Notes- Act 3

Questions:

Fact-
How does Juliet find out about Tybalt's death?
Why does Romeo kill Tybalt?

Discussion:
Do you think the friar is acting in sincererity to Romeo and Juliet or not during act 3?
When Juliet finds out that Romeo killed Tybalt, do you think she questions Romeo's morality?
If Mercutio did not challenge Tybalt to a fight, would he had left the Montagues alone? Would he still go after Romeo?

Question 6 From Quiz

Romeo and Juliet would leave from the balcony scene separately and go back to personal spaces. They would be in areas that show the contrast between the two families they belong to. Both Romeo and Juliet would be in dark areas, maybe each of their rooms. Their rooms would be decorated with their family colors. What the two are writing would be spoken aloud by each one of them. They would speak the diary entries in very romantic, soft tones. The scene would feel very personal, and would allow readers to understand how the two characters are feeling.

Romeo:
Juliet is my sole love. She is the stars, the moon, and the night sky. I wish to see her every second of everyday of the rest of my life. My sweet Juliet completes my thoughts, and justifies my actions. From this night I will never be the same. My purpose is to serve my loving soul. My deepest feelings are devoted to my needs, which is solely Juliet. I will marry her and keep my love with me forever. I confide in my personal journal to release my inner most feelings that cannot be contained. The most valuable moments of my life have occurred.

Juliet:
Oh my Romeo. He is so beautiful under the deep moonlight. I never knew I could feel so deeply for someone as I do at this night. I will not sleep or eat or dream of anything other than my love until I can feel his beautiful soul touch mine again. No man can compare to the one I have seen tonight. No person can exemplify the strong and unconditional love Romeo is capable of. People who observe my obsession may believe I am crazy for connecting with my love so quickly. I am not crazy, but in a complete state of enamor.

The Balcony Scene

All four of the balcony scenes that I watched portrayed the overall idea very well. I believe that all of them were good in their own way, though some displayed a more certain feeling than the others. Each of the scenes were attached to different moods in their extreme. My favorite out of the four was the 1968 film because it was the most romanticized out of them all. You could tell the director really wanted the audience to capture the idea of "love at first sight." Romeo and Juliet were both softer looking characters, and spoke with lighter, more fluttery tones. That scene displayed how the two protagonists could not care less about what was going on around them. They were completely infatuated with each other, but in a way that made them seem "up in the clouds." They were extremely happy and distracted, which is how I envision the scene when I read the book.

The Royal Shakespeare Company showed the more serious and emotionally unstable side of the scene. The characters were much more aware of the circumstances they were under with the feuding families. Romeo and Juliet went back and forth with their emotions. All of the reactions were bigger and bolder. For example: When Juliet called out Romeo's name he fell to the floor with a big thud and when Juliet heard his voice for the first time, she raised her voice at Romeo in a more angry tone. Everything about the characters in the scene was bigger and emphasized. It was executed well,  but it was also busy when it came to examining the characters.

The Gnomeo and Juliet adaptation was very cute and simple. I liked how the lines were modernized, but Juliet's speech was still poetic. I believe that the concept of the scene was portrayed well, but in a more condensed, simplified manner. The scene did not stay true to the play itself, but gave a goofy, feel-good vibe. This versions showed Romeo as clumsy and very imperfect. I enjoyed that this scene showed how Romeo and Juliet would act in a more modern way. Both of the characters gave very real reactions to what was occurring in the scene.

The Romeo+Juliet version of the scene was very busy. It is my least favorite out of the four because it had too much going on as far as the characters emotions, props, and stage direction. It successfully showed off the love the two protagonists have for each other, but lacks in overall delivery. It is hard for me as a reader to begin with, to understand shakespeare. It was even more difficult when the characters are over the top, and the setting itself is distracting. Romeo and Juliet even ended up in the pool at one point, and were kissing in between lines, which made it harder to analyze what they were saying and relate it back to the overall concept.

Overall all of the adaptations portrayed the scene well, but my favorite ones were more clear-cut and simple. It made it easy for me to understand and relate the scene back to what I have been reading.

In class homework reflection

3 concepts I understood from the reading:
-The idea that you are creating a different world for your play
-That the only places and people that exist in the world you created are ones that are pictured or spoken about by your characters
-The difference between having a too tight or loose focus on the characters.

3 concepts I did not understand from the reading:
-The part where the author was talking about a sphere, and how it relates to the whole world/play
-The paragraph called "don't forget yourself"
-How not to create patterns that omit singularities.

Blog Post #2

In act 3 scene 2 of Hamlet, The protagonist Hamlet finds himself plotting to figure out if Claudius really did commit the crime that his ghostly father described to him. A few scenes earlier, Hamlet received a visit from his dead father who was in the form of a ghost. The ghost visited Hamlet, so his son could avenge his murder. Hamlet's father explains that Claudius, Hamlet's uncle/father poisoned him in a "foul and most unnatural murder" when he was sleeping in the garden. The ghost is upset to say that the one who murdered him is now wearing his crown. Hamlet is then desperate to seek revenge over the man who corrupted Denmark and his mother, Gertrude.

Players come to the castle to act as entertainers for Hamlet. As the protagonist is defending into maddens, he hatches a plan to catch Claudius showing remorse for what he did to Hamlet's father. Before Hamlet kills the king, he wants to make sure the ghost was not telling him false information. Hamlet tells the players to perform a piece that he has written himself. The scene depicts the Ghost's account of the king's murder, interpreted through Hamlet's eyes. Throughout the evening of the performance, Hamlet portrays a bright and cheerful character. He tells his friend Horatio to keep a close eye on how the king reacts to the play, so he has a second opinion.

In front of the king and the whole court, the players perform the father of Hamlet's murder. Claudius has to stop the play, due to the extreme amount of guilt that the performance makes him feel. Hamlet is excited when he knows for sure that the ghost was telling the truth about the king. He wants to avenge his father's death immediately after the play.

This scene is extremely important to the play as a whole, as well as character dynamics. Audience members can see how invested Hamlet is to get rid of Claudius for good. There is a common theme of guilt throughout the play, and this scene helps to highlight it. This moment was very successful for the protagonist, and all of his motives. Even though Hamlet seems quite harried throughout the play, this scene was one of the moments where he acted in an articulate manner to plan something. Act 3 scene 2 reveals a lot about Hamlet because he could have just taken the Ghost's word and killed Claudius right away, but instead the protagonist created an elaborate plan to figure out the real truth before he attempted to do something detrimental. Overall this scene helped Hamlet to figure out the truth behind the ghost. The ghost being truthful and real may be why Hamlet went crazy, but at the end of the play he achieved what he was asked to do by his dead father, which was what geared the characters to each end up dead.

Favorite Hamlet Scene

In my opinion, the most interesting scene in Hamlet is when the protagonist sees his father as a ghost for the first time. I believe this is one of the most memorable scenes because it sets the tone for the rest of the play. Once the scene happens, readers get a stronger sense of who Hamlet is, and what he is really dealing with as a person. The way Hamlet reacts to his ghost father reveals a lot about his personally and character. Different people could have handled that encounter very differently than Hamlet did. I believe that the scene is one of the stronger, more notable ones because even though Hamlet is with his father, he is also alone at the same time. Similar to the "to be or not to be" soliloquy, readers get to delve into Hamlet's mind since he is raw and is acting on instinct, and not on the people around him. I feel that this scene makes readers question what the protagonist will do next. The scene is powerful because everyone can feel something different from it. There is no direct answer when it comes to analyzing this scene. 

Blog Post #1

"To be or not to be" is one of Shakespeare's most recognizable soliloquies. It embraces Hamlet as a character and allows the audience to delve into his mind, as well as interpret for themselves how the protagonist is being portrayed. I agree with Cumberbatch's response as to why the soliloquy is not a conversation. I believe that if it were to have been a conversation, that Hamlet as a character would not be justified as such a bold persona.

From the beginning of the play, I can feel the strong sense of Hamlet's overbearing mind. The process the audience gets to see of the initial emotions Hamlet has, to the way he reacts to them, helps to piece together what could be going on in the protagonist's head. Nothing compares though, to listening to Hamlet battle with his own thoughts. The "to be or not to be" soliloquy embraces the raw feelings Hamlet faces throughout the play.

If the protagonist were to be truly descending into madness, some could interpret the monologue as Hamlet being depressed because he feels as if he is a coward for not killing Claudius. This would be a justification for killing himself. Based on the beginning of the play, Hamlet has been able to consider ending his life based on his excessive amount of grief. Suicide would certainly not be out of the question when analyzing Hamlet's words. Another way to interpret the soliloquy would be to view Hamlet as anything but mad or crazy. Seeing Hamlet's madness as not genuine puts an entire new light on the scene. Hamlet could quite possibly know he is being watched by Claudius and Polonius. This would make the soliloquy based more on Hamlet's suspicion, rather than him being lost in thought.

Overall the monologue touches back to the themes of the afterlife, and consequences. I believe that Hamlet is so dynamic, that to understand him as a character, it is required he has conversations with himself. When he stops and argues with himself, it allows readers to piece together what Hamlet's goals and aspirations are, as well as how he views himself. There are a lot of dynamics that come with this story that require deep analysis from the readers. I feel for Hamlet as a character, because he is able to be complicated within himself, but simple to the characters around him. It is easy to assume certain things about Hamlet throughout the story, but once he starts to unravel his opinions and thoughts within himself, readers face the raw and unforgiving side of his persona.