Monday, September 28 Hamlet's 1st Soliloquy

Coming up: Friday, October 2...vocabulary quiz. class handout last Friday; words listed on Friday's blog.
In class: watching Hamlet's soliloquy
Hamlet soliloquy graphic organizer. class handout/ copy below.

Act I.ii


Friday recap:

We went over Claudius' speech on Friday and how Shakespeare develops his character in his speech. Below is Claudius' monologue to Hamlet, which describes Claudius' feelings about Hamlet's grieving process about his father. Remember Claudius here is dissing Hamlet's manhood by saying, "'Tis unmanly grief (I, ii, 94)." Furthermore, Claudius is claiming that King Hamlet's death is natural, which he states "Take it to heart? Fie! 'tis a fault to heaven (I, ii, 101)." 

Claudius-

'Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet,
To give these mourning duties to your father;
But you must know, your father lost a father;
That father lost, lost his, and the survivor bound 90
In filial obligation for some term
To do obsequious sorrow. But to persever
In obstinate condolement is a course 
Of impious stubbornness. 'Tis unmanly grief;
It shows a will most incorrect to heaven,             95
A heart unfortified, a mind impatient,
An understanding simple and unschool'd;
For what we know must be, and is as common
As any the most vulgar thing to sense,
Why should we in our peevish opposition           100
Take it to heart? Fie! 'tis a fault to heaven, 
A fault against the dead, a fault to nature,
To reason most absurd, whose common theme
Is death of fathers, and who still hath cried,
From the first corse till he that died today,           105
'This must be so.' We pray you throw to earth
This unprevailing woe, and think of us
As of a father; for let the world take note
You are the most immediate to our throne,
And with no less nobility of love                         110
Than that which dearest father bears his son
Do I impart toward you. For your intent
In going back to school in Wittenberg,
It is most retrograde to our desire;
And we beseech you, bend you to remain           115
Here in the cheer and comfort of our eye,
Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son.

Immediately after Claudius leaves, Hamlet is all alone and his soliloquy begins.
Act I.ii Hamlet's Soliloquy 

Watching Act I.ii (Hamlet's Soliloquy) if you are absent, please watch the following: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REyGYWeNSpc&list=PL8653490E2C680C5C&index=3

In Act 1 you are first introduce to Hamlet. The most revealing parts within Shakespeare's plays are the soliloquies. Your job is to use this graphic organizer and textual reference to describe Hamlet's state of mind. Essential Question: How does the theme of revenge start to develop in the play?

 What events according to Hamlet shaped his mindset? What is the impact of have two perspectives on Hamlet's character?