Friday, November 15, 2019

For Monday: Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act Three



The"Love and Death" group should answer TWO of the following questions.
The students in this group are: Danielle M, Kara C, Sydney W, Bekkah T, Madison G, Erica M, Heather B, Raven J, Jack A, and Mya C

Q1: Read Hamlet's famous "to be or not to be" speech carefully: what is he really arguing here? It begins with him asking "should I keep on living or find a way to end myself," but how does he answer this question? What interesting idea or metaphor can you find in this speech that complicates his question, or his character?

Q2: Why does Hamlet turn so violently on Ophelia in Act 3, scene 1? What does he seem to be accusing her of?  Is he merely acting mad here, or is he using his madness to speak the truth? Any clues? 

Q3: Discuss a scene where Hamlet switches from prose to verse (or the other way around). Why is this? How does prose (or verse) help us understand what he's saying, and who he is while he's saying it? 

Q4: In Act 3, scene 4, Hamlet argues with his mother over her 'bad' behavior much as he had earlier chided Ophelia in scene 1. By the end of it, the Queen gasps, "O Hamlet, thou has cleft my heart in twain!" Is she saying this because he's made her see the true nature of her sin? Or is she heart-broken at his apparent madness? In other words, has he won her over to his side, or does she just seem to be humoring him? 

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