Hamlet+Macbeth

A1 S1-Ghost opening

• “who’s there→largely becomes theme of whole film (mirrors, fake madness, dumbshows etc.)

• builds up Fortinbras by Horatio

• Horatio established as close friend+ trusted observer and level headed advisor

• appearance of ghost→bad things coming, people suspect things are off

A1 S2 Opening court

• stark contrast to the dark, foggy, cold ghosty walls of Elsinore, the court is bright and jovial and pompous

• Claudius is a overly smooth politician→speaks about balance, moving on from sadness, balancing grief with happpiness of marriage→ too smooth, not possible to be so political

• Claudius tries to take a fatherly role to hamlet while also asking him to stay in Denmark

• first Hamlet soloquily→”fraility thy woman” and the “hercules to I”→Laments his mother’s hasty marriage

• Horatio/Marceullues/bernado appear telling him about the ghost

A1 S3 Polonius Household

• Ophelia is subject to both her brother and her father’s moral musings

• Laertes warns her to be wary of Hamlet, as his political power (and being a man) affords him power over her, she cannot afford to lose her virginity, while he can do whatever and likely will marry another queen/princess/high lord

• Polonius “to thine ownself be true”→ sort of squabbling full of contradictions, sort of this washed old man idea

• Laertes goes to college in paris

• Polonius→ agrees with Laertes, Ophelia vows to stay away from Hamlet

A1 S4 Hamlet Horatio Ghost

• takes place on the ramparts above where Claudius and the court is having a ball/party

• “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”→outside threats bode harsh against the inside jovilaity of the court

• Ghost appears and beckons Hamlet to follow, Hamlet is wary, does not know whether it is a demon or other evil spirit but follows anyway

• After a while Horatio/Marcellus/ follow

A1 S5 Ghost advice

• Ghost lays out his murder: sleeping , thru the ear, in this sinful, vulnerable state and of course the wooing of his wife

• Wants revenge but doesn't:t tell Hamlet what to do but markedly says to not harm his mother and to not tarnish his own soul→frustratingly vague

• Hamlet returns to Horatio and Marcellus and the ghost “swear” forces them to swear not to tell anyone

• Hamlet at this point also begins the idea to feign as a madman as to plot his revenge

• Hamlet now mad he has this responsbility

A2 S1 Polonius Reylando Ophelia

• Polonius has very specfic instructions to Reynaldo on how to spy on Laertes in Paris, by spreading false but disdaining rumours on Laertes and seeing how people react

• Ophelia then comes in “doublt all unbracd” talks about Hamlet has recently like acosted her/disturbed her but did not speak

• Plants idea in Polonius’ head that Hamlet is hearbroken/love sick over Ophelia causing his madness→tells Claudius

A2 S2 players intro, R/G intro, Fishmonger

• R/G introduced→ parodies of socratic dialogue in their constant questioning and sort of refusal to make anyone mad→fails and they are just fools

• Polonius tells Gertrude and Claudius about his theory about Hamlet being heartbroken

• Hamlet “feigns” being mad in his nonsensical talks with Polonius

• Fortinbras was told by his uncle he was not allowed to invade Denmark and thus marches thru denmark to Poland

• Hamlet sees the players and begins his dumbshow idea also the comparison the player beign able to strike up emotion over false acts→ironic that Hamlet is so contemplative, so well thought out that he lacks the rashness to just do things

A3 S1 To be or not to be

• R/G shares Hamlet’s play enthuasism to G/C who agree to attend the play

• Polonius plants Ophelia reading to catch Hamlet

• “to be or not tobe” →contemplates suicide as a philosophical idea, eventually decides against it as the fear of the unknown after death “makes cowards us of all”, but bearing struggles (staying alive) vs sort of giving in (suicide) is a constant theme

• Abuse of Ophelia→ get thee to a nunnery, unclear whether he is acting mad or not. Does not seem to further his goals at all, and he has the deep rooted mistrust/unhealthy relationship with women/misogny after seeing his mother marry his uncle

• Claudius and polonius plan for the closet scene, Claudius belives it to not be a mere lovesickness and something more deep rooted

A3 S2 Dumbshow

• murder of Gonzago as a play within the play to catch Claudius

• Horatio is the one to watch Claudius for any ticks→Horatio is the trusted advisor

• Hamlet acts mad in front of the court→ but he tells Horatio he will

• Crude, mysgonistic and sexual comments to Ophelia→ clear his anger over Gertrude is spilling over

• Claudius reacts but only during the play, not during the “dumbshow” (trailer)

• R/G Polonius contniue to not be taken seriously

A3 S3 Prayer

• Claudius sends r/g to pack immideately for england to take Hamlet

• Hamlet catches Claudius praying about his sin, Hamlet has the knife raised but begins to question where Claudius’ soul will go when he is killed in prayer

• The audience is confirmed of his guilt through prayer but Hamlet has not heard explicit proof of his guilt→perhaps he is waiting for even more evidence

• Hamlet ultimately stops himself and vows to kill him when he is sinning (as his father was killed in a vulernable state)

A3 S4 Chamber

• deeply confusing scene

• Hamlet acosts Gertrude, making quite explicit and sexual accusations, is frustrated at her with her choice of husband, and makes frequent sexual references to her to stay out of Claudius’ bed

• Polonius appears, Hamlet stabs thru curtain→ he cannot even face his murder, he wants his choices done for him, easy and clean

• Gertrude→ she is pollitcally unstable, she could be seen as a highly pragmatic woman who understands the mysogny at stake in the world and finds the need to submit to Claudius as a way to stay safe

• Ghost appears to bring Hamlet back ontrack, also Hamlet swears gertrude to not tell anyone about his fake madness

A4 S1 King finds out

• gertrude tells Claudius about murder of Polonius (thinking it was him) and Hamlets madness

• Claudius questions how he will deal with this poltically and keep a hold on the crown

• Claudius is one of the male characters who is little concerned with honor (at least not compared to his throne and his crown and his wife)

• gertrude does NOT tell Claudius that Hamlet is faking being mad or is playing Claudius

• Calls r/g to bring Hamlet to england immideatiely

A4 S2 R/G Hamlet

• r/g question Hamlet where the body is

• Hamlet refuses to answer, calls r/g bootlickers of the king

• unclear if he is “acting” here or if this is geuine reaction→sad to see he has no remorse for killing Polonius

A4 S3 England death note

• Hamlet feigns madness about the location of Polonius’s body

• important quote about worms beggar king guts→ the sort of meaningless cycle of life

• r/g nor hamlet know of Claudius’s death note that he later speaks about

• Claudius is cunning→ he wants Hamlet killed away from court as he is popular and his mother loves him

A4 S4 Fortinbras captain

• Hamlet, R/g stumble across Fortinbra's’ army and its captain, ready to invade Poland

• Hamlet is once again impressed that others are able to put so much work and effort into a scrap of land, worth nothing but the name

• hamlet delivers another self-degrading soloquily as he questions why others are able to spur themselves so masculinily into action

A4 S5 Laertes and ophelia Mad

• Ophelia is mad, singing songs and tweaking out w herbs and flowers

• Laertes enters with a army of commoners demanding revnege for his fathers death, and then only is incited again with the sight of his now mad sister

• Claudius clevery incites his rage but also makes sure he is clear of guilt→directs it towards hamlet

• Laertes is such a great foil to Hamlet→ he even proclaims that he does not care what happens to his soul, if he goes to hell or is damned forever he swears to get revenge for his father no matter what

A4 S6 pirates

• horatio reciees letter that Hamlet’s ship has been captured by pirates and he is now returning home to Denmark

• Horatio finds Hamlet

A4 S7 Claudius Laertes Plot

• Claudius cleverly manipulated Laertes→ he cannot take action against Hamlet because he is loved in court and loved by his wife (gertrude)

• As such, he incites Laertes to take action against Hamlet by boosting his ego (saying he is a superior swordsman to Hamlet) but also staying out of it→ he does not want to be directly involved

• Claudius proposes a posioned drink and a sharpened sword while Laertes add his own poison to his blade

• Ophelia’s death annoucned by gertrude causes even more grief from Laetres

• Flowers→ doomed sexuality and short lived beauty, also her clothes being watery kiled her→ the people that tried to limit her, force her killed her (Laertes, Hamlet, Polonius)

• Claudius wants to comfort Laertes not as like a fatherly condolence but so that there plan stays on track

A5 S1 graveyard

• Hamlet and Horatio ask two gravediggers, Hamlet asks about the skull of Yorick the court jester of his childhood,

• Comments on how all great men turn to dust and are forgotten

• Ophelia→ does she deserve a proper funeral since she died by suicide? Laertes and the gravediggers clash over this

• LAertes jumps into the grave to embrace Ohpelia, with hamlet also jumping and starting a brawl with Laertes about who loved her more

• Sort of this stupid irony that they both say ths after having treated her quite forcefully and restrcitively (especialyl Hamlet)

A5 S2 Final poison

• Hamlet tells Horatio about the murder of R/g, he feels no regret since he thinks they were fake friends who served Claudius

• he does however have sympathy for Laertes, to whom he sees a mirror in

• “divinity that shapes our ends”→ Hamlet in some twisted way has now belief in that he must merely follow this path set for him

• Hamlet decides to fgiht against Horatio’s advice

• Hamlet sends a word of peace to Laertes before their duel, asking for forgivness and Laertes accepts but still wants revenge

• Laertes forgives Hamlet as both r poisoned

A1 S1 Intro witches

• Witches meet to discuss about Macbeth

• Foul is fair fair is foul

• clear blur between what is right and wrong and wrong being right

A1 S2 news of battle

• macdownald (old thane of cawdor) betrays the king

• Macbeth is hailed as a war hero

• king very happy

A1 S3 Macbeth Witches intro

• witches speak of their potions and weird stuff

• unclear whether theya re human or not

• utter prophecies about Banquo: less but greater, get kings but be none

• Macbeth: Glamis→cawdor→ King

• Upon the witches disappearance, Macbeth is instantly named Thane of cawdor

• Macbeth is unclear whether this prophecy is good or bad→ can something be bad if it gives you good things (cawdor) can it be good if iit makes him nervous

• vows to speak to Banquo privately

a1 S4 Macbeth prasied by Duncan

• given cawdor and praise, Duncan to come to Inverness to feast in celebration

• but at the same time Macbeth spites Prince of cumberland (Malcom) for he is a clear obstacle in Macbeth’s vying for power

• “stars hide your fires”→ conflation of stars (holy, good) and desires deep and dark

A1 S5 the letter

• Lady Macbeth at Inverness reads the letter

• she instantly thinks to act and upon hearing Duncan’s coming to INverness she

• “unsex me here”→ she wants. to be filled with courage, loss of “feminime” cowardness and instead be compelled to act

• Macbeth enters, Lady Macbeth tells him not to worry and concel his emotions while she peforms the duties nessecary to prepare the murder

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