3/7/12
Act 1 Scene 2 (page
16)
Lines 1-40
Next to stage
directions:
King Claudius likes
to throw lavish
parties.
“Though yet of
Hamlet…taken to
wife” Claudius not
only marries
Gertrude RIGHT
after King Hamlet’s
death, but also has a
public ceremony and
think there’s
nothing wrong with
that.
“Now
follows…advantage”
Fortinbras wants to
attack Denmark
after K. Hamlet’s
death hoping to
catch them at a
disadvantage.
“He hath
not…valiant
brother” Old
Hamlet and Old
Fortinbras fought
one on one to the
death over a piece.
Fortinbras loses and
dies. Now, young
Fortinbras is trying
to get the land back.
“we have here
writ…gait herein”
Instead of fighting
Fortinbras like a
man, he chooses to
tattle, which shows
he’s manipulative
and cowardly.
“In that and all
things, we will show
our duty” The
people seem cool
with Claudius’
ruling the country.
Laertes, Polonius’
son and Ophelia’s
brother, wants to go
back to France to
finish school (read
school as party with
chicks). Claudius
says yes.
Lines 62 – 181
“A little more than
kin, and less than
kind” “Not so, my
lord. I am too much
in the sun” Puns, son
vs. sun, kin vs. kind.
Hamlet makes puns
that are good.
Hamlet hates
Claudius.
“How is it that the
clouds still hang on
you?” Claudius
thinks that Hamlet
should be over his
father’s death by
now and must be
pretending; this is
what is expected
from a son.
“Good
Hamlet…Denmark”
She thinks that
Claudius is a fair
man and Hamlet
should trust him.
“all that lives must
die…eternity” “Why
seems it so
particular with
thee?” She also
thinks that Hamlet is
putting on a show of
mourning because
it’s the right thing to
do (Claudius?)
“the dejected havior
of the visage…suits
of woe” In reality,
Hamlet really is
depressed and
distraught over his
father’s death.
3/9/12
Scene 2 (Lines 62181)
Pg 22 Line 86
“Your father lost a
father…obsequious
sorrow” He makes it
sound like sons only
morn their fathers
out of duty, not love.
Shows he’s selfish
and cold.
“To persever in
obstinate…’Tis
unmanly grief” He
tries to manipulate
Hamlet like Lady
Macbeth.
“You are the
most…toward you”
SEEMS harmless,
but he’s
backhandedly
reminding Hamlet
that if Gertrude and
Claudius have a son
that child will be
next in line.
“For you
intent…and our
son” He makes it
SEEM like he wants
Hamlet to stay out of
concern, but it’s
really “keep your
enemies closer.” C.
sneaky and
manipulative.
“Let
not…Wittenburg”
She really loves him
and wants him to
stay. She thinks is
what’s best for him.
“I shall…madam”
He pointedly gives in
to her and not
Claudius. (You’re
not my real dad)
“But the great
cannon…Come
away” Claudius is a
partier, wasteful,
selfish, and
arrogant.
“O that this…selfslaughter” ALL of
Hamlet’s soliloquy’s
are about suicide.
This is first, not the
last.
“But two month’s
dead, nay, not so
much, not two” H. is
angry that his
mother remarried so
quickly.
“So
excellent…satyr” He
thinks his uncle is
gross and dumb
compared to his dad.
“Why, she
would...frailty thy
name is woman” His
parents seemed to
have a really good
marriage, but she
still hopped right
into his uncle’s bed.
He now thinks that
ALL women are
weak and
promiscuous.
“A little
month…mourned
longer” His insults
toward his mother
are pretty brutal.
Elsinore – Hamlet’s
castle in Denmark.
“I prithee do not
mock…wedding”
“Thrift,
thrift…tables”
Hamlet thinks that
Gertrude married
Claudius too soon,
so he’s angry and
sarcastic.
Skipped section:
Horatio tells Hamlet
about the ghost.
3/12/12
Page 34
Act 1 Scene 2 line
244-258
“If it assume my
noble…my peace”
Hamlet wants to
speak to the ghost
even if it is the devil
trying trick him. He
trust his father so
much that he’s
willing to take his
chances with Casper
Hamlet.
“Let it be tenable in
your silence” He’s
telling his friends to
keep the ghost a
secret. He doesn’t
want Claudius
tipped off.
“My father’s
spirit…foul play”
Hamlet thinks that
his father must have
been murdered and
that’s why his ghost
is coming back.
Act 1 Scene 3 Lines
1-136
“For
Hamlet…minute, no
more” Laertes
warns Ophelia that
Hamlet is only
interested in her
physically.
“You must fear, his
greatness weighted,
his wil is not his
own. For he himself
is subject to his
birth…state”
Hamlet doesn’t
necessarily choose
his own wife, so even
if he loves Ophelia,
he may not get to
marry Ophelia.
“Then weigh what
los your honor may
sustain if with to
credent…importunit
y” Laertes advises
Ophelia to not sleep
with Hamlet because
he prolly can’t
marry her.
“Keep you in the
rear of your
affection, out of the
shot and danger of
desire” L. tells O. to
love H. less than he
loves her.
“But good my
brother…recks not
his own rede”
Ophelia tells Laertes
not to be a
hypocrite. She’s
very perceptive here.
“Give they
thoughts…husbandr
y” Polonius acts like
he’s giving Laertes
sage advice, but it’s
really common
sense. Polonius is a
moron!!
“To thine own self
be true” This line is
ironic because
Polonius is a suck up
who is NOT true to
himself (hypocrite)
“You speak like a
green…as you call
them?” Polonius
does not believe that
Hamlet’s advances
are honorable.
“Tenders for true
pay…tender me a
fool” Realllllllly bad
pun. Hamlet does it
well, Polonius does
not.
“And hath
given…heaven” In
front of her father,
she goes back to
dumb, naïve
Ophelia.
“when the blood
burns…fire”
Hamlet’s “Love” is
just lust.
3/13/12
Pg. 44
“From this time
forth…come your
ways” Polonius tells
Ophelia to stop
hanging out with
Hamlet. Absence
makes the heart
grow fonder.
Act 1 Scene 5 Page
52
“I am they father’s
spirit…purged
away” He’s in
purgatory. He died
with sins on his soul.
“Revenge his foul
and most unnatural
murder” Ghost
Hamlet asks Prince
Hamlet to get
revenge on his
murderer.
“Haste me to
know’t…my
revenge” Hamlet
thinks that he will
immediately avenge
his father’s death.
However, Hamlet’s
tragic flaw is
INACTION, so he’s
going to
procrastinate.
“Now,
Hamlet…wears his
crown” Claudius
killed King Hamlet.
People think that he
died from a snake
bite.
“won to his
shameful…from
me” “to decline…of
mine” This is exactly
what Hamlet said
about Claudius, that
he was gross and
Gertrude should
know better.
“Thy uncle
stole…leprous
distilment” “with a
sudden
vigor…wholesome
blood” Claudius
poured the poison in
his ear so it couldn’t
be traced. Very
painful death as his
blood slowly turned
solid and his heart
gave out.
“Thus was I…on my
head” Because
Hamlet was
murdered, he didn’t
get his last rites and
died with his sins on
his soul. Hello
Purgatory
“Let not…sting her”
He wants Hamlet to
get rid of Claudius
and avenge him, but
he wants him to
leave his mother
alone. 1. Hamlet the
ghost still loves her.
2. For Hamlet to
punish his own
mother would be a
sin on Hamlet’s soul
b/c it’s a
commandment.
“O villain, villain,
smiling, damned
villain…I have
sworn’t” Hamlet
writes himself a little
revenge contract.
This is first
procrastination.
Instead of doing it,
he writes it down so
that doing it feels
more official and
binding (a sign that
he doesn’t really
want to) Tragic
Flaw
Skipped section:
Hamlet makes his
friends swear not to
reveal what they
have seen that night.
He tells Horatio he is
going to be acting
crazy so the king
won’t suspect that
he knows about the
murder.
3/14/12
Act 2 Scene 1
skipped portion:
Polonius sends
Reynaldo to spy on
Laertes.
Line 75 page 72
“Lord Hamlet, with
his doublet all
unbraced…he comes
before me” Hamlet
has started “acting”
crazy.
“Mad for thy love?”
Polonius thinks that
H. is crazy because
he loves O. but she
hasn’t been seeing
him due to P’s
command.
“He too me by the
wrist…as a’ would
draw it” “That done,
he lets me go…their
light on me” O.
thinks that H is
crazy because of the
staring creepily at
her and walking out
of the room
backwards.
“Come, go with
me….afflict out
natures” P thinks H
is crazy b/c of what
P told O., so he’s
going to tattle to
Claudius so he won’t
get in trouble.
“No my good
lord…access to me”
O thinks her father’s
command makes
sense so she follows
it.
“That hath
made…not quoted
him.” Polonius
thinks his judgment
that H was only after
her body was wrong.
“Come, go we to the
King…to utter love”
P thinks he has to go
to C. before the
“muck” hits the fan.
(before everything
goes bad)
3/15/12
Skipped Scene: King
and Queen asks
Hamlet’s friends
Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern to spy
on Hamlet, and they
agree to do so.
Pg 80 (Skipped
Scene): Fortinbras
only gets a slap on
the wrist, and Old
Norway then asks
permission for F’s
army to come
through Denmark to
go fight Poland.
Claudius refuses to
sign off on this.
Pg. 82 line 85
“This business is
well ended…Brevity
is the soul of wit…be
brief” Polonius
thinks that to get to
the point makes you
smart, but he
NEVER gets right to
the point, so he just
called himself dumb.
DI
“That we
find…comes by
cause” P thinks he
sounds really smart,
but he’s repetitive
and dumb
(somebody punch
that guy)
“I have a
daughter…the most
beautified Ophelia”
Ophelia betrayed
Hamlet by giving his
love letter to her
father, who then
reads them to his
mother, stepfather,
and a bunch of his
friends.
“But how hath she
received his love?”
It seems like
Claudius believes
that Ophelia MAY
be the cause of
Hamlet’s madness.
“As of a man
faithful and
honorable” Claudius
thinks Polonius is a
good guy.
“No, I went round to
work…receive no
tokens” He pretends
he kept O and H
apart for H’s own
good, but really he
just wanted to keep
O from being
“loose.”
“[pointing to his
head and shoulder]
take this from this if
this be otherwise.”
Polonius
exaggerates, faulty
support for faulty
logic.
“How may we try it
further?” Claudius
wants evidence of
H’s attachment to O
before he goes
forward.
3/16/12
Act 2 Scene 2 page
86
“I’ll loose my
daughter…encounte
r” Polonius wants to
spy on Hamlet to
prove its O causing
his madness. (P is
shady)
“You are a
fishmonger”
Literally, he’s
calling a fish seller.
However, back then
this was another
name for pimp. He’s
referring to how P is
controlling O.
“Let her not…look
to’t” sun-son
conceive –
understand conceive
– to get pregnant
H is saying that P
was right to keep O
away from him
because he would
have slept with her
and gotten her
pregnant
“How say
you…daughter” P
interprets this as H
loves O (doesn’t get
joke)
“Slanders,
sir…weak hams”
Hamlet is making
fun of Polonius right
to his face and
counting on his
madness to cover it
up.
“Though
this…method in’t”
Polonius knows he’s
being insulted,
which makes him
think that H might
just be acting crazy.
“A happiness…be
delivered of” P is
going back to
thinking that H is
crazy…now that
he’s not insulting P
“On Fortune’s
cap…She is a
strumpet” Dirty joke
“Denmark’s a
prison” H is trapped
in Denmark.
Claudius and his
mom got him to stay,
and he has to go get
revenge.
“there is nothing
either good or bad
but thinking makes
it so” H is saying
that perception is
everything. He’s
unhappy, so it colors
his whole view on
life.
Skipped scene:
Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern are
spying on Hamlet
for Claudius. H
figures it out and
gets them to work
for him instead.
They also tell
Hamlet that a group
of players (actors)
have come to
Denmark (H likes
plays, trying to cheer
him up)
Page 102 Line 340
“I am mad northnorthwest: when the
wind is southerly I
know a hawk from a
handsaw” H is
saying that he’s only
crazy when he wants
to be.
Skipped Scene:
Hamlet mocks
Polonius some more.
Polonius doesn’t get
it.
pg 116 line 504:
Soliloquy (suicide)
“Yet I …Am I a
coward?” H thinks
that he’s a coward
because the player
stirred up all kinds
of emotion for
nothing but fiction,
but he has real
motivation and has
done nothing.