Initial Reaction: Hamlet reminds me of someone I know. I have a friend who's father died and her mother married his brother. It is kind of ironic actually. She was away as well when she found out that her father died. The mother married his brother in less than a year later. My friend felt really disgusted in the situation. She did not know exactly what was going on. It was too weird to be true for her.
Character Analysis: I chose Hamlet. He is the protagonist of this story. He comes back after being away at school for awhile when he hears of his father's death. Upon his return he comes to find his mother, Gertrude and his uncle, Claudius married. His mind begins to twirl as he thinks of why the rush into such a marriage. Therefore Hamlet's fatal flaw is his anger toward Claudius. It is due to the fact that he is outraged that he has taken his father's kingdom and married his mother, all in such a short time.
Theme Analysis: The theme in the first act is evil versus goodness. The good here would be Hamlet and the bad would be Claudius. Hamlet is trying to get to the bottom of how his father died and his mother got remarried so fast. The ghost helps Hamlet by revealing how he was really killed. Hamlet and the spirit of his father want revenge from Claudius. Shakespeare uses a great amount of symbolism in the first act. Symboism is used when the ghost says, "A serpant stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark, Is by a forged process of my death..." Here, it is implied that Hamlet's father was stabbed with a poisoned sword.
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It was really surprising that you would interpret Hamlet as "good." I would have liked to hear your response of the deaths of his lover and his best friend. These deaths were, after all, caused by Hamlets obsession with revealing his uncle's conspiracy. I personally found his character have the fatal flaw of selfishness. Had he paid more attention to the unraveling lives of his friends, maybe they would not have died.
ReplyDeleteDid you feel that Hamlet's anger was directed more at Claudius than at Gertrude?
ReplyDeleteI think that his desire for revenge was directed at Claudius, but his rage seemed to be for his own mother. Otherwise, it would have been a little strange that the Ghost has to order Hamlet not to go after Gertrude for what Claudius did: "But, howsoever thou pursuest this act,/Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive/Against thy mother aught: leave her to heaven..."
I definitely feel that Hamlet ultimately felt betrayed by both Claudius and his mother. However, his desire for revenge on his uncle was delayed simply because he wasn't initially aware of the true cause of his father's death. The radiant anger rising toward his mother was for two reasons, in my opinion: (1) she didn't grieve for her husband's death long enough to quell the suspicion behind the hastiness of her second marriage; (2) she betrayed her family's honor (father and son) by marrying the king's brother instead of allowing Hamlet to take his rightful place upon the throne.
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