Modern Day Hamlet

    I am a TV junkie. One of my favorite shows, is the most violent and dramatic show on television Sons of Anarchy. It is also loosely modeled after Hamlet. The connections between the show and play are really amazing, and Sons of Anarchy is the modern take, on this revenge tragedy. Jax Teller is the Vice President of the SAMCRO (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original), and he is our Hamlet. His step-father Clay is the President, who took over after Jax's father died. Sound familiar? Clay is Claudius, and his wife and Jax's mom, Gemma is Gertrude. We even have our ghost, except its in the form of letters and manuscripts left by Jax's father about what he wants for the motorcycle club. Tara is Jax's high school sweetheart, or Ophelia and Opie is Jax's childhood friend modeled after Horatio. Jax does not know how his father died, but he does know that the motorcycle club is not going where his father would have liked. The club is involved in drugs, weapons trafficking, and prostitution. It's basically like the rotten corrupt activities going on in Denmark. Throughout the show, Jax struggles with fulfilling his father's dream of a motorcycle club that defends the people of their town, Charming. He has to deal with his overbearing step father Clay, (who killed his father) and his mother Gemma, who has a drinking problem. Jax also has to face is own demons, an ex wife and mother to his child who is a heroin addict, and the love of his life Tara who wants nothing to do with the motorcycle club. Sons of Anarchy has many of the qualities that Hamlet has - treachery, moral corruption, and revenge. The thing that I love about it, is that it is an extension for me of the characters in Hamlet. I picture Gertrude as being spiteful, strong, and relentless, and Gemma plays that out for me on screen. I want to believe that Ophelia is smart, brave, and cunning and Tara embodies that. I wish I could see deeper into Hamlet's mind, his interactions with other characters, and what kind of leader he would be, Jax is just as complex. One of the characters I feel we do not see deeply enough into is Claudius. Believe me, you will hate Clay because you see the twisted lengths he will go to for power. SOA is VERY VIOLENT but the character development is amazing, and if you want to see more of the dysfunctional characters in Hamlet SOA is the way. Also Charlie Hunnam (Hamlet) is beautiful, you're welcome. 

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A Modern Day Benedick

In my English class, 12N, we are currently reading and analyzing the Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing. In the play, one of the characters that was fascinating and also one of my favorites was Benedick. Benedick, with his buddy Claudio, just came home from winning a victorious war. Benedick is a bachelor who "believes" that he will never fall in love ever in his life. Claudio, his friend as well as his foil in the in the play, falls in love hard with Hero who at this time is considered to be the "perfect woman." While Claudio is in love, Benedick on the other hand believes he is perfectly fine being  bachelor  for the rest of his life. In a passage from the book Benedick has a conversation with Claudio, the prince, and others  in Act I.i lines 125-130 saying "I faith and thou wilt needs thrust they neck into yoke, wear the print of it." Basically, Benedick in this line is saying that he could never be tied down to only one woman and be married but would rather be a bachelor and sleep around.

I think many boys in this day in age are modern day Benedick's in a sense.  I say this because If any teenage male (not all)  are in a committed relationship about 85-95% of the time  ***Note from Ms. Whitley: These may not be real statistics, but we get the point.  :) they cheat while in the relationship that they are in by talking to other females on the side or saying they are single on social networks when in reality they really aren't. They don't actually want to work towards a good relationship and be faithful and honest. I mean you can't really expect much from the teenage male species at this age. They are just modern day Benedick's that will one day find their Beatrice that will change there view about things.

*This Blog was not intended to offend anyone just simply my thoughts.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: Real Friends or 'nah'?

       So earlier in the week, we had to do to an assignment with a partner discussing "Feigning Friendship" in Hamlet. As we all know, Hamlet is acting "crazy" and it has the attention of Claudius and Gertrude. Long story short, Claudius brings his good ol' childhood buddies Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in to try and see what's the problem, a.k.a be his spy. Now, my question to you ladies is, do you think they are good friends or backstabbers to Hamlet? 

        For me, I think they aren't good friends and are just looking for brownie points from Claudius. Ms. Whitley pointed out a section in class where one of the two said that if hamlet does not tell them why he is acting crazy, they will leave. That being said goes to show they don't really care about Hamlet. If they really cared, they would of went about finding out why he's acting that way in a friendlier way and wouldn't press the subject, giving him time to open up to them. If Claudius would of never called them, they probably would of never came to check on Hamlet. They seem to have taken the opportunity from Claudius to have some sort of vacation and to have the title of being the "kings little helpers". (They seem more like royal booty kissers to me.) 

       These events stood out to me the most because Guildenstern and Rosencrantz aren't showing loyalty to Hamlet at all. If you really cared about your friend, you wouldn't scheme behind their back with their stepparent, which these despise. They represent the opposite of what friends should do, especially when that friend is dealing with the death of a loved one. 

          Also, I think they are there for us as the audience to further sympathize with Hamlet. The more people hurt him, the less annoyed we are with him. We stop being annoyed about his slowness in killing Claudius and instead sympathize with his misfortune. 

These are text messages from Guildenstern and Rosencrantz (they share a phone because iPhones are expensive) to hamlet and Claudius. See where their loyalty lies? Shame, shame SHAMEEE!!! 

(Btw the top pictures say "let's just all stab ____) 

Does Gertrude Have Blood(guilt) On Her Hands? Hamlet

 

(left to right) Afia Obeng and Amanda Scott in Macbeth





                                                       poisonashes.deviantart.com

While doing the responses for Hamlet, I couldn't help but notice some similarities between the plays Hamlet and Macbeth. In Act III.iv of Hamlet, Hamlet says to his mother "confess yourself to heaven" assuming that since Gertrude married Claudius that she must have some part in the murder of King Hamlet. But did she really know Claudius killed King Hamlet? I don't think she does, mainly because in this scene Gertrude is unable to see the ghost of her late husband, and this is where I connected Gertrude to Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth, as we know, is responsible for killing the King and later on she turns mad with the whole “blood on hands” scene; this happened because she was filled with guilt. Later on in this play, Banquo’s ghost comes to haunt Macbeth but Lady Macbeth is unable to see the ghost, and I think this is because she is not connected to his murder. Banquo’s murder is all Macbeth’s doing. So since Gertrude cannot see the ghost of her late husband, she has no part of his murder. This made me think, Gertrude did not actually commit a sin for she is simply unaware of what’s going on around her. Gertrude does not know that Claudius killed her husband and that is why she does not feel guilty and in a figurative sense, her hand is clean of blood. I do not think it is humanly possible for someone to be connected to a murder and not go a little insane, because even Lady Macbeth who we all thought was a "thug" went on a major guilt trip.
Do you think Gertrude still played a part in King Hamlet's death?

Reflection 12N What is good and What is bad in society

Reflection 

       So far in the play Much Ado About Nothing we have picked up how the characters, Beatrice and Benedick, are foils (character that act the total opposite from other characters such as the protagonist/main character(s))  of Hero and Claudio.  People would have noticed how Beatrice and Hero are foils by the definition of a good women in society from their time period.  "A good women does not speak, she is silent." Hero fits perfectly in the category of a good women because(I.i) she has only said ONE line during the whole conversation with the messenger.  After the class read the whole scene, Mrs.Whitley asked us who were the people in scene one, we named Leonato, the prince, Benedick, Claudio, and Beatrice. All of 12N forgot all about Hero being in the scene.  In the play later on, Claudio was one of the many people to notice her "in" the conversation, but Hero through her silence(I.i). Claudio has even said"Silence is the perfectest herald of joy." (I.i), proving my point of a "good women" in their time.  At first Claudio is COMPLETELY certain he had found his wife, but once Don John started putting stuff in Claudio's head making Hero seem promiscuous and unfaithful he says "Friendship is constant in all other things save in the office and affairs of love. Therefore all hearts in love use their own tongues. Let every eye negotiate for itself and trust no agent, for beauty is a witch. . .(II.i)" I thought about what he had said and it seems as though he would choose his friendship over someone he "loves". Claudio uses the "Bro code" which is "Bros before ___". Also, "beauty is a witch" I took that as "Beauty is the Beast".  Beatrice would represent Hero's foil quite well for mainly speaking without "permission". In Elizabethan/ Shakespearean time what society viewed as a "bad women" was someone who spoke without permission and they were considered monsters."By my troth, niece, thou wilt never get thee a husband if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue."- Leonato (II.i), her own uncle even tells her that she won't be suitable to get a husband because she is so talkative and her words are harsh.

        Now with Claudio and Benedick what makes them a foil will have to be their views/opinions on marriage.  Benedick doesn't want to get married because he doesn't trust women at all.Men are shamed by their women being promiscuous. Once a women cheats on her man, then he would "become" a cuckold due to her committing adultery/ being unfaithful.  It's funny how to reason's for two people to become a couple is related to tricking each of them. Don john tricks Claudio in to thinking Hero is sleeping around when she is not. The prince and Balthazar just to stick it to Benedick's pride by saying that he couldn't compare with Beatrice.  In the process of he FINALLY realizes he actually loves her.

Reflection 12S

On Wednesday March 5th, Ms. Whitley gave us a class project. it was based off of Hamlet's meeting with the ghost and telling Horatio that he is going to put on an "Antic Disposition" We had to listen to two songs, "Madness" by Muse (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq9zhpBweDk) and "Time Keeper" by Grace Potter & the Nocturnal (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Am6NS05pZH0) and compare it to Hamlet's character. She asked us some very excellent questions at the bottom of the lyrics sheet that gave us a chance to experience how Hamlet may be feeling. 
I personally feel that the comparison between Shakespeare's era and modern times through music helped me comprehend the text a lot better. If you feel the same way, leave a little reply.


So I ask the question now? As Ms. Whitley put it.

In "Madness", the lines "And I, I tried so hard to let you go,
But some kind of madness is swallowing me whole, yeah
(Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma...)" really related to Hamlet's position about King Claudius's and Gertrude's hasty marriage. To me it represents how he just could not get over that, and how he used it as a jab at them every time.
In "Time Keeper", the lines "Time Keeper, I thought I'd have it right by now,  Time Keeper, Everything's still spinning out,  I'm undone" really relates to Hamlet's indecisive nature towards killing King Claudius. He wishes he would have done it before, yet he makes up all kinds of excuses to actually do it.
In this nature Hamlet really reminds me of Mordecai from Regular Show. He kept trying to make Margaret his girlfriend but never had to courage to. he kept making up excuses as to why he never kissed her.
So now I ask you two questions: 1) Can bringing a shocking truth to light impact a person's mental state? 

2) If you're prisoner to your feelings, can it keep you from taking action?

P.S. G-Dragon (K-Pop Idol) has a song, CROOKED, that also reminds me of Hamlet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAHy8r5-kpc

Scandal and Shakespeare?

At the beginning and end of the week in English this week, we discussed Hamlet Act 1 scene 3 , more specifically Polonius' advice to his daughter Ophelia. In our discussion, it was revealed that Polonius is not truly the "loving" father that he initially seemed to be. Instead, he is a conniving, reputation obsessed older man who is using his children as a means to gain fame and respect. He does not show the genuine affection fathers are known for to either of his children, but instead uses them as pawns for achieving success. His lack of affection and obsession with improving his status is evident in Act 2 scene 1, when Ophelia tells him about Hamlet's erratic behavior during their last meeting. Instead of consoling his daughter, Polonius blames his daughter for Hamlet's bizarre behavior "What, have you given him any hard words of late? (pg 81 l.119). Before he checks to see if his daughter is alright, he decides to run excitedly to tell King Claudius of Hamlet's strange behavior: "Come, go we to the King. This must be known.." (pg. 81 l. 130-131) His daughter Ophelia, however, fails to recognize her father's reputation obsessed nature and chooses to follow his every command.

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The relationship between Polonius and Ophelia reminded me of Olivia Pope and her father Rowan Pope on Scandal. Both fathers, Polonius and Rowan attempt to keep their daughters out of a relationship with a man they do not approve of. However, in Rowan's case his daughter is in a relationship with the President of the United States. Both fathers are also very powerful: Polonius with his job as an advisor to King Claudius and Rowan as the now former head of B613 a covert government agency. Another parallel is "the lack of true love" or affection in both relationships. Rowan just like Polonius fails to show his daughter any genuine signs of affection and uses typical father-daughter bonding moments, like going to Sunday dinner as a place to warn her about her affair and the corruption of the government. Neither men ever tell their daughters that they love them and fail to show their daughters the love that they truly desire. For Ophelia, it causes her to go out of her way to try to please her father and win his love, while Olivia puts up a wall between herself and her father. One interesting parallel between Ophelia and Olivia are their names, though it may be a bit of a stretch; their names begin with the same letter and have a very similar flow! I wonder if the creator of Scandal, thought about Ophelia as she created Olivia Pope. What do you think about the connection between Scandal and Hamlet? Have you noticed any more connections between Hamlet and some modern television shows or movies?

Perception Verses Reality

As we currently read Hamlet by Shakespeare, the theme of perception came to mind. In Act one, Scene two, Hamlet and his mother are speaking to each other about his emotional state. She says, "If it be, why seems it so particular with thee?" (I.ii.25). Hamlet's response to her is, "'Seems,' madam? Nay, it is. I know not 'seems'" (I.ii.25). Hamlet's mother downplays his appearance of grief and pain, which caused Hamlet to go on a little rant about how seems isn't enough, but he truly feels like he's hurting. This is where my idea of perception came to mind. The Queen clearly does not understand Hamlet's emotions fully which is why she uses the word "seems".
An artist's work that I'm currently looking at is Kenyatta A C Hinkle. I don't know much about her background but I do know that she is very educated in African/African-American culture, which brings me to my main topic.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kenyatta-ac-hinkle/kenyatta-ac-hinkle-on-the_1_b_3462131.html

Hinkle's artwork is based off of the perception of African women during the colonization of Africa by the French. These women were most often looked at as sexual objects and not as humans. They were used for hard labor and other means of cruelty. The photo above was originally a postcard of the woman without any ink on top of it. Hinkle took the original image and drew on top of it to symbolize the effects of colonization. She is saying that colonization is a disease that spreads like a virus. My connection to Hamlet is that these women were perceived as sexual objects because of their lack of clothing, but in reality they were without clothes because that is their culture. These women were not mean to be sexually appealing to these colonist, but they were. The colonist perception of African women was that they were exotic creatures, hence the ink coming out of the breast of the women. So I leave you with this question, how does perception effect you? 

Quiet or Unquiet?

This week in class we have been focusing on Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare. In the book, the readers found out about two different types of Women during the Renaissance period. Mrs. Whitley gave the class characteristics of a quiet woman and a unquiet woman. A quiet woman,“her Patience is a Vertue that winnes the heart of loue, and her wisedome makes her will well worthy regarde: She feares God, and flyeth finne” A quiet woman is seen as patient, worthy, loving, a good wife, submission to her husband, and fears God. However, a unquiet woman is “the grief of nature, a word, but not of Grace, a creature but not of wisedome, and a feruant, but not of God.” An unquiet woman is compared to the lowly of the lowest, a creature. An unquiet woman is not of God and deserves not to marry. Her straightforwardness is a shame to womanhood.

Reading Much Ado About Nothing, the audience come across a quiet and an unquiet woman in Act I alone. It can be assumed that Hero is an quiet woman. She allows her beauty to speak for itself, she never interrupts, and allow men to speak, which contributes to the reason why Claudio acknowledges her beauty and desires to marry her. Beatrice can be considered an unquiet women. Someone who will speak up to a male and is willing to make jokes and state the obvious. Some males and quiet women might look down on her because she does not allow her beauty to speak - it is all her mouth.

Which women are you? I think I am an unquiet women because I love to state my opinion, and I'm very outspoken around everyone. However, I do not agree with the Renaissance definition of what women should be. I believe more unquiet women should come out the closet, and stand up to everyone and be fearless, outspoken, and powerful! To whom do you belong - quiet or unquiet?

Something's Fishy

This week in English class, we have been discussing one of Shakespeare's works Hamlet. As I am sitting in class learning about the death of Hamlet's father, something stood out to me that seemed a little weird. Claudius, the new king of Denmark and the brother of the former king, is going to marry his brother's widow Gertrude. Mind you that it has only been a month since Gertrude's former husband passed away, and she seems fine with the fact of marrying Claudius and showing no sign of mourning for her late husband. Now does this seem fishy to anyone else or is it just me? How could Gertrude not mourn for her own late husband and then decide to remarry?! It is not only wrong that Claudius is marrying Gertrude, but it is seen as a sin back in Shakespeare's time.This is considered incest, which is a pretty big deal back in that time and in our time period now.   **Note from Ms. Whitley.  It is only seen as a sin or as incest by Hamlet.  This would actually have been perfectly acceptable at this time.  In fact, in Deuteronomy 29:9, the bible directs a man to marry his brother's wife is she becomes a widow.  

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"Something Smells Fishy"

Hamlet, however, shows that he is mourning for the loss of his father and cannot believe how Claudius and his mother are reacting. Gertrude tells Hamlet to cut out his moody behavior and to ditch his black attire for clothing that shows to be more cheerful. She tells Hamlet that everyone dies and we have to get over it. Well I do not know about anyone else, but if a family member of mine had passed away, I would be in the same mourning stage as Hamlet. I do not know anyone who could not feel a bit of sadness for a death that has occurred, let alone the death of one's parents.