Hamlet Ap Lit Journal Questions

1. One reason Hamlet takes so long in avenging his father’s death is that the opportunity to kill Claudius hasn’t arisen yet. When Claudius is praying Hamlet finally sees the opportunity. However, Hamlet doesn’t wasn’t Claudius to be forgiven, so he doesn’t kill him during his prayer. Secondly, Hamlet continually thinks about if he should kill Claudius. He is paralyzed by his own uncertainty. We see evidence of this in his soliloquy at the end of act 2, when he realizes the ghost is in fact his father.

Class Notes:

2. The role of theater in Hamlet is more than just reminding the audience that they are watching a play. It is to portray Hamlet's view of death and revenge, which changes from the beginning of the play to the end. Hamlet believes that revenge is justified and is a safe action. This is evident during the mock play, "another man:takes off his crown, kisses it, pours poison down the sleeper's ears, and leaves him...the poisoner woos the Queen with gifts; she seems harsh awhile, but in the end accepts love" (Lines 140-141). It is seen through the words of "gifts" and "accepted love" that the poisoner reaps the benefits of murder. Hamlet's belief is similar, he believes that revenge will bring him the same fortune and happiness which murder has brought Claudius. This is the play's greatest misconception. Later on in the play, when the player king asks the great question, "whether love lead fortune, or fortune lead love" (Lines 209). In this case, the player king is asking whether we should appreciate use love to accomplish our goals of happiness or seek fortune to accomplish these goals. When Hamlet, the play, resolves, the ending is grim for all characters performing murder or violence. Therefore, Hamlet's perception of revenge changes as something which can bring him great happiness to something which is self inflicting.

Class Notes:

3. The main three characters in this Hamlet who conflict with their own sanity would be Gertrude, Claudius,...