Hamlet - Acts I and II

[MrBranchAPLit]

Your father dies.
Your mother marries your uncle.
You may or may not be in love with a nice young woman named Ophelia.
Your friend says he saw your father walking around.
You see your father, as a ghost.
The ghost talks to you.
The ghost (your father) tells you that your uncle murdered him.
You decide to pretend that you are a little crazy.
You act this way with Ophelia and really freak her out.
Your good friends are asked to spy on you.
You talk nonsense to others.
You curse at yourself for your inability to do something about it all while an actor can cry over things fictional to him.
You think, perhaps, that the ghost is the devil and trying to trick you so you might need a second opinion of sorts to make sure Claudius is guilty.

Well...what do you think of our hero Hamlet thus far.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 23, 2007 09:11 PM: Message edited by: Mr Branch ]</font>

[juanmax]

Hamlet is simply not lucky. Many terrible things are going on in his life and mind, all of which he is not guilty of. He is probably going to develop some kind of psychological problem from all the bad that is going on in his life. He is being proactive and smart about how to respond to everything because he is working out a plan. He is not just lamenting what happens and being reactive to the situation. To revenge his father succesfuly, he must be mature and wily.

[rcln]

In the beginning, Hamlet is introduced as a young man who?s disturbed and depressed for his father?s death and his mother?s remarriage to his uncle. On the other side he is adolescence in love. Later he shows his recklessness and imprudence when he decides to see the ghost regardless of a possibility to die. Then he starts acting insanely to hold out his plan. However, he suddenly doubts the reliability of the ghost?s words and decides to test King Claudius before taking further actions. Apart from revealing his contemplative and indecisive character, it?s evident that the mind of our hero thus far is very complex and self-contradictive.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 26, 2007 11:49 AM: Message edited by: brucelin ]</font>

[alberto_dacosta]

It seems to me that Hamlet is far too methodical and intelligent to be truly insane, but his manner and his thought all seem to indicate that he is obsessive and paranoid, if but slightly. Although it is easy for the reader to commiserate with Hamlet, I think that Hamlet's attitude indicates that he is, at heart, a vengeful individual; the private vendetta that he decides to carry out against the King is intimately tied to the brooding and depressive state in which he found himself at the beginning of the play.

What we've seen of Hamlet up to this point seems to indicate that he is intelligent and witty, although both of these characteristics appear somewhat distorted. Hamlet's structured and linear plan to exact his revenge against Claudius sheds a sinister light on his persona, and I think that Hamlet is, at heart, a more troubled individual than what he appears to be. His precaution against the ghost -- by deciding to test the King first -- bears evidence to what appears to be the true personality of the play's protagonist: a paranoid and unnerved individual.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 26, 2007 12:17 AM: Message edited by: alberto_dacosta ]</font>

[alexiacalo]

Hamlet is a very complex character. He is definitely clever and intelligent and very observational. He feels lost due to all the ill-fated experiences he had to endure, but who could blame him? After all, your father?s murder and the marriage of your uncle (who killed your father) to your mother is enough to make anyone depressive. His recklessness in talking to the ghost, despite all warnings, shows his curiosity or courage, whatever it is, is greater than his fear. Later on, when he decides to test his uncle, he shows he is not na?ve or too imprudent as to take the word of someone or something he knows nothing of. So, although he is unhappy, Hamlet manages to use his wit but still remains being a complex hero.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 26, 2007 06:49 PM: Message edited by: alexiacalo ]</font>

[mrodriguez]

I believe that Hamlet is a guy who usually likes to plan out everything before he does anything, but sometimes goes out of line. For example, when he followed the ghost, he was acting recklessly, but this can be understood because of his emotional state. It is surprising how calmly Hamlet can handle the truth he received from the ghost when he is around his uncle and others. This shows his patience as he slowly works to achieve his possible revenge. It is also notable how he, even though he previously promised revenge, later chooses to test his uncle just to be sure. In this manner his more rational side surfaces. I believe this is the real Hamlet, and his emotions are leading him to act without thinking. The real Hamlet is calculating and much more dangerous.

[montanaro.g]

Hamlet is portrayed as a man that is not sure of his existence. He feels that his life has no meaning because his mother marries his uncle two months after his father's death, his father was murdered by his uncle and he is wearing the crown that is his. His plan to act insane will lead him to insanity. Once you play the role of someone or something too much, you start adapting to that personality. Although his plan is intelligent and at the same strategic, in the long run, he will be the one is "injured" by his maladies.
He seeks revenge, and that is the internal fight that is eating him up. He doesn't know what to do. Not only is his plan driving him crazy, but also his destiny - murdering his uncle and retrieving what is his - the crown.
Hamlet is cool [img]smile.gif[/img]

[cjkb90]

Hamlet is a character in literature who is just not reacting properly to his problems in life. Everything that could possibly go wrong, is going wrong around him. His thoughts of suicide are not abnormal with his situation, and indeed it seems like it is the only way to get out of his plight. However, it is necessary for him to avenge his father first. For these reasons, it seems like a viable solution to his problems would be to murder the King of Denmark and consequently take his own life, without pretending to be crazy, since this could eventually lead him to actually lose his mind

[sofiastaburuaga]

Hasmlet is a very troubled adolescent. He lost his father and found out that he had been betrayed by his own family. He realized that his mother didn't love his father the way that he thought she did because he married his uncle very closely after the funeral. He saw or imagined he saw his father's ghost that told him he was murdered by his very own brother claudius. Ontop of everything Hamlet is in love with a young woman called Ophelia but she can't show her the same love back because she is prohibited to maintain any type of contact with Hamlet because of her father. Her father believes that Hamlet only wants to take advantage of her and use her and then dump her. He doesn't realize that he really is in love with his daughter. Hamlet is going through a lot of emotional stress and his mixed emotions may lead him to act a bit impaired. As an adolescent no one really knows what is going on inside themselves, feelings are hard to understand. Although, Hamlet doesn't act by impulse. For example, he wants to investigate on his father's death at first and not believe blindly what the ghost says. He is very methodical in his acting and trusts no one in his doings. Even his friends are turning their backs on him by spying.

[RodrigoCC]

Hamlet is an individual that is experiencing a very particular situation in his life. His mother had an affair with his uncle and that uncle killed his father. This information might not be true because it did come from a ghost but, it is something that can make a person go crazy. Hamlet is obviously going through a very tough and confusing time because is seems that most people are going against him and that he has no one to lean back on. Hamlet decides to approach this situation by acting as if he was crazy and by not being himself in order to confuse the many people that observe and surround him.

Hamlet, just keep on fighting buddy.