Questions on style and structure: 9. Suggestions for writing: 7

9) In Hamlet's first soliloquy, Shakespeare uses juxtapositions and metaphors such as "Hyperion to a satyr" (1.2.140) in order to fully express Hamlet's rage. The metaphors continues as Hamlet compares Claudius to a beast, Gertrude to Niobe, and himself to Hercules. Each of the metaphors have negative connotations when put into context. It's the use of metaphors, allusions, and a fixation on the word "month" that's repeated three times, that really puts the rage of Hamlet into a more graspable context for the audience.
7)
Honesty and deception is a common theme, its conflict permeates every line of the play, making every character part of the struggle between honesty and deception. The conflict takes place internally within Polonius, an internal struggle between the honest side of Polonius which is generally concerned with the welfare of his daughter, and the deceptive side of Polonius which is only concerned with his daughter with respect to her value as an asset to the family and as a tool for the king. Polonius has genuine feelings of concern for his daughter but they're largely ignored by the audience because of the fact that his motives are so mixed, it's hard to judge him positively given all his other actions within the plots of Claudius. The conflict between deception and honesty doesn't take place exclusively within Polonius but that internal conflict is a good example of the two opposing sides.

Hamlet discussion questions: 7, 14

7)
Hamlet tells his comrades because he doesn't want them getting the wrong impression of his acting crazy! Hamlet acts crazy as part of a tactic and not out of genuine anger and grief. The anger and grief manifest themselves in Hamlet's revenge plot.
14)
Hamlet means that there are no absolute truths in the world. Nothing is entirely bad or entirely good. It's up to the individual to determine whether or not something is good. For Hamlet, Denmark is like a prison.
Hamlet isn't actually crazy, he tries to drop hints to his old friends by cryptically telling them that when the time is right, I'm not crazy. In my opinion when a person still has the capacity to ask the question "am I acting crazy?" they are still capable of behaving normally.

Hamlet: discussion question #4

Both Laertes and Polonius are subjugating Ophelia by asserting that the preservation of her chastity is more important than her happiness. If her chastity is lost then she is considered a tainted woman, unfit of marriage to any man of status. Her marriage to Hamlet needs to be an absolutely sure thing before any advances are to be made in pursuit of a relationship. The arguments are incredibly similar and both seem sufficiently unfair. Polonius' advice to disregard Hamlet's advances and cut off contact completely seems like the most harsh reaction possible, and it's all in order to halt some pretty innocent advances... It's an exaggerated over reaction that does nothing but cause worry and stress for Ophelia. Their objectification of Ophelia is indicative of their self-interest. The two of them only want to preserve Ophelia's chastity because she remains to be a valuable potential wife to any suitors but if that chastity was lost then Ophelia would become an economic burden on both Polonius and Laertes. This view of women as economic burdens is extremely chauvinistic and outdated in modern times. The fact that Hamlet is royalty means that he has the freedom to choose whichever bride he wishes and is the reason that Laertes and Polonius are so concerned in the first place. Letting Hamlet spoil Ophelia and not choose her for his wife would be a tragedy for the family.

Intro paragraph for Hamlet essay

Elaborate versus concise: the implied meaning of argument length.

Manipulation is a common theme in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. It's difficult to watch even one scene without seeing how one character is trying to exercise influence over another. The major contrast in the play between extremely manipulative of Hamlet versus honest and supportive of Hamlet is the contrast of language use in Claudius' dialogues and Horatio's dialogues. Horatio's simple and to-the-point speaking patterns reflect his fidelity to Hamlet, and his supporting role whereas Claudius' long, drawn-out speeches are indicative of hidden motives. The type of speach that Shakespeare employs in writing dialogues for Claudius and Horatio are meant to accentuate their respective intentions in giving Hamlet advice.

Prufrock: one paragraph

The line "So how should I presume?" is repeated three times with slightly different syntax in the section of the poem where Prufrock is describing a woman. The line serves the double purpose of expressing Prufrock's anxieties and fragmenting the poem's forward momentum. As soon as Prufrock starts to describe the woman in detail or starts to talk about his life in a meaningful way, he is distracted by his indecision. Prufrock's inability to be confident in himself causes him to constantly ask for approval from whoever this poem is addressed to. His need for approval is so pressing in Prufrock's mind that he can't help but interrupt his own thoughts by imploring the reader for approval. These frequent interruptions fragment the poem, and this fragmentation is an indicator of Prufrock's own anxiety. The poem in its jarring and unorganized form helps the reader to see into the mind of Prufrock by showing them the incongruity of an anxious-ridden person's thoughts.

To His Coy Mistress: mini-essay

It’s no secret to the world that Marvell was a celibate clergyman. Why then would he write love poetry? The answer is that Marvell is writing for the sole purpose of displaying his writing skill. In his three stanza approach to convincing a woman to take advantage of time, Marvell can be seen from two perspectives: one claiming that he is a literary romantic; the other claiming that he is shallow and lewd. Despite Marvell’s obvious praise of the mistress’ figure and person, his intentions are to insult her slyly. These insults are aimed at lowering the woman’s self-esteem, which Marvell hopes will then drive her back into his arms, craving approval.

            Marvell’s poem is inherently misogynistic and attempts to assert that if youth isn’t taken advantage of then there will be no hope for love or passion in the future. Marvell’s most effective use of imagery is in the second stanza where he claims that once time has passed, nothing will exist to love or comfort the mistress. As seen on line 32, “But none, I think, do there embrace,” Marvell is trying to will the mistress to believe that there is no opportunity to embrace passion other than the opportunity that exists in that moment. This is simply an attempt to mislead and manipulate the woman’s outlook on the situation. If Marvell’s first stanza were written without the condition in the first line “Had we but world enough, and time” then the poem would be a genuine expression of love but since that condition exists, Marvell’s love is also conditional, and conditional love is not admirable in any sense. Finally the last stanza is another urging to take advantage of the moment with raw, animalistic passion as seen in line 38 where Marvell refers to the himself and the mistress as “amorous birds of prey.” This poem not only betrays the idea of love and patience, but objectifies sex as the ultimate goal of a woman’s youth, making this an incredibly chauvinistic poem.

To His Coy Mistress: one line

The couplet that stands out most from the text is "Now, therefore while the youthful hue//Sits on thy skin like morning dew." This is the transition from Marvell's convincing (or lying from my point of view) phase in the poem to the urging phase in the poem. It marks the end of the fear-mongering stanza and the beginning of the plan-of-action stanza. Marvell personifies "hue" and compares it to "dew", implying that she will only be young and beautiful for a fleeting moment. It's hard to take Marvell serious in these lines because of the fact that a lifetime is a long time and his urging to take advantage of the moment seems both immoral and misleading to a reader from this time period at least. Marvell creates fantastic poetry, but not a convincing argument.