Hamlet's Thought Process

Some of the most prominent lines in Hamlet  are Hamlet’s soliloquys.  These are instances in the play when Hamlet is speaking to himself, giving the audience the ability to know his thoughts.  In these soliloquys we are able to see and feel Hamlet’s thought process and his changing mood. One such instance is in Act II Scene ii. At this point in the play Hamlet has come to believe that Claudius killed his father, he comes to believe this through a ghost visitation.  In these lines at the beginning he is mourning his inability to act,

“Now I am alone.

 O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!

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,

A broken voice, and his whole function suiting

With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing”! (II.ii.529-537)

As Hamlet continues his tone shifts to an idea he has to catch Claudius and gain greater assurance of Claudius’ evil act. Hamlet states:

“Fie upon't! foh! About, my brain! I have heard

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

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.” (II.ii.570-580)

Hamlet’s thought process can be followed throughout his soliloquys. You can see his want to act quickly according to what the Ghost has said. However, you can also see his inability to act and follow through on what he knows he should do. Hamlet finds a way that allows him to pass the burden of what he has to do for a little while, by setting an interim goal. However, Hamlet needs to remember to look at the means and the ends. If the means are aligned with the ends than what we are doing is worthwhile. In speaking in these terms Hamlet’s decision to catch the king through performing the play could be considered the means of the play justifying the ends. But as we see later on, Hamlet will put another obstacle in along the way. 

Trying to share the burden of what we have to do.

In Hamlet we see a struggle of Hamlet reaching out to others to fill his desire to revenge his father’s death.

One issue, is his determination to prove the guilt of Claudius and when speaking to Horatio states.

    “Observe mine uncle: if his occulted guilt

    Do not itself unkennel in one speech,”(III.ii.75-76)

If I knew who killed my father I would do everything in my power to bring justice, including catching the guilt of the murderer.

Hamlet also expresses his grief to Ophelia.

"for, look you, how cheerfully my mother looks,

 and my father died within these two hours.”(III.ii.109-110)

A good friend of Hamlet doesn’t see his pain. At times in my life I have opened myself up to seek support and help, and it hurts when those you confide in aren't able to help.


     Hamlet even tries to open his mother’s eyes.
       "Here is your husband; like a mildew'd ear,
       Blasting his wholesome brother. Have you eyes?” (III.iv.64-65)

He finally laments to himself.

“How stand I then,

That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd,

Excitements of my reason and my blood,“ (IV.v.56-58)

Hamlet turned in many ways to others to help him grieve over his father. Every method he tried failed to fill the grief and pain he was experiencing. I could picture myself going from one hope to another trying to find peace and being unsuccessful. This characteristic of trying to fill the void can be found in Hamlet.  Hamlet is cunning and smart in some of his decisions but tends to procrastinate when things need to be finished.

Final Project: what we can include.

Common Elements

1. Murder Death Plans thwarted
2. Stabbing the wrong person
3. Fatal Flaw with the main Character
4. Marriage
5. Across Class conflict
6. confusion
7. Cross Dressing
8. Revenge/betrayal
9. Rise of Power
10. The woods
11. A storm
12. War
13. Love
14. Entire Army Cross Dress
15. Recurring Symbols
1. Honor
16. Word Play
17. A line and B line story lines
18. Everyone Dies
19. Mental Illness
20. The battle of the sexes
21. Forgiveness
22. Education
23. The word “Esoteric”
24. Comic Relief
25. Include a historic event
26. Different Nationalities/Accents
27. Audience feel pity for main Character
28. Shakespeare gave characters depth
29. Secrets

How often are we deceived by our ears?

A common occurrence I have noticed throughout Much Ado About Nothing is the act of eavesdropping. Or even just 2 people hearing things differently. I have scene this with Beatrice and Benedict, with Leonato, with Don John and several others.  Why is it that this occurs? It appears communication has always been an issue amongst mankind. I am compiling these occurences while I read and hopefully I can put them together to gain a better understanding of why and how this happens. Let me know what instances of misinformation have been in the plays you have studied as well.

Midterm

Midterm Self-Assessment

How have I gained Shakespeare Literacy?

• Over the past month I have been able to read 4 of Shakespeare’s plays. I have read The Tempest, King Henry V, The Merchant of Venice, and Hamlet. In addition to reading I have also been able to discuss the plays weekly in class where I have had the opportunity to understand the plays even better.

How have I analyzed Shakespeare critically?

• Over the last several weeks Professor Burton has been teaching us how to critically analyze Shakespeare. I have begun to do this as can be seen here, and which I will be doing more in depth on the play I get to read independently. My focus in reading thus far has been to get a wide knowledge, and I look forward to digging deeper and more focused in the upcoming weeks.

How have I engaged Shakespeare creatively?

• I was able to attend a production of the Merchant of Venice and I posted a review. Another way is, I have been able to see 2 video production’s of Shakespeare. I saw Henry V, and also Hamlet on video. This helped me to visualize and get a different take on the plays. Kent and I have been talking of doing some recordings, and then putting them together I am excited to see how they can turn out.

How have I shared Shakespeare meaningfully?

• I have been sharing my Shakespeare through conversation’s with a lot of different people, I can see that I missed documenting a lot of this in my blog. I have enjoyed reading others blogs and having others read and comment on my own. Most of my Shakespeare sharing has been through this blog. I plan to begin connecting more to others as Professor Burton has shared.

How have I gained digital literacy?

• I consider myself fairly sufficient in my digital literacy. I have posted on blogs that others have created but this is my first experience creating and blogging on my own.  I am not converted to ebooks yet I find myself missing having a physical copy of what I am reading sometimes. Probably because that is the way I read growing up.  I look forward to learning more with some audio and video editing software. I have had an interview through video conferencing before, I used G chat and I chatted from the top of the Hill Cumorah, I don’t think many people can say that, but I look forward to trying it again.

Self-directed Learning

• I have found myself thinking about how I can fulfill the learning outcomes. This is a great part about the class, because it gives us a chance to fit our learning styles to meet the guidelines Professor Burton has set.  I haven’t picked up on applying what is taught in class to my blog post as much as I should, but I think I am more aware of it now.  I have seen Rebecca dedicate herself with blogging every day and it has helped urge me to be more creative, but I have seemed to put off blogging, in feeling that I don’t have much to say.  I have enjoyed each person’s take on blogging styles and specifically how each person analyzes different parts in different ways. I feel like I am starting to get into phase II, throughout the first few weeks I was posting mainly to post, and now I have begun to post more of what I am learning and different thoughts that I have.

Collaborative and Social Learning

• Kent and Rebecca have been a big help for me in this class, there is a different relationship when you are in the same physical location as other people.  We have had fun discussing our struggles and successes with Shakespeare. I have seen good support from the comments of Sarah and Emily, and have really enjoyed all the different perspectives in others blogs. Class time has been a time to look forward to, I like how we take time to discuss the things we have learned through the week. I think we could learn more of analyzing Shakespeare critically and take time in class like we did last week to study and then collaborate and discuss. My connecting outside of class has been poor so far, and I am working on connecting with others. I am however, engaging in learning on my own through blogs and other media sources

Looking Ahead

• I look forward to studying more thoroughly an individual play in the coming weeks; I have also been talking with Kent about doing an Audio/Video project to one of Shakespeare’s plays stay tuned for what comes.

Skype Midterm Interview

So the last time I had an interview over the web, I was applying for a job at the MTC. My family and I were on vacation and the time of my interview was during the time we were going to be in Palmyra, New York. Fortunately we had a mobile hotspot I could use to get online. Only problem the signal was terrible except on top of the Hill Cumorah. So, that is where it ended up happening. I didn't end up getting the job... hopefully this one ends up better.

Different Connections

I was working on my Midterm Assignment, and I started thinking about the connection I have in this class.  It was nice actually seeing some of the people in our class in person at the Merchant of Venice down at BYU Provo.  Does being in the same location physically with others really make that big of difference? I feel like there is alot of learning especially in a class like this that happens with those around you.