Important Monologues from Act 1 of Hamlet

1. Important Monologues from Act 1 of Hamlet

2. Hamlet(These lines occur after an encounter with Gertrude and Claudius) O, that this too too solid flesh would melt Thaw and resolve itself into a dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God! How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, Seem to me all the uses of this world! Fie on't! ah fie! 'tis an unweeded garden, That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature Possess it merely. That it should come to this! But two months dead: nay, not so much, not two: So excellent a king; that was, to this, Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother That he might not beteem the winds of heaven Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth! Must I remember? why, she would hang on him, As if increase of appetite had grown By what it fed on: and yet, within a month-- Let me not think on't--Frailty, thy name is woman!– A little month, or ere those shoes were old With which she follow'd my poor father's body, Like Niobe, all tears:--why she, even she-- O, God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason, Would have mourn'd longer--married with my uncle, My father's brother, but no more like my father Than I to Hercules: within a month: Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears Had left the flushing in her galled eyes, She married. O, most wicked speed, to post With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! It is not nor it cannot come to good: But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue. (Act 1, Scene 2)

3. Hamlet(These lines occur after an encounter with Gertrude and Claudius) O, that this too too solid flesh would melt Thaw and resolve itself into a dew! I wish this flesh would melt away into a vapor! Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God! Or that God had not made a law against suicide! How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, Seem to me all the uses of this world! Life is weary, stale, flat and unprofitable to me!

4. Fie on't! ah fie! 'tis an unweeded garden, That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature Possess it merely. That it should come to this! Damn! It is like an uncared for garden that grows wild; only weeds grow in it now. I can’t believe it’s come to this! But two months dead: nay, not so much, not two.So excellent a king; that was, to this, Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother That he might not beteem the winds of heaven Visit her face too roughly. My father had been dead for two months: no, not even two. He was an excellent king, as superior to my uncle as a god to a beast; so loving to my mother that he kept the wind from blowing too hard on her face. Greek sun god vs. A creature, noted for its lust and promiscuity.

5. Heaven and earth, Must I remember? Oh God, do I have to remember that? why, she would hang on him, As if increase of appetite had grown By what it fed on: and yet, within a month-- Let me not think on't--Frailty, thy name is woman!– She would hang on him, and the more she was with him the more she wanted to be with him. I don’t want to think about it—women are so weak! A little month, or ere those shoes were old With which she follow'd my poor father's body, Like Niobe, all tears:--why she, even she-- O, God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason, Would have mourn'd longer--married with my uncle, My father's brother, but no more like my father Than I to Hercules: within a month: Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears Had left the flushing in her galled eyes, She married. Even before she had broken the shoes she wore to his funeral, crying like crazy-even an animal would have mourned its mate longer than she did—she married my uncle, my father’s brother, but no more like my father than I to Hercules: Less than one month after my father’s death, before her tears dried, she remarried. symbol of eternal mourning Hercules was a hero of Greek and Roman mythology who was known for his great strength.

6. O, most wicked speed, to post With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! Oh, so quick to jump into a bed of incest! It is not nor it cannot come to good: But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue. It’s not good, and no good can come of it either. But my heart must break in silence because I must not speak of my feelings aloud. (Act 1, Scene 2)

7. So, now that we have explicated this speech, we are going to look at Hamlets emotions. • What emotions is Hamlet feeling? • Anger, sadness… HOW DO WE KNOW THIS IS WHAT HE FEELS?

8. Next, we are going to focus on HOW we know… • Let’s pretend your friend Susie signed up for an online dating service. What might the following picture tell Susie?

10. What you just did is called Rhetorical Analysis • First, you identified the impression or effect the photo was supposed to have. • Then, you realized this effect wasn’t accidental, but carefully and intentionally created. • Last, you looked at the details of the photo to figure out exactly HOW the person achieved the whole effect. When you rhetorically analyze something, you: • Identify the effect it was intended to have • Realize the effect wasn’t accidental, but carefully crafted • Look at the details (the smaller parts) in order to figure out how they created the whole big-picture effect.

11. Let’s try this with a movie clip • As you watch, write down WHAT the movie makers have done to make this scene scary. • Pay attention to: • Shot length (time, and also distance) • Viewpoint • Colors and music • Transitions between shots • Style and tone of each shot

12. Now let’s look Hamlet’s speech: • First, we have identified Hamlet’s emotions. • Now, look at the text and mark WHERE he feels these emotions • WHAT is he upset about? • Consider the following questions: • HOW does Hamlet feel about his dad? (Step 1-identify) • KNOW this was intentional (Step 2) • Give the line where you see this (Step 3-details)

13. Questions Continued: • HOW does Hamlet feel about his mother? (Step 1-identify) • KNOW this was intentional (Step 2) • Give the line where you see this (Step 3-details) • HOW does Hamlet feel about Claudius? (Step 1-identify) • KNOW this was intentional (Step 2) • Give the line where you see this (Step 3-details)

14. Questions Continued: • WHAT can Hamlet do about the things in his life? • Give the line where you see this (Step 3-details)

15. Your turn! • Pair up with someone sitting close to you • Together, explicate the speech Polonius makes to Laertes in Act 1, Scene 3. • Then, answer the two following questions & use support/details to justify your answer: • How does Polonius feel about friendship? • How does Polonius feel about truth?