Hamlet Flashcards
(10 cards)
How can we see hamlets disapproval with Claudius being his stepfather in act 1 scene 2 (3 quotes)
“(Aside) a little more than kin and less than kind” > hamlet sharing his internal feelings of Claudius becoming too close
“No more my father than I to Hercules” > classical allusion criticising his relationship w Claudius while also being self deprecating about the feminine nature of his grief
How doe hamlet express suicidal wishes in his first soliloquy
“Too too solid flesh would melt and resolve itself into a dew” > simplistic lang reflects his wish for a passive inexistance
“His cannon ‘gainst self slaughter” > religious implications are what’s stopping him
“Weary, stale, flat and unprofitable” > hopelessness in the corruption around him
“Things rank and gross in nature”
How does hamlet criticise gertude and Claudius’ relationship in his first soliloquy
Repeated references to time > “within a month”, “a little month”, “wicked speed”
Criticises his mothers sexual desires > “increase of appetite” “frailty thy name is woman”, “Incestuous sheets”
How are the difficulties of hamlets public position presented in Branagh and Cumberbatch’s presentations of hamlet’s first soliloquy
Branagh: - physically collapsed over throne grows breathless > physical release after being forced to hold himself together in public
Cumberbatch: - during his soliloquy the other characters are still present in the background while the spotlight is on hamlet > reflects how he is forced to process his feelings publicly
What does critic Goethe suggest stops hamlet from enacting revenge
His “sensitive nature prevents him from taking revenge”
Critic Dawson suggests Hamlet is “the only protagonist in any Elizabethan revenge…” who what
“… hero who is aware of the moral implications of enacting his revenge”
Analyse the quote from hamlet in act 1 scene 2 : “I am too much in the sun”
Metaphor
Double meaning of ‘sun’ > shows his struggle with being too much in the public eye and his disapproval of being Claudius’ son
Who describes hamlet as “too much changed” in act 2 scene 2
Gertrude
3 quotes from act 2 scene 2 soliloquy which shows hamlets self deprecation, loathing and frustration
“O what a rouge and peasant slave am I!” > apostrophe, self deprecating language
“Yet I, / A dull and muddy - mettled rascal” > symbolism, metaphor comparing him to tarnished mettle bc of his lack of spirit and Machiavellian ambition
“This is most brave, That I,… like a whore, unpack my heart with words” > ironic self criticism
What is the difference between hamlets intentions at the beginning of 3,4 and what he actually does
Intends to “speak daggers to her but use none” > does speak daggers but also uses them when he “(makes a pass through the arras)” > “rash and bloody deed” > hamlet grown impulsive and finds a capacity for violence which quickly escalates as that play continues
