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Gertrude

Posted on April 18, 2011 by | 1 comment

As with the post on Claudius, this is a summary of Gertrude’s main appearances in the play. It is not an interpretation of her character – you have to make up your own mind. Is she a person we admire or despise? Why? Are there moments when she redeems herself? Is she a good mother? A good wife? Is she guilty of the crimes her son accuses her of – adultery? incest? murder? (remember our understanding of incest differs from that of a Shakespearean audience). Does she show remorse for her crimes? Does she try to protect those she loves? (Hamlet / Claudius). Does she deserve to die in the horrific manner that she does?

Act 1, scene 2 First impressions

  • Gertrude seems genuinely concerned for her son but is also eager for him to accept her marriage to Claudius “Cast thy nighted colour off and let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark”. This desire to ‘move on’ makes her insensitive to her son’s genuine grief.
  • Hamlet feels that her hasty remarriage is an absolute betrayal of his father’s memory “a beast that wants discourse of reason would have mourned longer” and proof that women’s love is fickle “frailty thy name is woman“. Hamlet accuses her of being guilty of both adultery and incest (she prob is). Disgust at Gertrude’s weakness and disloyalty dominates Hamlet’s mind and soul and is the primary cause of his depression. Is he being too hard on her?

Act 1, scene 5 The ghost’s visit

  • The ghost desribes Gertrude as “my most seeming virtuous queen” and reveals that – in his opinion – Gertrude’s relationship with Claudius was based on lust not love. There is no conclusive proof that Gertrude and Claudius were involved in an adulterous relationship before the King was murdered but it would certainly explain a lot – their hasty remarriage, Gertrude’s guilt later on hen Hamlet accuses her of sinning and Claudius’ indifference to her death (perhaps he was just using her all along and seduced her while his brother was still alive to ensure that he gained the throne once he murdered the King.)
  • Despite his hurt that Gertrude grew tired of him “O Hamlet! What a falling off was there”  (who wouldn’t choose bad boy Claudius over a sap that worries if the wind blows too roughly in your face? Sounds to me like Gertrude just wanted a bit of rough. But don’ phrase it like this in your exam!) the Ghost obviously still loves Gertrude, ordering his son not to punish her “Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive against thy mother aught: leave her to heaven“.

Act 2, scene 2 Rosencrantz & Guildenstern arrive

  • Gertrude hopes that R&G can help discover the root cause of Hamlet’s unhappiness. She seems genuinely concerned about her “too much changed son” and recognises the part she may have played in prolonging his despair “I doubt it is no other but the main/his father’s death and our o’er hasty marriage”.
  • There is a hint here that she views her former husbands death as a natural event – she talks of his death, not his murder. This suggests that she had nothing to do with it and possibly does not know that Claudius killed King Hamlet.

Act 3, scene 1 The Nunnery Scene

  • Gertrude again shows motherly concern. She quizes R&G asking if they managed to cheer him up.
  • She is full of hope that Ophelia can bring him back to his senses “so shall I hope your virtues will bring him to his wonted way again” Although it seems wrong that she would go along with spying on her , she is son she is desperate to find some way to help him. Imagine if you caught your mother reading your diary? You’d find it hard to forgive her, but then again if she thought you were suicidal and was desperate to find out why so that she could help you, you might just forgive her.
  • When Polonius comes up with yet another spying plan “let the queen mother all alone entreat him to show his grief” Gertrude is not present. This is significant because Shakespeare wants us to see Gertrude as someone who despite her flaws is still looking out for her son rather than plotting and scheming against him. Is she weak for going along with the plan? Possibly, but again she is desperate to build bridges and to help her son.

Act 3, scene 2 The Player’s Play

  • Gertrude stays calm during the play despite hearing lines like “In second husband let me be accurst, noe wed the second but who killed the first”. When Hamlet asks “How like you this play Madam” she responds “The lady doth protest too much me thinks” to which he resonds cruelly “O, but she’ll keep her word”. Despite the public embarrassment she does not react, suggesting perhaps that she has nothing to hide.

Act 3, scene 4 Murder of Polonius

  • Gertrude expects Hamlet to treat her with respect (“have you forgot me?”) not contempt (“You are the queen, your husband’s brother’s wife, and would it were not so, you are my mother“).
  • She actually believes he might kill her “Thou wilt not murder me? Help, help, ho“.  Her panicked screams cause Polonius to also shout for help, which results in Hamlet stabbing the mystery person who’s hiding.
  • Gertrude is shocked “O what a rash and bloody deed is this” and then confused by Hamlet’s reply “A bloody deed, almost as bad, good mother, as kill a King and marry with his brother” to which she responds “As kill a King?”. Here we have confirmation that she had nothing to do with King Hamlet’s murder “What have I done?” “What act?” and truly believed that he died of natural causes.
  • When Hamlet presents her with two pictures – one of King Hamlet, one of Claudius – and asks how she could have chosen the lesser man, she begs him to stop “O Hamlet, speak no more, thou turn’st mine eyes into my very soul“. He accuses her of letting her lust/passion/desires overcome her common sense “Nay but to live in the rank sweat of an unseamed bed” and again she is ashamed “No more, sweet Hamlet“.
  • Gertrude is deeply concerned about her son when the ghost appears “O gentle son… whereon do you look?“
  • Hamlet begs her to repent her sins and reject Claudius but she cannot bear the idea of being forced to choose between her son and her lover/husband “O Hamlet thou hast left my heart in twain” despite the fact that she now knows what Claudius did (maye she thinks he did it so that they could be together? We think he did it to gain power).
  • As the sene ends she agrees to help her son “What shall I do?” and when Hamlet asks her not to reveal that his madness is just an act she promises to keep his secret “I have no life to breathe what thou hast said to me“

Act 4, scene 1

  • Gertrude covers for Hamlet when she describes the murder of Polonius to Claudius, claining that her son is “mad as the sea and wind“. 

Act 4, scene 5 Ophelia’s madness

  • Gertrude reluctantly agrees to see Ophelia after initially saying “I will not speak with her“. Perhaps she cannot bear to see the pain her son has caused through his murder of Polonius.
  • She is filled with foreboding. Every event seems a sign that some great disaster is imminent “to my sick soul, as sin’s true nature is, each toy seems prologue to some great amiss”. Here Gertrude again recognises that she has sinned – she is probably referring to adultery and incest.
  • She remains loyal to Claudius in spite of all that Hamlet has told her. She allows her emotions (love) to take precedence over her sense of right and wrong (she should be morally outraged and disgusted by what he has done). When she hears a mob outside calling for Laertes to become King she is outraged “O! this is counter you false Danish dogs“. When Laertes enters she tries to keep him calm and then tries to physically restrain him from attacking Claudius. She is terrified that Laertes will kill Claudius before they get a hance to tell him that Claudius did not kill Polonius.

Act 4, scene 7 Ophelia’s death

  • Gertrude describes Ophelia’s death and there is a poetic beauty in her tragic words “There, on the pendent boughs her coronet weeds Clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke; When down her weedy trophies and herself Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide; And, mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up: Which time she chanted snatches of old tunes; As one incapable of her own distress, Or like a creature native and indued Unto that element: but long it could not be Till that her garments, heavy with their drink, Pull’d the poor wretch from her melodious lay To muddy death”.
  • Gertrude seems deeply distressed and repeats the words “drowned, drowned” sadly. Here we see a sharp contrast between Gertrude’s genuine sadness & Claudius’ selfish response which endears her to us.

Act 5, scene 1 Ophelia’s funeral

  • Gertrude’s genuine grief is again evident “Sweets to the sweet, farewell! I hoped thou shouldst have been my Hamlet’s wife”
  • She again tries to protect her son by explaining away his attack on Leartes saying “this is mere madness“.

Act 5, scene 2 Final scene

  • Gertrude hopes Hamlet will win his fencing match against Laertes – she wipes his brow, then drinks to his health, accidently drinking from the poisoned cup.
  • Claudius’ pathetic attempt to save her life makes us feel deep sympathy for her It seems she truly loved him whilst he loves only himself.
  • Her final deed in the play is to try to save her son’s life “the drink, the drink – o my dear Hamlet – …. I am poisoned“

Now you need to organise this information into 6 coherent paragraphs.

  • You could begin by discussing our first impressions of her – she is accused of adultery, incest and a hasty remarriage which implies a betrayal of her first husband’s memory. She is initially insensitive to Hamlet’s grief.
  • You could then discuss the Ghost’s view of her and her inability to see what kind of man Claudius truly is. Yet there must be something to love in her (the Ghost still loves her and despite everything that has happened so does her son).
  • You could then look at the evidence of her motherly concern which is clear throughout the play -through all the spying plots & particularly after he murders Polonius.
  • Look at how she reacts when Hamlet confronts her – she is not guilty of murder, but admits to her sins and is tortured by them. She is racked by guilt (prob for incest/adultery/betrayal) and shows genuine remorse.
  • Gertrude’s humanity shines through in her compassionate reaction to Ophelia’s madness and death.
  • Finish examine the final scene: look at how she pays the ultimate price for her inability to see her man for who he truly is. She dies.

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Claudius

Posted on April 17, 2011 by | Comments Off on Claudius

This is just a summary of Claudius’ main appearances in the play but you need to make up your own mind about his character.  Is he purely a villain? Does he have any redeeming features? Are there moments when you admire him? Is he a good king? A good husband? What motivates him as a person? What are our final impressions of him?

Act 1, scene 2

  • Claudius addresses the Danish court and although he claims to be filled with grief because of his “dear brother’s death” we immediately feel his hasty marriage to Gertrude “our sometime sister now our queen” is inappropriate.
  • He handles the threat from Fortinbras of Norway in a peaceful /diplomatic way, sending ambassadors to the King (Fortinbras’uncle) insisting he control his nephew.
  • He seems too eager to please: “What wouldst thou have Laertes?” especially when it comes to getting Hamlet on side “my cousin Hamlet and my son”.
  • Claudius is deeply insensitive towards Hamlet’s grief and has the audacity to suggest that Hamlet is insulting God by not accepting his father’s death “tis unmanly grief, it shows a will most incorrect to heaven” (we later learn that Claudius is the one who has actually challenged God’s power over life and death).
  • He is clever in his attempts to get Hamlet on side – he announces publicly “you are the most immediate to our throne”. We know it is unlikely that Hamlet will ever accept Claudius despite Claudius’ request to “think of us as of a father”.
  • He is determined to keep up appearances that all is well but comes across as false & irritatingly good humoured – when Hamlet says “I shall in all my best obey you madam” Claudius says with forced merriment “Why tis a loving and a fair reply”
  • He obeys the rule of all tyrants – keep your friends close and your enemies closer – by asking Hamlet not to return to college in Wittenburg “remain here in the cheer and comfort of our eye”. Claudius phrases it as a request but Hamlet has to obey.
  •  The contrast between the dead King Hamlet (“he was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again”) and the new King (“no more like my father than I to Hercules”) upsets Hamlet greatly.

Act 1, scene 5

  • We hear indirectly of Claudius’ crime from the ghost. There are echoes of the garden of Eden when the ghost describes his murder in the orchard “the serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown”. Claudius is referred to by the ghost as “garbage” & “that incestuous, that adulterate beast” who “won to his shameful lust the will of my most seeming virtuous queen”.

Act 2, scene 2

  • Claudius again appears as a skilful liar. He sends for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern so they can spy on Hamlet. He pretends to be concerned and baffled as to what is upsetting him “What it should be, more than his father’s death…I cannot dream of”. He is phoney and patronising “welcome dear Rosencrantz and Guildenstern…we much did long to see you” .
  • He  is sceptical of Polonius’ explanation of Hamlet’s madness (he is lovesick) but goes along with Polonius’ plan to spy on a meeting between Ophelia and Hamlet.

Act 3, scene 1

  • Claudius suggests that Hamlet may be a danger with his “turbulent and dangerous lunacy” and concludes that “Madness in great ones must not unwatched go”.
  • We get our first glimpse of Claudius’ humanity. Polonius comments that it is easy to cover the truth & “suger o’er the devil himself” & Claudius reflects “how smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience” . His guilt is a “heavy burden”.
  • Having watched Hamlet with Ophelia Claudius is clever enough to realise that Hamlet is not lovesick, or crazy “Love? His affections do not that way tend, nor what he spake, though it lacked form a little, was not like madness. There’s something in his soul o’er which his melancholy sits on brood”.
  • He wants to send Hamlet away to England but Polonius convinces him not to. Instead, Gertrude will confront Hamlet while Polonius eavesdrops (spy plot 3!)

Act 3, scene 2 – the Player’s Play

  • Claudius is exposed. He says very little in this scene but briefly tries to stop the performance “Have you heard the argument? Is there no offence in it?” and changes the subject “what do you call the play” but when this fails he storms out.
  • We hear from R & G that he is “marvellous distempered” following the play.

Act 3, scene 3 – Prayer Scene

  • Claudius again reveals his more human side. Rather than offering us a completely evil ‘villain’, Shakespeare shows us a glimpse of his inner turmoil “O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven”. He realises that he cannot gain forgiveness for as long as he still possesses the advantages he gained from committing the crime “my crown, mine own ambition and my queen”. He pleads with heaven for comfort “o wretched state! O bosom black as death!…help angels”
  • Ironically, Hamlet postpones killing Claudius because he wants him to suffer for all eternity “trip him that his heels may kick at heaven” . Hamlet leaves & Claudius then reveals that he hasn’t been able to truly repent & thus hasn’t been forgiven “my words fly up my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go”. Claudius has been extremely fortunate – if it weren’t for the circumstances Hamlet would have murdered him (& sort of tries to in next scene)

Act 4, scene 1 & 3

  • Our brief sympathy for Claudius is quickly extinguished. Despite Polonius being his chief adviser, his reaction to Polonius’ murder is selfish relief that it wasn’t him that was killed “O heavy deed! It had been so with us, had we been there”.
  • Claudius now has the perfect excuse to send Hamlet away. He knows that Hamlet is popular and so doesn’t punish Hamlet himself for fear of negative publicity “yet must not we put the strong law upon him, he’s loved of the distracted multitude”.
  • His order that Hamlet be killed upon arrival in England will solve the greatest obstacle to Claudius retaining power and ensure his crime remains undetected “do it England for like the hectic in my blood he rages and thou must cure me” .

Act 4, scene 5

  • Ophelia’s madness is revealed and Claudius lists their woes “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… poor Ophelia divided from herself and her fair judgement…her brother is in secret come from France” but his main concern is that people would believe he had something to do with Polonius’ death.
  • He courageously faces down Laertes’ accusations “o thou vile king, give me my father” & ironically finds comfort in the idea that as God’s representative on earth God will protect him “Let him go Gertrude, do not fear our person, there’s such divinity doth hedge a king that treason can but peep to what it would” . Laertes is difficult to calm “t0 hell allegiance…I dare damnation” & Claudius again uses his talent for flattery to win him over, “Good Laertes…why now you speak like a good child and a true gentleman…I am guiltless of your father’s death” urging him to distinguish between friend & foe “where th’ offence is let the great axe fall”.

Act 4, scene 7

  • Laertes demands an explanation why Claudius has not punished Hamlet for murdering Polonius. Claudius uses Hamlet’s popularity “the great love the general gender bear him” and Gertrude “she is so conjunctive to my life and soul, that as the star moves not but in his sphere I could not but by her” as excuses.
  • Claudius receives news that Hamlet has escaped the ship & returned to Denmark.
  • Claudius uses emotional blackmail to manipulate Laertes “was your father dear to you? Or are you like the painting of a sorrow, a face without a heart?” “What would you undertake to show yourself your father’s son in deed more than words?” (Laertes replies “to cut his throat i’ th’ church”).
  • The entire plan to challenge Hamlet to a duel, to poison the tip and the poisoned cup is dreamed up by Claudius but Leartes goes along with it because Claudius has convinced him that this will be proof of his devotion to his dead father.
  • Claudius’ reaction to Ophelia’s death is irritation. He fears it will provoke Laertes “How much I had to do to calm his rage! Now I fear this will give it start again”

Act 5, scene 1

  • Claudius is eager to separate Hamlet and Laertes “pluck them asunder” and to keep Laertes calm “o he is mad Laertes” because he doesn’t want their plan to be ruined. He wants Hamlet’s death to seem like an accident.

Act 5, scene 2

  • Claudius makes only a very feeble attempt to save the Queen’s life “Gertrude do not drink” and then tries to distract attention from her when she collapses “she swoons to see them bleed”. Claudius clings to life until the very end “O yet defend me friends, I am but hurt”.

Now think about how you might organise this information into 6 paragraphs of information.

  • You might begin with your first impressions of him. Act 1, scene 2.
  • Then you might discuss the scene where Hamlet meets the Ghost of his dead father and how the audience are heavily influenced by the vivid description of his horrific crimes (regicide, incest, adultery). From the very beginning of the play we are seeing events through Hamlet’s eyes. Once the ghost clarifies what really happened we find it hard to escape our impression of Claudius as a murderous usurper.
  • In your third paragraph you might discuss the steps he takes to find out how much Hamlet knows. He’s a clever actor who plays the part of concerned uncle very well when he summons R&G. He’s also remarkably calm under pressure during the Murder of Gonzago.
  • Next discuss his aside (How smart a lash) and the Prayer scene which offers evidence that he has a conscience and think about the effect this has on the audience’s sympathy for him. However balance that against the fact that he doesn’t confess OR give up the fruits of his crimes.
  • In your fifth paragraph look at the completely selfish reaction to the deaths of Polonius (his chief advisor), Ophelia, and Gertrude (his wife and think about how this influenes our view of him.
  • Finally discuss the Machiavellian ruthlessness revealed in his emotional manipulation of Laertes. To say we admire him seems strange but in a way we do admire his evil genius – his determination, his intelligence, his practical decisive nature – even though we cannot approve of the way he uses these talents for evil rather than for good.

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Hamlet – important character quotes

Posted on April 17, 2011 by | 5 comments

NOTE: Don’t waste time learning off what act and scene each quote is from, it won’t gain you any extra marks in the exam. Just have a general sense of where they belong chronologically eg ‘In the nunnery scene…’ or ‘In the prayer scene…’ or ‘In the gravedigger’s scene…’

Act 1, scene 2 – Claudius conducts affairs of state, begs Hamlet not to be so melancholy, and Gertrude asks him to stay with them instead of returning to college.

 “A little more than kin and less than kind” – Hamlet, aside. Reveals disgust at his new ‘relationship’ to his uncle/step-father Claudius

 “I have that within me which passes show/ these but the trappings and the suits of woe” – Hamlet to Gertrude. Here Hamlet distinguishes between genuine grief (his own) and false grief (Gertrude/Claudius).

“I shall in all my best obey you, madam” – Hamlet to Gertrude. He deliberately snubs Claudius, and reluctantly obeys his mother.

 “that the Everlasting had not fixed/ His canon against self-slaughter” – Hamlet He is so depressed that he contemplates suicide, but won’t go through with it because it’s a sin.

“Frailty, thy name is woman” – Hamlet, soliloquy. His opinion of women has plummeted following his mother’s hasty remarriage.

“O most wicked speed, to post/ With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!/ It is not nor it cannot come to good/ But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue” – Hamlet, soliloquy. He feels constrained not to complain, but is disgusted by their relationship. The marriage of such close relatives would have been regarded as incest in Shakespearean times. It is doubly revolting because they don’t even wait until Hamlet’s Snr’s body is cold in the grave, thus showing a profound lack of respect for his memory.

“I shall not look upon his like again” – Hamlet to Horatio. Hamlet’s admiration for his father is clear. Hamlet believes that he is irreplaceable. Ironic comment because he will meet his father again (as a ghost) in the very next scene!

“I doubt some foul play…/Foul deeds will rise/ Though all the earth o’erwhelm them to men’s eyes” – Hamlet. The appearance of his father’s ghost makes him suspicious, but he is confident that he will discover the truth.

Act 1, scene 4 – Hamlet waits in darkness for the ghost to appear, whilst the sounds of revelry from Claudius’ court ring in the background.

“oft it chances in particular men/ the stamp of one defect/ his virtues else be they as pure as grace/ shall in the general censure take corruption/ from that particular fault” – Hamlet’s soliloquy revealing his intellectual side commenting on the reputation of Danes for being drunkards, he notes that men may be blessed with many gifts, abilities and virtues, but their one fault may be their downfall. A small element of evil can corrupt an otherwise virtuous individual.

 

Act 1, scene 5 – Hamlet meets his father’s ghost and learns the truth.

“Haste me to know it, that I with wings as swift/ As meditation or the thoughts of love/ May sweep to my revenge” – Hamlet to the ghost. Hamlet wants to know the details of the crime so he can immediately seek revenge.

“From the table of my memory/ I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records…/And thy commandment all alone shall live/ Within the book and volume of my brain” He swears to erase everything from his memory except this urgent demand for revenge

“O most pernicious woman/ O villain, villain, smiling damned villain!…/ One may smile, and smile and be a villain/ At least I am sure it may be so inDenmark” – Hamlet to himself He equally blames his mother (for her betrayal) and Claudius (for the crime) and reiterates an idea from Marcellus earlier on that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark”.

“No, you will reveal it” – Hamlet to Horatio. At first he refuses to tell his best friend, Horatio, what he has discovered. Although he quickly changes his mind, this reveals the beginnings of his paranoia.

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio/ Then are dreamt of in your philosophy” –Hamlet to Horatio. The supernatural atmosphere increases as Hamlet maintains that science and rationality cannot explain everything in the universe.

“The time is out of joint. O cursed spite/ That ever I was born to set it right!” He comments that the state of Denmark has been afflicted with a terrible sickness, and laments the fact that it is his fate/destiny to find the cure.

Act 2, scene 2 – Claudius sends Rosencrantz & Guildenstern to discover the cause of Hamlet’s madness; Hamlet fobs them off. They introduce a group of players to cheer him up, and he comes up with a plan to prove Claudius’ guilt.

“It appeareth nothing to me but a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours”. Hamlet to Rosencrantz & Guildenstern, revealing his disillusionment with the world.

“My uncle-father, and aunt-mother, are deceived…/ I am but mad north-north-west” – Hamlet to Ros & Guild. He reveals that he is only a little/only occasionally mad to his old school friends.

“Oh what a rogue and peasant slave am I…/ Am I a coward…/I am pigeon-livered and lack gall/ To make oppression bitter” – Hamlet soliloquy. Hamlet berates himself, having seen the passion of the players, for not acting on his own passionate desire for revenge.

“The spirit that I have seen/ May be a devil…/I’ll have grounds/More relative than this” – Hamlet soliloquy. He reveals part of the reason for his hesitancy (afraid to trust the ghost’s word), and resolves to have firmer evidence of his uncle’s guilt before he inflicts punishment.

“the play’s the thing/ wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king” – Hamlet. He decides that the best way to test Claudius’ guilt is to make him face his own crime in the form of a play, and then watch for his reaction.

Act 3, scene 1 – the ‘nunnery scene’ opens with a meditation on life and death. Ophelia has been sent by Polonius/Claudius to speak to Hamlet so that they can test the theory that his madness is due to unrequited love. Hamlet is cruel and cynical towards her, either (a) because he realises she’s in league with Polonius/Claudius or (b) because he’s so disgusted with the idea of love/marriage following his mother’s betrayal of his father’s memory.

“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” –Hamlet wonders which is preferable, life or death. At this point he sees life as nothing more than pain and suffering. Later in this speech he suggests that all that stops us from killing ourselves is the fear of the unknown – “the dread of something after death”

“Thus conscience does make cowards of us all/ And thus the native hue of resolution/ Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought/ And enterprises of great pitch and moment/ With this regard their currents turn awry/ And lose the name of action” – Hamlet soliloquy. The opening sentence can mean two things. First, that reflecting on the implications of an action can make us afraid of performing it (as he’s afraid of killing Claudius) or secondly, that our moral voice makes us fear doing what we know is morally wrong (committing murder). Our natural hot blooded reaction is cooled by over-analysing the issue.

“No, not I, I never gave you aught” – Hamlet to Ophelia as she attempts to return gifts that he gave her in the past. His response may suggest that he views this ‘new’ Ophelia as a stranger. His view of women has certainly suffered.

“I did love you once” –  Hamlet to Ophelia “Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so” – Ophelia to Hamlet “You should not have believed me…I loved you not” –  Hamlet to Ophelia  “I was the more deceived” – Ophelia to Hamlet “Get thee to a nunnery…if thou dost marry, I’ll give thee this plague for thy dowry: be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow” Hamlet to Ophelia. Hamlets’ bitterness towards women generally, and towards his ex-lover Ophelia specifically is revealed in this scene.  He ridicules her rejection of him, suggesting she is now only fit for a nunnery, where she can guard her virginity forever! It has been suggested that Hamlet knows that her father is hiding behind the arras. he may also suspect sudden change of heart was motivated by Polonius’ accusation that he only wanted her so he could steal her virginity and he is insulted that she thought so little of him.

“If thou wilt marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them” – Hamlet to Ophelia, offering a further critique of women.

 

Act 3, scene 2 – Hamlet tests and confirms Claudius’ guilt with the performance of “The Murder of Gonzago”. Ros & Guild and Polonius deliver the message that Gertrude wants to see him in her chamber.

“Is this a prologue…? – Hamlet to Ophelia “’Tis brief my Lord” – Ophelia to Hamlet  “As woman’s love” – Hamlet to Ophelia. His obsession with his mother’s “o’er hasty marriage” is affecting his view of all women, and making him particularly cruel to Ophelia.

“Lady shall I lie in your lap?”….. “did you think I meant country matters?” “That’s a fair thought to lie between maid’s legs” Hamlet to Ophelia. He engages in sexual inuendo, suggesting that she, not he, is the one fixated on sex. Again, he is probably still hurt that she thought his only interest in her was sexual and broke off their relationship as a result.

“Your majesty, and we that have free souls, it touches us not” Hamlet during the play.

“He poisons him I’ th’ garden for his estate…You shall see anon how the murderer gets the love of Gonzago’s wife” – Hamlet to Claudius. Hamlet goads Claudius into a reaction, commenting repeatedly on the performance of the play (within a play) ‘the murder of Gonzago’. However, he makes a mistake when he makes the murderer in the play the King’s nephew. The members in the court who are watching the play don’t know that Claudius killed his brother, so they are likely to interpret this as Hamlet threatening to kill his uncle Claudius.

“My wit’s deceased” “Sir, I lack advancement” “Do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?”. Hamlet no longer views Rosencrantz & Guildenstern as friends, and refuses to give them a straight answer when they again try to probe the reasons for his madness/melancholy.

“Let me be cruel, not unnatural; I will speak daggers to her, but use none”  Hamlet in soliloquy resolves not to put his feelings into action – he has promised the ghost of his father that he won’t punish Gertrude for Claudius’ crime. We are still unclear as to whether or not Gertrude was involved in his father’s murder but Hamlet seems convinced that she was.

Act 3, scene 3 – the prayer scene

“Why this is hire and salary, not revenge” – Hamlet soliloquy. He decides that if he kills Claudius at prayer, he’ll be acting like nothing more than a hired assassin. If Claudius goes to heaven, his punishment will be nought and Hamlet’s revenge will be incomplete.

“Then trip him that his heels may kick at heaven/ And that his soul may be as damned and black/ As hell whereto he goes” ” – Hamlet soliloquy. He resolves to wait until he is certain that Claudius will go to hell, by killing him when he’s committing a sin.

Act 3, scene 4 – Hamlet’s meeting with Gertrude, where he accidentally kills Polonius.

“Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended” – Gertrude to Hamlet

“Mother, you have my father much offended” – Hamlet to Gertrude. Hamlet refuses to allow his mother to lecture him on correct behaviour.

“Have you forgot me?” – Gertrude

“You are the queen, your husband’s brother’s wife/ And would it were not so, you are my mother” – Hamlet. Gertrude, shocked by his lack of respect, asks if he has forgotten that he is speaking to his mother. Hamlet’s disgust springs from the religious belief that the marriage of such close relatives as Gertrude and Claudius is wrong and incestuous.

“A bloody deed – almost as bad, good mother/ As kill a king and marry with his brother” – Hamlet to Gertrude. Hamlet’s response to his crime is cold and unemotional. He is so obsessed with the crimes of his uncle and mother, that he feels his own (he has just killed Polonius) pale into insignificance. He seems to think that his mother was involved in (or had previous knowledge of) the plot to kill his father Hamlet Snr. (Note: her response suggests she knew nothing of it)

“Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell! / I took thee for thy better”. Hamlet’s major emotion following his murder of Polonius is disappointment because he hoped it was Claudius hiding behind the arras. He seems unaffected by the fact that he has murdered a (largely) innocent man, and suggests that Polonius got what he deserved for being a meddlesome fool!

“Have you eyes? You cannot call it love, for at your age/ The hey day in the blood is tame, it’s humble/ And waits upon the judgement, and what judgement/ Would step from this to this?”. Hamlet forces his mother to look at two portraits of her lovers– one of his father, one of Claudius. He cannot understand how she could be satisfied with the pathetic replacement she has found.

“A murderer & a villain…a vice of kings/ A cutpurse of the empire & the rule”. Hamlet’s assessment of Claudius’ character, designed to torture his mother with guilt. (Cutpurse = Thief)

“Do you see nothing there?”. Hamlet is amazed that Gertrude cannot see the ghost. She becomes convinced that he is truly mad.

“Confess yourself to heaven. Repent what’s past, avoid what is to come”. Hamlet begs his mother to repent her sins. He wants to save her soul proving he still loves her.

“For this same lord I do repent; but heaven hath pleased it so/ To punish me with this, and this with me/ That I must be their scourge and minister”. Hamlet realises that he will eventually be punished for his crime, but he is also convinced that it is the will of the Gods that he be their instrument of vengeance and punishment. (Polonius’ deceit has been punished by Hamlet.) He no longer worries what is right and wrong – he has convinced himself that getting revenge is what God wants him to do.

“I essentially am not in madness/ But mad in craft”. Hamlet reveals to his mother that his madness is nothing more than an act, but warns her not to reveal this fact to her husband Claudius.

“I’ll lug the guts into the neighbour room”. Hamlet’s lack of respect for the dead makes us wonder if his remorse was genuine.

Act 4, scene 2 – Hamlet describes his old school friends as sponges, that soak up everything the King says. However, in the end, they will be cast aside: “When he needs what you have gleaned, it is but squeezing you, and sponge, you shall be dry again”

Act 4, scene 3 – Claudius quizzes Hamlet about the whereabouts of Polonius’ body and tells him he is to be sent toEngland‘for his own safety’, as there he can avoid punishment for the crime he has committed.

“In heaven. Send hither to see. If your messenger find him not there, seek him i’ th’ other place yourself”. It is threatening comments like this that convince Claudius that Hamlet is a threat to him and must be disposed of.

Act 4, scene 4 – Hamlet meets a Norwegian officer, who tells him of Fortinbras’ expedition to capture a small patch of land fromPoland. Hamlet then compares himself unfavourably to Fortinbras (although Shakespeare doesn’t necessarily agree – he seems to be ridiculing Fortinbras’ meagre justification for waging war).

“What is a man/ If his chief good and market of his time/ Be but to sleep and feed? A beast no more….Sith I have cause, and will, and strength, and means to do it… Rightly to be great/ Is not to stir without great argument/ But greatly to find quarrel in a straw/When honour’s at the stake/ How stand I then/ That have a father killed, a mother stained/ Excitements of my reason and my blood/ And let all sleep? While to my shame I see/ The imminent death of twenty thousand men/ That for a fantasy or trick of fame/ Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot/ Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause”

He knows that there is more to life than serving one’s bodily desires, otherwise we are no better than animals. He realises that he has no excuse for his inaction. He argues that the true sign of greatness can be seen in a man (like Fortinbras) who will fight over a trifle when his honour is at stake. By comparison, Hamlet sees his own inaction, when he has every reason to seek revenge, as pathetic. He is ashamed. However, the audience may be less sure of the righteousness of Fortinbras’ actions – he is, after all, causing the imminent death of 20,000 men for ‘a fantasy or a trick of fame’.

“O from this time forth/ My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth”. Hearing of Fortinbras’ leads to a further resolution to get revenge for once & for all.

Act 4, scene 6 – we hear from Horatio that Hamlet has escaped and is returning toDenmark.

Act 4, scene 7 – Claudius convinces Laertes that Hamlet killed his father, and devises a plan to get rid of him in a faux fencing match.

Act 5, scene 1 – the graveyard scene, where Hamlet muses on the nature of life and death, accidentally comes across Ophelia’s funeral, and fights with Laertes.

“That skull had a tongue in it, and could sing once…This might be the pate of a politician, which this ass now o’er-reaches; one that would circumvent God”. Hamlet muses on the idea that even those who attempt to by-pass God’s law and morality, cannot escape the inevitability of death.

“Get you to my lady’s chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favour she must come”. However she paints her face, a lady will end up looking no more attractive than this skull (the irony of this thought lies in his ignorance of the fact that the grave is being dug for Ophelia). He again muses on the pointlessness of our worldly concerns, as none of us can avoid death. He later muses that many great leaders, like Alexander and Caesar, also ended up in the grave, just as the king, Claudius enters.

“What is he whose grief bears such an emphasis?”.  Again, Hamlet feels offended by what he sees as false and over the top protestations of grief.

“I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers/ Could not with all their quantity of love/ Make up the sum” Hamlet feels the nature and quality of his love was more powerful than Laertes’. It is possible that his attack on Laertes is motivated by utter shock that Ophelia is dead and a combination of guilt and rage when Leartes implies that Hamlet may be partially to blame. He cannot bear the thought that he may have contributed to the death of this woman he loved and so lashes out.

Act 5, scene 2 – the fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes, which ultimately leads to the completion of Hamlet’s revenge, and the death of all of the major characters in the play.

“There’s a divinity that shapes our ends/ Rough-hew them how we will”. He now believes in a divine purpose behind everything that human beings do, in the idea that (even if we don’t know it at the time) there is a grand pattern. All of his recent good luck appears to Hamlet as proof that he has been saved from death for a greater purpose – to get revenge on Claudius and thus serve him with the divine justice he deserves for his crimes.

“He should those bearers put to sudden death/ not shriving-time allowed” Hamlet’s deceitful replacement of Claudius’ letter to the King of England with one of his own ordering the execution of Ros. & Guild, and his lack of remorse at their deaths reveals how morally tainted he has become in the course of the play by the deception and betrayal that surrounds him.

“They are nor near my conscience, their defeat/ Does by their own insinuation grow” Hamlet feels that they have only got what they deserved for getting mixed up with a villain like Claudius. He assumes that they knew about the plot to have him killed.

“He that hath killed my king, and whored my mother/ Popped in between th’ election and my hopes/ Thrown out his angle for my proper life” This is a summary of all of Hamlet’s grievances with Claudius – he killed his father, turned his mother into a slut, prevented Hamlet from gaining the throne, and then attempted to have him killed.

“I am very sorry, good Horatio/ That to Laertes I forgot myself/ For by the image of my cause I see/ The portraiture of his”. Hamlet regrets his row with Laertes, because he realises that Laertes has a just reason for seeking vengence, and that in thus they are very much alike.

“I will win for him if I can; if not, I will gain nothing but my shame and the odd hits”. Hamlet casually accepts the invitation to a duel, as though he has nothing to lose

“Thou wouldst not think how ill’s here about my heart… a kind of gaingiving as would perhaps trouble a woman”. He is filled with a sense of foreboding, his spirit is troubled, but he suspects this is no more than womanly cowardice and superstition.

“If it be now ‘tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come”. Hamlet has lost all fear of death – he believes that if his time has come, there is nothing he can do about it. (Que sera, sera, whatever will be will be).

“Give me your pardon sir, I have done you wrong…What I have done…I here proclaim was madness”. Hamlet asks Laertes to forgive him, he did not knowingly kill his father.

“How does the queen?…O villainy. Ho, let the door be locked…The point envenomed too?/ Then venom to thy work.” Hamlet stabs the King, then forces him to drink poison. His mother’s death finally provokes Hamlet to action. It is fitting that Claudius is killed with the weapons he himself poisoned in order to kill Hamlet.

“Heaven make thee free of it” Hamlet offers Laertes forgiveness as he lies dying.

“If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart/ Absent thee from felicity awhile/ And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain/ To tell my story”. Hamlet begs Horatio on his deathbed to tell the truth to the world and thus protect his memory beyond the grave.

“I do prophesy th’ election lights/ On Fortinbras. He has my dying voice…the rest is silence”. Hamlet’s final words reveal his noble concern for the future of the kingdom, even as he lies dying.

After his death great tributes are paid to him by both Horatio & Fortinbras. Horatio says “goodnight sweet prince and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest” and Fortinbras comments “Bear Hamlet like a soldier to the stage; For he was likely, had he been put on, To have proved most royal“.

No more can be said of Hamlet – the rest is silence.

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Poetic techniques & terminology

Posted on April 17, 2011 by | 175 comments

WHAT THEY MEAN AND HOW THEY WORK:

Rather than alphabetical, the following list is organised from simple basic terms & techniques that you must be able to identify and discuss, to more complex ones of which a passing knowledge is sufficient.

  • THEME= the message of the poem; the point the author wishes to make.

eg. In “September 1913”, Yeats points out that Ireland has become a greedy, soulless country & laments that the sacrifices our ancestors made in pursuit of Irish freedom have been forgotten.

  • TOPIC= what the poem is about (the ‘subject matter’).

eg. The topic/subject matter of “I wake and feel the fell of dark” by Hopkins is depression. Sometimes the subject matter of a poem is revealed in the title (“Child”, “Spring”) or alluded to (“Mirror” deals with the topic of vanity & identity).

  • TONE = the attitude of the writer towards his subject matter.

eg. Yeats’ tone is bitter and resentful in “September 1913”; Hopkins tone is awestruck and accusatory in “God’s Grandeur”; Plath’s is both celebratory and cautious in “Morning Song”. The tone can vary; many tones can be contained within a single poem.

  • MOOD = feelings expressed. Includes what the writer/speaker feels AND how the reader feels when they read the poem. May also be related to the atmosphere created..

 eg. In “Felix Randal” the mood varies from relief, to sympathy, to impatience, to acceptance, to comfort, to admiration, and ends with a triumphant and fiercely energetic mood in the space of 14 lines!

NOTE: Tone & mood are closely related. The tone of voice used will often influence the mood/atmosphere. Yeats’ uses a sarcastic tone to reveal his anger and frustration when he says “For men were born to pray and save” in “September 1913”.

HOW DOES A WRITER CREATE A MOOD?

Largely through their choice of words:

  • Colour – white suggests purity & cleanliness; red – passion & sometimes blood/violence; black – darkness & despair; green can suggest envy or nature/new growth; yellow – sunshine or sickness (jaundice); purple – royalty or bruises; grey – depression or poverty; brown – dirt & decay; orange – glow & happiness.

 Obviously, the context in which the colours appear will influence your interpretation of their meaning. “Her yellow face moaned & writhed” suggests illness, pain. “Yellow rays played upon her face” suggests sunshine, energy.  

  •  Positive or negative adjectives – tremendous, delirious, fabulous, heavenly V’s heavy, ugly, rusty, terrible, horrific.
  •  Positive or negative verbs – to shine, to gather, to spring, to capture, to sooth, to comfort, to light, to brood, to bloom, to fill, to meditate, to sing, to skip, to brighten, to build V’s  to flicker, to seep, to swarm, to wring, to fumble, to shiver, to weigh, to scatter, to thread, to fight, to moan, to cry, to ooze, to mock, to break.
  • Rhythm & sound effects – a fast rhythm can suggest excitement, danger or anger (depending on the poem). A poet creates a fast rhythm by (a) using lots of short words (monosyllabic = single syllable), (b) using words which contain the narrow vowel sounds ‘e’ & ‘i’ and (c) repeating guttural ( g ‘guh’ / greed, r ‘ruh’ / riot), harsh ( h ‘hah’ / hate,  c/k ‘kuh’ / cry) or explosive consonants ( b ‘buh’ / bite, p ‘puh’ / pinch) eg. “There’s a dance in Billy Brennan’s Barn tonight” eg. “Why do men then now not reck his rod?

A slow rhythm can suggest relaxation, sadness or disappointment (depending on the poem). A poet creates a slow rhythm by (a) using lots of long words, (b) using words which contain the broad vowel sounds ‘o’, ‘a’ & ‘ee’ and (c) repeating soft consonants ( s ‘ss’ / soft, l ‘el’ / lovely). eg. “When weeds in wheels shoot long and lovely and lush” eg. “I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore” .

  • IMAGERY = the picture the writer creates using words. eg “In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman / Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish” (Plath, “Mirror”). “And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil; / And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell” (Hopkins, “God’s Grandeur”). “Coming with vivid faces / From counter or desk among grey / Eighteenth-century houses” (Yeats’ “Easter 1916”)

 HOW DO YOU WRITE ABOUT IMAGERY:

In order to discuss imagery, you must be willing to comment on the writers choice of words (what does a word suggest to you?) and to describe the picture that is created in your mind by the phrase/image. (In other words, your imagination must be active and at work as you are reading!)        

eg. Plath creates a clear picture of childhood when she says“I want to fill it with colour and ducks / The zoo of the new” Immediately the reader is reminded of bright primary colours, rubber duckies from bath-time, and thrilling trips to the zoo to see exotic animals for the first time.

You may also want to comment on the feelings that this image creates in you. From the example above, my answer might continue…

The emphasis on innocence (everything is “new”) and abundance (when Plath uses the verb “fill”) creates a very optimistic and joyous mood. The use of the word “colour” completes our sense that this is a bright and carefree celebration of the child’s potential to experience everything positive the world has to offer. Finally, the poet’s desire to provide this for her child comes across when she says very simply “I want.

Notice that of the 14 words in the quote, I have commented on 7 of them. I describe the picture the image created in my mind. I comment on the atmosphere (innocence & abundance) and the mood (optimistic, joyous) the words create. I identify both verbs in the sentence (‘fill’ & ‘want’) and the feelings they suggest. Finally, I link this image to the theme of the poem (the overall point Plath makes – that she wants her child to ‘experience everything positive the world has to offer’). 

 Imagery & the senses…

We experience the world through the five senses – taste, touch, sight, smell and sound. If a writer wishes us to feel that we are there beside him, in the experience, he must give us details of smells, sounds, and textures as well as describing what he can see. Look at the following example:

“The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard /And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood”

We can hear the sound of the saw because the poet uses the onomatopoeic words ‘buzz’ ‘snarl’ & ‘rattle’. We can see the exact size of the logs they are cutting because the poet includes the detail ‘stove-length sticks’. We can almost taste and smell the dust in the air.     

Images can be VISUAL – we can see them

Images can be AUDITORY – we can hear them

Images can be TACTILE– we can touch them 

Images can be OLFACTORY – we can smell them

Images can be SENSUOUS – we can feel/taste their texture

Handy phrases:

The image is particularly striking / unusual / eye-catching because……

The writer offers a vivid image of ………….

The poets choice of verbs (‘rush’ & ‘charge’) adds energy & movement.

The description is particularly remarkable because ………….

The poem is full of bright, colourful imagery. The poet uses the words….

The poem is full of dark, haunting images of death and destruction…..

The auditory images in the poem are particularly loud, due to the poets use of onomatopoeia in the line “the buzz saw snarled and rattled”

The image is very sensuous, in its description of “silken velvet thighs”.

The imagery of spring creates a sense of possibility, of new beginnings.

The imagery of winter suggests that the end is nigh / that life is difficult.

The image of the scarecrow suggests poverty & frailty; a pitiful creature.

The image of the Holy Ghost as a mother hen protecting her nest is extremely comforting. It also offers us an interesting perspective on how small and insignificant man is when compared to God.

 TRICKS WITH LANGUAGE:

  • REPETITION = repeating a word or phrase to emphasise its importance/ create a regular rhythm.

eg. “Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone /It’s with O’Leary in the grave.”

The poet repeats the most important point over and over. The line remains lodged in our brains long after we have finished reading (like the chorus of a song). The repetition of this line at the end of every verse makes the poem resemble a ballad, and creates a strong rhythm. This repetition also emphasises the poets certainty.

Effect? Emphasis. Certainty. Rhythm. Idea becomes memorable, lodges in the brain.

  •  PERSONIFICATION = describing an object/idea as though it were alive. Giving it human qualities.

eg. “I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions / Whatever I see I swallow immediately” 

Plath uses personification in the poem “Mirror”. What is the effect? The relationship between the poet and the object comes to life. The sense that one can be devoured by vanity is contained in the word “swallow” and the mirror is likened to a bottomless pit.

Effect? Object/place/idea which is personified becomes a ‘character’, and the poet’s relationship with this object/place/idea takes centre stage. 

Object can appear in a positive (friendly, bright, comforting) or a negative (destructive, cruel, ferocious) light, depending on the description. Idea of objects coming to life can be frightening. Personification can help us to look at an object/place/idea in a new light (see Roddy Doyle’s brilliant use of personification in the short story ‘Brilliant’)

  •  CONTRAST = placing 2 very different things side by side

eg. “Like a trapped bird she hid behind her hair / Confident buxom girls crowded the corridors”

The girl’s isolation seems emphasised when it is contrasted with the friendship these crowds of girls enjoy. Her shyness contrasts with their confidence. Thus, the poet uses contrast to emphasise that this girl is an outsider and doesn’t fit in.

eg. “The world is charged with the grandeur of God / ……Generations have trod, have trod, have trod; And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil…”

Much of Hopkins’ poetry makes use of contrast. The beauty of God’s creation and  man’s destructive disregard for nature are placed side by side. The effect of using this technique is that man’s sins seem even more heinous, and nature’s power to renew itself seems even more admirable.         

 Effect? (a) allows writer to emphasise differences between two things        

           &    (b) highlight the unique characteristics of each. 

  • SYMBOLISM = a word becomes a sign of something other than simply itself.

 e.g. The heart is an organ that pumps blood around the body but it is also a symbol of love. The scorpion is an insect but it can also be a symbol of poisonous evil. A mirror is an object that reflects peoples appearances but it can also be a symbol of vanity. A lion is a dangerous animal but it can also be a symbol of courage.

 e.g. In “September 1913” John O’Leary is a real person who Yeats was friendly with, and who fought for Irish freedom, but he also becomes a symbol of bravery, self-sacrifice and devotion to your country.

Effect? This is a powerful device because it encourages the reader to read deeper layers of meaning into the poem. It also allows the poet to evoke an idea (vanity) without naming it directly. Writers consider this important because they don’t like stating the obvious, or saying things in an overly direct and childlike way.

  •  SIMILE = where the writer compares 2 things using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.

 eg. Plath says of her bees “It is the noise that appals me most of all, / The unintelligible syllables. / It is like a Roman mob”

Often, the writer will compare two things that on the surface are very different – at first we think that a box full of bees is nothing like a mob of poor people from ancientRome. However, both are dangerous when upset, both find strength in numbers, both can create a buzz of anger and unease, and both feel mistreated by those with power over them.          

 When discussing a simile, first state which two things are being compared; next explain the link/similarities between them. A good simile helps us to understand something more clearly (eg. the bees) by comparing it to something else (the mob). Writers try to avoid similes that are used in everyday speech, however, as they lack originality and have become clichéd – for example “as black as coal”, “sweet like chocolate”, “run like the wind”, “as strong as an ox”.

Effect? Helps the reader to form a vivid picture. Reader can quickly understand what an object is like by linking it in their minds to something else.

  • METAPHOR = where two things are said to be the same.

eg. Seamus Heaney in “Bogland” declares “The ground itself is kind, black butter”. Obviously, the bog is not made of butter, but by saying that that the ground IS butter, instead of saying the ground is LIKE butter, the comparison becomes more direct, forceful, and certain. In other words, many writers prefer metaphors to similes, because they think they are more powerful!   

Other examples which should help you to clarify the difference between metaphors and similes e.g. “a blanket of mist” instead of “mist like a blanket” e.g. “the eyes are the mirror of the soul” instead of “the eyes are like a mirror” e.g. “the yellow smoke…licked it’s tongue into the corners of the evening” instead of “the yellow smoke was like a  tongue”.    

Effect? Helps the reader to form a vivid picture. Reader can quickly understand what an object is like by linking it in their minds to something else.

NOTE: Similes/metaphors make a poet’s imagery more vivid / effective.

  •  ALLUSION = where the writer makes reference to ‘well-known’ figures or events from literature, history or mythology.

 eg. In “Easter 1916” Yeats makes reference to Padraic Pearse: “This man had kept a school / And rode our winged horse”. In “Spring”Hopkinsrefers to the biblical story of Adam & Eve’s fall from grace, and the subsequent infection of the world with sin: “A strain of the earth’s sweet being in the beginning /In Eden garden…”

Effect? The writer gives the impression that he is very educated and knowledgeable, and as a result the reader is more likely to respect his opinion and believe that he has something important to say. By connecting his work to previous important events and famous works of literature, the writer indirectly suggests that his work belongs on a par with them. The meaning of the poem also gains a greater depth and significance through reference to similar historical/literary events/figures. If the reader is unfamiliar with the reference, this can rouse his/her curiosity. However, if a writer uses allusion too often, or refers to obscure or difficult sources, the reader can become confused & frustrated, and begin to feel stupid, because they don’t ‘get’ it.

NOTE: Lots of television programmes now make extensive use of allusion. “The Simpsons” frequently makes reference to well-known celebrities, historical figures & historical events. “Killnaskully” recently based an entire episode on the story of the John B. Keane play “The Field”. If you ‘get’ the reference, the episode (or poem) becomes funnier or more meaningful. If you don’t, it can be hard to make sense of it and thus excessive use of allusion can be frustrating for the reader – but you can always find out what it means and then the poem has another layer mof meaning for you to access.

  •  HYPERBOLE = the deliberate use of exaggeration.

eg. Wordsworth, in the poem “The Daffodils” says “ten thousand saw I at a glance” in order to emphasise their sheer number and create drama for the reader. Hyperbole can also add humour – “he had an arse like an elephant and a personality to match” or emphasise the strength of a person’s feelings  – “football isn’t just a matter of life and death; it’s more important than that”. However, if used too often, it loses its effect.

Effect? Adds drama, humour and/or emphasis.

  • AMBIGUITY = where words/sentences have more than one meaning/ are open to numerous interpretations.

 eg. Kavanagh, in the poem “Inniskeen Rd…” says “A road, a mile of kingdom I am king / Of banks and stones and every blooming thing.” 

In this example the word “blooming” creates the ambiguity because the word can mean ‘to grow’ – so he is king of every growing thing in nature OR the word “blooming” can be a curse – so he is king of every bloody thing! This makes it difficult for the reader to decide if he is happy or upset.

Poets often make their poetry ambiguous (open to various interpretations) deliberately. In this example, Kavanagh was happy to be left alone on the road because it inspired him – what ‘bloomed’ or grew from the experience was this poem. Yet he was also sad that he didn’t fit in, that he was always alone – and that is why he curses. Thus, the writer uses ambiguity to explain to us that he felt TWO WAYSabout this experience – both happy and sad.

Effect? Poems can mean different things to different people. Writers use ambiguity to point out that our feelings, our experiences, and our words are not always simple and straightforward – sometimes they mean more than one thing to us! Writers can express the complexity of their feelings or ideas by deliberately creating an ambiguous statement. For example, Yeats’ attitude towards the 1916 Rising: “a terrible beauty is born”. The violence & bloodshed is terrible, but the rebels’ devotion to Irish freedom and their willingness to fight for what they believe in is beautiful.        

  • RHETORICAL Q = a Q that doesn’t require a response (a statement disguised as a question). 

eg. Yeats asks “Was it for this the wild geese spread… /For this that all that blood was shed?” but the unspoken, implied answer is emphatically NO.

Usually, the tone of rhetorical questions is one of outrage and disbelief “Are we barbaric enough to bring back capital punishment?”

 Effect? By asking a rhetorical question, (and suggesting that the answer is so obvious that no-one need even answer), the writer implies that anyone who disagrees with him is a fool.

 SOUND EFFECTS

  • ALLITERATION = the repetition of the same letter at the beginning of a series of words. Eg. “Billy Brennan’s Barn”

Effect? Depends on the letter – see above.  Our eye is drawn to the repetition of the same letter, and our ear perks up when we hear the same sound repeated. Used for emphasis, and for the musical effect it creates.

  • ONOMATOPOEIA = words whose sound imitates their meaning. eg. “buzz, tinkle, rattle, stutter, whisper, bang”

Effect? The reader can hear what is being described. Auditory images (those which appeal to our sense of hearing) bring a description to life.

  • ASSONANCE  = the repetition of similar vowel sounds.

Effect? Alters speed/rhythm of the line. See above (fast/slow rhythm).

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Posted in Poetry, Studied poetry, Unseen poetry

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Trust Your Voice

Posted on April 15, 2011 by | 1 comment

Lots of you are afraid of Paper 1. You fear the moment that you open the exam and discover that you have to have an opinion. Your opinion. Not your teachers or the revision course booklet’s or your parent’s. Your own. It’s just you, a blank page, a biro and the light of your imagination. So I ask myself what are you so afraid of?

And to be fair I remember this fear myself, the desire to do well balanced against the uncertainty of not knowing what I would face on the day. But I don’t recall the same level of anxiety that I see on a daily basis in my classroom. I don’t recall complaining about how unfair it all was (maybe that’s just because I was lucky enough to love English) Or asking ‘How could the examiners expect us to make it up on the spot?’ as though thinking on your feet were somehow a ludicrous proposition. I do remember being infuriatingly opinionated about pretty much everything – I still am – but I also thought it was part and parcel of being a teenager. Stick it to the man. Tell it like it really is. Perhaps I was just naive.

So let’s try to get to the bottom of it. What has happened in our education system to make you so afraid?

Well first of all, education is increasingly a business with you as the client and us as the provider. Because of the demands students and parents make on teachers and because teachers make those demands of themselves – let’s face it, we all want you to get good results – you are being spoon fed. You are being told what to learn but all too often you are not being taught how to learn. And you are not innocent in this process so don’t fool yourself – you tell the teacher, I want notes. I need notes. At home you condition your parents to think that the more notes you get the better the teacher is. Even the teachers start to believe this. When you get a corrected test or a piece of homework back all too often (and of course there are plenty of exceptions) your message to us is ‘I don’t care what I did wrong. I don’t need to think about that. I just need you to fix it so that when I’m rote learning it off for the exam I’m not learning something with mistakes in it’.

But the mistakes inevitably appear in the exam because you have to demonstrate that you understand what you’re talking about.

Or maybe not. Maybe few mistakes appear because this is, after all, the  Leaving Cert & it caters all too well to rote learning.

Maybe it’s only when you go to college that the wheels fall off the wagon because now you are expected to think for yourself, to figure it out, to have an opinion. To go to the library and wade through reams of information because no-one around here is going to hand you a neatly photocopied summary of the topic, you have to come up with that yourself. But nobody’s ever asked that of you before and you don’t know how. You HATE having to have an opinion of your own, because there are no guarantees that it’s RIGHT. And you want guarantees. And notes. And predictable exams. And good grades. And a good job afterwards, thank you very much. You can always ask someone in the year ahead for their notes. For a price of course. Education is still a business after all.

But then the wagon falls apart completely when you start working because suddenly someone else is the client and YOU are the provider. Your boss wants you to write a memo, make a presentation, compile a report. Hell, even before you get to that stage you need to write a letter of application to get the job. You vaguely remember your teacher trying to get you to do this when you were at the peak of your teenage hormonal obsession with that boy with the nice skin and the broad shoulders who smelled like a Lynx ad. You were probably in 2nd yr. But then exams kicked in and then more exams kicked in and eventually you decided it was easier to give your voice away to someone else. You became a kind of talking puppet for other people’s notes and opinions – all of which you were able to learn off verbatim because you’re good at that – but you lost yourself. You lost your own voice.

Not every student feels like this. Lots of you have a wonderful voice on paper that you trust, that you feel confident in unleashing on the world. But even you are still filled with doubt, with uncertainty because there is no predicting what will come up on the day. You have to prove that you know what you’re doing. Pick the right words, use the right techniques, choose the right format. And for some of you, for many of you, this is terrifying. It’s like entering a burning building with no insurance.

I want none of you to feel like this. I’d like you to trust your voice. Have an opinion. If there are all sorts of topics out there that you don’t have an opinion on, there’s plenty of time to read more about them, to form an opinion. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind. I will not ridicule you – when have I ever done that? I might make suggestions about how to edit your work, how to make it better. And that isn’t a threat to your voice. That is professional help to clarify your thoughts and words and ideas. But your voice is still your own and you need to own it. Because one day you will be asked for your opinion – at work, or when you are raising your children, or when you are caring for your elderly parents. And I don’t want you to feel the same panic then that you feel now when I ask you to write a speech or an article or a personal essay or a short story. I know you feel uncertainty. But you always have your voice. And no-one can take that away from you.

Except if, like me, you’ re suffering from chronic laryngitis.

ps

Let me repeat – the system stinks. That’s not your fault.

It’s natural to feel anxiety about Paper 1 – especially if English isn’t one of your better subjects and you have no aspirations to be a writer. Ever. It’s the equivalent of asking me to be enthusiastic about maths -wasn’t my strongest subject at school and you’ll never make me enthusiastic about it.

So it’s ok to be nervous. And it’s not your fault the system is so flawed. But we’ve got plenty of time between now and then for you to gain some of the confidence you need for Paper 1. Can we do it? Yes we can.

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