Blog #18

               This week I would like to discuss the reason behind Hamlet’s oh-so-obvious clinical depression. The theme of suicide and questioning the meaning of life has been present throughout the play beginning with Hamlet’s very first soliloquy. The theme is so reoccurring that it is not a question of if Hamlet is depressed, but why.   

               The theory that I came up with essentially revolves around Hamlet’s “mommy issues” Hamlet has had this image of what true love is his entire life through the many observations that he has had of his father and mother together. Hamlet remembers these times of love fondly saying that his mother “would hang on him as if increase of appetite had grown” (1.2.143-144) but then this image of perfection in marriage is completely shattered. His father is murdered by his uncle and then Hamlet’s mother goes on to marry her own brother-in-law not two months after she is widowed! The allusion of true love that Hamlet clung to was completely destroyed in a matter of weeks and now he is left with nothing.

               Put yourself in Hamlet’s shoes. Your father had just been murdered by your uncle and then your mother proceeds to marry said uncle. If that is not bad enough, the woman that you love (made love to) suddenly cuts you out of your life and you have no earthly idea why. These things all occurring in such quick succession would make anyone suicidal!

               What I found interesting about all of these issues and obstacles that Hamlet is running into is that they all involve women. From an outsider perspective Hamlet’s life has been made increasingly difficult by the presence of women. This is evident throughout the play, “frailty, thy name is woman” (1.2.146), “most pernicious woman!” (1.5.105), “if thou dost marry, I’ll give thee this plague for thy dowry” (3.1.134-135). These are merely a few of the rude and underhanded comments made by hamlet in regards to women. The woman in Hamlet’s life who he was most close to ended up betraying his father in the worst way, I can’t help but to think that Claudius could have killed King Hamlet not only for his throne but also for the purpose of being with Queen Gertrude.

               This idea could have also crossed through Hamlet’s mind, giving him an even stronger motive for murder. Why not kill two birds with one stone? Avenge the murder of his father as well as the disgrace of his mother through the slaughter of a single man. 

Blog #17

             This weekend I wrote my wonderful AP Lit power lines. While I can’t say that analyzing Hamlet in the car at 5:30 in the morning is necessarily one of my favorite things to do, it was not completely unbearable. I mention this because as I was writing my power lines I began to notice patterns within Shakespeare’s writing that were not only pertinent to the content of the scene, but also to the underlying meaning or subjective meaning of the play itself. I began to analyze the rough index that was already present in my book (thanks to an older sibling who also took AP Lit) and I even began to notice patterns within the patterns!

               For example, the most popular words that I have noticed so far have been: nature, pregnant, dust, ghost, death, money, and fate. I took notice of these words because they were all present in a noticeably large amount of situations and sometimes meaning completely different things in each scene. Shakespeare was a very intelligent man; his estimated vocabulary was perceived to be many times that of an average person. Couple that particular skill with the talent of making altogether new words, and one comes to notice that if Shakespeare repeats something numerous times, it must be of importance. While this in itself is not an entire breakthrough in this particular subject, I thought that the means of which Shakespeare repeats himself is particularly interesting.

               If I were to summarize Act I in a very brief list, it would go as such: ghost, family, grief, ghost, fate. If I were to summarize Act II in an even briefer list, it would be: spying, lying, money, pregnant, prison, lying. As I was making a mental an unconscious mental index and reading along with Act I and Act II I began to notice that the majority of Shakespeare’s repetitions coincide with what could possibly be perceived as the overall meaning of the scene. For example, Claudius is addressing the court in regards to his recent victory over young Fortinbras when he says, “through your dominions for this enterprise/ on such regards of safety and allowance” (2.2.79-80) This is one of the many lines in this short speech that has underlying references to money and business. It is in the scene soon before this that Claudius bribes Hamlet’s best friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to spy on Hamlet in order to receive “such thanks/ As fit a king’s remembrance” (2.2.25-26)

               The most appropriate analogy that I could come up with for the pattern for which I am trying to describe is that of the (currently illegal) practice of below-threshold advertising. We recently learned about this practice in psychology, basically it occurs when marketers expose consumers to some sort of stimulation that is below their stimulus threshold, thus influencing their subconscious. So for example is a company were to flash their company logo for less than a second within a TV program, there’s a possibility the brain could respond to this subconscious signal and you would be more compelled to buy their product. In regards to Shakespeare, my current theory is that the words he uses create that “below stimuli” that allows our subconscious to gain the true meaning or theory behind some of these scenes. 

Blog #16

               Our class has been reading Hamlet for a few weeks now and even though we are only just starting the second Act I have found the number of repeated themes amazing. With each soliloquy and scene there are allusions to popular themes such as nature, money, and even fish! As I have been reading along in class I have been circling and drawing connections between all of these patterns. I have found a remarkable number of references to money. While reading I have come up with a theory as to why Shakespeare constantly alludes to money throughout the play (so far).

               The first major discussion involving the allusion to money is the conversation between Polonius and Ophelia regarding Ophelia’s current relationship standing with Hamlet. Essentially Polonius is accusing Ophelia of being a whore and “opening her chaste treasure” to Hamlet. He also crushes Ophelia’s dreams of ever having a serious relationship with Hamlet. He does this by assuring Ophelia that Hamlet is only using her for sex and he will eventually have to fulfill his royal duty by marrying a woman who will benefit the nation. While this conversation would be effective on any young teenager in plain text, Shakespeare puts a monetary undertone to it. Throughout this speech Polonius uses countless references to money: “free”, “tenders”, “green”, “pay”, “sterling”, “rich”, “rate”, “parley”, “brokers”, “investments”. And there are more! Obviously a man like Shakespeare who has the mental access to thousands of words would not throw this combination of words together on accident. And so this is when I got to thinking…

               The context of which these words are used in conversation may be the key to breaking the code of these countless insinuations. In this scene, Polonius is lecturing Ophelia on her relationship with Hamlet, but why is this relationship of such importance? Polonius is connected to the current king of Denmark because he is Claudius’s right-hand man. However, if Ophelia and Hamlet were to have a full-fledged relationship then it is certain to have the possibility of ending badly. If that relationship did end unfavorably for Hamlet then that could jeopardize Polonius’s position in the court. It is much like how in modern day, having a relationship with your boss or your son/daughter having a relationship with your boss is looked down upon.

               This being said, where do all these money references come in? I have developed a few theories regarding this matter. If Polonius is lecturing his daughter because he does want to risk his solid position in court, he is obviously fond of his current job, a job that no doubt gives him access to a very comfortable profit. Shakespeare could be using such money references in order to chastise those who are monetarily based. That is, in this case, someone who puts their own money and lifestyle before the happiness of their children. Another theory could be that Polonius does not want to risk Ophelia’s “honor” if she were to get to serious with Hamlet. If Ophelia did in fact “open her chaste treasure” to Hamlet and some sort of scandal ensued, then Polonius’s good name would certainly be ruined. This single-minded thinking also goes along with the materialistic language that Shakespeare has inflicted throughout this scene.