For You, Hamlet

Wednesday is our in-class essay, and the official day we will be spending on Hamlet, so I thought I would like to summarize some of my thoughts after reading this play.

• Action vs. Inaction: what everyone reading the play would think about. Hamlet's soliloquies are all about his inaction when it comes to avenging his father. He is "mirrored" in Laertes, who does not hesitate to take down his father's murderer. But what struck me as odd was why Hamlet is not capable of acting. Is it because he is over-thinking things? After he proves that Claudius is responsible for his father's death, what reason does he have for still hesitating? Perhaps he does not truly believe in revenge, and in fact, he asks, "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles / And by opposing end them?" Is he thinking about revenge only because the ghost, who is presumably his father, asked him to do so, because it is the right thing to do according to societal norms, or because he actually believes in it?
• Another character with a striking resemblance to Hamlet's situation is Fortinbras. As the prince of Norway, Fortinbras has also lost his father, and, at least from my reading of the text, is bent on revenge against Denmark. Throughout the play, he never gives up on attacking Denmark, and even uses traveling through Denmark to attack Poland as an excuse after his uncle condemned his actions. Here, both Fortinbras and Hamlet have lost their fathers and are seeking revenge, but they go about different ways of achieving revenge, and arrive at different destinations. Fortinbras, in his fiery impulsiveness and warrior-like thinking, does not hesitate to attack, and in the end he and his country benefits (as he has now gained control of all of Denmark's lands). Hamlet, with his indecisiveness and heavy thought processes, continues to miss opportunities to kill Claudius, and eventually dies amidst the destruction of the Denmark throne.
• Mini-digression: it appears, at least in the Hamlet world, that revenge is highly valued (and the judicial system not so much).
• Ophelia's death (and life): this is what I found the saddest. Yes, Hamlet lost his father and rightfully should be sad, but later on Ophelia loses her father as well. And perhaps her loss is even worse—when her father was still alive, he controlled every aspect of her life, and when he dies, it is as though Ophelia loses her soul. Her insanity is perhaps a reflection of that loss and her newfound lack of direction in life. But what makes Ophelia's life and death sad, at least for me, is not how sad she feels, but how her condition affects others around her. Laertes's "What ceremony else?" almost broke my heart. I can just hear the desolation in his voice as he realizes he is powerless to protect his sister or even make her death better. And Hamlet's "I loved Ophelia: forty thousand brothers / Could not, with all their quantity of love / Make up my sum" is both sad and frustrating. Sad, because Hamlet obviously loved her, and frustrating, because, hey, Hamlet, couldn't you at least have treated her a little better when she was alive?
• Mini-digression #2: William Shakespeare must have either had a really bad day or was at least slightly psycho when he wrote this.
• The whole relationship scene: is completely messed up. Starting with family, we have Claudius, who kills his brother and marries his sister-in-law. I don't think it gets much worse than that. Then there are the friends, or the good friends (Horatio) and the bad friends (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern) who are back-stabbers and suck-ups. The lovers who lie constantly to each other (Hamlet and Ophelia). Not to mention how Hamlet treats his mother (very likely violence, or at least very cutting verbal remarks) and Polonius's absolute control over his daughter. There are some very, very disturbing relationships in this play.
• And of course, the portrayal of women: both Gertrude and Ophelia are rather weak characters. They advance the plot, but they do not develop much as characters, and are often pushed around by the other, male characters. What is also interesting is how Shakespeare, in creating his strong female characters, sometimes have them cross-dress as males, as seen in As You Like It's Rosalind, or Twelfth Night's Violet.

All right. That should be enough for one night. Now back to French homework.