MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It is most certainly Christmas! And guess what! I love all of you! Even Sara!

CRAM SESH PT 2- Oedipus Rex

The first thing I think of when I hear Oedipus Rex (other then the motherly love) is sight vs. blindness and a theme statement I'd use for this would be: One's hubris will block them from seeing the entire truth. This not only relates to sight vs. blindness but also excessive pride. A quote I thought would work for this is, "I stopped the sphinx! With no help from the birds..." this quote shows the the lack of truth Oedipus is unable to face due to his hubris.

Rather off topic

Here's something interesting I found: apparently the Moai people believed that the Easter Island statue heads which they created helped grow crops.  It also happens that they were correct, though maybe not for a spiritual or religious reason; the Easter Island heads were constructed out of mineral rich clay and sediment from beneath the surface of the island, and combined with the supply of water and sunlight plants grown next to them were able to grow quickly due to their habitable environment.  Here's the video I saw about that: https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/world/2019/12/16/mystery-easter-islands-moai-solved/2662453001/

CRAM SESH- Hamlet

So we all know the story of Hamlet, king killed by brother who then marries the queen, son finds out and spends 4 hours worth of lines to kill the king. A main topic in this play is action vs. inaction and a theme statement to coincide with that thought could be: Taking action will ultimately move on forward while remaining indecisive will leave them in place. An easy to remember quote could be, "To be or not to be, that is the question," because Hamlet is questioning killing himself in this soliloquy.

Potential English exam topic discussion?

I can see a possible comparison between Hamlet's theme of inaction and 100 Years of Solitude's theme of history repeating itself.  In particular with the Aureliano(s) of the Buendia family, who characteristically seclude themselves and avoid confrontation, dooming themselves to repeat the faults of their predecessors.  Much like Hamlet, who chooses to wait in favor of killing Claudius each time he is presented the chance until the end of the play.  Given that this post is being made the night before the exam, what other comparisons between themes could be made between the literature we've read this semester?  

A loose comparison can also be drawn between Oedipus's theme of sophrosyne and Jose Arcadio Buendia's (and the Arcadio line in general) obsession with the sciences and advancement of Macondo, which eventually leads to his seclusion and loss of sanity.  His "rejection of sophrosyne" dooms him, much like Oedipus also is doomed for his hubris.  

The Ending!!!

I just wanted to make this post to gauge your opinions on the ending of Hamlet. In my opinion, it was a pretty satisfying ending, as justice was served in Claudius’ death. However, it was quite sad to see characters who were not necessarily evil, like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and even Gertrude, die in the final scene. Further, Hamlet’s death was very surprising, but I understand that it was bound to happen due to the play’s label as being a tragedy. What do you guys think of the ending, though? Was it sufficient or should there have more or fewer deaths?

The Movie

I really like the scenery in the Hamlet movie. Ms. Ross and I have extensively talked about the tiled floors, the many windows and the intricate designs of the bookcase doors. This allows, as you have seen, for many of the scenes and traps in the play to take place. I generally like the movie, it's filled with many talented actors as well as very good camera work. What did you guys think of these things? I can say I thought the camera work for The Mousetrap scene was very well done. Do you guys think there were too many windows and mirrors, or too few?

Who is to blame??

Obviously Hamlet is enraged by Claudius and Gertrude’s relationship. When Hamlet’s ghost appears to young Hamlet, he tells him to leave his mother alone but go after Claudius. However, both Gertrude and Claudius are in the wrong for this relationship and are both related by blood to Hamlet junior. So, blood doesn’t make any difference to Hamlet. 

On that note, do you think Hamlet is mad that Gertrude moved on so quickly with Claudius or just any man in general? What if Hamlet’s death was an accident not involving Claudius? Would Hamlet still be mad that Gertrude moved on to his brother?

I think that Hamlet is still confused himself, and hasn’t figured everything out. He is still trying to figure out the ghost, how to proceed with Claudius, and how to act towards Ophelia. Hamlet can’t believe that Claudius would do such a thing and then be with his mom on top of it! With that said, I think that Claudius is using Gertrude. In the case that he did get caught, he would have won over Gertrude in his mind. He would hope that she would believe him over others. The whole situation is terrible and shows the power-hungry Claudius who would do anything for the crown.

        What do y'all think? 

Why doesn't Gertrude see the ghost?

So, we started talking about this is class today, but I thought I'd put it on the blog. The big question is: Why doesn't Gertrude see the ghost of King Hamlet? In the beginning of the play, when the ghost appeared, everyone saw it, not just Hamlet. But in Act 3 Scene 4 Gertrude and Hamlet are talking and then the ghost of King Hamlet appears. Hamlet sees it and starts talking to it, but Gertrude does not. Hamlet asks her if she sees the ghost there and she says she doesn't. She then immediately says that Hamlet is mad. So, why is it that she doesn't see the ghost? Is it to show that maybe now Hamlet really is going mad? Or is it that the ghost only wanted to be made known to Hamlet in that moment? What do y'all think is the reason for this?

Do Hamlet's mommy issues make him incapable of love

Hamlet has some major problems with his moms new relationship. There are various reasons why including the fact that Claudius is the brother of his now deceased father, and Gertrude moved on inexplicably fast. However, there are also some more Freudian reasons as to why he doesn't like their relationship. He seems obsessive over the sexual aspect and questions his mothers ability to go to bed with her former brother in law. I think Hamlet's issues keep him from being able to properly love another woman. He saw what happened after his father's death, and is now scared to give himself over to someone else. I think that is why he started to resent Ophelia so much and treat her so cruelly. Although it went along with his plan to act crazy, it also seems like he really does hate in her some moments. This could be because he knows shes scheming against him, but it could also be due to the fact that he doesn't trust her intentions. He is obsessed with her being impure and not honest; he thinks Ophelia's innocence is just an act since he thought his mom was pure and decent for so long but realized she wasn't.

How do you guys feel about Hammy's lil momma problems?

Gertrudeee

Hey everyone, so I was thinking, do you guys think that Gertrude knew that Claudius killed her husband?

Andrew Again

I was blessed to Andrew's amazing performance last night! It was so nice and extremely interesting to see and hear. I also got to see Jacob, Sophia, Brandon and Elliot! It was so cool to see all these people support Andrew. 

Is Hamlet's Revenge Acceptable?

Hamlet is ultimately a tale of revenge in which a child is given an almost divine quest to kill the man that poisoned his father, and thus avenge his death. While it is certainly reprehensible to kill one's own brother to usurp the throne, is it ethical for Hamlet to slay his father's slayer? I would say no, simply because I believe that execution is unethical in all cases. However, it does make logical sense for Hamlet to kill Claudius as he is doing what the Danish justice system should have done anyway. Killing the leader of a country is practically the textbook definition of treason which is, in most cases, a capital offense, so it makes sense for Hamlet to pick up the slack and deliver "justice," as determined by the Danes. This leads me to ask the question, Do you believe that Hamlet's quest is justifiable either morally or logically?

he hath borne our griefs

In "Messiah" there is a movement called "Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs", it is about that fact Jesus is supposed to take away our sins and making atonement for us. This idea of divine atonement for wrong seems to be at play when talking about Gertrude. Hamlet is ordered to let her own guilt be her punishment. However this is a direct contradiction to the christian idea of being able to atone for sins through Jesus, especially in a protestant nation such as Denmark.

Most quotable lines from hamlet

So as we all know hamlet has some really famous lines. I thought I’d make a post about the five I would consider most famous as well as an interpretation of them. 

  “Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry”

If you lend your money, you’re gonna come back empty handed of that same money as well as the person you lent it to. Lending and borrowing can ruin friendships, and borrowing specifically will make you live a life untrue  to yourself.

 “Brevity is the soul of wit”

This quote has been extremely famous. It refers to the timing and conciseness that one must use in writing or speech in order for it to successfully be witty.

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so”

In essence, nothing is predetermined good or evil. The thoughts and perspective of the individual decides whether something is good or evil. Identifying something with either of those terms requires subjective thought. Peoples opinions decide if certain things are good or bad.

 “This above all: to thine own self be true”

“Be true to yourself” is a statement that is commonly spoken today. It can be good advice for just about any situation. If you’re writing a paper, if you’re giving a speech, if you’re trying to make new friends. Everyone always resorts back to this quote, because it really should be your main goal.

 “To be, or not to be: that is the question”

In this quote, Hamlet contemplates suicide. On a deeper level, he is really asking whether some of the situations that life puts us in have a right answer. Whether one should or should not do something, correlates to whether they will like their decision or not. Hamlet wonders whether it is right for him to even go on in a world where he is forced to avenge his father’s death. 

Handel's Messiah

Handel's "Messiah" is one of the most famous pieces of music in the world. It is incredibly difficult to learn and perform and the music itself has many thematic elements to it. But was is so interesting is that Handel wrote the entire "Messiah" in 24 days. This is absolute insane. Think about if Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in just 24 days that would make the play even more incredible.

what if we were to talk in long formal speeches ?

As we watched the Hamlet movie this week in class, I couldn’t help but think about the exaggeration of long formal speeches. There is such a difference between reading these long formal speeches in word form on a page, then watching someone speak them. The more and more Hamlet talked, the more I wondered: What would our conversations be like if we talked with  this type of exaggerated emotion and feeling. Everything Hamlet said was loud with such pain and passion as if he wanted the gods to hear him. If this were to be our everyday language do ya’ll think that would be a good thing or a bad thing? Would it affect the topics we talk about? Or the people we talked to?

Audio effects in podcasts

There are some really cool benefits to adding audio effects to your podcast. I found a website that lays them out pretty clearly. I am going to paraphrase some of the advice that it gave. If your podcast is becoming “talky,” it would probably be best to add in some background music to long speeches or interviews. The music helps keep you focused. Secondly, if your podcast is becoming choppy, then music can help make transitions flow better. Going from one segment to another doesn’t have to be difficult. If you’re changing from a light hearted tone to a more serious one, then let your music reflect that. Lastly, sound effects can help make a podcast interesting. If an interview came out to be pretty full, then add in sound effects to help spruce it up. Your main goal should be keeping people interested; audio elements help you do that.

https://blog.spreaker.com/how-music-sound-effects-make-podcast-better/

HamLet

Okay let's be real. Hamlet's a weird name, so I did some research! There's three different meanings. One being home which makes sense because nothing says home like son avenging his father action. But the other two meanings are fooling and dull. Do y'all think this resonates with Hamlet? The name originates from Armenia, Germany, the UK, and the US. Also, the names "qualities" are extroverted and adventurous. Once again, does this sound like the Hamlet we know? Lastly this website estimates that at least 22000 people in the world have this name making up 0.001% of the population. Lastly, 4 of the 8 notable people that were listed with this name are footballers.

Oh, Ophelia...

As we all know, Ophelia is Hamlet's love interest, but also the name of a song by The Lumineers. This song is loosely related to the actual character but has a whole lot of love in it. "Oh, Ophelia, heaven help a fool who falls in love," is a recurring line in the song that I think signifies Ophelia's foolish, innocent love she had for Hamlet. Another line in the song is, "I don't feel no remorse, and you can't see past my blinders," which reminds me of the scene in Hamlet when Ophelia was told to reject Hamlet's love and in return Hamlet just went off on her. Overall, very good song with a deeper meaning than I thought. Highly recommend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTOC_q0NLTk

Andrew!!

I'm going to see Andrew!! So excited !!!!

Andrew Holmes Gary!!

I just wanted to say that I am so excited to be able to see Andrew preform on Sunday! It is a wonderful opportunity to see a fellow stm student show his great talent and voice. Do you guys think talents that don't involve sports are under appreciated in the stm community ? 

The Lion king

So everyone know how the Lion King is based off of Hamlet, but I wanted to know why they decided do base it off of Hamlet. This is what I found according to wiki: The Lion King was the first Disney animated feature to be an original story, rather than be based on an already existing work. The filmmakers have said that the story of The Lion King was inspired by the lives of Joseph and Moses, from the Bible, and William Shakespeare's Hamlet. This was just a little interesting thing. 

Cool LITTLE HAMLET FACTOID

Did you guys know that the person widely considered to have played the definitive Hamlet was a man named Edwin Booth?

Edwin Booth was knocking around in the 19th century and was part of a whole family of actors. He played many roles, but he gained the most renown for his portrayal of Hamlet. He played Hamlet many times. Not only did he play Hamlet, but he also rescued a young Robert Lincoln, son of Honest Abe Lincoln, from a potential death by train.

His legacy is overshadowed by that of his brother, John Wilkes Booth. You can probably figure out  why.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Edwin Booth as Hamlet. 1870.

ANOTHER AMAZING PODCAST RECOMMENDATION

HEY EVERYONE! How was everyone's Thanksgiving Breaks?

I don't actually care.

What I do care about is this new podcast I've been listening to; Mobituaries. 

Mobituaries is a podcast hosted by former Daily Show correspondent and actual, serious journalist Mo Rocca, and is all about taking a closer look at people who were really cool/fascinating, but have fallen into obscurity after they died. If you like to learn, laugh, and listen to people speak English. then this is the podcast for you.