Hamlet Essay

   The quote "To be or not to be" in the middle of Young Hamlet's soliloquoy in the play Hamlet has a very strong meaning. It questions many of the thousands of things that are constantly floating around in Hamlet's mind. This excerpt immediately allows you to identify and connect the theme of the whole play: madness. Hamlet puts on an act to make people think he's crazy and manipulates them into admitting the things they've done. This soliloquoy, in my opinion, is a epitome of the entire play and its understanding. 

   Throughout the "To be or not to be" Hamlet is questioning the meaning to life. With constantly asking questions like; Who are we? Who am i? What makes me noble? In this speech, he lists all of the stuff we have to deal with when being present. The whole big question is whether he should live or not live. By presenting questions like these, Shakespeare allows the audience to connect to the story and even get a better understanding of the entire story because Shakespeare is describing us, even 600 years later. Shakespeare simply  presents to us that times have changed and people haven't. 

  Contemplating whether he should take it or fight it, Hamlet suffers with his innerself. Does he do the noble thing for his father and kill Claudius, or does he just leave the situation completely and kill himself? He knows that once the deed is done that there's no going back. He also knows that we watch people do bad things and get rewarded while people are doing good things and bad things happen to them. None of this makes sense to Hamlet at all. He's at a hiatus and with all this pressure, he's not even sure if he can live anymore. The whole thought process of contemplating something that is morally justifiable makes him feel like a coward. A lot of us feel like this in many situations in life as well. Being able to relate to the story gives it a bold meaning and helps the reader's understanding. 

   The "To be or not be" soliloquoy is a major event in the play Hamlet and sets off a bold meaning for the rest of the story. All of Hamlet's thoughts allow us to connect to the characters and by Shakespeare doing that, it helps us better understand the play. 

   

Hamlet Essay (2nd Option)

   The play Hamlet can give off many misinterpretations. Some may go on to think that the young Hamlet is crazy and insane. Some may also think that Hamlet is constantly suicidal. Although, by manipulating Shakespeare's text, it's a realization that Hamlet is neither of these things. Hamlet seems to be stuck between an inner conflict and an outer conflict. He has to make the decision to live through all this frustration with the thought of his uncle killing his father and marrying his mom, or to simply end it all by killing Claudius. Hamlet is necessarily mad, or crazy, he's just becoming more and more stressed with the pressure of his father's ghost telling him to kill Claudius. At times in the plot, Hamlet does seem insane, but morally, who wouldn't be bitter about his "uncle" murdering his father, marrying his mother, then taking over the throne? Hamlet is simply just a teenager trying to deal with the troubles of his young life.
   A frustrating situation like the one Hamlet is in is hard to go through for anybody, better yet a young teenage boy. And that's what a lot of people look passed when reading this play and suddenly framing Hamlet as crazy. All his life, Hamlet has never been introduced to such cruelty. He's been taught to do the right thing and set examples because of his hierarchy. That's why when his "uncle", Claudius, commits such an action, Hamlet is furious. In the play, both Claudius and Queen Gertrude just think Hamlet is crazy. What they don't know is that Hamlet is just putting on an "act" so later on when he fools them, they will sound like idiots after saying how stupid Hamlet was. Claudius and Gertrude later on figure that Hamlet is up to something so he is followed and spied on by his "friends". All the frustration and having to cope with the whole situation leads Hamlet into becoming bitter, not mad.
   It's tough when you can't trust the ones who you thought were always there for you. First Hamlet is stabbed in the back by his uncle, Claudius. Then, immediately after, his mother marries his father's brother. Not only has he lost his dear father, but his mom is slowly being clubbed into dank submission as well. And right when Hamlet thought he could count on his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, they betray him as well. They spy on him and report back to Claudius what Hamlet is up to. The whole situation is sickening to Hamlet and living each day like this causes him to become bitter.
   Throughout the whole play, no one knows exactly what Hamlet is thinking or feeling. Everyone just took a wild guess that he was simply crazy because all of what was going on in his life at the moment. With Hamlet's wittiness, he took this into consideration and used it as a tool to gain vengeance upon Claudius. Hamlet is constantly facing both an internal and external conflict while trying to decide if should just put up with all that's happening in his life or to kill Claudius and end the madness. Hamlet may come off insane, but he is really just bitter, and in search for an escape of the surrealness.

Act III Notes

Act III

-Hamlet kills Polonius (wrong guy) because it makes Hamlet have to get to safety and Hamlet sees the ghost right away to remind him that he has to spare Gertrude. 

-Hamlet loses his temper and self control and tries to go after his mother

-Shakespeare uses tension breakers

-Polonius is hiding behind a curtain and Hamlet kills him, thinking it's Claudius

-Claudius plans to send Hamlet to England, sending Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with him

-Claudius confesses to Polonius about killing King Hamlet

-Hamlet calls out his mother and treats her like she's guilty

-Polonius was eavesdropping behind the curtain

-Hamlet is now taking action instead of just "all talk"

-We create expectations with words, and we change our reality

-Hamlet wants to kill Claudius and send him to hell for punishment. 

-Hamlet loses his temper when he kills Polonius and is talking to his mother. 

-He is rude to his mom

-Gertrude goes crazy first

-Polonius is a foil for Hamlet, all about words

-Gertrude can't see the ghost

Act III Notes (scene i & scene ii)

"To Be or Not to Be" Notes

YUNG HAMLET (REMIX)

Link to video: http://tylerhollum.blogspot.com/2014/10/yung-hamlet.html?m=1

Hamlet Soliloquoy

The link:

http://tylerhollum.blogspot.com/2014/10/stolen.html?m=1