Is Hamlet truly relevant to our society? Can you, the reader, look beyond the early modern English and the poetic structures to understand Shakespeare's ideas? Why should we even bother to read and understand Shakespeare's works?
Develop specific ideas in response to the preceding, general questions. Incorporate evidence from Hamlet and from your experiences to support your ideas.
Make sure you post you ideas in relation to those of your classmates; do not repeat ideas already posted! Also, make sure you proofread your response and you develop your ideas (2 full paragraphs).
All responses are due by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15th.
Hamlet is a story of revenge and anger over unjust death. To me this story relates heavily into the criminal mind part of society today. I think that in judiciary trials in modern times, people plead insanity very easily and, as often is the case, is approved and accepted giving them a lighter sentence based on mental state. However, as seen in Hamlet, if there is a will, there is a way. This meaning that if someone does something so terrible to another person that that person is driven to take revenge upon the antagonist, then there is a good chance they could fake madness to use as a cover, primarily seen in Hamlet's story. I am not saying that this is the only thing that happens in modern times, I am merely saying that perhaps, by listening to this part of Hamlet's message, we can be more cautious in our judicial ideas and endeavors.
ReplyDeleteThe other point I gather thus far from Hamlet plays a HUGE, catastrophic role in our society. This play contains the truth that if one act is done against another, that other will wish revenge upon the original, then the original's close ones will act on the other's close ones and so on and so forth. Unfortunately this is a way of life i modern times, a brutal cycle of hate, revenge, and retribution that is ever present in most things that occur. War, crime, murder, all are generally linked to some center event that effected the offender and or victim in the past. This is a scary fact that we need to overcome if the world is ever to be united in the future, and perhaps through Shakespearean works like Hamlet we can begin to understand this truth.
Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, definitely has themes that are present in our society today. The theme of revenge is present in my personal life, in the state of Pennsylvania, and in the world.
ReplyDeleteIn Shakespeare's play, Hamlet is mourning over the death of his father. He is seeking revenge because he was told that his stepfather murdered his dad. Today, I am mourning the loss of my netbook. Like Hamlet's love for his father and now the lack of fatherly love, I am at a loss of knowing what is important school work in my netbook; my life. There are so many things that are school related that I will now not have. Like Hamlet, I am seeking revenge. My netbook was in my locker at the gym. It was not there when I left the gym.Like Hamlet I am angry and frustrated. I am so mad. I am so mad. I will file a police report. Hopefully, with my serial number the police will get the thief and I will have my revenge.
Also, revenge was seen last week in a local town of King of Prussia. On the news it was reported that a young man killed his twin brother and his mother and father. The killer was very angry that his parents liked the brother more. Like Hamlet there is insanity. The killer will probably get off because he is mentally ill.
Finally, Hamlet's theme of revenge is relevant today throughout the world. Libyan leader,Omar Kadafi built his empire on fear and terrorism.
He left his people in the dark ages and built fear through torturing and killing political enemies in public. The people are protesting and fighting violently. Like in Hamlet, they are fighting back for all those who were killed by Kadafi.
As you can see, the theme that was written a very long time ago by Shakespeare is still present in our world today.
I think that Hamlet truly is relevant to today’s society. In my opinion, it is a shame that the fact that there is a slight language barrier is the reason why a large amount of modern peoples do not read Hamlet, or any of Shakespeare’s works for that matter. Although Shakespeare’s language creates a slight obstacle for the modern peoples today that want to read Shakespeare, the reward of reading Shakespeare surely cancels out the hassle of interpreting the language. After you get past the struggles of understanding Shakespearean language, the story told and lessons taught by Shakespeare are well worth the struggles. Not to mention the fact that translating the language can help make you more literate.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Hamlet may be going through some extremely dramatic situations, I think that readers today can still certainly relate to the story. It is very doubtful that someone today is going through exactly what hamlet is going through, but it can still be applied to a more modern situation. For example maybe parents are going through a divorce and then the mother quickly remarrying someone who is maybe not the best candidate for the mother. This modern, more relatable and imaginable situation could certainly be compared with hamlets situation, therefore making it simpler for someone today to understand, but still getting the same impact of the story.