Hamlet Review - Post 1

Hi folks,

With the Hamlet test coming on Thursday the 27th, it is important that you are prepared.  Today, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, there will be a few posts to help you focus your studies towards the actual test.  The following are some of things you should be reviewing.

1.) The "Rotten State" of Denmark

Denmark was not always rotten, as Prince Hamlet makes it clear that his father was a god-like figure when he was king.  Under the "satyr" like king, Claudius, Denmark has fallen into a state of corruption.  The second scene of the play makes it clear that it is the weak and corrupt condition of Denmark under Claudius that affords occasion for the warlike activities of Fortinbras. From the beginning of the play Hamlet has had suspicions, which are gradually confirmed as the plot develops, that Claudius has exerted a very evil influence upon the country.  From buying off Norway, rather than fight them, to allowing characters like Osiric to sit at the royal table, to performing the ancient and forgotten custom of drinking glass after glass of wine to sounds of drums and trumpets, Denmark has become a debauched place.  Consider these ideas, should a question come up on the test.

2.) Yorick

Alas, poor Yorick...he is dead.  Judging by Hamlet's reaction to the remains of the former jester, he clearly wasn't always doom and gloom like he is for the vast majority of the play.  Yorick brought great happiness to Hamlet in his childhood, and his fonder memories spring up while gazing upon the jester's chapless skull.  It helps Hamlet to realize that whether you are the highest king or the lowliest of servant, everyone ends up in the same spot - in the ground, eventually turning into dust.  To a lesser extent, there is a bit of dark comedy here.  You have a focus on the deceased court jester, the gravediggers  are clowns, and there is a whole amusing discussion as to the nature of suicide and accidental death.  The whole scene gives us a comical reminder that death can be amusing because we fear it so much, yet we do not understand it.

More to come later