Please post a considered response to the following prompt about Hamlet in the comments section before 12:00 AM tonight:
What do you think Shakespeare is trying to tell his audience (and future audiences) about the nature of fate and an individual's control over his or her destiny?
Remember, Begin with a thesis and then support your answer with referential evidence from the text and commentary that explores the idea.
By Sunday Night please respond to two comments from your class (click reply under their comment). You may agree, disagree, or pose a synthesized answer that explores new ground.
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ReplyDeleteShakespeare is trying to tell the audience that no one has control over their fate because fate is planned, but man will do anything to change it to feel in control. Hamlet knows that the apparition expects him to commit murder that was his fate as a son. Even the ghost said if he didn’t do it he would disown him so Hamlet had to do it. Hamlet couldn’t sleep after the encounter with the ghost because he didn’t know what to do. Hamlet also had many opportunities to kill Claudius, but didn’t. Hamlet had the choice to face his fate or ignore it. Then Hamlets psychological conflicts had driven him to take revenge into his own hands. The harder an individual works to avoid his fate, the more surely he or she falls into that very fate.
ReplyDeleteMaia- i agree with you emily however im questioning this in a sense of Ophelia.was her fate to be obedient or to die? If obedient then why did she go mad..did striving away destiny really seal their fates?
DeleteWhat do you mean by disown him? Do you mean it as in a sense of betrayal towards King Hamlet or just in general to make him fall into the hands of temptation? Also, Hamlet's fate, what do you think is his fate and what do you think would've happened if Hamlet was never actually sure of Claudius killing his father?
DeleteIn Shakespeare's Hamlet, Shakespeare introduces the idea of individuality in relation to control over ones destiny compared to the nature of fate. Throughout the novel, Shakespeare presents the audience with scenes that represent the idea of self control over one's destiny through the choices they make. These choices carefully crafted the next scene in the act and in the character's life. Man have control and the human given right of freedom that allow them to shape the way they live by the choices they make and actions they take. For example, Claudius chose to kill King Hamlet with the intentions of taking over the "kingdom, the throne and the queen". Claudius chose to go through the process of killing his own brother and change his fate with the consciousness and awareness of the risk he was taking. Claudius was in control of his actions and throughout the play, the change of events occurred by the choices and actions of other characters in the play. Another example is that of Hamlet having the opportunity to kill Claudius when he was "praying" which implies that Hamlet was in complete control and aware of the change it would bring to his life and his fate. Therefore, having control over one's fate proves that the human characteristic and choice of freedom is expressed and will always prove to be in control in the actions he or she chooses to make.
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DeleteI don't agree. Yes, Hamlet made the conscious decision to not kill Claudius when he was "praying" just because of the fact that Hamlet could not kill Claudius when he's committing such a godly act. It does prove Hamlet has the option of choice. The other reason why he didn't kill Claudius was because he wanted Claudius to get what he deserved: hell. And Hamlet knew a man praying would not receive such a punishment therefore, making the decision to kill him while Claudius committed a sin. Still, this decision revolved around Hamlet killing Claudius and avenging his father's death. Something he was fated to do.
DeleteI agree and also disagree. I do believe that the everyone's choices crafted the next scene but I believe that at the end everyone's fate was already determined .
DeleteI do not agree for the given fact that destiny was alreadys taking its trail. Regardless if Hamlet had killed Claudius or not, he would still have ended up dead in the end , alongside everyone else in the play.
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ReplyDeleteIn the play Hamlet, Shakespeare tries to convey that the nature of fate is already in action, despite an individual's desire to achieve control over their own destiny. Hamlet's fate ultimately leads to his death, which his actions, free will, lead to his ultimate death as well. For example the Hamlet, he chooses to torture the truth out of King Claudius in order to kill him in revenge of his father's murder. He attempts to keep control and act on the truth and stripping Claudius of everything, including his life, all while trying to gain back his rightful place on the throne. Howver destiny took over and even after he completed his actions of killing Claudius, his ultimate death took him. Therefore Shakespeare entails how one may do and act as the please, but eventually one's destiny is set
ReplyDeleteI agree. No matter what Hamlet tried to do with his free will he still ended up where he was destined to be dead like everyone who lives will one day die.
DeleteRonaldo Granados
DeleteIt goes to whole concept that life is like a fortune wheel in which we cannot choose, nor know where we will land no matter how hard we spin it. we'll fall in its favors above but sooner or later, we must end at the bottom. Hamlet being satisfied with his life in wittenberg as a student to later plot his revenge towards cladius. Ophelia being in love with Hamlet to later commit suicide out of madness, and with almost all the characters within the play. no matter what course they took or reasoned out with, they all ended up badly, dead for the most part.
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ReplyDeleteIn Shakespeare's play "Hamlet", Shakespeare is trying to tells us that one cannot determine someone's (or one's) fate because their fate is already is already established or written. Throughout this play we see see that every character tries to determine how someone else's fate is, for example Laertes and Polonius both determine that Ophelia should not talk to Hamlet because it's for her own good (or at least that's what they think). They try to determine how her fate is for choosing for her and never listening to what she wants or feels. Claudius tries extremely hard to keep that immensely and gracious fate that he has set for himself and fails when he is killed at the end by Hamlet and he is no longer ruler/in power like he had hoped to be for a very long time and now just a while like it was set out to be. I do believe that Hamlet sort of had an idea on what the fate of Denmark as a whole was because he mentions that he would love for Fortinbras to take over so that the land could have that new beginning that it so much needs. He puts his life in line and knows, or has a very good idea, that he could very much die. Although it does seem that Hamlet has a good understanding of what will happen with all the choices that every character makes he is still unsure of what could happen because he knows that he cant be in all control of what will end up happening just like Claudius did not expect to die. Overall in this play Shakespeare shows us how hard one will try to get things going their own way even though at the end nothing is determined until finally all choices are made and there is nothing else to do but to accept failure or victory.
ReplyDeleteI agree. No matter how a character such as Hamlet tried to avenge his father and get rid of Claudius for his rightful place, the nature of fate had already taken its course and nothing could change the outcome of the whole problem. Death was inevitable.
ReplyDeleteI agree because Hamlet was always destined to kill Claudius. But, it was his inability to understand that the freedom of choice is unattainable and he unfortunately cost lost his life to understand that.
ReplyDeleteIn the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, fate is something that's inevitable and free will is costly. Old Hamlet gave Hamlet the quest of killing Claudius to avenge his death. At that point, Hamlet's faith was to kill Claudius. From then on, all his decisions revolved around killing Claudius. He even began to act "irrational" and "insane" in order to make everyone else confused. Hamlet, once a man of morals, someone who seemed to value loyalty and family, completely transformed in order to fulfill the act of killing Claudius. It reveals that fate is powerful: overriding the individual characteristics that make up a person. And even though Hamlet hesistated many times to kill Claudius, like when Claudius was vulnerable and alone but Hamlet couldn't kill him because he was "praying", he still ended up killing Claudius in Act 5. Just like he was supposed to. But his resistance to that destiny cost Hamlet his life in the end. Fate is illustrated as unavoidable and when characters try to "color outside the lines" and steer from that fate, the results is sometimes always fatal.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you ernestine because take Claudius for instance.he was always meant to be a soldier,the one who fought and might possibly die. However he went against fate and became king and because of that he faced retaliation and was eventually killed.which prove your point that it could become fatal.
DeleteI agree as well because you cant escape from your fate. Free will is costly, Hamlet lost the people he loved ,his mother and Ophelia. He also lost himself.
DeleteI agree with you becuase there always comes a point where it is better to just allow time to take its course. Time for us to sit back and let life predetermined plan take action.
DeleteIn hamlet by Shakespeare, he conveys the characters to reflect to the audience the image of their true selves whether it be through madness or manipulation . All of the characters,especially hamlet and Ophelia prove that honesty is revealed though insanity, which depicts Shakespeares message that regardless of the circumstances the truth will always be revealed and the price to be paid will always be met.
ReplyDeleteThrought out the play Shakespeare is trying to show the audience the truth behind the deceptions and how they play a role in human nature when it comes to following morals,but also in becoming corrupted. Take adam and eve for example, they knew it was wrong to eat from the tree,but let themselves be manipulated. It shows that even the most innocent of people can become tainted by the deception of others.
Ronaldo Granados
DeleteI completly agree with you Maia, throughout the entire play, Shakespeare is able to corrupt every single character within the play.from the most powerful charecters,(Gertrude Polonius Hamlet) to the most fair and innocent (Ophelia rosencrantz and guildenstern) if you choose to see them as so. by doing what seems to be lawfully right (vengance for his fathers death) he drags everyone with him. both the king and queen are able to twist the minds of Hamlet's best freinds, to go and spy on him, leading them to their own death.
I agree with your comment. Death in this case was inevitable. Everyone always looked for death of one another and would put each other in harms way that death was always going to be the final outcome. As much as everyone (for example Claudius) tried to choose how their own fate turns out, fate had already been established from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI agree and disagree. But don't you think the example is off? You can't compare "innocence" to the theme of corruption and deceit in hamlet. But what do you think are the morals in this play? -Nancy
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DeleteI see your point and i would agree from your perspective, but in the play im thinking of hamlets morals and how he constantly had them in the back of his head. I chose the example not necessarily to say we're manipulated by others but also by ourselves. Granted they are different, the concept of manipulation and deception still play a role whether it me interpersonal or just with inside yourself.
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