Please choose two questions from ACT V to respond to in at least a 150 word post. Please state the scene and the question. (ex. ACT IV Scene 2 - Why does Hamlet tell Horatio everything at the start of this scene?) Be sure you provide textual evidence to support your claims. You must respond to two of your peers as well. DUE by midnight 1/4/16.
40 Comments
Sarah
12/24/2015 09:31:39 am
Act V Scene I
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Elizabeth
12/26/2015 01:37:25 pm
I was completely astonished at Hamlet's age! I now wonder how old Ophelia was and if she was much younger that him. It wouldn't be surprising if she was half his age as marriages between old men and young women were (and sometimes still are) common between families of the upper class. It must be concluded that Fortinbras and Laertes are also around 30 years old since all three are of similar age.
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Nora
12/27/2015 08:54:32 pm
Like Elizabeth, I was shocked when I read your post! While I was reading the play I did not pick up on how to calculate his age. It seems so weird to think that Hamlet is an adult because he acts so much like a teenager. Knowing that Fortinbras is around Hamlet's age, it is easier to accept that he can lead an army now. I previously did not know how a teen / young adult could handle leading soldiers, now I know that he is an adult!
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Kristen Denny
12/28/2015 07:29:18 am
I had not went back and made that connection with Hamlet's age. That was a clever way to tell of his age. I had assumed he was relatively young from him still getting an education and from his past rash, unwise actions. However, I find this age normal for someone to fall in love. I suppose he could have acted more mature on terms with Ophelia and that in his time period he had to act within certain bounds. Even previously from Polonius he was looked down upon as far as forming a relationship with Ophelia.
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Kaitlyn Denny
12/29/2015 07:36:31 am
I was surprised to see that Hamlet was as old as thirty. In my mind I pictured him to be around the age of twenty one or so. I was frustrated by the Queen's inability to see that the King was a bad man. Hamlet tried to tell her in the beginning, but she failed to listen to him. She was probably afraid because Hamlet seemed mad, but it still makes me crazy. It is just a pity that she had to die in the end.
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Hannah Ross
1/3/2016 04:00:15 pm
I found it surprising that Hamlet was so old. At thirty you think he would have already gone off to school and be done with school. In addition thirty seems old enough to take over the throne after his father's death. I feel that Hamlet does not act his age, and instead acts upon impulse, which is not like a thirty year old at all.
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Holmes
1/5/2016 09:12:38 am
Clever girl. There is actually a good deal of scholarly debate as to Hamlet's age. At the start of the play, it would seem as though he was a young man in his early twenties at most, but by your calculations from Act V, he is made to be older. His words and actions can be confounding. We will speak more of this in class.
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Jeffree Star
11/14/2018 03:20:50 pm
Totally agree with your answers. I can tell you read the play, enjoyed it, internalized, and genuinely answered from the bottom of your heart. You really helped me understand the play. I had no idea what was going on until I read your repsonse.
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Nora Skinner
12/24/2015 01:39:33 pm
ACT V Scene 1 - 4. Hamlet describes Laertes as a “very noble youth.” How is this ironic?
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Elizabeth
12/26/2015 01:42:04 pm
I think perhaps Hamlet calls Laertes a youth because, like you said, Hamlet feels old, but I think his weariness is due to the trials he has been forced to live through recently. The death and betrayal surrounding Hamlet must weigh heavily on his soul, and he may see Laertes, with his easy-going life (before the death of his father and sister) as still young and fresh from his lack of exposure to hardship.
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Sarah
12/27/2015 11:39:54 am
I think it's rather amusing that Laertes would be described as a noble youth since he was only Ophelia's brother, and she was apparently unsuitable for marriage. Then again, Hamlet was willing to marry Ophelia, so why wouldn't he believe Laertes was noble. It might have just been indicative to the way Laertes carried himself--his reputation.
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Jenny Glidewell
12/27/2015 07:52:14 pm
I agree that it is ironic that Hamlet would call Laertes noble when Laertes is planning to kill him. However I think Hamlet would understand why Laertes would want to kill him. He also wants to get revenge, so he would probably still see him as a noble man because Hamlet understands wanting to avenge your father. I also like how you say it is ironic that Hamlet calls Laertes young when they are almost the same age. Hamlet never seemed very young to me throughout the play. He is portrayed as sad and old. I believe his father's death has aged him and made him seem older.
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Kristen Denny
12/28/2015 07:47:00 am
I do not see it as Hamlet waiting until the very last possible moment. Could he have acted sooner? Yes but he took a strategic approach that would nearly bring Claudius to a confession. He knew Claudius had killed his father from his father's ghost and was waiting for just the right moment to strike. What would have happened if Hamlet had acted sooner and killed Claudius himself? Hamlet would have been worse off than when he killed Polonius. I agree with you completely on what Horatio's actions did, the mentioning of how great a king Hamlet would have been (the opportunity having been robbed from him) and the reason behind the mentioning of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's deaths.
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Elizabeth
12/26/2015 01:31:10 pm
Act V, Scene I
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Sarah
12/27/2015 11:45:51 am
Having a clear conscience before you die is rather important to the Danes--King Hamlet was tormented that he didn't get to. It's as if Shakespeare wanted Hamlet to not suffer the same fate, even though it was still tragic.
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Jenny Glidewell
12/27/2015 07:55:53 pm
Hamlet does go into the battle with a clear conscience and he goes into it with good intentions. He never suspects that Claudius and Laertes were planning to kill him. He also kills the King in the end which I believe makes him a hero because he was successful in avenging his father. However it is tragic because he dies, but he dies the death of an accomplished hero.
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Nora
12/27/2015 08:48:38 pm
I think you are right — Hamlet's clear conscience free of sin and thoughts of revenge are what makes his death so tragic. He, a hero, righteously accepted the duel, but tragically died due to deception and trickery. When he finally gets the chance to make the right choice someone else has decided to make the wrong choice.
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Kaitlyn Denny
12/29/2015 07:42:47 am
I generally had the same response to the first question answered here. dramatic irony fills the second scene. The audience knows that Laertes' weapons are poisoned, yet Hamlet does not. Hamlet speaks as a gentleman and behaves as an opponent with no other objective but to fight an honest fight. I simply wish that Laertes would have listened to his gut and not fought Hamlet. However, it makes sense that he fought him since this is a tragedy.
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Hannah Ross
1/3/2016 04:04:42 pm
I agree that Hamlet is in love with Ophelia. It takes a strong connection to someone to jump into their grave. However, Hamlet denounced Ophelia throughout the course of the play. Do you think that Hamlet was just selling the whole mad act or was he protecting Ophelia by denouncing her?
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Holmes
1/5/2016 06:58:43 am
How could Hamlet not be suspicious of a duel between he and Laertes?
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Jenny Glidewell
12/27/2015 07:43:05 pm
Act V Scene 1: How do Hamlet's actions at the grave support the depth of his feelings for Ophelia?
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Nicole Rogers
1/1/2016 08:30:40 pm
I thought when Hamlet was talking about how he would be buried alive with her, that was how he was going to die. If I would have been Laertes, I feel like I would have been like "Prove it" and buried them together.
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Kristen Denny
12/28/2015 07:18:43 am
Act V Scene 1
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Lauren Collins
1/1/2016 05:53:43 pm
Unfortunately for Gertrude, her death was the evidence of the King's treachery. You would have thought that after Claudius made it very clear not to drink from the cup that she would have thought something extremely fishy was going on. She did not, and her death made her realize the King's treachery. It is miserable fate, but a very acceptable fate for a tragedy.
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Destiny Mabe
1/7/2016 09:43:52 am
I agree with what you said in its entirety
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Kaitlyn Denny
12/29/2015 07:31:07 am
Act 5 Scene I How do Hamlet’s actions at the grave support the depth of his feelings for Ophelia?
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Lauren Collins
1/1/2016 05:47:40 pm
I agree that Hamlet's dramatic antics of jumping into the pit after he realizes who it is signify his deep feelings for Ophelia. Like you hinted at, I think Hamlet wanted to show that he had a deeper love for Ophelia than even her brother. It seemed like a competition between Hamlet and Laertes, especially with the wrestling. His speech also hinted to his deep love and competition by saying, "Nay, an thou'lt mouth, I'll rant as well as thou" (Shakespeare 228). He loved Ophelia and will do anything to prove it.
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Nicole Rogers
1/1/2016 08:38:27 pm
I had not thought of it being a way to show what happened to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern but this makes a good point. Everything that happens after Hamlet's death seems to show his heroism. Not only does he go into the duel innocent, but even after Laertes tries to kill him, they become friends and exchange apologies and forgivenesses. Then with Fortinbras presenting him as a great soldier and the reader seeing that Hamlet's plan worked, it shows what a hero Hamlet should be regarded as.
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Lauren Collins
1/1/2016 05:39:26 pm
Act V, Scene 1 – Hamlet describes Laertes as a “very noble youth”. How is this ironic?
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Alyssa Hagerman
1/5/2016 06:06:05 am
I did find this same build of suspense through the act. However, I found it amusing how anticlimactic each death seemed to be. As each person went, they normally had a final line, then it would be said that the person had died. For events that brought so much suspense, the diction just seemed to simple and straightforward.
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Holmes
1/13/2016 10:18:21 am
It is dramatic irony, not "in a sense dramatic irony."
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Nicole Rogers
1/1/2016 08:21:41 pm
Act V Scene I
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Holmes
1/13/2016 10:24:20 am
Oh deer? Oops - " Oh my dear Hamlet!"
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Hannah Ross
1/3/2016 04:45:20 pm
Act 5 Scene 1
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Alyssa Hagerman
1/5/2016 05:58:21 am
It appears to me that Shakespeare tried to very slowly introduce Hamlet's character into the story. Throughout the play, we have been able to see how sensitive and emotional Hamlet tended to be toward strange events. With the addition of knowing his age, it also lets the reader know how immature he appears to be. For this reason, it does not appear that anyone would believe Hamlet was ready to take the throne.
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Holmes
1/13/2016 10:27:04 am
For further discussion on Hamlet's age:
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Alyssa Hagerman
1/4/2016 08:30:46 pm
Act V, Scene 1
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Destiny
1/7/2016 04:35:07 pm
I agree with what you are saying about Gertrude, and your conclusion about the death Ophelia.
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Destiny
1/7/2016 09:40:46 am
Act 5 Scene One
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Holmes
1/13/2016 10:33:17 am
A fine line to use, but it needs further insight/explanation.
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