Quot Anaylsis Act 5 Scene 1

Rachel Igoe

English Honors

G-Period

12 April 2011

Hamlet Quote Analysis

            “How absolute the knave is! WE must speak by / the card, or equivocation will undo us. By the / Lord Horatio, this three years I have took note of / it: the age is grown so picked that the toe of the / peasant come so near the heel of the courtier” (V.i.140-144).

            The gravedigger tries to make the scene more humorous with his jokes, but Hamlet finds it disrespectful. The gravediggers are witty and very clever with their jokes. Hamlet is in shock that someone in the lower class would talk to him like that. The gravediggers represent the clowns of the play, which are common in most Shakespeare plays. The play is at a tragic point because Ophelia had just committed suicide, Polonius was murdered and King Hamlet was also killed. Since it is so tragic the gravediggers are used to lighten the mood with their humor. At the graveyard, Hamlet once again faces his crisis of death and the afterlife, which references back to his “to be, or not to be” speech.  

Hamlet Quote Anaylsis Act 4 Scene 5

Rachel Igoe

English Honors

G-Period

10 April 2011

Quote Analysis Act 4 Scene 5

            “O, this poison of deep grief. It springs / All from her father’s death, and now behold! / O Gertrude, Gertrude, / When sorrows come, they come not single spies, / But in battalions: first, her father slain; / Next, your son gone, and he most violent author / of his own just remove; the people muddied thick, and unwholesome in {their} thoughts and whispers” (IV.V.80-86)

            Claudius is overwhelmed with everything that has happened. First his brother, King Hamlet, died and then Polonius was murdered. He says that bad things don’t happen one at a time, which foreshadows that there is more chaos to come. It is ironic that King Claudius says this because he is the reason for the murders and the madness. He was the one who killed King Hamlet, which caused Hamlet to go crazy and kill Polonius accidentally. Claudius’s deceitful deed has caused everything to fall apart. Since Hamlet has not successfully had is revenge on King Claudius the reader can assume that the worst has yet to come. 

Quote Analysis Act 3 Scene 2

Rachel Igoe

English Honors

G-Period

1 April 2011

Act Two Scene Three Quote Analysis

            “ Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice / And could of men distinguish, her election / Hath sealed thee for herself. For thou hast been / As one in suffering all that suffers nothing” (III.ii. 67-70).

            Hamlet has experienced many downfalls from the beginning of the play. He is portrayed as a great respectable prince, but after he sees his fathers ghost he is seen as crazy. The reader can sympathize with Hamlet because his father has past away, his two best friends have betrayed him and the one he loves, Ophelia, has ended ties with him. In this scene Hamlet converses with his good friend Horatio, who is the only loyal friend Hamlet has left. He tells Horatio he has chosen him because he takes everything life hands him with acceptance and he is grateful whether it is good or bad. Hamlet idolizes Horatio because Hamlet is not able to cope with the bas things that have happened to him. He sees that Horatio is able to remain calm in every situation that is thrown at him. Horatio is viewed as a strong and composed character, also he is the only friend that has not betrayed Hamlet.

Act Two Scene Two Quote Analysis

Rachel Igoe

English Honors

G-Period

31 March 2011

Act 2 Scene 2 Quote Analysis

            “Lord Hamlet is a prince, out of thy star / This must not be. And then I prescripts gave her, / That she should lock herself from {his} resort, / Admit no messengers, receive no tokens; / Which done, she took the fruits of my advice, And he, repelled (a short tale to make), / Fell into a sadness, then into a fast” (II.ii.150-156)

            In the beginning of Act two scene two, the king and queen are determined to figure out why Hamlet is crazy. They even invite two friends that Hamlet is very fond so that they can figure out why Hamlet has been acting the way he is. The reader knows from Act one that Hamlet saw his father’s ghost, which leaves the reader to believe is the true reason why hamlet is crazy.  Polonius, who is the father of Ophelia, believes that he knows the reason to Hamlet’s behavior. He tells the king and queen that he as ordered Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet because he thought that Hamlet was out of her league. He says that Ophelia obeyed his orders and rejected Hamlet’s messages and gifts, which caused his madness.  The reader is left to decide whether it is Ophelia or the ghost that has made him crazy. It is a possibility that Hamlet is upset about Ophelia’s rejection. Hamlet is certainly confused and upset because he still mourns about the death of his father, he has supposedly been rejected by his true love and he recently saw his father’s ghost.

Hamlet Quote Analysis Act 1 Scene 4

Rachel Igoe

English Honors

G-Period

24 March 2011

                                                            Hamlet Quote Analysis

            “ He waxes desperate with imagination” (I.ii.97).

            Hamlet imagined seeing his father’s ghost because I think that he is so upset about his father’s death that he feels as if he is still there. Even Horatio tells Hamlet that he is imagining seeing his father’s ghost. He says he is desperate with imagination, which means that Hamlet is desperate to be united with his father again and wants to believe that he is there. Horatio and Marcellus continually tell Hamlet not to go with the ghost because they think that it will kill him. Hamlet refuses and goes with the ghost anyways because he anxiously wants to find out what the ghost of his father might have to say to him. I think he is imagining because he is still mournful over the death of his father.

First Impression of Hamlet

Rachel Igoe

English Honors

G-Period

21 March 2011

First Impression of Hamlet

            “Seems,” madam? Nay, it is. I know not “seems.” / ‘Tis not alone my inky cloak,{good} mother, /  Nor customary suit of solemn black, / Nor windy suspiration of forced breath, / No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, / Nor the dejected habior of the visage, / Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, / That can {denote} me truly” (I.ii.79-86).

            In act one scene two the reader is first acquainted with the main character Hamlet. Hamlet seems bitter toward the other characters that appear in this scene. For example in the quote his tone is as if he is talking back to his mother. She comments on how he wears all black and he says that even his black clothes, heavy sighs and weeping does not show how he really feels. Hamlet might be bitter towards the other characters because he has been mourning over the death of his father. Hamlet almost seems as if he is being sarcastic when he responds to his mothers comment. She says that death happens all the time and he replies by saying “Ay, Madam it is common” (I.ii.76). Other characters such as Claudius and Gertrude notice that Hamlet is gloomy and unfriendly. Hamlet acts the way he does in this scene because he is upset about the loss of his father. 

Pride and Prejudice Quote Analysis

Rachel Igoe

English Honors

G-Period

10 March 2011

Pride and Prejudice Quote Analysis

            “You have no reguard, then, for the honour and credit of my nephew! Unfeeling, selfish girl! Do you consider that a connection with you must disgrace him in the eyes of everybody?” (Austen 300).

            Lady Catherine seems to be the final obstacle for Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth’s engagement. She frequently criticizes Elizabeth and her family because they do not share the same social status. Lady Catherine is insolent and tells Elizabeth that she is not good enough for her nephew. She also calls her selfish because she thinks that Elizabeth is not aware of her social status and how she would be a disgrace to everyone if she were to marry Mr. Darcy. Lady Catherine thinks irrationally because she does not realize that Mr. Darcy desires to marry Elizabeth and it is not Elizabeth being selfish. The encounter between Elizabeth and Lady Catherine signifies the social status that was created. When Elizabeth is able to defend her self and her family to Lady Catherine it symbolizes how strong Elizabeth has grown throughout the novel.