Wednesday 12/12

Journal:
At the conclusion of Act 2,  Hamlet's character begins to unravel:

O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!
Is it not monstrous that this player here,
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
Could force his soul so to his own conceit
That from her working all his visage wann'd,
Tears in his eyes, distraction in's aspect,
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing!
For Hecuba!
What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,
That he should weep for her? What would he do,
Had he the motive and the cue for passion
That I have?

Explain why he is so upset.  Does he have a right to be?

1.  Discuss Journal

2.  Summarize his plan to gain clarity regarding Claudius.

3.  What doubts does Hamlet have concerning the ghost?

4.  Consider significance:  "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King"

What does this mean?  Do you agree.

5.  Evaluate the wisdom of Hamlet's actions as Act 3 approaches.  Consider what can go wrong.