3/9/14

   Wasn't that times writing on Friday great?! I kid I kid. I know that timesd writings make everyone said and dread the entire hour we must sit and write until our hands fall off.  Mrs. Clinch tires to boost our spirit with her fairy powers, and that definitely makes us laugh before we dive into the question sitting in front of us.  Although I was dreading the times writing on Friday, I took away many different viewpoints of Hamlet after writing the essay. I was surprised to see that there were three options to choose from on the prompt sheet. I chose the question having to do with a tragic figure and how they impose suffering on those around them and how they add to the overall tragedy of the play.
   After reading Hamle, I came to the conclusion that I did not like Hamlet as a character. I thought he was a hypocrite and way too judge mental for his own good. I mean come one buddy, you murdered Polonius, yet your damning Ophelia for telling one four worded lie? Give her a break! She has to follow her father in the society she is has to live in. (Sorry for the mini tangent. Since I played Ophelia in our group project, I now have a soft spot for her and her situation).  ANYWAY. After reading the question about the tragic figure, I realized Shakespeare probably made Hamlet a tragic figure to add to the tragedy of the play. He did not make Hamlet a jerk just to make him a jerk. He made Hamlet impose suffering on the other characters to create a tragedy.
   A way to read the play, is to read it in a way so that you can see that Hamlet is the one who causes everyone's death in the play. Besides King Hamlet's death, Hamlet either directly or indirectly causes the death of every other character. For example, he causes the death of Ophelia(here comes my soft spot again).  Personally, I believe that Hamlet and Ophelia were in love. I also believe that they had been intimate. First Hamlet tells her he doesn't lover her and that he never loved her. Then,  he insults her and makes awfulinnuendos toward Ophelia. Not only does he take their love away, he KILLS HER FATHER without an apology! Ophelia goes crazy due to her fathers death and her situation with Hamlet. In the end, I blame Hamlet for Ophelia stowing herself.
   Hamlet not only causes Ophelia's suffering and death, he causes the death of everyone else and his own death in the end.  After watching the Branagh version, I believe that Hamlet knew the drink was poisoned. Hamlet is always the smarted character in the room. He should have know that the cup was poisoned, yet he did not stop his mom from drinking out of the cup. It is as if he wanted her to die for her sins. He could care less by that point. He causes his own death by not taking the action of Claudius's murder until the very end. He was too calculated and too worried about playing God, so he caused everyone to suffer when he could have just killed Claudius!