Friday, May 4, 2012

Final Hamlet Post


                I really enjoyed Hamlet, and thought it was very dramatic, and it always kept the reader on its toes.  I never knew when the next twist would come, and was always shocked when it came.  I really enjoyed how at the end Hamlet realized what he had done to Laertes.  Hamlet found out that he put Laertes in the same spot he was, when his father was killed. I enjoyed the play, and liked how Hamlet finally took responsibility for his actions at the end of the play.  Also, Hamlets soliloquies were always very interesting, and in the end I enjoyed Hamlet.

                   Watching the play along with having the book in front of me was extremely helpful.   If I was watching the movie, and did not understand what was going on I could always refer back to the book.  Also, is the book was confusing I could watch the movie.  Another thing is that with watching the movie we could see the emotion and the passion in the characters.  With just reading we as readers do not always know how emotional a scene is.  For example with reading Hamlets soliloquies we cannot see truly how emotional he is when thinking if he should commit suicide.

                I liked the projects we do at the end of some of the acts in the play.  Although they are a hassle sometimes they are a great way to understand the play besides just reading.  The projects also let us connect with others in the class and hear their point of view.  The blog is a great way to use your imagination, and have fun with Hamlet.  An example of this is with the Hamlet love letter, we could connect with Hamlets and Ophelia’s love, while making it modern.

                This play makes me think about Shakespeare in a whole different way.  I wonder if Shakespeare ever was mad in his lifetime.  In many of his plays and stories he portrays a man who he insane, or does insane acts.  This makes me question if he himself was mad.  If not he must have had a great imagination and personality to portray such real life madness in his characters.   

4 comments:

Misha Kustin said...

Wow, I am surprised that you actually enjoyed Hamlet that much. However, I agree with you in that with the emotion's put into the movie the play made a lot more sense. In addition, I like your comment about was Shakespeare himself insane? It some what makes sense and he wouldn't be the first crazy literary star. Like wasn't Poe crazy too.

Amy Clark said...

After seeing the end of the movie, I think the best part of Hamlet was how he created Laertes' role as a foil. It's funny, I mean, I guess Hamlet took responsibility for his actions by the end, but it seemed to me just more like Shakespeare needed a way to wrap up the play ASAP. Either that or Hamlet gives up his madness [act?]. To me, that's how I took the ending.
Personally, I wasn't convinced that Hamlet was ever crazy. I think he's just a drama queen. That's why I would think Shakespeare wasn't mad at any point either (assuming you have to experience it to write about it?). To me they're both just drama queens.

Anonymous said...

You know, Kevin, you bring up a great point! I never actually thought to connect the play to Shakespeare himself. Now that you mention it, it could very well be that Shakespeare had actual mental experience when it came to writing Hamlet's character. Either that, or he spent a ton of time around insane people! Also, I'm right there with you when it comes to reading and watching at the same time. It was incredibly helpful and I liked the play much more because of it.

stw923 said...

I am (finally) grading the Hamlet blogs and I really enjoyed re-reading this. I was particularly interested in your final comments about Shakespeare's sanity. Nice job Kevin!