October 9, 2018

Summary Act 1 scene 2:

Claudius holds Hamlet to a standard of filial duty: Claudius makes it clear that while a period of “obsequious sorrow” (line 96) is a “filial obligation” (line 95), it is “impious stubbornness” (line 98) to continue to mourn in this way. Claudius holds Hamlet to standards of manliness: Claudius implies that Hamlet is being less than a man when he speaks of “unmanly” grief (line 98). A man who persists with his grief as Hamlet does is behaving childishly and not as a man, showing “[a]n understanding simple and unschooled” (line 101).  Claudius holds Hamlet to standards of reason, which present death as “what we know must be” (line 102). In lines 105–106, Claudius holds Hamlet to the laws of religion and nature as well as to his duty to the dead. He argues that Hamlet’s grief is “‘a fault to heaven / A fault against the dead, a fault to nature” (lines 105–106). The section develops the impression that Hamlet is being excessive in his grief and that his position is in fact a very privileged one.  Hamlet’s desire to go back to school in Wittenberg suggests a kind of childishness, a tendency to flee difficult and painful situations in order to go back to the comfortable and the familiar, rather than assume a new position at the court of Denmark.  Lastly, Hamlet’s accusation: “Frailty, thy name is woman!” in Act 1.2, line 150 is engaging because by personifying frailty as a woman, Hamlet shows how passionately he feels about his mother’s marriage. Using the word woman instead of calling the Queen by name also shows Hamlet’s belief that all women are weak.

Act 1 scene3 summary:

Both Polonius and Laertes use a serious tone with Ophelia, but Polonius’s tone is more severe and direct. Polonius uses phrases like “Running it thus, you’ll tender me a fool” (line 118). Polonius’s tone about Hamlet’s affection is less understanding than Laertes’s tone. Laertes gives Hamlet the benefit of the doubt when he says, “Perhaps [Hamlet] loves you now” (line 17) but Polonius says, “Do not believe his vows” (line 136).

Questions to think about:

What does Claudius find fault with Hamlet?

What do we learn in Hamlet’s first soliloquy ?

How does Hamlet feel about his mother?