Ophelia by John William Waterhouse
VOCABULARY QUIZ Monday.
Notes for ActII scenes i and ii
Polonious sends Reynaldo to spy on Laertes, the councillor's son, telling the spy to say semi bad things about his son, so that he may ascertain the truth about Laertes' behavior. Shakespeare makes an observation on youth: "wanton, wild, and unusual slips / As are companions most noted and most known / To youth and liberty" ((II.i.23-5).
Now Polonius has a conversation with his daughter Ophelia, who relates to him how a half-dressed Hamlet came to visit her: "his doublets all unbraced"; "his stockings fouled", "pale as his shirt, his knees knocking"
Polonous believes Hamlet is "mad for [Ohpheiia's] love" and so right away wants to tell Gertrude and King Claudius.
Act II.ii. Gertrude and King Claudius have called two friends of Hamlet's, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to the court to cheer Hamlet up. They agree, and, afterwhich, Polonius pops on the scene to say, " I have found / The very cause of Hamlet's lunacy"(51-2). Note how the councillor talks endlessly, and we have his ironic statement "brevity is the soul of wit." Polonius is both a laughable and sympathetic character. Polonius admits that he has told Ophelia that "Hamlet is a prince, out of thy star"; hence with Ophelia's spurning him, he has lost his reason.
So they devise a plan to check out the validity of this thought: "He'll loose [his] daughtet to [Hamlet / ..and " behind an arras then / Mark the encounter" (176-8).
Polonius meets Hamlet and the prince calls the old man a "fishmonger", a slang term for a pimp. Essentially, Hamlet plays word games with Polonius, but Ophelia's father is no putz and observes 'Though this be madness, yet there is / method in 't"(II.ii.223-4).
Comic and serious note: When Polonius tells Hamlet he must take leave, the prince retorts: You cannot take from me anything that I / will more willingly part withal- except my life.
Hamlet catches up with his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern; he extracts from them the truth that they have been summoned by the king and queen. Important line: ..."but there is /nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it / so"(I.ii.268-9),
Hamlet on life: "I could be bounded in a nutshell and / count myself a king of infinite space, were it not / that I have bad dreams"(II.ii.273-5).
Guidenstern on dreams: ambition... is merely the shadow of a dream.
Hamlet reveals his mental state to his friends in II.ii 3-6-334. These lines as well celebrate the majesty of being human. PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY.
His friends reveal that there are players coming to the castle. They show up and Hamlet interacts with them, recolecting a particular play. Polonious is on the scene and he is bored. Hamlet wants him to use the players, but not necessarily to their "just desserts", for according to the Prince, "Use everyman affter his just dessertand who shall 'scape / whipping? (II.ii.556-7).
Act II.ii ends with a soliloquy. Hamlet is in the throws of angst: O what a rogue and peasant slave am I... He devises a plan, concluding "The play's the thing / Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King"(633-4).
I'm still not quite why everyone has a problem with Hamlet and Ophelia getting married. If Ophelia is inferior to Hamlet, Wouldn't that be a good thing? If they were to get married then that would bring Ophelia's family higher upon the hierarchy pyramid? What is the big deal? So what if Hamlet is emotional, if an emotional king wanted to marry me and I somewhat liked him, I would be on the first thing smoking to marriage. More money for me. (haha not being a gold digger)
ReplyDeleteIts so aggervating to me how every time Polonus sees Hamlet he sees the wrong thing. I truthfully love the way Shakespeare analyzed every character and made the plot so dependent on the characters as if they are real.
ReplyDeleteFinally Hamlet realizes that he is being spied upon. But when he was telling Ophelia that he didn't love her and that all men are untrustworthy, was he serious or just putting on an act? So now everybody thinks that Hamlet is out of control when I just simply think that he is tired of being treated like he has no intelligence and as a fool.
ReplyDeleteI don't like how Hamlet was madly in love with Ophelia and all of a sudden he has no interest in her. It bugs me how he denied he was in love with her when he clearly was.
ReplyDeletedoes hamlet want everyone to b aware of why is he's going crazy?
ReplyDeleteHamlet is kind of an irritating character. He whines all the time. I mean i understand that he is going through a lot right now at this particular time in his life. But sometimes i wish he would just kill the people that he is coming in conflict with and get over it, but then that wouldn't make the play interesting
ReplyDeletewhys hamlet going crazy
ReplyDeletewhat do you mean by "players"?
ReplyDeletei like the way that hamelt ends the last scene with a soliloquy it make it more interesting by the techniques that he uses ot bring the play a little more to life
ReplyDeleteperi - I wonder whatplay the players were reenacting.
ReplyDelete