pg 833 #3

Words that have to do with appearance are very common in Hamlet. Their reoccurance implies that things are not always as they seem, which is proven to be truue as the play progresses. For example, Claudius, who acts like a true and just king, turns out to be exactly the opposite because he killed his brother and usurped the throne. Hamlet also puts on an act and makes people think that he is more insane than he really is.

pg 830 #14

When Hamlet says, "Why, then, 'tis none to you; for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so," (2.2236-37), he assumes that Claudius has sent his friends to come talk to him. He is saying that Denmark is not a prison to them because they don't think of it that way. I somewhat agree with what he is saying.
When Hamlet says "I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw" (2.2.330-31), he suggests that he is crazy and that he can recognize something truly dangerous, referring to Claudius as the hawk. I don't think he is really mad. I think that he is angry and depressed and exaggerating to make people think that he is actually mad.

pg 830 #7

By saying that he is going to put on an "antic disposition" (1.5.172), Hamlet is saying that he is going to act like nothing is wrong even though he is very suspicious of Claudius and is planning to kill him. His behavior is a deliberate strategy in order to increase his chances of avenging his father.

pg 830 #4

Claudius and Polonius both think that the way Hamlet is conducting himself towards Ophelia is improper and they are worried that he is not stable and could therefore be a threat to Ophelia. Polonius' argument seems more fair because it seems like he is really trying to protect his daughter. However, in Act I scene III, Polonius' treatment of her reveals that he is over protective and controlling. Polonius believes that he knows best because he is her father and therefor looks down on Ophelia, which suggests that he believes he is superior to all women.

pg 832 #9

Hamlet's first soliloquy (1.2.129-59) in the play is significant because it reveals more about Hamlet to the audience. Instead of hearing other people's perceptions of him, the audience can finally observe Hamlet for themselves. In his soliloquy, Hamlet expresses his desire to die and even thoughts of suicide. However, he is conflicted because his religion is against suicide. The fact that he will not go against his religion shows that he is very religious. Hamlet also expresses his grief for his father and his feelings towards his mother and women in general. He feels somewhat betrayed by his mother because she got remarried to Claudius so quickly when he thought that she truly loved his father. Hamlet's last line in his soliloquy tells the audience that Hamlet doesn't want his true feelings to be known, even to his friends.

Claudius and Gertrude: The Lion and his loyal follower

In the play, Hamlet, Shakespeare assigns different speech patterns to each character. This gives each character a distinct personality and brings different tones to the play. One of the most unique speech patterns in Hamlet is that of Claudius, who is, more than anything, manipulative. Another character who certainly uses similar language, but not quite as extreme, is Gertrude. Both Claudius and Gertrude try to mask their ill-intended implications by using kind and friendly tones, although Gertrude is more genuine than Claudius.

Prufrock

"We have lingered in the chambers of the sea/ By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown/ Till human voices wake us, and we drown." (129-131)

The reference to the sea in this quote connects back to the comparison of himself to a crab earlier in the poem. Although the crab is implied to be solitary in the depths of the ocean, the "We" in this quote is implied to be surrounded by mermaids, and perhaps other people. Those other people can be thought of as dreamers like the narrator. The words "human voices" gives the impression that the narrator does not think of himself as human, but as something more carefree and content. The narrator has been living in a bliss fantasy for, perhaps, his whole life. By the end of the poem, he finally starts realizing the reality of his life and of the world around him; he finds that it is not at all like his dream.

Topic Two: Bad Dad: One page essay with evidence not just describing how Austen turns us against Mr. Bennet but her purpose in doing it. Why does Austen at first align us with Mr. Bennet, but over the course of the novel shows weaknesses of his parenting style? In the end, what is Austen helping us to see about parenting in the Mirror of Satire?

Although readers relate to and support Mr. Bennet at first, Austen later shows him as an irresponsible parent in order to reveal the importance of strong parenting. At the beginning of the novel, Mr. Bennet is introduced as the practical one in the family along with Jane and Elizabeth. Throughout the novel, especially at the beginning, he serves to point out the flaws of characters such as Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Collins by gently mocking and ridiculing them. This characteristic of his allows the readers, who also undoubtedly feel the same way about such characters, to relate to Mr. Bennet. However, as the story progresses, Mr. Bennet appears to the reader as unable to take things seriously.  When Lydia wants to go to Brighton, for example, he does not stop to think of the possible consequences. Even though Elizabeth, his favorite daughter who he trusts most, pleads with him not to let Lydia go and provides good reasons, he does not even consider her request. He is more concerned with his own happiness than the welfare of his daughter: “We shall have no peace…if Lydia does not go to Brighton,” (156). From this, Austen reveals that Mr. Bennet does not necessarily want what is best for his daughters, but instead gives them whatever they want. This tendency is seen earlier in the novel when Mr. Bennet does not force Elizabeth into marrying Mr. Collins. The difference is that, in the case of Elizabeth, the reader applauded his passiveness, but in the case of Lydia, the reader views his consent as irresponsible. Austen turns the reader against Mr. Bennet in order to point out that parents need to be firm with their children and think of them first.

To His Coy Mistress

"Now, therefore, while thy youthful hue sits on thy skin like morning dew" (33-34)

The tone in this line is very conditional, much like the first stanza, but while the first stanza is slower and calmer, this line, which is the beginning of the third stanza, is much more urgent and demanding because of the word "now". In this line, the narrator is essentially saying that he will only love the mistress when she is young, which suggests that the narrator's love is not very deep.