickened by his uncle’s actions. Also, he feels his other’s sexuality has been sullied by this act. How could she do that to his father, her husband? It is disrespectful to the highest degree in Hamlet’s eyes, being so sudden after the king’s death. Hamlet’s family is just contaminated with “dirt” at this point. Also, sullied better gets across Shakespeare’s goal of trying to portray Hamlet’s true thoughts about his family, how he is trying to get out of the dirtiness of it all. Solid just wouldn’t have portrayed his thought’s well.
2. Since his father’s death, Hamlet has been depressed and not too content with the way his life is going. Not only has his father, the king of Denmark, just died, but he is disgusted over the fact that his mother has remarried so suddenly, and to his father’s brother, his uncle. He feels it is incestuous and disgusting. Hamlet feels his father has been betrayed for what she has done. Also, Hamlet was just told he couldn’t return to Wittenberg, where he does his schooling. After dealing with what one would call a crisis and a tragedy, an escape is what Hamlet truly needs at this point, yet there is none. Hamlet also has been told that he can no longer be with his lover, Ophelia. Hamlet is surely feeling a great amount of angst, anger, and sadness, He is enraged by what life has currently thrown at him and he doesn’t know how to deal with the stress. Hamlet’s feelings are completely understandable.
3. As Hamlet describes his feelings about his life and the world he is currently in, he uses very interesting imagery to depict his emotions. He relates the world to an un-weeded garden. Connecting with the troubles Hamlet is currently going through, the analogy is very much appropriate. Hamlet has every right to be angry at his mother, his uncle, his girlfriend’s family, basically everyone around him. He believes his mother as not having any feelings of sadness over her husband’s death. She has simply moved on to another marriage, to her brother-in-law even. Hamlet feels this is completely disrespectful and definitely inappropriate. Hamlet also has many restrictions in his life at this moment. He can’t go back to school, he can no longer see Ophelia, and he can no longer be with his deceased father. Hamlet doesn’t know what to do next. His life is in a catatonic state, with many troublesome weeds lying about, un-plucked. The life that is his garden is void of any resolution. Therefore, through this imagery, we can see just how illustrative Hamlet is when depicting his feelings through other means.
4. So far in the play, Hamlet is not very fond of his mother, Queen Gertrude. He disapproves of how she has acted following his father’s death, remarrying within the family, it is completely inappropriate and embarrasses his father’s good name. Hamlet refers to his mother saying, “a beast, that wants discourse of reason, would have mourn’d longer”. Hamlet thinks of his mother as being an unsightly beast, and he refers to her rude behavior upon her actions from time to time. For is she really loved her husband, then she would have actually mourned his death and possibly not even remarry, and allow Hamlet to take the throne. Hamlet also states, “It is not nor it cannot come to good: But break, my heart. For I must hold my tongue.” He says here that no good will come from this marriage, this unruly act, and it’s possible that he is worried for his mother’s and his own safety. He does however show a bit of sympathy for his mother, that her decisions made could possibly have been made out of an unstable mind following her husband’s death. Hamlet is simply disgusted by his mother and it doesn’t seem that he will regain his former relationship with her anytime soon.
5. The attitudes Hamlet has between his father and his uncle vary greatly. Hamlet believes that his father was an upright, brace, fair, and just king. He loves him deeply and respects his honor, even after his death. That is why he held so many disgusted feelings towards his mother’s remarriage, for it dishonored his father’s name. None could replace King Hamlet, so he believes. Yet life intervenes and he is replaced, maybe not his greatness, but his position is filled by his brother Claudius. Here in contrast we see how Hamlet views his uncle. He sees him as a malevolent monster He believes his father was far more superior and that Claudius is just not fit to be a king. He despises his uncle and speaks rudely to him often. Hamlet is still faithful to his father’s life and rule, even after his death. Hamlet’s attitude towards each of them is very different, depending on how they have influenced his life at this point.
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