Hamlet Essay

"To Be or Not To Be, That is the question." The real question though, is how this quote is significant to Hamlet. "To be or not to be." It could be the most famous and classic line ever written, but many don't understand why. The soliloquy "To be or not to be" effected nearly every aspect of the play, it was the turning point of how the audience saw hamlet. 

From the beginning of the play to the point in which hamlet has his monologue in which he says "To be or not to be" the audience never sees hamlets true emotion. It isn't until this point in the play that hamlet lets his guard down and shows his true thoughts and feelings. It's the game changer for the audience, the other actors and hamlet himself. Because Hamlet portrays his feelings outwardly for the first time the audience is finally able to blatantly pick up on how he feels. Not only that, but this one line is the beginning of hamlets entire plot that he is scheming. 

This is by far the most significant quote of the play. It is not only the turning point but one of the largest pieces of insight the audience or reader gets throughout the entire play. It is the one part of the play where the tone goes from agner to sorrow. It shows Hamlets inner feelings and gives the audience a perspective as two why he is feeling so deeply towards everything. He questions his entire life with this one line and is able to open up the doors of the play to every moment that Hamlet is scheming. 

Hamlet Act 4 scene 4/5/6/7 Notes

Scene 4

Captain doesn't think that attacking Poland would be worth it 

The captain humbles Hamlet

"How all occasions do inform me and spur my dull revenge." 

Hamlet is being motivated by everybody's doubt because he finds it frustrating 

Humans are the only animals known to be able to contemplate past and future 

Hamlet thinks of how the soldier didn't question orders, he just does them. Respects that about soldiers (in context to killing Claudius because ghost told him to)

Hamlet beats himself up over waiting so long to take action on Claudius. 

Hamlet decided to not think of anything other than killing Claudius 

Scene 5

Gertrude refuses to talk to Ophelia 

Claudius' problem isn't going away 

Ophelia sings for effect

Ophelia has completely lost it. Starts talking about her father dying and is buried backward. She talks about her love for hamlet. Implies she has been traumatized by what has happened. 

Ophelia threats kind Claudius. States that she's going to tell her brother everything that happened. 

Claudius orders her to be followed and have somebody keep tabs on her. 

Claudius anticipates Laertes returns angry to cause trouble for Claudius.

Laertes and Danes come armed and angry 

Ophelia has lost her wits and love. Laertes blames hamlet. 

Scene 6

Hamlet manages to escape and hamlet has something up his sleeve that he only wants to share with Horatio in person 

Claudius is trying to get Laertes to kill hamlet in good circumstances that doesn't look like murder 

Hamlet Act 4 notes

King Claudius used Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

Hamlet is seen as a threat to Claudius by Claudius

Claudius gives two options: doesn't put hamlet on trial or ship him off

The first time in play that Hamlet actually acts like a prince and doesn't take anybody's shit

Polonius soul is with King Hamlet, but his body is with King Claudius 

Hamlet is no longer just moody or nuts but is actually a threat 

Claudius states, it's not if you do wrong, its if they like you, referring to the people liking hamlet regardless of him killing Polonius. 

Claudius has arrangements in England to get Hamlet killed

Performative Utterance

Locutionary- what is being said

Illocutionary- how it is being said 

Perlocutionary- the effect it has

"Those who use Performative utterance create new facts in the world of speaking"

Act 3 Hamlet Notes

Hamlet is told to act natural and not give off any weird vibes. 

Polonius understand what hamlet is saying and respects that it is fret advice. 

Hamlet knows what he is doing and is absolutely in charge of the plan that he is putting together. He is a smart and diplomatic schemer 

Hamlet kills the wrong guy and is forced to leave in order to get to safety. 

Directly after hamlet kills Polonius (on accident) the ghost appears to remind him to spare Gertrude 

Hamlet loses his temper and self control and says it like it is for the first time. 

Has to learn how to deal with the stress and anger of killing someone and having the guilt of killing the wrong person. 

Includes female humor throughout the play in order to break the tension. 

The play proceeds

Hamlet strikes Claudius then lets him go in order to force him to deal with the guilt. 

Hamlet jokes about wiring plays for a living. 

Audience walks away from the play in denial to what is actually happening around them. 

The play is used to find out whether or not they are guilty and you do react guiltily. 

The scene ends with hamlet carrying Polonius' body off. 

Claudius tries to send Hamlet off to England escorted by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. 

Hamlet stops acting like he doesn't know that his mom and Claudius are guilty. 

Performative utterance: speach as transformative action

Act 3 Scene 1 Hamlet Notes

Claudius characterizes Hamlet as a threat  and crafty and intelligence 

Claudius is gonna spy on Ophelia and Hamlet to find out what's up

Hamlet acts geniune and kind in order to cover up his maliciousness 

Claudius finally admits to killing King Hamlet for the first time 

Hamlet doesn't completely trust Ophelia because he fears she's scheming with his parents. 

Hamlet tells Ophelia he's asinner and that having his child would be breeding a sinner but if she looks around to everybody else around he really isn't all that bad 

Hamlet confesses to Ophelia that somebody is going to die, Ophelia thinks he's referring to himself

Claudius starts realizing hamlet is a threat and now wants to get rid of him instead of keeping him close like he did at the beginning 

"To Be or Not To Be" Notes

"To Be or not to be"- to live actively and participate in life and be responsive or be lost and clueless 

Everything's happening in the mind

"Whether to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune"- taking the suffering or standing up and fighting against it. Is it nobler to deal with it, or take arms against the troubles 

"To die, to sleep, no more"- to be in denial and not deal with his problems 

Talks about dreaming to escape reality and how killing his father makes him stop and think regardless of how satisfying it would be. Not sure if hamlet can deal with the feeling after he has killed Claudius. 

"Whips and scorns"- physical and mental abuse 

"Oprossers wrong"- somebody above us working unjustly

"Contumely"- a proud person being rude to people lower than them 

Big dose of "this isn't fair" but it's human and what makes you yourself. 

"The insolence of office"- the rude upper man (govt)

"Spurns"- insults 

"Bodkin"- dagger. Actually kill himself or just not deal with it 

"Fardels bear"- gets frustrated and riled up 

As bad as this situation is, at least it's familiar "the devil you know, is better as the devil you don't know"

The big "what if" puzzles hamlet and literally confuses him. 

"Thus conscience does make cowards of us all"- killing Claudius is morally wrong but justifiable 

He thinks about the action so long that he's close to talking himself out of it. 

At the end Ophelia's presence is used to bring him back to reality and being observed by somebody else changes his way of thinking 

"Orisons"- prayers 

Both acknowledge the right and wrong and now this is no right and wrong morality. 

Nymph- a young spiritual women 

"Be all my sins remembered"- he isn't swayed from his task. He still plans to avenge his fathers death and follow through with killing Claudius.