On Hamlet

So, here's something I started before last class and am just now finally finishing (trying to delve deeper too after what we discussed in class):

Wow.  Goodbye happy times.

There are a lot of dark, twisted events in Hamlet.  This being my first time reading it, it definitely brought a few things to my mind that I definitely would not have connected without having read it.

First of all, there is no mercy in revenge in this play.  Both Hamlet and Laertes were wholly bent on their revenge and nothing could keep them from it.  For Laertes, he so quickly turned to revenge in the shadows by following Claudius' advice of foul play by using poison and trying to kill Hamlet without letting him know directly that it was now time for his revenge.  No honor.  This also surprised me more because his father had seemed like a decent fellow and the play began with a stark contrast between his seemingly good family and Hamlet's broken family.  I thought he would have been a bit better than that.  For Hamlet, he chose to postpone killing his uncle in case his uncle would go to heaven.  He wanted to see him burning in Hell instead.  In addition, he coldly sent his former friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to die.  He had no thought but to get his revenge, and he lost everything in the bargain.  Again, there was no honor in his sense of vengeance either.

Going over Hamlet's "to be or not to be" soliloquy was really interesting too.  Here one of the things we as "Denmark" learned while we went over this monologue:

First, we found a running theme with water running throughout his monologue.  It begins with the "sea of troubles" he is facing.  Later, we found that a bourn is a small stream, especially one that flows intermittently or seasonally.  Additionally, it could also be used to denote a goal or destination.  Finally, it ends with his loss of resolve as he states "With this regard their currents turn awry, and lose the name of action."  It is interesting how Shakespeare uses this to tie everything together.  I feel as though it can represent his level of desire to act .  We determined that he was closest to action at the beginning, and this is the point where the water is a sea.  I picture it as a sea during the storm, with white frothy crests coming over the side of the ship, lightning, billowing surges, etc.  Later on, though, it becomes a small stream that only flows from time to time.  After thinking about life after death (i.e. hell), he hardly wants to and it is only intermittently.  After thinking a bit more, the "currents turn awry."  At this point, his desire is nothing but a small trickle.  It's like a dry riverbed in the desert.  He isn't going to do anything.  I thought that this was a brilliant way of layering the meaning in Hamlet's words.