As we prepare to read Hamlet, consider the position that Hamlet is in as the events of the play start:
- He was happily studying at college when he was called home because his father had been murdered;
- He has reason to suspect his uncle, his late father's brother and now the king, of the murder;
- His mother is "sleeping with the enemy," having hastily married his uncle almost immediately after her late husband's funeral;
- In fact, his relationship with his mother has begun to take on an intimacy that - perhaps - only Oedipus could appreciate;
- As he deals with these issues, the ghost of his father is about to appear and demand that he avenge his murder;
- His highly emotional girlfriend is suddenly clinging to him like a vine, with her annoying father hovering in the background;
- The old friends from school who have recently joined him may be spies for his uncle;
- In the meantime, his nation's traditional enemies, the Norwegians, are trying to use the chaos caused by the murder to take back territory that they recently lost to Denmark.
Given all of these circumstances, put yourself in Hamlet's position. Which of them would bother you the most and why? Kudos, in advance, to those of you who can make a case for an unconventional choice.
Well this is exciting starting off the blog. Now I have to say that the thing that would annoy me the most was having my dead father coming back and yelling at me to kill his murderer. Personally my dad annoys me enough in life and if he came back after his death and still tried to shove his opinions down my throat, it would be too much. I would understand more so about the other things. I would want my mother to move on even though it's gross that it's my uncle. And I would be pissed I had to leave college but hey, it's more of a vacation. It's just if my dad came back, I would try to tell him that I will fix things so go away. And I would just be annoyed to have a dead man coming back and telling me I am doing things wrong.
ReplyDeleteI agree with John that my father’s ghost coming back to tell me to kill his murder would really bother me. But to say something different I would have to say that if I was hamlet and my girlfriend was clinging to me, and her father was hovering in the background, this would really bother me. This would bother me because one, I don’t really like clingy people; especially when I’m upset about something such as my father dying. I already have enough to worry about, my dad yelling at me to kill his murder, which means I have to figure out who is murder and the fact that my father is dead. Then I also have to deal with my emotional girlfriend who is attached to my hip… I understand that when you are upset that is it nice to have one or two people to talk to who just check in every now and then to see if you are okay and to see how you are doing. But it is annoying when they won’t leave you alone and they are clingy. So I would have to say that the girlfriend would bother me the most.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Blair about the clingy girlfriend. Though everything else that Hamlet is dealing with is problematic, clingy people are typically annoying. Because i am automatically characterizing Hamlets girlfriend as an annoying person, I am assuming that she is just that: an annoyance. Not a real problem, like a dead father, a vicariously vengeful ghost of the dead father, disloyal friends, a suspicious uncle or a mom who has a knack for assumably uncalled for intimacy. No, just an annoying girlfriend who weighs down a man already struggling to float. This is also something that he more or less has some control over. Theoretically he could make her leave him alone, but assuming he doesn't, she is just a distraction from the rest of the chaos in his life.
ReplyDeleteYou say unconventional choice, I say interesting blog comment.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure all these things are bothersome, but I'm going to explore the comparison made to Oedipus. The King of Thebes killed his father and married his mother to fulfill a prophecy, something creepy enough to be talked about for eons. The whole Freudian concept of the Oedipus Complex is pretty relative to Hamlet. The OC is the desire to "have" the parent of the opposite sex and "eliminate" the parent of the same sex. Sigmund Freud said that it was "cause for much unconscious guilt" (naturally, if you ask me).
Within the play, Hamlet's mother marries her brother-in-law (a suspect for murder) almost immediately after her husband is killed. I'm not saying I've been in this situation before, but if I were to step into Hamlet's Shakespearean shoes and think about how I'd feel, I'd be pretty angry. And creeped out. The thought of MY mother marrying one of her brothers-in-law makes me cringe.
Freud said that women and men naturally resolve the problem with the Oedipus Complex by envying people. Usually, Freud commented, the people who are neurotic homosexual pedophiles (and I'm not making this up, people).
Unconventional choice, sure, but would you want a mother or an uncle who was fixated on the oedipal level? I wouldn't. That's creepy.
For me, the old friends from school with bother me the most.
ReplyDeleteTo me, there are four key levels of a person's totem pole of "support": their family life, their work life, their romantic life, and their social life. Social life, for me, proves to be the most important because they are your peers that can relate to your problems because they're going through the same things. So when things aren't going so well, they're the most valuable people to lean on for support.
But for Hamlet, his family life, his love-life, and his work life are all tangled right now...
Family life: his mother is with his uncle, his father has just been murdered...there's no one here he can turn to.
Work life: his Norwegian enemies are trying to seize back territory...there's nothing to relax about here.
Love life: his girlfriend is clinging to him like crazy...although she should be a key turn-to person, he finds her overly frustrating and too overwhelming to rely on for good advice.
If I were in his place, the one thing I would need would be my friends. When work-life, love life, or family life fails, they're there for you through thick and thin. But without their support, and their only reason for coming back is to use me because they're working for my uncle...this would bother me like no other.
I would be peeved, frustrated, annoyed, unbearably upset to know that (not even my friends), but my OLD friends are coming back to me just to use me. Friends don't do that to other friends. If my old friends came back to me just to use me, this whole idea of support system is shot out the window. And since they're using me, now I don't even have this valuable support system to rely on in such a time of need.
Therefore, Hamlet's old friends coming back to him would bother me the most because they're using Hamlet as bait for his uncle. And when I (Hamlet) need them the most to support me through this work/family/love-life mess, and they're there for alternate purposes, I would be the most bothered by their unfaithful actions.
I agree with Alexa’s opinions because betrayal by your friends would worsen Hamlet’s already devasted emotional state. When you go through hard times, you turn to your friends for emotional support. But when you find out their intentions are fake and purposed for their own needs, I would feel really alone and depressed.
ReplyDeleteI think that my father’s ghost coming back to demand revenge would not necessary be bothersome, but put me into a challenging dilemma. It would be mentally difficult because I would feel pressured by my father to avenge his murderer, yet doing such thing would completely change who I am. At the same time, if I didn’t listen to his demands, I would feel guilty of doing nothing.
In addition, If I were Hamlet, I would be really annoyed by my mother “sleeping with the enemy” and being married to my uncle immediately after my father’s funeral. I don’t know how close Hamlet is to his father and mother, but if I were in his shoe, I would feel betrayed by my mother and experience massive disappointment. Having you father be murdered is bad enough, but when your mom marries your uncle right after your father’s death would bring up anger, frustration, but also sadness. I would start to wonder if my mother really loved me or my father to do such action. It would destroy my respect and love for my mother. There would be no family support or trust, which is crucial in the family structure.
Each of these cases are all really horrible situations. But I think that for me, the worst situation is just the fact that my father got murdered. This would be really devastating and unimaginably hard to cope.
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ReplyDeleteEvery options sounds pretty bad for me but if I have to pick one, 'His mother is "sleeping with the enemy," having hastily married his uncle almost immediately after her late husband's funeral' will be my answer.
ReplyDeleteHamlet's father was just murdered which means that Hamlet lost one of his parents.
Hamlet's mother was the only family for him after the death of his father. However, his mother got married to the uncle! (I have a question about this! What was the reason of this marriage? Did Hamlet's mother loved the uncle? or she just married him to be the queen again? .. Is it because of the custom? )
To see his mother getting married to a guy who killed his father will make me feel so mad. It will feel the same as losing his mother. Also, if the mother knew that the uncle was the murderer, it will seem like his mother planed to killed the father with he uncle to get married with him. If this was the case, Hamlet will be so mad at his mother just like how he hates his uncle.
If this was not the case and the mother knows nothing, Hamlet will feel sorry for her and will hate the fact that theres nothing he can do to slove the problem. (Theres no solution to this problem because they already got married and it is too late to tell his mother about the truth.)
Hamlet, the most troubling difficulty.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many layers of difficulty that Hamlet has to adjust to: being called away from a happy life is hard, but he is a prince and has responsibilities. Presumably, he would become the next king if things unfolded normally. This isn’t a hero we’re going to be able to relate to people we know, or Willy Loman. The serious and scary and sad situations that are threatening to over whelm Hamlet are all problems he’s going to have to deal with in a princely and smart way, or he’ll get killed. I’m not sure which problem is most serious and which one would bother me the most, but if I were he, I’d sneak and pack my bags, have a serious talk with my girlfriend and convince her to run away from the whole creepy place; if I didn’t have so much to deal with maybe the clinging wouldn’t be so bad.
I agree with Laura completely. Hamlet has way too much to deal with to be worrying about his annoying clingy girlfriend, and he has so many problems right now it is very difficult to determine which one is the most bothersome and difficult to deal with. However, if I were Hamlet the problem that would bother me the most would most certainly be the issue of "his nation's traditional enemies, the Norwegians, trying to use the chaos caused by the murder to take back territory that they recently lost to Denmark." In my opinion that is just wrong. It is awful for a group of people to wait until somebody is going through a really hard time to take advantage of them. I mean come on, death is one of the most painful things in the world to deal with. Hamlet has got to be feeling hurt, alone, scared, and lost. So now he has to deal with his enemies trying to take advantage of his weakened situation, when the murder was something he couldn't even control. Hamlet is faced with dealing with his father's ghost, figuring out who the murderer is, his annoying girlfriend, and countless other problems, and now on top of it all his city may or may not be about to be attacked. It just seems so unfair to me that people would take advantage of others like that. Have some compassion.
ReplyDeleteoh and also, I had a question. Why would the uncle get the throne? Shouldn't it be young Hamlet himself who becomes King since it was his own father who died? Why would it go to the Uncle?
ReplyDeleteMaggie's question: Why would the uncle get the throne? Shouldn't it be young Hamlet himself who becomes King since it was his own father who died? Why would it go to the Uncle?
ReplyDeleteMaybe the uncle gets the throne because he wants to be ruler. Maybe the uncle killed the father, then he tried to get with Hamlet's mother in order to become King himself. I have not read the story yet,But I think that's whats going on. Kind of like Lion King with Simba, Mufasa and the evil villian Scar. I don't know...I could be worng.
The events that are listed ubove are all troubling and problematic. If I was in Hamlet's position I'll be worried, stress, scared, angry and confused. Maybe Hamlet actually felt this way when these carzy things are happening around him. Anyways, given all these circumstances, I say that this :- "He was happily studying at college when he was called home because his father had been murdered" is most bothering. If I was studying at college and I got a call saying that my father is dead, I would like to know what happen. It sucks that Hamlet father died and he have to come home for the funeral and then have to deal with so many problems that's going on around him the he have to solve own his own.
ReplyDeleteHis mother is "sleeping with the enemy," having hastily married his uncle almost immediately after her late husband's funeral
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Heather. If I was Hamlet, this issue would bother me the most. Having my OWN mother, who I loved and I thought loved my father was betraying me and my dead father alike. To think that she couldn't have waited and mourned his death first! I wouldn't be able to trust her anymore or see respect in her dicissions. If I suspected my uncle of killing my father, I would be furious at him for his crime and for tainting my rightful throne. Also, having my own mother sleeping with him would disgust me. How could she be so foolish and oblivious? That is, unless she took part in the murder. This issue would bother me most because a mother is someone you are the closet too out of all the situations given and the closer you are to someone, the more painful it is if they betray you.
closet to*
ReplyDeleteBefore we even get to meet Hamlet I feel terribly sorry for him. The poor guy is thrown into such a difficult situation and problems just keep piling on. You would definatley have to be mentally stable to handle what he has to. Hamlet really has no one to thrust or lean on and thats what you need when you encounter such difficult dilemmas. He can't really thrust his mother is she is already sleeping with "the enemy". Although if his relationship with his mother is similair to Oedipus's with his mother then that might be someting of a different concern. I'm sure he would be fed up and annoyed with his girlfriend so he couldn't really turn to her. His friends might be working for the enemy so he can't thrust him and lastly he can't really trust himself if he is seeing his fathers ghost. That would probably trouble me the most. When you start to see things...something is going wrong.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Alexa that the old friends from school would upset me the most. She states: "When work-life, love life, or family life fails, they're there for you through thick and thin."
ReplyDeleteThis should always be the case because that's what gives them the title of "friends" (being there for you). When it comes down to it, there's not much I could do about my father's murder. It is an awful situation to say the least but there isn't a way to fix it so at least it is final and I can begin to cope. The situation of my mother "sleeping with the enemy" is awful but again it is out of my control and there isn't much I can do to better the situation. My girlfriend sounds like she's of no use and therefore I don't see why I am dating her... so maybe she's not so important in the scheme of things. At least there isn't a problem where we are fighting and it's more that she wants to be near me, which might be what I need right now since everything else in my life is depressing and tragic.
But most of all, how could my friends, my OLD friends who I've known presumably for a long time, betray me? I most definitely felt close with them at some point to call them "old friends" and must be closer to them than most other people. These people are who I would expect to fall back on during difficult times and for them to be magnifying the problem and getting me more involved in the problem is ironic and just mean!
When looking at this list of circumstances, I cannot find myself to be able to say that they are "bothersome", because for me, bothersome has connotations of a fly buzzing around my head that won't leave or perhaps the fact that it's raining outside and I didn't bring an umbrella. The circumstances that Hamlet finds himself in are not so much "bothersome" as they are "worrisome".
ReplyDeleteFor starters, there is the problem with his Edipus-complex in regards to his mother. While it is clear that incestual relationships are disturbing and morally wrong, from a time line perspective, it is not that uncommon. Back in the Middle Ages, there was a problem of incest among the royal family, (which caused many deformidies and maladies such as hemophilia) to make sure that their name would keep the throne over time. Therefore, this seems somewhat justified, even though I--and I believe the rest of us--find it alarming and concerning, especially because as a human being, it disturbs my ideals and values of what is "normal" and what is "right".
Also, there is the issue of the re-appearing apparition of his dead father, the king. This is one of the most alarming circumstances Hamlet finds himself in, especially because it turns Hamlet pysche and ultimately leads to his breakdown. The fact that he sees his dead father is alarming, and the fact that his father can speak with him is alarming because the fact is--while I can justify it for it's wonderful theatrics--one can assume that this is all in Hamlet's mind (even though, as we read in the first few pages, the guards see a ghost that looks like the King) and that he, is in fact, going crazy. His guilt and worry of his father's avengence is eating him, which is why he sees and hears his father demanding that his death seek justice.
Also touching upon the crazy factor, there is the issue of his girlfriend, Ophelia, who starts to cling to him once her father--Hamlet's uncle--marries his mother and takes the throne as king. Ophelia also starts to spiral out of control, like Hamlet, which causes emotional and psychological turmoil throughout the play.
Then there is the problem of the war surrounding his country, because of the fact that his father has died. The King of Norway wants the land that his father had seized from them back, and now that he is dead, they take the oppertunity to get it back by force. This is worrisome because not only is there inner turmoil within the kingdom's walls but it is also juxtaposed against the outer turmoil of the two countries waging war.
I don't think any one of these circumstances are bothersome for they are not things to be taken lightly. Hamlet's family is unraveling--and so is his sense of reality and stability--as well as the country. He also is held responsible to avenge his father's death and has reason to believe that his uncle--the new king--was involved, as well as his mother, who he has a pseudo-sexual relationship with. If anyone came to me and said these were nuisances, I would laugh at them. These are not nuisances; these are life-destroying, huge worries.
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ReplyDeleteI definitely think that knowing it took less than a month for my mother to get over my father would bother me the most. I am assuming, because Hamlet is a grown man, that the King Hamlet Sr. and Gertrude had been in a relationship for years. They were bound by many different ties: a child, the crown, and a marriage; and yet it took merely weeks for her to shrug off this loss and find someone else to take his place (both sexually and on the thrown). That would be the most painful news for me to receive if I were Hamlet: to have been certain of happily married parents, of an honorable and stable family, and then to find out that my very mother had been a lie, that this is what her husband had actually meant to her, and that she could betray and shame him in such a way. As a member of this stained family, my heart would break. To not be able to look at your own mother, who you've loved so unconditionally all your life, would be unbearable.
ReplyDeleteIf I was put into Hamlet’s position. I would be so miserable. His father is murdered and his uncle who is suspected to be the murder has become a king and married to his mother. At the same time, he deals with these issues; the ghost of his father appears for the revenge, friends whom he trusts were spies for his uncle. And lastly, his nation’s traditional enemies, the Norwegians, are trying to get their lands back. For me I think the most annoying situation would be his mother married to his uncle. Since he thinks that his uncle is the one who murdered his father. His mother was the only family that he had. And if I was Hamlet I would feel betrayed and disappointed. How could she marry to his uncle? I totally agree with Heather that it would make me feel like I also have lost my mother the only family he had. And having that feeling is going to make him feel lonely. Having a emotion of loneliness is like being in the dark. Think how scary and terrible it is if you cannot hear or see things. Everything is black and quiet. Even though, his friends could be spies for his uncle. It makes him to rely on them more rather than his mother who made him to be in that awful position.
ReplyDeleteI find Katie Robinson's post about the Oedipus complex rather interesting, however, without having read the play, while I find that disturbing, If I were in Hamlet's shoes, I would not find that my most pressing concern. Of course I have not read the book yet, so I cannot vouch for the health of the relationship b/w mother and son at this point. I would probably be most concerned by the fact that my father has asked me to avenge his death. I would feel tremendous pressure to carry out his wishes and not disappoint him, especially if I had respected and loved him a great deal. However, I would also be bothered by the bloodshed and unfavorable consequences it would inevitably entail. I do not know yet under what circumstances Hamlet's father was killed, and therefore cannot say how inclined I would be to seek revenge. But I do know that the weight of parental need and desire to uphold my father's honor would burden me more than anything else with which I was faced.
ReplyDelete-Marika
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ReplyDeleteHamlet is in a miserable and tangled position. If I was him, I wouldn't have the will to live; the suspect of his father's death is married to his mother. His father's country is about be in the war with Norwegian and only people he can trust is his friends who were working for his uncle as spies, and his father, whose already dead. Not only Hamlet can see the ghost of his father but also his old girlfriend, but she is following him around, annoying and tormenting him. Even though it is a fictional novel, the fact that Hamlet can see the ghosts of his father, girlfriend and her father tells that he is in emotional pain and destruction which theoradically, he is thinking himself about every issues.
ReplyDeleteIn the play, Hamlet probably have a massive headache trying to solve everything that is happening around him. Is Hamlet the only child? If he is the only child, it sucks that he have to solve these things by himself. (-_-)
ReplyDeleteHey Guys
ReplyDeleteSo, now that we're a little bit into the play, but not that far into it, I think I realize what circumstance bothers me the most. I've done a lot of thinking regarding which one would bother me the most and I've come to the conclusion that the option (- The old friends from school who have recently joined him may be spies for his uncle) would bother me the most. I think the biggest reason why it would bother me the most is because a friendship should be based off of the following things: Respect, honesty and most importantly, trust. If I were to find out my so called "friends" were secretely spying and defying my wishes and my morales, I would be extremely hurt and upset. If I can't trust one of my friend, I don't really view them as a friend. If a friend of mine does not respect me enough to tell me the truth and suffer the potential reaction or consequences, I don't feel I have business being friends with them. Naturally, the other options presented would bother me very much, but from a personal standpoint, I feel trust and respect are two of the most important aspects in a relationship and should be present at all times. If not, the friendship does not deserve to be in tact. And going along with what Alexa and Catie F said, I completely agree with them and their points. I particularly like the point that Alexa made that says "To me, there are four key levels of a person's totem pole of "support": their family life, their work life, their romantic life, and their social life. Social life, for me, proves to be the most important because they are your peers that can relate to your problems because they're going through the same things. So when things aren't going so well, they're the most valuable people to lean on for support." I feel that's a very important point to make and it's completely true for the majority of people. Their friends and family are the ones they need to look for when hard times come and they should NOT be the ones defying you and doing things behind your back, intentionally or unintentionally hurting you. And I like Shenese's comment above me about Hamlet having a headache...no kidding. Although not in relation to my prompt, I find the comments Laura and Maggie very interesting and true.
Looking forward to reading the rest of the novel!
Mason
I must say that instead of choosing ONE of the circumstances above, I would be the most bothered by having to think about all of this. There is SO MUCH going on his life, and he has to (or thinks he has to) sort it all out. He is Prince of Denmark, after all. I would go CRAZY if I had to deal with ANY of these circumstances, especially since I haven't dealt with any of them before. Neither has Hamlet (or so we believe) so it seems quite natural that he is freaking out (especially about the meaning of life, but we'll get to that later). I doubt any of us have experienced any of these circumstances (okay, maybe one or two of them), yet Hamlet has to deal with ALL of them AT ONCE. I also believe that Hamlet is going through a sort of developmental phase. He seems to be in a mini (it could be big, depending how you look at it) stage of adolescence: he is EXTREMELY CONFUSED. His father is dead, gone, no more, NADA; whatever you want to call it, HE IS GONE. NO ONE should have to deal with this so early in their life, especially when your uncle might be the accused. Plus, he has to come home from school. His mother is sleeping with his uncle, and has done so rather quickly. I would be LIVID. And he is starting to have “Oedipus Rex relations” with his mother (which is kind of messed up in my opinion). Then Dad shows up and wants Hamlet Jr. to get revenge on the murderer. So far, the poor guy has enough to sort out. In addition, he is having illusions of his dead father (I DON'T think this is normal in adolescence, but it is still a strange phase), Ophelia won’t stop pestering him, and his friends might be spies for his uncle, so now he has to figure this out (at this point, I think Hamlet’s brain has gone to “System Overload”). On top of it all, the country is in conflict with Norway. How can he process this much??? Is it humanly possible (or is it just me)?
ReplyDeleteAfter getting into the story a bit, I definitely have to say his mother marrying his uncle bothered me the most. First of all to me that's just kinda weird on a lot of different levels, but also the fact that his own flesh and blood in a way kinda betrayed him... Obviously it's fine for a widow to remarry but the haste which she did it in and the person she got involved with makes me feel like she betrayed Hamlet in a way. Especially with all the drama surrounding it. If that happened to me that's a time for my mother and I to get through it together...although Hamlets a grown man for her to run off and marry his uncle while Hamlet's obviously suffering so much...I just feel like its really inconsiderate. Maybe it's not betrayal and I'm wording it wrong but it's something along those lines. Also a random idea that I don't think was discussed? Was Hamlet's mother possibly involved in his death? If Hamlet's uncle is a prime suspect and his mother got involved with him so fast...could she have had him killed off? I can't remember if that was discussed but it was a random idea that popped into my head. Also, in the first few pages, Hamlet's uncle's monologue talking about him moving on and such really annoyed me. If anyone tried to tell me to move on if my father died I'd be ticked. But then Hamlet's mother backs him up...it drove me a little crazy. I just simply feel bad for the poor guy.
ReplyDeleteI think that the relationships/connections to people in general are disturbing.... Hamelet probally feels very alone and at the same time in the company of people whom he does not want arround. He has his new "father" and clingy girlfriend and her father and his mother, whom betrayed him by passing off his fathers death lightly and probally none of these people give him the comfort and closeure he is seeking after his fathers death.
ReplyDelete-Sam Hankey
I agree with Heather. If I were Hamlet, seeing my mother marrying my uncle who seems to be suspected of the murder of my father might be the most crucial incident in my life. Hamlet is already emotionally unstable; he needs rest. Instead of relaxing, Hamlet is shocked once again by his mother marrying his uncle right after his father's funeral. For me, the most reliable and trustful people are my family. Family always stand in my side no matter what the problem is and even if that is my fault. Family is strongly bonded to each other through blood, they cannot deny it.
ReplyDeleteHow awful and sad might Hamlet feel? He is the only child of the family, but his father has died, and now her mother has married his uncle. He is in the middle of nowhere. He might have felt lost in "his" own country. As people are living in a society interacting with many other people around, they need to make bonds and relationships between themselves. Since Hamlet has no more person to rely on or to trust firmly, Hamlet has become incredibly poor and pitiful person regardless of his highly novel position in Denmark loyal family. Therefore, this case of marriage would bother me the most.
If I were Hamlet (a completely different person from myself), I would likely be the most upset by having to return home in the first place. His school is far away from the complications of his home, and he did not have to deal with any of this until he returned home. If I were to be thrown into the situation, I would simply want to be anywhere else other than where I was. I feel that, for Hamlet, his school was a kind of sanctuary, or at least a refuge. He had to leave his friends, his education, and his safety for an complex mess of lust, murder and revenge.
ReplyDeleteIf i were Hamelt, i would be hate to go back to home and sees mother and uncle together. I don't know what kind of father was to Hamlet, but suddnely his dad is dead with any reasons. And his uncle became a king and got married with his mom. Even i was Hamlet, i would go back to home and ready for the revenge to uncle and also to mom. For Hamlet, it would be terribly painful to pretend like everything is fine and preparing for the revenge, but even though it is painful, for dead father, he should do something for him.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking as a teenager who has had the pleasure of being overwhelmed with familial, social, AND romantic drama, I think it would not be one of these things, but a combination of all of them. Obviously I have never had to cope with situations this extreme, but I have found that dealing with one distressing event or situation is manageable if there is a place or person in which you can seek consolation and respite. However, when all elements of your life come crashing down around you, then there is no way to step back and create a way of fixing or coping the issues. It becomes one big stressor rather than individual ones. Personally, I would still find it difficult to come back home and find my mom with my uncle without having any of the other issues, but I would also have a difficult time returning home after being at boarding school for an extended period of time. The fact that his friends aren't in Denmark to support him is also rather depressing.
ReplyDeleteI have read this play before, so I am going to try to not post a spoiler, but if I am correct, then we have already discussed his potential for going insane. I personally believe that there is no possible way for him NOT to go insane. With no ally greater than a ghost and no safe haven, there is no place for the brain to take shelter. It's not like he could just go to his therapist and talk about his feelings after all.
If I were put into Hamlet's all-around "sticky" situation, the part that would bother me the most would be my mother marrying my fishy uncle not even two months after my father's untimely and mysterious death. I would be very suspicious of what had occurred between my uncle and my mother while I was away at school.
ReplyDeleteNow, stepping away from being Hamlet for a second,
it appears that all whom Hamlet previously acknowledged as loved ones and/or friends have deserted him; all of Hamlet's relationships with the other characters of the play seem to plummet from their original states. This, of course, only adds fuel to the fire of Hamlet's horrible position: without friends or people for him to count on, he is on his own, and it eats away at him.
-ellen appleton-
I agree with you Ellen. If I was Hamlet, I too would be bothered if my mother married my uncle after the death of my father. First I'll be disturbed and grossed out because my mother is married to my uncle?!?! Then I'll be suspicious because my uncle is the king all of a sudden. I find that very strange.
ReplyDeleteI find all of his problems are painful and disturbing, though among these issues, I think plotting to kill his uncle would be most difficult and disturbing situation he's got.
ReplyDeleteEven Hamlet's uncle is the evil villan in the book, and the ghost of his father wants a revenge on him, still, it would be very a difficult and tough job, if I was Hamlet. Of course Hamlet feels anxiety and vangeance toward his uncle but if I think of killing one of my relative family who is like Hamlet's stepfather, I still cannot kill him.
In Hamlet's case, bad events all occured at once. His mother married to a new man who is even suspected to murder Hamlet's father. If I was in this situation, first, betrayed by mother who left me alone and seeking for her own love with my sly uncle. I will hate both of them and treated them as a betrayer. second, his trusted friend also betrayed Hamlet. staning on uncle's side spying on Hamlet. I will be so dissapointed at my friend who was one of my bestfriend.
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