Performance choices

My performance choices for my scene were to act very inquisitive and noisy towards Ophelia (Gauri) in order to draw out information about Hamlet that I (Polonius) can use against him. By feigning interest in what Ophelia has to say, she does in fact open up about Hamlet's madness. My tone is inquisitive throughout while lacking sympathy.

Alternatively I could play Polonius as maybe deeply concerned about Ophelia and her being sad. I'm not sure if that's how Shakespeare would have wanted it performed but maybe showing him as a loving father would make his murder much more piteous. 

p.832 #9

Hamlet’s soliloquy in (I.ii. 129-59) depicts him as suicidal and misogynistic. The image of his skin melting away adds to his grief he feels towards his father passing demonstrating his suicidal tendencies. The angrier Hamlet becomes through his speech, the more violent his words become: “…that everlasting had not fix’d his canon ‘gainst self-slaughter!” (I.ii. 131-32). He also uses different allusions including Niobe & Hercules. Hamlet’s misogyny is apparent when he releases his frustration about his mother and his uncle marrying right after his father died: “Frailty, thy name is woman!” (146). He believes that all women are weak and need a man to look after them. He loves his mother (maybe a little bit too much) and doesn’t want to her to remarry.

p830 #7 + 14

Hamlet tells his companions he is likely to put on an "antic disposition" in order to gain their trust and respect. That way he has people who he can confide in without worrying whether or not they believe a word he says due to his "antic disposition". Moreover, Hamlet remains somewhat sane because he has companions whom he can be himself around.
Hamlet's behavior is a deliberate strategy because his true motive is to expose Claudius as a murderer and he can only do that if Claudius believes that Hamlet is so stricken from grief he's gone mad and can't possibly conceive a plan for revenge.

Hamlet's response, "...for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so," demonstrates how actions have no meaning until moral beliefs come into play. I agree with what he says because it's our opinion that determines whether or not something we do is moral or immoral.
Hamlet's next quote, "I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw" refers to how he is only somewhat mad. If north symbolizes a straight path (being normal) then Hamlet being north-west means he sometimes veers off of the path (demonstrating his moderately crazed demeanor). The "wind is southerly" statement suggests that Hamlet will sometimes go in the opposite direction of the path or that he is opposing the norms of society. His madness is purely an act because a true insane person wouldn't realize or admit that he is insane. Hamlet is saying all of this just to get a reaction and to follow through with his overall plan.

[Insert a Good Title Here]

In Shakespeare's infamous play Hamlet, Shakespeare use of language through the characters Claudius and Hamlet demonstrates how complex they both are. Claudius pretends to act genuine and sincere in regards to the death of his dear brother; however, that is all a façade. There's a deeper, figurative meaning behind most things he says. Moreover, Hamlet is like Claudius based on his two-sided nature. He only speaks his true, honest feelings in asides to the audience; therefore, making it hard for the audience to understand how Hamlet feels until he is alone with his own thoughts. Together, Claudius and Hamlet create an interesting and elaborate dynamic through their dialogues amongst other characters and through their soliloquies which allows the audience to decipher between their public and private demeanor.

In the Room the Women Come and Go Talking of Michelangelo

T.S. Eliot's poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is anything but romantic. Prufrock takes the reader on a visual journey through the streets of a retched part of town. He enjoys comparing something beautiful to that of something scientific and medical. An important idea that Prufrock mentions is the superficiality of society. "In the room the women come and go talking of Michelangelo." (13-14). The women briefly walk in and out of rooms (possibly rooms in an art gallery) briefly looking around but not actually taking the time to appreciate the artwork. These women, like people in society, believe that throwing out famous artist names like Michelangelo makes them an aficionado of the arts and allows them to seem highly educated amongst their peers. Prufrock denounces their pretentiousness subtly by purposely indicating their behavior two times in the poem. Maybe the reason Prufrock chooses to be alone is he can't find a woman who is as intellectually deep as him. The women he sees are all the same: fixated on the trivial aspects of life (i.e. fitting into society) and lack the time to stop and admire the significance of what the world truly has to offer.

Mini Essay: To His Coy Mistress

In Andrew Marvell’s poem, To His Coy Mistress, the speaker uses the idea of time fleeting in order to mask his sexual passion for the woman. The poem is written in the style of an argument; the speaker’s main goal is to convince his mistress that she needs to seize the moment and allow her emotions to take control. Even though the speaker appears to have the young woman’s interests at heart when he warns her that once her beauty fades due to old age no man will want her, what he really wants is to have sex with her. And through this poem, the reader can see that he will go to great lengths in order to have her. Hyperbole is used frequently in Marvell’s poem. The speaker loves to exaggerate his feelings for her to further his argument: “An hundred years should go to praise thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze ; Two hundred to adore each breast, But thirty thousand to the rest” (Lines 13-16). The speaker objectifies the woman by commenting solely on her appearance and not her personality. He is physically attracted to her and wants nothing more than a passionate fling than a long-term relationship. He does not once mention the possibility of getting married at all in the poem. In the last stanza, the mood shifts to a more serious and passionate tone. Sexual and violent imagery is used to tempt and persuade the woman into complying to his demands: “Now let us sport us while we may, And now, like amorous birds of prey, Rather at once our time devour, Than languish in his slow-chapt power.” (Lines 37-38). The phrase “amorous birds of prey” connotes that their love for each other is wild, passionate and even volatile. He suggests that they take advantage of the time they have together before time takes advantage of them. From his compelling argument, the speaker demonstrates that his lust for the mistress is strong and unyielding; however, the reader is left wondering whether or not the woman is tempted into surrendering her virginity to him.

To His Coy Mistress

Andrew Marvell's poem To His Coy Mistress, the line "And your quaint honour turn to dust" refers to the mistress of whom the speaker is romantically interested in. He adopts a persuasive tone to convince this woman to refrain from being coy and instead to act on the love that they both share. The term "quaint" next to honour makes the woman's values of abstinence appear old-fashioned and unusual according to the speaker. If she continues to deny herself of any temptations, later on in life, she will have problems with finding a suitor because her beauty has "turn to dust." The speaker's argument compels her to reexamine her morals by taking into consideration that her youth is fleeting and that time doesn't last forever.