DRJ# 4

DRJ 4; Hamlet Acts 4&5

Initial Reaction:
Acts 4 and 5 reminded me of all the Shakespeare dramas I've read. In the end, everyone ends up dead.  Usually the hero has to die and the person to live to tell the story is the best friend or a foil character. Like in Braveheart or Troy. I was confused in what was going on when Hamlet was talking to the gravedigger. Reading Hamlet for a second time, I have reached different meanings of the story and can appreciate it better.
Character Analysis:
Gertrude was an interesting character. She was an antagonist like Claudius because she seemed to be on his side more than wanting to be there for Hamlet. She didn't waste a minute in telling Claudius that Hamlet killed Polonius and he was an insane person. She never speaks up for him. Since the beginning of the play, she ignores Hamlet's sadness for his father and wants him to quickly forget and accept Claudius as his father. Hamlet lost his respect for Gertrude because of her wrongdoings. I think Gertrude feels remorseful for the mess she's caused but feels like she is too far deep in the hole there is no way to make things right again with her son. When we are in the middle of making mistakes, we sometimes don't think about the long term conflicts that will arise. Gertrude was not expecting her son to turn away and her life ending because of her disloyalty to her ex-husband and son.
Theme Analysis:
Shakespeare creates a gloomy mood throughout the scenes and characters to make a point of time and mortality. "Death is strict in his arrest." (5.2.337) Shakespeare concludes with this quote that Hamlet had to use his time wisely because death could come at anytime in any form. Ophelia's time was cut short and she never got to find out if Hamlet's affection for her was real or not. Hamlet truly confessed his love for her after he found out she had died. It was too late. Hamlet did not get to tell the true story of his father's demise before he got stabbed by Laertes and Gertrude dies at the moment when she finally shows compassion and care for her son. "The queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet." (5.2.284). While we are alive, we have to live our lives to the fullest and grab everything we want to get out of life because death can spring out at anytime.

DRJ #3

DRJ 3: Hamlet, Act 3

Initial Reaction:

My mind couldn’t bring up a movie that reminded me of Act 3 and I don’t know anyone who acts like the characters. However Act 3 was full of surprises. Such as Hamlet’s change of heart towards Ophelia and Polonius getting stabbed by Hamlet.

Character Analysis:

I would like to talk about Ophelia for this character analysis because I think this is where she started going crazy (before she found out her father died). I see Ophelia as a supporting character because she is Hamlet’s love interest and the fact that Polonius and Laertes use her to spy on someone she loves shows that she has a certain affect on Hamlet that can make or break him. I think Ophelia brings the good and hope out of Hamlet but he believes those values are for cowards.  In Act 3, Hamlet realizes that in order to become inhumane person he must forget all the emotions that make him human, such as love. Ophelia tries to oppose his rejection but she is to no avail. Her heart is broken after Hamlet says all these cruel things to her and professes that he fell in a trap when he met her. “Oh, woe is me, T’ have seen what I have seen, see what I see!” (3.1.161)

Theme Analysis:

I think the main theme in this Act is guilt and Shakespeare uses denouement to unravel the guilt that his characters are feeling and start to portray to others around them. For example, the play that Hamlet set up for the King and Queen was meant to find out the truth of who killed his father. “One scene of it comes near the circumstance which I have told thee of my father’s death. Observe my uncle…” (3.2.69-73). Claudius’ reaction to the play solves the assumption to Hamlet and he is ready to get revenge. Hamlet has a talk with his mother and calls her out for wrongdoings as well. “Mother, you have my father much offended.” (3.4.11) Gertrude was not expecting Hamlet to make her come clean about her adultery and it gave Hamlet a justification to kill her. Polonius is guilty of so many things but mainly for being a busybody. Hamlet resolves that problem by stabbing him on mistake thinking it was Claudius behind the curtain. Hamlet also feels guilt about waiting to take revenge when he sees his father’s ghost again while talking to Gertrude. “Do you not come your tardy son to chide…” (3.4.108). Even the ghost is watching Hamlet as he prolongs the resolution to his father’s death and it makes Hamlet feel guilty that he has not already taking his place.