Character from Act 2

Act two was very interesting. Seeing Rozencratz hired as a spy by the king and queen to oversee Hamlet's new found infatuations with Ophelia. Hiding behind a curtain Polonius witnesses Hamlet's insane behavior when around Ophelia and reports back to Gertrude and Claudius. Hamlet is playing a  bluff! He isn't as obsessed with Ophelia as he pretends to be. I think his madness is a result of his frustration towards his current familial situation. He can't fathom his father's ghost and his mother's betrayal so he acts out and seeks attention like someone during a juvenile tantrum!

Hamlet Videos

After seeing the videos of differently interpreted Hamlet scenes I noticed a lot of strange things that I wouldn't have imagined by just reading the script. Queen Gertrude is very sensual in most of these videos. She seems to attempt at seducing Hamlet and using that sexual power in order to persuade him to stay in Denmark. In other versions she seems extremely distant and unloving. The king can either be extremely condescending or extremely close to being sincere. He seems to be very static in most of the videos we saw and somewhat apprehensive at looking bad in front of the court. His distance in some of the videos is very important as well. The closer he gets to Hamlet, the more sincere and intimate he makes the scene seem. Most of the characters that played Hamlet had different attitudes in the scenes and some were completely different from what I had anticipated. in the overly emotional 1980 remake Hamlet is extremely impolite and sarcastic to both his mother and the king. In comparison to the static 2010 remake, the 1980 version uses emotion as a means to convey each character's true colors. Gertrude is seen in the 1980 version completely swoon by the king something I believe the Mel Gibson version didn't emphasize what so ever. All versions were completely different, but each interpretation leads to a deeper understanding of what the actual scene was like.

Hamlet Senior's Ghost

The ghost in Hamlet represents Hamlet Senior's distressed soul roaming 
the castle grounds. Unable to rest after his brutal murder, Hamlet senior 
seeks revenge by inspiring Hamlet to avenge his death. After reading the
 link I provided below, I found some interesting takes on the ghost's place 
in the play. The author or the article statesThat the ghost is actually an
 incarnation ( but not really) of Hamlet's inner most emotions. Also stated
 by the author, the ghost is Shakespeare's way of showing the audience 
what went on in Hamlet's conscious and that of his friends as well. After
 reading this I find it to be true and i continue to search for hints of it 
in scenes where the ghost enters.







http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamlet/hamletandghost.html

iPad Feedback

Some of the negatives of using the iPad have been delayed responses or glitchy software. My eyes have hurt a bit when reading for the screen late at night and typing can be extremely annoying due to the overly spaced out letters.I definitely believe the benefits outweigh the challenges. I haven't had to put any books in my backpack and my back doesn't hurt like it used to when I had a ton of books to take home. Everything is in one place and doing homework has been easier! I think blogging has been great! It really makes me feel like an active  part ofthe class and being able to utilize the iPad for it makes all the more fun. Filming is great on the iPad and having it in class makes filming projects super easy. 

Hamlet Reading

There were a couple of things that stood out to me in the first act of Hamlet! For starters Hamlet is denied his return to France by his uncle, something that still makes no sense to me... Secondly, the king wants the prince and country to get over the loss of their former king Hamlet. I understand that he killed him but why does he fear being caught so much if he is oblivious to the fact that Hamlet senior's spirit is roaming the castle. Thirdly, why does Horatio ask Hamlet not to follow the ghost if he himself asked him to speak to it! I am very excited to see what revenge Hamlet has in store towards his uncle!

Socratic Discussion

Today in class we discussed the values associated with finding a mate. As discussed in our circle the values have not have changed as much from the time of Pride and Prejudice as much as one would assume. In fact from the feedback and responses I heard today in class, I would say the list of characteristics a mate must meet actually has gotten longer over time! I think this is due to the fact that both sexes have reaches a balanced form of equality, making each spouse demand an equal amount of either intelligence of financial capabilities to come from their partner. At the heart of finding a mate looks are the cornerstone of modern relationships. Since looks are all one sees before getting to know someone, they are the deciding factor of interest for single men or women. As discussed today in class, expectations haven't changed but only increasing.

1st Body Paragraph

Since Elizabeth differs from the majority of the women from her time, she is continually butting heads with societal expectations. Mrs. Bennet, a traditional English woman, is solely dedicated to having her daughters married into a higher position in society. For this reason, Elizabeth and her mother never truly get along. One can see this when Elizabeth rejects Mr. Collins' proposal. Despite the fact that she is older and less likely to be proposed to again later on in her life, she rejects the offer because she believes it to be an unmatchable relationship. Elizabeth keeps her head held high and ignores what anyone thinks of her even when it's that she'll stay single for the rest of her life. Her self confidence would never be obtained by other woman of her time because of their need to conform and please society. One can interpret Elizabeth's rejection of proposals from both Collins and Darcy, two men of high status, as her telling the world that she would rather be alone for the remainder of her life, than be married to someone who she does not love because she was pressured to be with him. Elizabeth does not conform with expectations thus making her different from other woman of 19th century English society.