1. “I don't get mad, I get even.” “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” “Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.” Is revenge ever the right thing to do? Is it right to allow people to hurt us with no retribution? Explain your point of view.

My point of view on this subject depends on what kind of revenge is being talked about. If it is revenge in a physical sense, as in if someone hits you, and you did nothing wrong, then yes, of course you should hit that person back because it isn't right. But if someone spread a rumour about you, or something that is untrue, then no I do not believe you should get revenge. Simply say that, it is not true, why stoop so low to their level, that person lied, let them them live with that on their conscience. See, when you hold yourself up in a bad situation whether you know it or not, I believe people will admire your strength. Yes, it might hurt to know that some people aren't nice, some might even say that they're evil, but there is nothing you or I can do about that. Simply be yourself because from my own experience when you are yourself, you build up a greater self esteem and also a better sense of self worth. You will also begin to make friends that like you for who you truly are, and if a friend does something wrong to you, try and forgive them because people are humans, and try as we might humans make mistakes. There is a word that most of us know, originating from Ancient Indian culture that word is Karma, basically the meaning of this word is that bad people get what is coming to them, either on earth or in the after life.

2. “If your parents really disliked the person that you wanted to marry, would you marry this person anyway? Explain.”

If my parents disliked the person I was going to marry, I'd marry her anyways. At the point of marriage, I don't plan of marrying until I am in my mid twenties, early thirties, so my parent's opinion would be irrelevant to me as it is my life and I would be making my own decisions. Plus I do not plan to stay in the same province as my family, so it would be even more likely for me to care less about what they're opinion would be. I mean, yes of course I'd want them to like the person i was going to marry but at the end of the day, it's me who would be spending the rest of my life with her, not them. If my parents truly cared about my relationship, would they not try to like the person i chose to spend the rest of my life with? Wouldn't they want me to be happy no matter what their opinion was? I mean, the only person I would marry would be the one that I was happy with, and I'm not settling for any less, so if my parents did not like the woman who made me happy, and wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, then it wouldn't matter to me what their opinion was.

3. “Goodnight sweet Prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” Horatio is the only person who is truly loyal to Hamlet. Who and what are the people and things that you are most loyal to? Is loyalty still something that we value? Why or why not?”

There are no things that I am loyal to, as things are specified as inanimate objects, but the people I am most loyal to would be my friends, and family. When I think of loyalty I think of being true to someone, when I say being true, what I am referring to is not going behind someone's back. Always be there for a friend or family member if they need help or advice, you be sincere with them. Although it is not often a subject talked about, or pointed out, I believe today people still value loyalty. To be a good friend, to have a good friend you may not notice it as being loyal but to always be there for someone and not going behind their back, that's a form of loyalty, and if a friend were to ignore you, not care about your problems or even go behind your back (ex; spread rumours) basically then that person wouldn't be your friend if you ever found out. Also another big subject where loyalty is valued would be in relationships such as marriages. A couple would have to be loyal to each other, if not then odds are the marriage would soon end in a divorce. Loyalty is valued today but it is not commonly thought about as in hey, this friend is very loyal to me. It's more of, this is a good friend of mine.

4. “Does Hamlet really love Ophelia? Why do you think as you do? Use the play to back yourself up.”

Throughout the play Hamlet shows different feelings and emotions towards Ophelia. Though saying he loves her more then any brother could at her burial, it does not consist with his previous conflicts with her. Based on the entire play, I do not believe Hamlet loved Ophelia. In Act three, scene one Hamlet is very rude to Ophelia, and Ophelia had done next to nothing to provoke him. Hamlet tells Ophelia to get to a nunnery which shows how he wishes Ophelia would flee away from him and keep herself away form any access to him, as in a nunnery the women vow to become abstinent. If Hamlet loved Ophelia he would not have told her to become so religious as once a nun, she would then be required to stay away from sexual activities. If Hamlet were serious in his love for Ophelia I believe he would not have taken his rage out on her, also when he asks to lay his head on her lap at the play, when the Players were there to preform for the royals. Asking to lay his head on her lap would be degrading as well as embarrassing for Ophelia. Based on these facts I believe Hamlet's love for Ophelia was based purely on the physical aspects she could offer him. He did not show any emotional attachment until he finds out of her death.

5. “How do you think you would react if your mother married your uncle? Hamlet was 30 when this happens in his family. Taking the murder of his father out of consideration, why is he so concerned about his mother's marriage? Remember—he was upset before he discovered Claudius' role in his father's death.”

If my mother were to marry my uncle Jeremy I would find it hard to come to terms with. I mean, Jeremy is a great guy and all but I love my father and it would be pretty messed up if my mother would marry someone who grew up in the same house as him, and shared the same mother. The idea of my father's brother trying to steal his woman away form him is up setting as that by itself would cause tension. After they got married would i ever be able to get use to calling my Uncle Jeremy my step “dad”? Would my uncle and mother not care about what I thought on the whole situation, and how awkward would it be at a family get together where my uncle and father were both present? I would be ashamed of both My uncle and my mother, one betraying a brother, the other betraying a husband. The whole idea behind the subject is messed up. Hamlet was very upset to begin with as I believe he was not a fan of his uncle to begin with, and highly valued his father. So the idea for Hamlet's mother going from a great hero, Hamlet's father to a person he did not like, Claudius, is what i believe was Hamlet's whole problematic situation.

6. “Why does the fact that Claudius not stop Gertrude from drinking the wine condemn him even more in the reader's eyes?”

The fact that Claudius does not stop Gertrude from drinking the wine condemns him even more in the reader's eyes because it is just once more mark on his slate of showing how selfish he is. Had Claudius stopped Gertrude, this would have revealed the entire plot and Hamlet would have known what was going on and realized the plan of his death. This shows how Claudius was more concerned with killing Hamlet than he was with saving his wife. In the aside when Claudius says “It is too late” this shows how little emotionally Claudius cares about Gertrude as a normal person would be heart broken knowing the person that they loved was about to die. This leads me to believe that Claudius only loved Gertrude for the sexual means of the relationship, he did not truly love Gertrude. Claudius's character is shown in many parts of the play and in all of them, he is self centred and only cares about what betters himself. He kills his brother, attempts to kill his nephew and coaxes Laertes into committing murder, and to top it all off he poisons his wife without even trying to stop her. Claudius is condemned for many things throughout the play and poisoning his “beloved” Gertrude is defiantly one of them.

7. ”Is Hamlet deserving of Horatio's beautiful epitaph? Why or why not? Use the actions of Hamlet to provide evidence for your answer.”

Throughout the duration of the play Hamlet and Horatio are very close, and it seems as though Horatio is a better friend to Hamlet than Hamlet is to Horatio. Horatio is emotionally and physically there for Hamlet at this time when Hamlet is struggling with the different things going on in his life. Horatio however never talks about himself, or his own problems. He is just a good, loyal friend to Hamlet, and during the play it is never shown where Hamlet ever returns all the things Horatio does for him. Hamlet does not often ask Horatio to do things, he more or less tells him what to do. For example, when Hamlet gets Horatio to spy on the king with him while the play is preformed, Hamlet just assumes that he will do this with him as he never really asks if Horatio minds getting tangled up in Hamlet's drama affairs. Also Hamlet never formally thanks Horatio in the play, and if he thanks him at all, he doesn't thank him enough as Horatio does a lot for Hamlet. Though it is clear that Horatio is an amazing friend to Hamlet, based on the actions of Hamlet I do not believe Hamlet is deserving of Horatio's “beautiful epitaph.”

8. “Is Hamlet sane throughout the play? Does he ever have moments of insanity or is he totally lucid and somewhat destructive throughout the play? Explain as you feel why you do.”

Hamlet is not sane throughout the entire play, Hamlet is overwhelmed by many events that occurred at once and cannot handle it all. In Act one, Scene two, beginning on line 129 Hamlet has his first soliloquy. In this soliloquy Hamlet does not hide behind puns and is real with himself. In This burst of Hamlet's soliloquy the reader sees Hamlet's character for the first time, to paraphrase, Hamlet is saying how he wishes it were not against Christianity to kill himself and how his mother's hasty wedding to his uncle is upsetting him, and so on. This shows that Hamlet must say all this to himself to keep from exploding. The sheer anger in his speech in itself shows a hint of insanity. So before everything else happens in the play, I do not believe to start with Hamlet was completely sane, and as the play progresses i believe his anger and insanity builds up. Although he does not act insane through the entire play, I believe he was not the same person he was as before his father died.

9. “Why do we feel differently about Hamlet at the end of the play than we feel about Claudius? How many people is each responsible for killing? Show how Claudius was a hypocrite. Was Hamlet as hypocritical? Explain your answer.”

We feel differently about Hamlet at the end of the play than we feel about Claudius because Hamlet tried to at least try and do what was right by avenging his father's death knowing that it may end up getting himself into a lot of trouble. Claudius on the other hand did nothing but try to help out himself and overall was the main reason for all of the deaths in the play. Claudius is responsible for killing two people (Gertrude and Old King Hamlet), and Hamlet is responsible for killing six people ( Laertes, Claudius, Polonius, Rozencrantz, Guildenstern and Ophelia,{Ophelia went mad because of death of her father and drama with Hamlet causing her own suicide.}) Claudius was a hypocrite because he judged Hamlet for killing Polonius in cold blood, when he himself killed his own brother old king Hamlet in cold blood for the crown. I do not believe Hamlet was a hypocrite as the deaths he caused were to try and avenge the murder of his own father.

10. Is Hamlet a relevant play for today's audience? What does the modern reader gain from Hamlet? Should students continue to read this play?

Hamlet today is a relevant play for today's audience, however I do believe it should be re-written word for word as it would focus more on the themes and values in the play so that more people would enjoy it instead of getting caught up in the old English struggle with it. The modern reader today gets the the themes of valour, loyalty, trust, and vengeance from the play. The play shows a variety of different themes both good and bad, and it in a way helps the modern reader believe that they can become a person like perhaps Horatio, a loyal friend throughout the entire play. Should the students continue to read the play? As i said before, I believe the play should be re-written in modern English so that the students can focus more on the story than the work to figuring out what is actually being said. I think this way because many times while reading the play I would get frustrated, and wished it were in modern day black and white, instead of so many old words that are seldom or never used as it made it difficult to understand what was being said. It is still a great play, just difficult to understand by times.

Quotes:

1. ”Frailty, thy name is woman.”
   a. Hamlet is speaking, he is speaking in his soliloquy.
   b. The significance of this quote is to develop the character of Hamlet as it shows how disappointed he is in his mother because of how quickly she married his uncle. Hamlet is judging all women in general because of his mother's “frailty.” Hamlet believes women are fragile and he questions his mother as well as all women in general.
   c. Today, one would not say a sexist comment like that, today in general people believe in individuality, so this quote does not apply to today as women are equal to men and are strong and independent.
2. ”Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice.”
   a. Polonius is speaking to Laertes and Ophelia.
   b. The significance of this quote is to develop the character of Polonius as well as give light on the views of what a person should do, a person should hear what everyone else is saying, but not always give their own opinion. This quote develops the character of Polonius as it shows the advice that he gives to his “children.”
   c. Today, this quote is actually good advice for people as it tell us to listen to everyone's opinion but to not always share our own as it's better to listen than to talk.
3. “Neither a lender or borrower be for loan oft loses both itself and friend.”
   a. Polonius is speaking to Laertes and Ophelia.
   b. The significance of this quote is to develop the character of Polonius as well as give prospective on the views of loaning from a friend. When a person loans money and cannot pay it back, then that person loses both someone else's money and odds are also loses that friend. So what this quote is saying is not to loan or lend money as that way there are no risks in losing money or losing a friend. Polonius's character is being developed by showing how he teaches his “children” his views on money and friends.
   c. Today, this quote is good advice on the lending and borrowing money as it shows us how if you lend or borrow money and that person cannot repay you or you can't repay that person then you may lose a friend. You keep your money, they keep theirs that way there is no risk.
4. “Brevity is the soul of wit.”
   a. Polonius is speaking to Claudius and Gertrude.
   b. The purpose of this quote is to develop the character of Polonius and give his idea on the skill of being witty with words. Brevity is to be brief and witty means to be smart with words. When you put the two together you get short and to the point. So when speaking and getting your point across Polonius believes you should be short and to the point. This quote also gives the reader more information on Polonius's character and his views on smart people.
   c. This quote can apply to today as a smart person when speaking is short, and to the point. For example; when in an argument it is better to be short and to the point then long and rambling. A smart person is short, to the point, a less smart person is long and rambling.
5. “To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man pick'd out of ten thousand.”
   a. Hamlet is speaking to Polonius.
   b. What Hamlet is saying in this quote is that not many people in this world are honest and the few honest people are special as they are rare. This quote helps develop the character of Hamlet as it shows his views on honesty.
   c. This quote is the same as our common saying today that “you're one in a million” so the honest people today are a bit more common, but there are also very bad people who could care less about self value. This quote is saying there aren't many people like you so you should be honest and value yourself.
6. “To be or not to be, that is the question, Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them.”
   a. Hamlet is speaking in a soliloquy.
   b. What Hamlet is doing in this quote is contemplating life and death. To live would mean a constant struggle against “a sea of troubles” and for a moment Hamlet thinks suicide might be a peaceful sleep, yet Hamlet says it is the unknown what happens afterwards and that's what keeps people from committing suicide. So people continue to live in fear that no matter how bad life gets, it may get worse if they kill themselves.
   c. This quote applies to today because sometimes people contemplate suicide, but in the end those that don't commit it decide to live as they do not know what happens afterwards. There is a possibility it could always be worse. This shows that people continue their struggles and move on with life.
7. “Leave her to heaven.”
   a. This is the ghost of Old King Hamlet speaking to young Hamlet.
   b. What Old King Hamlet wants Hamlet not to harm Gertrude, that she will be judged in heaven upon the coming of her death. This develops the character of Old King Hamlet because he believes she should stand for her own sins in heaven.
   c. This quote applies to the world today as it shows us how we should not judge people. That it is not our place to judge people and that they should be left to stand for their own sins in the afterlife.
8. “But there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.”
   a. Hamlet is talking to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
   b. This quote is to develop the character of as he is saying that he believes Denmark is a prison, though it looks like a palace. Hamlet believes he is trapped in Denmark by his feelings which is why he compares it to a prison. This develops the character of Hamlet and his view of Denmark.
   c. This quote applies to today because people often think too much and they should really think less, so that things aren't so complicated.
9. “O good Horatio, what a wounded name will live behind me.”
   a. Hamlet is speaking to Horatio.
   b. The significance of this quote is to develop the character of Hamlet as it shows how in his death, Hamlet is scared about what people will remember him as. This also shows how Hamlet regrets many things he has done in his life and wants to be remembered greatly, but fears that his name is not very good.
   c. This applies to people today as people often worry what they will be remembered by and what they will leave behind them when they die.
10. “O that this too, too solid flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew.
    Or that the Everlasting had not fixed his canon 'gainst self-slaughter.”
    a. Hamlet is speaking in his first soliloquy.
    b. The significance of this quote is to develop the character of Hamlet as this is his first soliloquy and he is very upset and angry and wishes he could kill himself. But he knows it is against Christianity and it would condemn him to hell so he cannot. This shows how Hamlet is a very emotionally unbalanced because of everything that happened in his life at once, this also shows the religious side of Hamlet.
    c. This applies today because people still think about suicide. Suicide still happens in our time today but we need to comprehend that we can move on with life.