My initial reaction to Act 1 was frustration. I was frustrated because I was unable to read smoothly through the act without looking at the bottom to find out what most of the words meant. It was hard to keep the flow of the story with having to stop to clarify what was being said. Even though there was interpretation at the bottom for some of the words, some passages were a little over my head. I am not sure if I understood what Shakespeare was actually saying, but I feel like I got the gist of it. No one came to mind in regards to comparing to someone I know. The whole time I was reading the passage, I remember hearing that the “Lion King” was based off of Hamlet.
Hamlet’s fatal flaw will be his revenge. He is looking for a reason for why everything happens and this will turn out to be the downfall of him. Hamlet is a classical “tragic hero”. He makes an error in his judgment that will bring on his downfall.
The theme that occurred in the first scene was natural and unnatural forces because the death of the king was seemingly of natural forces, but when the ghost of his father came back to tell Hamlet that he was murdered, it became an unnatural process because murder is unnatural. “Ghost: Murder most foul, as in the best it is; but the most foul, strange and unnatural”. (Shakespeare, pg. 1608)
The literary element that Shakespeare creates is a main conflict between the characters that provides the basis of the story. So far, the conflict is that Hamlet needs to come home because his mom has married his uncle and taken the crown that was rightfully his.
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Lion King based on Hamlet, yeah I could see that. Its been a while since i have seen it but from what I remember its pretty close. A father is killed by a brother who takes his place as husband and king, the son is then left to plot his revenge. One big difference though is the lack of a tragic ending.
ReplyDeleteIt is a hard read. Have you tried the website www.sparknotes.com? That is the only way to get through Shakespeare. I also bought a used book that I can make notes in as I'm reading. Anyhow,
ReplyDeleteyour theory that Hamlet's flaw will be his revenge was interesting to me. I was looking for a more specific flaw, but after reading your post I realize that all the "specific" things really are the result of his seeking revenge.
The syntax is what's driving me mad. Shakespeare's works are always tough to read, rather than see performed, but Hamlet seems to be particularly convoluted. The side-by-side translations are very handy, you might want to pick one up.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't think that Disney would have made quite as much with the Lion King if Simba got killed by the hyenas.
I am not sure if this is allowed but Ronni is right, if you go to the website
ReplyDeletehttp://nfs.sparknotes.com/hamlet
I think it will better help you put it in plain English. You still need to go back and read the old English version to get the story, but you got the conflict right, just stay tuned.
I agree that Hamlet's anger and spite might do him in. Maybe the lesson that's being told is never seek revenge or perhaps don't make bad decisions. "Tragic hero" really does explain what will most likely come of him.
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