Personal Response to Act 5- Shannon

I think I am most mad because Ophelia and Hamlet could have gotten married- The Queen commented at her funeral she wished Ophelia could have been Hamlet's wife- and she spurned his love because of her father's order. Ironically, his ordered caused the whole rage in which Hamlet threw Ophelia around and meant that Polonius would spy on Hamlet to find the cause of his madness and the result was his own death at Hamlet's hand.
Hamlet is a complicated mess of secrecy and play-acting that says to me- be honest! Then you won't get caught in a web of lies that might result in your death!

Cassidy- Act 5 Allusions

fjeojgoefwfTwo Biblical Allusions for ACT V

"There is special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; it it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness will come."

1) The sparrow- a small bird in a Bible story in which God determines its fate. this is an           allusion to Matthew 10: 29-31.

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

30 But the very hairs on your head are numbered 

31 Fear not therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows.

2) "The readiness is all" - an allusion to Matthew 24: 36-44

 "No One Knows the Day or Hour"

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My
Father only. 

37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man
be. 

38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark

 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 

40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left

41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 

42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 

43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  

44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

*Hamlet, in this quote to Horatio, means that God is the controller of everything, even something as little as a sparrow's death. Everything happens for a reason. If something is supposed to happen now, it will. If it’s supposed to happen later, it won’t happen now. What’s important is to be prepared. Since nobody knows what the future will hold. Only be ready for whatever comes. I believe that is when Hamlet knows that his time is short.

 

Slade Ransdell: Act 5 Characters and Response

Characters

Hamlet: Finally confesses his love for Ophelia and remorse he has towards Laertes's family. He gets his revenge on Claudius, but unfortunately he dies in the process. He then blesses his friend Horatio and leaves his kingdom to young Fortinbras.
Laertes: Duels with Hamlet and lands a death blow, but he ends up poisoned as well. After being faced with death, he understands Hamlet's situation and quest and forgives him.
Ophelia: Drowns in a river after falling from a willow tree.
Claudius: Condemns his wife, nephew, and Laertes to death with poison, but then is destroyed by his own treachery and forced to drink the poisoned wine.
Gertrude: Mistakenly drinks from Hamlet's goblet and dies.
Gildenstern and Rosencrantz: Are executed by the King of England for betraying Hamlet.
Horatio: Lives to tell the story of the events that led to the tragedy at the castle.
Fortinbras: Returns from Poland to mourn Hamlet's death and honor his life. He then accepts the responsibility of ruling Denmark.
1st Clown: Gravedigger who dares to banter with Prince Hamlet
2nd Clown: Another gravedigger
Priest: He who performs Ophelia's funeral rites the sparseness of which Horatio vehemently objects to.
Osric: A courtier who is held in contempt by both Hamlet and Horatio

Response

The final act for me came as a rather surprising conclusion. I had expected for Hamlet and Laertes to both exact their revenge, but I had never suspected that so many people would suffer because of their actions. Ophelias death was the final straw that lead Laertes to use poison, and poison is what seemed to be the ultimate downfall of the royal family. Gertrude accidentally drank the poisoned wine and Claudius was stabbed and forced to drink poison as well. Finally, Hamlet was cut by a poisoned blade and doomed to die a slow death. I had expected this to happen, but what I didn't expect was that so many others would die in the process of Hamlet's revenge (Gertrude, Ophelia, Guildenstern, Rosencrantz, Laertes)

Language- Shannon ACT 5

1) their even-christian: their fellow christian
The grave diggers are talking about inequality between them and the royalty

2) sconce- head
This adds to this disrespect shown to the dead bodies.

3) quiddities- logical subleties
This tone relates to the silliness with which the grave differ would avoid Hamlet's questions

4) by the card- to the point
Hamlet's is frustrated, and wants to get to the point.

5) yeoman's- dependable and substantial
This word helps to contribute to his point.

6) stick fiery off- stand out brightly
This is simple enough; It means to stand out, be noticeable.

Act 5- Personal Response- Erika Kehrt

I did not like the ending AT ALL! I thought Hamlet was going to outsmart the King and Laertes, by figuring out their plan and seeking revenge on them both in an honorable way. However, everything back fired on him. During the whole play he was worried about killing King Claudius when he had not confessed his sins so that he would go to the place where he deserved. But Hamlet was killed as well as the King and didn’t have a chance to confess his sins; therefore, he was in the same situation as King Claudius. Personally I am happy King Claudius died because he tried killing Hamlet for his own sake. I found it kind of sad that the Queen died though. I truly didn’t think she was a bad person because Shakespeare was writing in the time period where women were inferior to men, so I feel like she was kind of forced into that marriage. Although I know she was completely innocent I don’t think she was as bad as they made her out to be.

I was happy at the fact that Laertes and Hamlet forgave each other before their deaths because that illuminates the good people they both are. Before Hamlet went to the fencing match against Laertes I found it quote ironic that Shakespeare inserted into the play Hamlets doubts about participating in the dual; however, he ignored his doubts and went anyway. After this little scene I knew that the fate of Hamlet wasn’t good. It was obvious to me something bad was going to happen because he stated that if it is meant to be it will happen.

Act 5- Key Passages- Erika Kehrt

Act 5, Scene 1, Pg.152, Lines 183-195

In this seen Hamlet picks up the skull of Yorick and starts reminiscing on old memories he has with this jester. This seen is one of the most significant soliloquys Hamlet says throughout the play. The reason is because when Hamlet picks up his old friend’s skull it makes him realize the value of life. He states that life is not really worth much because you will just end up dead and decayed. When one is dead and gone your status as a human being has no worth anymore. It doesn’t matter if you were Alexander the Great or some peasant everyone is equal in heaven. This seen illuminates that Hamlet is finally giving up, life has no worth to him anymore so what’s the point on continue living.

Act 5, Scene 1, Pg. 154-155, Lines 254-287

In this scene Hamlet steps forward after Laertes has just professed his love for his sister and jumped into the grave. After Hamlet and Laertes stop wrestling Hamlet confesses that he had to step forward because he was tired of listening to Laertes overdramatize his love for Ophelia. He states that if someone wanted to see true love for Ophelia it was him they wanted to see. This scene was also significant because it revealed that Hamlet truly did love Ophelia and always had. It also illuminates that every bad event that could occur in Hamlet’s has, this foreshadows that his fate is leading towards a terrible ending. Hamlet doesn’t have ANY reason to live now his father was killed, his mother is married to his father’s murderer, and the love of his life drowned herself. Therefore, he has ultimately given up on life and has accepted his fate.

Act 5, Scene 2, Pg. 170, Lines 354-360

This is the last scene of Hamlet’s life. This scene is significant because it is the last words of Hamlet life. In these lines it was the end of the play. Hamlet dies with these words. For nearly the entire play, Hamlet struggled with the words of his father's ghost asking him to get revenge against Claudius for having killed King Hamlet. Now, Claudius is also dead by Hamlet. Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, and the one whom the ghost requested Hamlet to leave alone, is also dead. There is no one left to carry on the family line, so there is definitely silence. Also, these lines reflect on the fact that he is dying, and will not be a part of anything more in life. The rest of his life is silence. His life ended too soon, leaving a hole of silence where years of living should be. Hamlet realizes he needs to rely on Horatio to tell the true story.

Matty G: Clarification Questions & Personal Response Act 5

Clarification Q's:

1. How does Hamlet come back to Denmark at the exact time Ophelia was getting buried?
2. Why would Hamlet agree to fight Laertes? 
3. Was he not concerned at all that Laertes might be trying to exact his revenge?
4. Did Hamlet ever have a plan to kill the king or did the opportunity just come about?
5. How did the weapons get switched?
6. Do we ever find out if the ghost was appeased or not after Hamlet kills Claudius?

Answer to #3:

Hamlet did seem to be aware that Laertes was a better fencer than himself. However, the idea that Laertes would attempt to kill him during the dual never seemed to occur to him. I don't understand how he had not thought of that possibility after Laertes became furious at the sight of Hamlet at the graveyard and tackled him. Hamlet was responsible for Laertes father's death, which led to his sister, Ophelia, going crazy and her death. As clever has Hamlet was it seems odd that these thoughts didn't cross his mind.

Personal Response:

I really enjoyed reading Hamlet. It was filled  with suspense, lies, and murder, making it interesting throughout. The hardest part was understanding the Shakespearean writing. However, watching the movie along with reading it cleared up several parts that were difficult to understand by just reading them. I was surprised the ghost never made another appearance and also the role Fortinbras played. I assumed he would take back his kingdom by force; not by showing up and everyone being dead.