Today we had our fishbowl for Hamlet Act 1. To see the outer circle's comments go to the cover-it-live blog below. I took a few notes on the inner circle's discussion. Have fun reading!
Summary of Act 1
- Bernardo, Marcellus, and Horatio see a ghost that resembles the late king. They decide to tell Prince Hamlet.
- Claudius, Laertes, Polonius, Hamlet, the Queen, and others are meeting. Claudius tells Laertes he may return to school in France but refuses to grant Hamlet's request to do so.
- Hamlet decides to meet with the ghost.
- Ophelia receives advice from her brother and father about her relationship with Hamlet.
- Hamlet talks with his father and learns of the latter's murder at Claudius' hands.
- Hamlet needs to choose whether he will be a man of action or inaction-internal conflict
- He might be a man of action only be sneaky and take revenge on Claudius but leave no connection to himself
- Tension between Laertes and Hamlet
- Laertes was granted permission to return to school; he has no reason to turn on Claudius
- Polonius and Leartes are protective of Ophelia-otherwise Hamlet and Laertes would enjoy each others' company
- Polonius-is he still loyal to the original king? Would he turn on Claudius if he knew of the circumstances of King Hamlet's death?
- What is the purpose of the ghost's armor?
- Symbol of impending threat of Norway/Fortinbras
- Warning to Hamlet to not soil Denmark's image
- Symbol of a battle with Claudius-the ghost never mentions Norway
- Set the young Hamlet into a state of urgency
- Foreshadowing that Hamlet will be unsuccessful in his first attempt to kill Claudius
- This long of a story needs mishap and climax--defenition of a tragic hero
- Marcellus/Horation-loyal to Hamlet, backbone character to the plot
- King Claudius--Queen Gertrude
- Any prior love?
- Yes. Gertrude married him because they knew each other and she had no one so...why not?
- Does she know of the plot to kill King Hamlet?
- There are no hints leading to that conclusion
- She loved Hamlet-he talked of her as innocent and in love--Claudius was a weed that took her over
- She was a "seemingly virtuous queen" -- this could show concern from the ghost as to why she so quickly married Claudius
- Does she want power? But she already had power as the wife of Hamlet, her station didn't change at all
- The late king can't know for sure
- He tells Hamlet to leave her be because she has guilt that only she can deal with-God is her judge
- Why does the ghost tell Hamlet to take revenge on Claudius but not Gertrude?
- Claudius had more devious motives
- Getting revenge on him gets revenge on her
- The ghost only needs Claudius to die so he can be free from his torture-do not destroy life needlessly
- How do we know we can believe the ghost?
- There's no evidence it really happened except Bernardo, Horation, and Marcellus
- Is this power enough to keep them loyal to Hamlet?
- Who would take revenge if Hamlet succeeded in killing Claudius?
- Brink of war, unsettling times, state of turmoil
- War
- If Fortinbras kills Claudius, he is just a casulty of war
- What if Hamlet doesn't kill the king?
- Could witnesses be used?
- Servants, guards--there had to be someone watching the king sleep or at least be nearby
- Yet Claudius is smart enough to be alone with the king
- A nap is the king's normal routine
- Did Claudius have help?
- Polonius-motive to keep family and self image
- Ophelia-lead to Hamlet's demise-she is his confidant
- She will be his downfall
- She must obey her father, even if she doesn't want to betray Hamlet
- Hamlet is set up for the perfect oppurtunity to fail
- When Hamlet learns of Ophelia's forced distance will he be hurt or driven to action?
- Depends on how he finds out
- Why wouldn't Claudius let Hamlet go to school? Keep him at a distance
- Keep your friends close and your enemies closer
- Does Claudius want to kill Hamlet too?
- What is his motive? He already had power and wealth
- Will he make an alliance with Fortinbras? But why would he ally with Claudius?
- The sons inherited the same issues
- People hold grudges throughout history
- Why doesn't Hamlet value his life?
- He has a future
- Social aspects hurt his heart
- Does he really have everything?
- All of his privileges are taken away - love, college
- Innocent phase - tragic hero
- Moving to knowledge phase - lost his father and mother and is learning of the evil of Claudius
- Hamlet starts to question the world
- Next is intimate awakening between him and Ophelia ---- ACT 2
- We might learn that something has already happened between them
- We have no background knowledge at this point-not connection to reader
- Will Ophelia rebel against her family and the social place of a daughter in her family? - but this story is a tragedy...
- May have been the reason Polonius could be assisting Claudius -- can Laertes take the throne?
- Polonius is selfish
- Heirs are everything
- Claudius needs an heir
- Send Laertes to obtain a college education
- Is Polonius framing Claudius to get power? -- same as in Norway
- War might be Claudius' downfall, but it would be Hamlet's too. He is just as much a part of Denmark as Claudius
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