Hamlet- Act 3

Act 3-
Scene 1-
         Claudius and Polonius arrange for Ophelia to meet Hamlet on accident. As they meet, Claudius and Polonius are spying on them to hear what Hamlet has to say. They are trying to figure out why Hamlet is in the mood he is. Hamlet speaks to Ophelia and says that he doesn't want to be with her or marry her because she is a whore and has cheated on him. Hamlet explains that he feels bad for anyone that will try to marry her in the future. Claudius and Polonius are surprised by this because Hamlet shows no signs of craziness.
Scene 2-
          Claudius, Gertrude, and Polonius all come to the play along with Hamlet and others. Before the prologue of the play is started two actors come out on stage. They act as if someone got poison in their ear and dies. Then the prologue starts and they don't say much at all about what just happened. The play starts and it's a about a king and queen, and the queen talks about the face that she'd never remarry if the king died. They talk about this for awhile. Hamlet wanted this play to be acted out in front of Claudius to see how he reacted to what happens because the play is a lot like what Claudius has done. Claudius reacts and orders that the play be stopped. He is angry that Hamlet would have a play like this shown.
Scene 3-
          Claudius and Gertrude agree to send Hamlet away to England. He is suppose to be going for business, but Hamlet can't stay in Denmark because Hamlet is too crazy to have in the country. Hamlet is ordered to go talk to his mother, and Polonius says he will hide and spy on the conversation. All agree that that would be fine to do. Claudius starts to think about what he has done and he feels guilt. He doesn't know if he can ever be forgiven, but keep the rewards. Hamlet sees that Claudius is praying, asking for forgiveness, and he draws his sword to kill Claudius, but then decides not to.

Scene 4-
           Hamlet is going to talk to his mother. She asks him why he had to insult his father, Claudius? Hamlet says that he didn't insult him at all. Hamlet says that the Queen needs to look at herself and who she used to be, this scares the queen and she cries help. Polonius answers from behind the tapestry, where he was hiding. This startles Hamlet and he sticks his knife through the tapestry and kills Polonius. Hamlet then continues talking to his mother and asks her why she would do such a cruel thing to him. Why would she marry her husband's brother? Hamlet tells her to look at a picture and he explains that his father was good looking and friendly and Claudius just looked cruel and deceiving. While Hamlet is talking to his mother the ghost of his father appears. It tells him to be nice to his mother because she has been shocked by what Hamlet has said. Hamlet begs his mother to not sleep with Claudius tonight because that's all he wants.

Response-
        Hamlet is really starting to outsmart Claudius. Claudius believes that Hamlet is crazy and he can't function normal at all. Polonius had caught on to the fact that Hamlet had a method to his madness. All these emotions and thoughts are affecting the psychological aspect of this story.
        Hamlet's ego is in full force here because he is thinking realisticly on how he will get Claudius to admit what he's done. Hamlet starts to think about what would make Claudius feel guilt, he doesn't come up with an idea until he hears that a troupe is coming toward their castle. Hamlet talks to this troupe and asks if the they will perform, "The Murder of Gonzago". This story is a lot like the life that Claudius is living. As this play is being acted out Claudius becomes inpatient and doesn't like the play at all. He orders that it be stopped and leaves immediately. This makes Claudius go in to his Ego. He becomes aware of what he's done. He can't stand the guilt and is trying to hide it the best he can. By Hamlet using his ego this make Claudius's ego come out too.
         Polonius was trying to be friendly to the king and queen because he wants to impress them. He wants to  have the king and queen on his side so that he will be able to eventually kill Hamlet. I think this is Polonius's Id taking over because he wants so bad to have the throne eventually or just have power he'll do anything to get it. The only way to gain this power or dream he has is to do small things that don't mean much at all. By Polonius doing good things for the queen he is eventually killed, which is ironic. He wanted to kill Hamlet, but in return is killed by Hamlet himself.
          

  

Hamlet- Act 2

Act 2


Scene 1-
       Polonius told Reynaldo the servant to go to Paris and see what Laertes has been up to. Polonius asks Reynaldo to go around talking to people about Laertes in a negative way so that he can get the truth out of them. He is going to lie so that he gets what he wants. Ophelia tells her father that Hamlet visited her and scared her a bit. He came into her room looking terrible took  her hand and then backed away and left. Hamlet also wrote a love letter to her telling her how much he loved her.


Scene 2-
         Claudius orders two of Hamlet's friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to figure out why Hamlet it acting the way he is. Polonius comes to Claudius and says that he sees that Hamlet has changed. Polonius says that he knows why Hamlet is the way he is. He is crazy because of the love for Ophelia. Polonius says that he'll talk to Hamlet and figure everything out. Claudius agrees to this and say Polonius can do this. Hamlet meets Polonius and he knows that his parents have sent him. Hamlet knows that Polonius is trying to do and he'll out smart them. Hamlet orders that the players perform for him and his parents one night soon. He knows that this play is known for making people confess what they've done especially murders.


Response-
         Throughout this scene there is a troupe that is coming to the castle to perform for Hamlet's and his family. When the players first enter Hamlet starts quoting a part from a play, and the player finishes it. This dialogue is about a guy attacking another man. As he tries to kill him he succeeds and they killer gets the man's kingdom. This directly relates to Claudius killing King Hamlet. Hamlet purposely wanted to show this experience to Polonius because he wants him to feel guilty. I think Hamlet thinks Polonius knows about Claudius killing Hamlet's father.          
           As Hamlet is reciting lines from the play he has a certain tone. He very anxious and expressive. He wants to leave a lasting impression on Polonius and make him feel sorry for Hamlet. I think Hamlet wants Polonius to fear him. In the lines he recites he is almost implying that the man who doesn't like the other guy will kill him. Hamlet wants to show that he will kill who ever stands in his way.
          The way that Shakespear writes this Act really shows how much he feels for Hamlet. He has Claudius and Polonius going together to go against Hamlet. Hamlet knows that this is happening and out smarts them both. Throughout this act he is insulting them both without them knowing so. Polonius thinks that Hamlet isn't smart and is completely clueless. Hamlet has a plan to out smart Claudius and Polonius. He orders that a play be performed. This play was called, "The Murder of Ganzago".
          This play is the perfect play to be performed in front of Claudius. This play was known for making people confess what they've done wrong. Hamlet wanted to watch Claudius watch this play and see how he would react. He wanted to see the facial expressions that Claudius  expressed and try to catch him for his fathers death. Hamlet knows that if he can make Claudius vulnerable then he can get him to confess the murder  that he committed. 
        

Hamlet- Act1

Act 1
Scene 1-
       Bernardo and Marcellus have seen a ghost while on guard at night. They told Horatio about their experience, but he doesn't believe them. One night they are all on guard and the ghost appears. Horatio tries to speak to the ghost but it just vanishes. The ghost is dressed in combat gear and looks just like the King that was killed. The ghost reappears and Bernardo, Marcellus, and Horatio try to force it to speak by advancing towards it with a spear, which scares the ghost off. They regret doing this and wish to know why the ghost keeps reappearing.
Scene 2-
       Claudius writes to the Fortinbras's uncle telling him that he should stop whatever his nephew is plotting to do to Denmark. He knows that Fortinbras is angry about King Hamlet taking his father's land many years ago, that is why Fortinbras wants to attack Denmark to get his land back. Claudius confronts Hamlet and tells him that he needs to stop mourning over the loss of his father. He must accept that Claudius is his new father. Hamlet hates that thought of this. Bernardo and Marcellus come to tell Hamlet that they have seen the ghost of his father. Hamlet demands that he see this ghost therefore Hamlet will stand guard with Bernardo and Marcellus that coming night.
Scene 3-
        Laertes is on his way back to France, which is where he came from. He tells his sister, Ophelia that she must beware of Hamlet. Hamlet may want to be with Ophelia, but once they are the state of Denmark will control their relationship because he will have to act for the nation. He is just being nice to get her, Laertes says. Polonius says the same things and says that Ophelia must not see Hamlet anymore. Opehlia agrees because she doesn't know what else to believe.
Scene 4-
         Hamlet, Bernardo, and Marcellus are all on guard and it's a little after midnight. They see that the ghost appears. Hamlet pleads that the ghost explain why it's here and what it wants. Then ghost motions to talk to Hamlet alone, so he follows. Bernardo and Marcellus don't trust the ghost so they follow too.
Scene 5-
           Hamlet meets up with the ghost. This ghost is the ghost of his father. The ghost tells Hamlet how he was killed. Everyone in Denmark said that he was poisoned by a snake that bit him while he was sleeping in the forest. All this was lie because the truth is, Claudius poured henbane poison into King Hamlet's ear and  killed him. Hamlet is outraged by this news and can't wait to avenge his father's death, and kill his uncle who killed his father. Claudius lured Gertrude to turn against her husband and be with Claudius, which makes them incensed, this also makes Hamlet angry.
      
Response
          Most of this story is based on the thoughts of Hamlet and Claudius. They are both determined to get their ways even if they irrational. At the beginning of the story Hamlet definitely shows his ego, because he is in mourning. There is no way he can control the reality of what he is going through, the death of his father. As they story continues he is questioned about his ego because Claudius doesn't like that he is wearing black and always moping around the castle. 
             Claudius is definitely influenced by his dreams or Id. He wanted to be king and he wanted it so bad that he killed his brother. Why would someone kill their own brother? That thought is something that wouldn't enter many people's minds. He was obviously out of his conscious mind, in order to kill his brother. Claudius had always dreamed of being king, and hated King Hamlet that he'd doing anything to have the throne, which is what he did.
            Claudius then had to switch his thinking in order to think realistically about how he'll get the throne. He knows that he must charm the queen, Gertrude, with lust. So he flirts with her and gets her to love Claudius. By swaying Gertrude to think like this she no longer has an attachment to King Hamlet, which makes it easier to kill him. Another thing that Claudius uses his Ego for is when he thinks up a way to kill King Hamlet. His thought is to poison him, which is smart because then there is no proof. People will just suspect he was bitten by a snake or that he was poisoned, but they don't know who it was that did it.
             At the end of the story when Hamlet has spoke to the ghost his Id starts to kick in. He starts to think irrational because all he wants to do is to avenge his fathers death. Hamlet is so  angry he will do anything, even if it requires him to act crazy. He is determined to kill his uncle, Claudius. The only reason Hamlet becomes irrational is because of his anger.

Oedipus Rex- Scenes 3&4/ Exodos

Abstract
      Oedipus finds out that he is incensed and that in fact his wife is his mother too. He didn't understand how this could be possible until it was explained to him by one of the messengers who knew the shepherd that found Oedipus when he was younger. Oedipus was abandoned by his parents when they heard the oracle from Apollo about their son killing his father. They left Oedipus to die, but he was found by a man who then gave Oedipus to the shepherd who gave him to his so called parents. Once Oedipus was older he heard of this oracle and wanted to escape. While he was escaping he killed Laios, who was Oedipus's actual father. Oedipus cannot believe this at all. He immediately goes to his wife which he finds has hung herself. Oedipus tears his eyes out with the brooch’s on his wife's dress. He wants to be blind because then he won't see those that he created a troubled life for. He begs that Kreon the new ruler takes him out in the middle of nowhere and dumps him off there to die.

Response
       As I read this story I felt that the ending was kind of predictable. I feel that Sophocles set these thoughts up earlier in the play, with Kreon telling Oedipus that he murdered Laios. At first Oedipus doesn't want to believe it's true and he can't think of any evidence that would make this true until he talks to the messenger. he then puts the pieces together and realizes that Laios was in fact his father.
       Scenes three and four really deal with the theory that Sigmund Freud developed called "Psychosexual development". In this theory Sigmund tells us how younger boys want to kill their fathers so that they can have their mother's to themselves. This theory is present in the oracle that Apollo tells Laios and his wife when Oedipus was younger. The whole problem with Oedipus is that he was trying to prevent himself from killing his father, when in actuality thats exactly what he did. 
       Once Oedipus is older and finds out what he has done, he goes into a state of denial. He doesn't want to admit he killed his father and even more he doesn't want to say that his children are from his mother. This thought just brings shame on Oedipus. Once he accepts what he has done, he makes sure that he receives the consequences that were put in place for the murderer of Laios. On top of those consequences Oedipus cuts his eyes out. He feels as though what he has done he can never live with and doesn't want to see those he hurt. He apologizes to his children and wants to make sure that they marry in the future and are not effected by his poor decisions.

Oedipus Rex- Prologue and Scenes 1&2

Abstract
     Oedipus is is the King of Thebes, and ruler overall. He orders Kreon to visit two different shrines and see what the gods want him to do about his town. Oedipus needs answers from the gods because his city is dying from a plague. Kreon is days late from him travels and this worries Oedipus. Once Kreon gets home he tells Oedipus that they must kill everyone because they need to avenge the death of Laios and figure out who killed him. Oedipus doesn't agree with this thought completely.
       Oedipus demands that any people that know about Laios's death must speak up. If they do they'll receive an award. Oedipus is determined to find the murder. He expresses that the penalty for killing Laios is that the murder is not allowed in any homes in the city of Thebes. The murder will also not be allowed in the church and never be spoke to by Oedipus Rex.
       Oedipus orders all his workers to be under oath and tell what they know about Laios's death. Kreon doesn't show up to this which makes Oedipus suspicious because he was the one who spoke of the murder in the first place.
      Oedipus then talks to Teiresias and begs him to tell Oedipus who the murderer is, but Teiresias refuses to talk. Oedipus figures out that Kreon made all this up so that he could get the throne, which angered Oedipus even more. Kreon says he didn't kill Laios, but Oedipus doesn't believe Kreon. He talks to his wife, Iokaste, about it and she says that Kreon never lies. This just make Oedipus even more angry because his wife isn't on his side of this fight. Kreon claims that Oedipus killed Laios which is actually his father. The reason why Oedipus did this is so he would be with his mother. Oedipus can't believe that Kreon would say something like that and wants him killed.



Response
    This whole story is based on the thoughts that Oedipus is thinking. Everything that he does is based on his emotions even if has nothing to back up his belief. I feel that Oedipus's anger is what gets the best of him. Just because Oedipus is ruler means he can do whatever he wants no questions asked. Most people in the city of Thebes don't challenge his decisions, except for Kreon. Kreon feels as though he really knows whats right and the indeed Oedipus is the murder of Laios. Kreon says this because he knows that this will anger Oedipus and get him off topic of thinking that Kreon killed Laios. All the tactics used by Kreon are psychological. He wants Oedipus to have to think deeply and maybe even have self doubt so then Kreon won't be killed. This is just one instant when the psychology comes into play in this story.
      As I began to read even more I found that the theory that Sigmond Freud developed is represented. Kreon claims that Laios was indeed Oedipus's father. So he believes that Oedipus killed his father, Laios, so that he could be with his mother. It just so happens that his mother is that one that his is also married to and had a son with. So as you can see Freud's theory is present in this story.

Poetry Entry #2

My Last Duchess

        This poem is based on Alfonso II who was a duke of Ferrara in Italy and loved his duchess very much. He had her painted on a wall. This painting is admired by the duke. He expresses how alive she looks in the painting and how he wants to show it off to those who enter his home. 

         The duke then begins to talk about his duchess and her characteristics. She had a heart that was easy  to make happy. Her skin was very pale and flush. Then the duke starts to tell a story about the duchess being in the orchard and she was lost. A guy with a horse helped her out of the orchard and she blushed as she said thank you. This happened often that she would flirt with other guys. 

          The Duke talks about how the Duchess should be happy with him because she is with someone who has a nine-hundred year old name. He starts to order her around and tell her what she should do. The duchess doesn't like this at all. She becomes unhappy and eventually leaves him.

My Papa's Waltz

        This poem is about a boy that is waltzing with his father, who has been drinking whiskey. As he's dancing with his dad he's trying to ignore the smell of the whiskey that is taking over the air. They danced and danced until the pans in the kitchen ell off the shelves. Then the boy's mother came in with a frown on her face, not too happy at what she saw. The father's hands were worn and battered. As the boy stood with his father he was a lot shorter and his ear rubbed on his dad's belt buckle. As they continued to dance the father took the boy to his bed.

Poetry Enrty #1

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time By Robert Herrick

            I feel like this title says a lot. The first part of the title is “To the Virgins…” This is written to people who don’t take chances or experience much in their lives therefore making them virgins. The next part of the title says, “to Make Much of Time” which is saying live your life and don’t be so cautious all the time.

            The first stanza talks about how you should cherish what you have now because the next moment you know it could be gone. Then it goes on to say in the second stanza that every day you get closer and closer to heaven. This gives you even more of a reason to live your life and try new things all the time. As the poem progresses it talks about how your youth is the best time of your life, even though you’ll go through things that aren’t easy. It only makes you a better person. In the last stanza it expresses that you must use your time you have in life and not regret anything. As you go through your life you’ll lose your youth and you don’t want to have to stay stuck in one place because you were never adventurous.

I wandered lonely as a cloud By William Wadsworth

            The poet is thinking about himself writing poetry and how he must think and wonder to figure out what he wants to write about. He finds himself staring at these daffodils and how they are so blissful. They dance in the breeze and all through the day and night. He talks about how there must be ten thousand of them that just dance and move. All these daffodils make him inspired to write his poetry unlike him sitting at home on his couch, but if he thinks of the daffodils he is inspired to write once again.

Annabel Lee By Edgar Allen Poe

            The narrator is in love with Annabel Lee, which is a maiden that lives in a kingdom by the sea. Annabel and the narrator have been in love forever; since they were little. Annabel Lee was the most loving person and loved with so much love.

            The angels of the high heavens wished for the love between these two to be taken away. By taking this love away this killed Annabel Lee because that’s what she lived for. Annabel Lee’s death saddens the narrator and he will never leave her side. He will always love her whether she’s physically with him or not.

            Everything that the narrator sees reminds him of Annabel Lee, like the stars and the moon makes him think of her and her beauty. When night comes he lies down next to her tomb and falls asleep with her by the sea, which is where they spent most of their time together.