Words, Words, Words on Hamlet

Blog Comments

Blog Post One (commented on Arden’s blog)
Arden, this was great! I love how you overdramaticized everything, something that a teenage Ophelia (and teenage girls everywhere) tend to do. This was extremely well written and I loved it. Good job! I especially liked when you said “You see, my brother, Laertes, and my father, Polonius, both told me that I should basically should have nothing to do with Hamlet. They say he is not right for me, and that I shouldn't see him. But I don't get it, why not??? Hamlet has done me no wrong, and I believe that he loves me, as I love him.” It’s how, me, speaking as Ophelia, would view things as well, and girl, I’m glad you and I both feel the same way. Thank god you and I have each other to fall back on because if I didn’t have any quality girl time with friends, I don’t know what I’d do.

Blog Post Two (commented on Kristen’s blog)

“Two wrongs don’t make a right.” I’ve never seen Revenge but I’ve always wanted to. The quote from the beginning of the clip when she’s talking to her father shows how much she’s changed from when she’s younger to now as an adult after her father is taken. Hmm, maybe I’ll have to watch this, especially after everything that’s happened to my father. <3 Ophelia

Blog Post Three (commented on Annie’s blog)

Horatio, I must ask why you refer to my beloved Hamlet as “Hammie.” It is an unflattering nickname, and I can assure you he does not like it. But, anyway, I mustn’t focus on your absurd nickname. “By this, I do believe he means that my belief system and what I would like to think is true about people in general, them being innately good overall, is but a dream.” Well, Horatio, if you think all people are innately good, you’ll have to let me know what you think about some of the recent newsworthy events of Denmark. Do let me know. ~~Ophelia

Blog Post Four (commented on Shannon’s blog)

Oh, Hamlet, I wish you would open up to me to tell me about your problems you’re having at home. I long to help you out because I love you so. I long for this more than anything in the world. If I could ask for anything, I want the old Hamlet to come back to me. When you say “A cause for Hamlet's inaction lies in the problem of suicide (in addition to the fact that it is morally and religiously wrong which brings the state of afterlife into question), what will happen after death. Will the dreams be peaceful or will they be terrifying, what will one go to Heaven or to Hell. Imagery is used here to help advance this point,” it makes me sad to realize that you are thinking of killing yourself. I would much rather you and I have a serious talk about what’s happening in your life. Talk to me, Hamlet, please talk to me! Always remember that I love you, Ophelia.

Blog Post Five (commented on Ria’s blog)

Dear friend, I completely understand what you are going through. This critic tries to understand what you and I are going through, when he has no idea what is truly going on in our lives. He tries to say that we are deranged and crazy, but truthfully, we are upset. “How this person can make such broad judgments I do not see...I have deeper meaning now more than ever that I do not think any one else can notice.” I understand what you are talking about here completely. He’s trying to pass judgment on us when we don’t deserve it. I think someone needs to analyze this person because what he saying is full of lies and does not contain one piece of truth in this so-called “scholarly piece of writing.”
—Ophelia
***(note as Lauren, for some reason, Blogger has to approve my comment so it may not be posted. So if it doesn’t get posted, this is what I said)***

Blog Post Six (commented on Marte’s blog)

Oh, Hamlet, you have no idea how my heart swells when I read that you love me. Nothing makes me happier than to know that you love me. I will no longer doubt you anymore, my love. “In my funeral I won't just remember me and my life, but I want to honor those I cherished and hold dared to me.” Hamlet, thank you for choosing me as one of the people who you cherished. I want you to know that I never doubted you, even when my family told me to watch for out for you. I wish we could have spent more time together. Just remember that I will always love you, just like the song say. ~~Ophelia

Extra Note

After an intense song listening session, I have come to the conclusion that I want Shake It Out by Florence and the Machine to be played at my funeral. I want the listeners to think of it as me singing and giving out a warning to all of those who come after me and are struggling with something in his or her life.

Just for fun, here are the lyrics:
Regrets collect like old friends
Here to relive your darkest moments
I can see no way, I can see no way
And all of the ghouls come out to play

And every demon wants his pound of flesh
But I like to keep some things to myself
I like to keep my issues drawn
It's always darkest before the dawn

And I've been a fool and I've been blind
I can never leave the past behind
I can see no way, I can see no way
I'm always dragging that horse around

Our love is questioned, such a mournful sound
Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground
So I like to keep my issues drawn
But it's always darkest before the dawn

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
So shake him off, oh whoa

And I am done with my graceless heart
So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart
'Cause I like to keep my issues drawn
It's always darkest before the dawn

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
So shake him off, oh whoa

And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
And given half the chance would I take any of it back
It's a fine romance but it's left me so undone
It's always darkest before the dawn

Oh whoa, oh whoa...

And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't
So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road
And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope
It's a shot in the dark aimed right at my throat
'Cause looking for heaven, found the devil in me
Looking for heaven, found the devil in me
Well what the hell I'm gonna let it happen to me, yeah

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
So shake him off, oh whoa

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
So shake him off, oh whoa

And here is a video link:
Shake it Out by Florence and the Machine

The Last Will and Testament of Ophelia

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide,
No escape from reality.
Open your eyes,
Look up to the skies and see,
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy,
Because I'm easy come, easy go,
Little high, little low,
Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me.

Mama, just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head,
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead.
Mama, life had just begun,
But now I've gone and thrown it all away.
Mama, ooh,
Didn't mean to make you cry,
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow,
Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters.

Too late, my time has come,
Sends shivers down my spine,
Body's aching all the time.
Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go,
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth.
Mama, ooh (any way the wind blows),
I don't wanna die,
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all.

I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?
Thunderbolt and lightning,
Very, very frightening me.
(Galileo) Galileo.
(Galileo) Galileo,
Galileo Figaro
Magnifico.

I'm just a poor boy and nobody loves me.
He's just a poor boy from a poor family,
Spare him his life from this monstrosity.
Easy come, easy go, will you let me go.

Bismillah! No, we will not let you go.
(Let him go!) Bismillah! We will not let you go.
(Let him go!) Bismillah! We will not let you go.
(Let me go) Will not let you go.
(Let me go) Will not let you go.
(Let me go) Ah.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
(Oh, mama mia, mama mia) Mama mia, let me go.
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me.

So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye.
So you think you can love me and leave me to die.
Oh, baby, can't do this to me, baby,
Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here.

Nothing really matters,
Anyone can see,
Nothing really matters,
Nothing really matters to me.

Any way the wind blows.

These lyrics relate to Hamlet because the person singing the song can’t tell what is truly going on in reality and what’s happening in this “other world.” This relates to Hamlet because, I, well, start to lose it after a while and can’t tell what’s really happening in the world versus if I’m just making it up. Especially when my father dies. “She is importunate,/Indeed distract; her mood will needs be pitied (4. 5. 2-3).” I’d chose for this to be played during my entrance to the church in my new-found home (aka my casket, which should be made up to my very wishes, because otherwise, things will not go very well), or when I’m being lowered into the ground because it’s what I want and no one should mess with someone’s final wishes. Wait, take a deep breath, Ophelia, it’s okay. There’s no need to get upset over nothing. Because everything will be just. Perfect. Ah. Perfection. Something I need in life. 

Like the song says, “But now I've gone and thrown it all away,” some people may think that I’ve killed myself and don’t deserve a true funeral. “Is she to be buried in Christian burial,/when she willfully seeks her own salvation (5. 1. 1-2).” Well, I certainly didn’t plan on throwing everything away, but when things spiral out of your own control, it’s hard to see clearly and everything just gets so cloudy. One minute, everything is fine and the next minutes, boom! You’re in the water and can’t seem to get out. So, Mr. Gravedigger, give me the proper Christian funeral, or there will be 500 additional years in purgatory for you. And as for the doctor, who said “Her death was doubtful (5. 1. 234),” you would be wrong and you get an extra 600 years in purgatory. Boys, enjoy your time there because you have a lot of time there, and there is no early check-out payment.

“(Oh, mama mia, mama mia) Mama mia, let me go/Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me.” This is something that I want to say to Laertes. He probably wants to find a reason that this happened to me, and will probably blame it on Hamlet. Well, darling brother, please don’t blame Hamlet. I know I defied you and father’s wishes, but I just wanted to be the one I love. And your advice of “fear it, Ophelia; fear it, my dear sister (1. 3. 37),” maybe you’re right. Maybe I should have feared Hamlet a little more, and maybe I should have obeyed father like I said I would. I mean, I even told him “I shall obey, my lord (1. 4. 145).”  I guess I just need to listen to those around me and not let love overtake my vision. For that, I’m sorry.

I just have one more thing I want to leave you with for today. “Nothing really matters,/Anyone can see,/Nothing really matters,/Nothing really matters to me.” In the end, I’m dead, and there’s nothing that can be done about it. I know people will miss me, and I can accept that. Please do not spend so much time thinking about me. I don’t want Hamlet to be double depressed over the loss of his father and his girlfriend.

My Immortal by Evanescence

I'm so tired of being here

Suppressed by all my childish fears

And if you have to leave

I wish that you would just leave

Your presence still lingers here

And it won't leave me alone

These wounds won't seem to heal

This pain is just too real

There's just too much that time cannot erase

When you cry I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you scream I'd fight away all of your fears

And I held your hand through all of these years

But you still have

All of me

You used to captivate me

By your resonating light

Now I'm bound by the life you left behind

Your face – it haunts

My once pleasant dreams

Your voice – it chased away

All the sanity in me

These wounds won't seem to heal

This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase

When you cry I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me

I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
But though you're still with me
I've been alone all along

When you cry I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me

These lyrics also relate to Hamlet because of the angst in the song, which is exactly how I feel about my life sometimes. Especially Hamlet. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love him, but he’s got so many problems right now and he just unloads it all on me. Like, sometimes I have problems too, and he just doesn’t care.
“When you cry I'd wipe away all of your tears/When you scream I'd fight away all of your fears/And I held your hand through all of these years/But you still have/All of me.” This part of the song reminds when Hamlet randomly showed up in my room one night and once again, unloads all of his baggage on me. “Long stayed he so./At last, a little shaking of mine arm,/And thrice his head thus waving up and down (2. 1. 103-105).” I mean, it’s like the writers of the song knew exactly what Hamlet was doing in my room and wrote a song for me. And of course, I gave Hamlet everything I had in order to help him out. And he’ll forever have everything of me because no one can forget a girl like me. Even when “I did repel his letters and denied/His access to me (2. 1. 121-122)” he still found a way to talk to me and make me fall even more in love with him. Sometimes a girl just can’t help it.

“I’m so tired of being here/Suppressed by all my childish fears/And if you have to leave/I wish that you would just leave.” This part of the song reminds me of when I was talking to Hamlet after he made this huge speech when he thought he was by himself, but I was listening the entire time. He was talking about killing himself, and it’s like, OH MY GOD! I’ve heard you talk about this for weeks now. I love you and all, but if you’re going to do it, just do it because I’m getting so tired of hearing you talk about it. Anyway. I heard him talking and when he said “Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer . . . or to take arms against a sea of troubles (3. 1. 65, 67) I knew how serious Hamlet’s problem was and I had all these fears come back to me that I had when I was a little girl. I started becoming afraid that I was going to end up an old maid and then I would bring disgrace unto my whole family and my father wouldn’t say anything directly to me but I know he’d be disappointed that Hamlet messed me up so much and he’d have to arrange a marriage to someone and I wouldn’t ever love that person or he’d lock me in a tower and let my hair grow long . . . oh wait, that’s Rapunzel. Now I’m getting my fears and my fairytales mixed up. But I also was afraid when he asked me “Are you honest (3. 1. 113) because basically he asked me if I was sleeping around with anyone else. And while it’s not a childish fear, I’m afraid that, with everything Hamlet is going through, that he’s the one who isn’t being honest. And I just can’t deal with that. I really can’t.

“These wounds won't seem to heal/This pain is just too real/There's just too much that time cannot erase.” A little after Hamlet’s big speech and the little talk we had, I said something like “O, woe is me/’T have seen what I have seen (3. 1. 174-175).” These two go together because I’ve got so much going on, hence the woe on my part, and Amy Lee’s wounds that won’t heal, her pain that’s too real, and the too much that time just won’t erase for her. Again, me and Hamlet. We’ve gone through so much together and there’s too much history for us to ever change what we have. So, I guess I’m going to do my thing and wait it out for a bit. And if Hamlet takes the bait, then everything will work out perfectly.

Video Link to Beohemian Rhapsody
Video Link to My Immortal

testing 1, 2, 3 :)

This Is What Happens When You Spy on a Teenage Girl

How dare this Peter Seng attempt to interpret my life when he has never met me and CLEARLY doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He says that I have some form of “divined the memories that may underlie it in Ophelia’s deranged mind (Seng, 218).” Well, let me inform you, Mr. Peter Seng. Read this closely because I’m only going to say it once. I DO NOT HAVE A DERANGED MIND! Don’t you dare call me deranged. I’m terribly upset; after all, my father died and I think Hamlet may have done it, and my brother’s away in France again. I mean, you acknowledge that yourself! “ Her father had been killed—by her mad lover as she believes—and hastily interred. Her brother is abroad at school in a foreign land (Seng, 218).” Like, seriously, dude, give a girl a break. You don’t know my lifestyle, so don’t try to guess it because you are horribly off-base. I was upset because Hamlet was gone and I didn’t feel like I had anyone to talk to. I mean “The distraught girl could hardly turn to King Claudius, and the ‘beauteous Majesty of Denmark,’ Gertrude, has apparently, been avoiding her (Seng, 218).”

This Peter Seng fellow also has the meaning behind my ballads wrong too. The Gentleman who spoke of why I was upset (upset is the correct word to use, not deranged. Peter Seng, take notes) got it completely correct. “They aim at it/And botch the words up fit to their own thoughts (4. 5. 11-12).” So, thank you, kind Gentleman, for understanding me when so called renowned Literary Criticism writer Peter Seng can’t understand what a teenage girl is talking about. Well, I guess Peter Seng did get one thing right. I’m not too happy with Queen Gertrude right now. First off, she calls me a “sick soul (4. 5. 22)” and that’s not very nice at all. So I thought I’d try to confuse her, and everyone in the palace for that matter, and speak only in ballads. It’s a fun thing to do; teenage girls, I recommend doing it to avoid talking to teachers that you just can’t stand. It’ll throw them off base and they’ll leave you alone for a bit. It’s a plan of pure perfection.

Now, Mr. Seng, once again, completely didn’t understand the point of my ballads. So, I’ve picked some of my favorite lines, and I’m going to tell you what I really thought of them. Doesn’t that sound like fun?

“How should I know your true love know/From another one (4.5. 28-29)?” So, when I said that, I was talking about how Gertrude claimed to love King Hamlet, but two months after his death, she’s shacking up  with his brother and saying how in love she is with him. Talk about scandalous, “Queen” Gertrude. I mean, God Save The Royalty, because she’s clearly on a manhunt for a new husband once Claudius is kicked to the curb.

“He is dead and gone, lady,/He is dead and gone (4. 5. 34-25).” No, Gerty (is it okay if I call you that, Gertrude? No? Oh well, I’m doing it anyway), don’t fret, Hamlet didn’t die. Well, Hamlet Jr. hasn’t died. But Hamlet Jr. did tell me how your first husband (or should I saw true love #1, Gerty?), Hamlet Sr., did die. Oh boy, it’s a nice, lovely, juicy piece of gossip. But, you’ll have to figure it out on your own. I’m so not telling anyone about this . . . unless there’s something good in it for me.

“And I a maid at your window,/To be your Valentine (4. 5. 55-56).” Yeah, so, Gerty, and to the Royal Family in general, I have a confession to make. Hamlet and I spent many a nights together, and I wanted our first Valentine’s Day as an official couple to be absolutely perfect. I was planning on showing up on V-Day night to his room and give him a special surprise. By the way, did you know V-Day is, like, my fave day of all time? Anyway, now I can’t spend my fave day of all time with the person I love the most. Thanks a lot Gerty and Claudy.

Basically, I need people to leave me alone and stop trying to interpret everything I say and everything I do. I’m a teenage girl and sometimes I get upset (again, I use the word upset, not deranged). Because when you try to analyze everything I do, you end up way wrong like Peter Seng. And no one wants to be like Peter Seng.

To Be, Or Not To Be

***Note: the lines used in the blog refer to the ones on the sheet, not the play itself***

Imagery about death appears multiple times in the soliloquy. He speaks directly about death occurs in lines 5 and 9 when he says “To die: to sleep;” but he also speaks about death when he says “Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,/Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,/And by opposing end them (ll. 2-5),” which is him talking about whether or not suicide is a noble thing to do since you’re putting the mind out of its misery, or if he should just suck it up and deal with all the drama in his life.

Imagery that refers to the negative experience of life are also rampant in the soliloquy. “The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,/the pangs of despised love, the law’s delay/the insolence of office and the spurns/The patient merit of the unworthy takes (ll. 16-19)” and “To grunt and sweat under a weary life (l. 22)” is talking about a lot of things that go wrong in everybody’s life and how people  have a daily routine that they try to stick to, even if they don’t want to because they’re tired of everything that is going on.

Hamlet uses mostly ethos and pathos in his soliloquy. “The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks/That flesh is heir to. ‘tis a consummation/Devoutly to be wish’d (ll. 6-9)” is an example of pathos because it appeals more to emotions than it does to logic or the character. “Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;/And thus the native hue of resolution/Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,/And enterprises of great pith and moment (ll. 29-31)” is more ethos because it’s when Hamlet makes up his mind about whether he wants kill himself or not.

The importance of paradox, parallelism, use of the infinitive, tone, diction, and metaphor is to show Hamlet’s struggle with his inner battle is tearing at him. He’s hiding the big secret that his uncle turned step-father is the one who killed his father, and he’s upset that his mother moved on so quickly from his father’s death. He’s battling whether or not he can continue to put on the daily façade of acting like everything is okay. He’s got so many things he has to worry about, no wonder he’s falling apart when he’s all by himself. The two main metaphors he uses is the comparison of death and sleep and the discussion on life and death.

Hamlet compares life on earth, death, and the afterlife in line 25, when he says that “No traveler returns (l. 25),” which means that anyone who was living but dies and goes to the afterlife can never come back to Earth. He compares humans and thinking when he talks about sleeping and dreaming. “To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub; (l. 10).”

The question that Hamlet ponders in the soliloquy is whether or not it’s okay to commit suicide in order to escape the pains of everyday life, and he ultimately decides that it’s not okay.

In the Kenneth Branagh clip of Hamlet’s soliloquy, there is no music or background noise at all. He’s in a hallway full of mirrors, and is directing the soliloquy to his reflection in the mirror. He’s dressed in all black, which shows that he’s still mourning, which could also be foreshadowing to him having to mourn the loss of someone else close to him. In line 24, the camera goes from being a chest-up shot to focused on his face until the mention of Ophelia in line 34, when it suddenly pans back away from him.

In the Laurence Olivier clip, it’s in black and white, and even though that was the only type of film available in the 1940s, it added quite nicely to the scene because it showed how upset Hamlet still is over everything that is wrong in his life. There’s some rather creepy music in the background, and for multiple times during the clip, the camera continually pans in to his face and back out once again, especially in lines 8-11.

In the Mel Gibson clip, he’s walking down a set of stairs into a tunnel, although it looks more like the catacombs because there are dead bodies (or they may just be statues designed to just creep people out). Once again, there’s no music in the scene and Mel Gibson’s Hamlet is dressed in all black. However, this Hamlet was given a very scruffy and disheveled look to show how upset Hamlet is. He has hair that looks like it hadn’t been brushed or combed for weeks, and his beard looked a little on the long side. Both of these show that Hamlet is not taking care of himself. Most of his soliloquy is echoing in the tunnel/catacomb, which adds a slight emphasis to what he’s saying. In line 31, Gibson raises his head, as if to address the heavens with his words.

In the Ethan Hawke scene, there is music, consisting of what sounds like the low notes of a piano and a stringed instrument to add drama to the scene. The shot is mostly from the shot up, but in line 32, the camera pans up to a close up of his face. Most of the scene seems like it’s Ethan Hawke doing a voice over, not him talking as Hamlet.

Ophelia’s back, everyone! Oh, that sounds like something “A” from Pretty Little Liars would say. “It’s O, readers!” Anyway, I’m getting distracted. And O sounds like Oprah and you don’t mess with Oprah. While I have to give it up to all of my Hamlets because they were superb, I do have to say the Kenneth Branagh version of Hamlet was the best. The way he looks when he’s talking to himself in the mirrors is spot-on to someone who’s having a major life problem (and for me, I love it because a reflection of Hamlet is great for me because then I get to oogle at two Hamlets!). He looks truly crazed, especially when he pulls out the sword and messed with it during some of the lines (I just wish I was able to calm him down).

I would have changed Ethan Hawke’s approach to mis en scene. In the Mel Gibson, the Laurence Olivier, and the Kenneth Branagh version, I could tell there was a deep reason for the scene taking place where it did, but I didn’t understand why Hawke’s version took place in a Blockbuster. Maybe I would understand it more if Blockbuster stores were still around and Movies on Demand didn’t exist. I also didn’t understand why it seemed like he was half talking during the scene, and half talking as a voice over. If you’ve got something to say, do it one way or another. Because I’m positive note, I’m going to end on a positive note. I did like the creepy music in the background.

Until next time,

Lauren, your faithful blogger

Ophelia, who doesn’t know what to put here anymore