In class the other day, we watched a particular production of Hamlet. The version was modernized; it took place in New York City with Denmark as a corporation instead of a country. When we watched the ending scene (the one where everyone dies), I was confused. In this particular version, it appeared that Gertrude knew that the cup of wine had been poisoned. Whenever Claudius tried to hand the cup to Hamlet, Gertrude made excuses or pushed the cup away. She seemed to be trying to protect Hamlet from Claudius' plot. And when Gertrude took a drink from the poisoned cup, it didn't seem to be an accident; it appeared that Gertrude knew what she was doing. In a sense, Gertrude was sacrificing herself for her son. However, this sacrifice would be in vain.
I turned to the last scene again to see if I had missed something. Maybe Gertrude had known what Claudius had done, maybe Gertrude was trying to protect Hamlet. However, the text didn't seem to indicate so either:
Claudius: Gertrude, do not drink.
Gertrude: I will, my lord, I pray you pardon me.
She drinks [then offers the cup to HAMLET] (5.2.233-234)
The fact that Gertrude offers the cup to Hamlet after she drinks contradicts the idea that she knew the cup was poisoned, or that she was trying to protect her son. After all, why would she offer the poisoned drink to her son if she was trying to protect him? Even though the production that we watched did not accurately follow this particular moment in the plot, the production was still really interesting. I wonder what caused the producers to make the changes that they did (portraying Gertrude as a mother who dies trying to protect her son). Perhaps they were trying to show Gertrude in a different light. Hamlet, throughout the entire production, accuses his mother of committing horrible deeds. Maybe, when portraying Gertrude differently, the producers were trying to give her a fair portrayal. Perhaps they felt that Hamlet was unfair to his mother when he called her a villain, and many other names. Maybe they felt they were righting the wrong. Regardless of their reasons, it was definitely a unique choice. I wish we had the time to watch the entire production so I could have seen whether this stylistic choice was carried out throughout the entire production, or whether it happened only at the end.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Gertrude the Villain?
As I was skimming Hamlet to try to find a quotation that I could reflect upon, one in particular caught my eye. I think that Hamlet's reaction to the ghost's news and request that Hamlet seeks revenge is particularly interesting. The part of Hamlet's reaction that I would like to reflect on is as follows:
One part that interested me was the end of this quotation, when Hamlet keeps repeating "villain". He seems to be referring to his mother as a "villain", because he states "O most pernicious woman!" (1.5.105) According to the OED, "pernicious" in this sense would have meant "intending or causing harm; villainous" (OED 2b). Hamlet seems to be indicating in two senses that a woman is a villain-whom I assume to be his mother. However, I have trouble picturing Gertrude as a villain. I don't agree with her decision to marry her late husband's brother, but as we discussed in class she probably didn't have much of a choice. There weren't any opportunities for Gertrude to make a living for herself on her own; it wasn't like she could have remained single and still lived in the castle. In order to continue to live in the same style, she had to remarry. But does this act make her a villain? I don't think so.
...................................Remember thee?
Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat
In this distracted globe. remember thee?
Yea, from the table of my memory
I'll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,
That youth and observation copied there,
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain
Unmixed with baser matter. Yes, yes, by heaven.
O most pernicious woman!
O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!
My tables,
My tables--meet it is I set it down
That one may smile and smile and be a villain
At least I'm sure it may be so in Denmark. (1.5.95-110)
One part that interested me was the end of this quotation, when Hamlet keeps repeating "villain". He seems to be referring to his mother as a "villain", because he states "O most pernicious woman!" (1.5.105) According to the OED, "pernicious" in this sense would have meant "intending or causing harm; villainous" (OED 2b). Hamlet seems to be indicating in two senses that a woman is a villain-whom I assume to be his mother. However, I have trouble picturing Gertrude as a villain. I don't agree with her decision to marry her late husband's brother, but as we discussed in class she probably didn't have much of a choice. There weren't any opportunities for Gertrude to make a living for herself on her own; it wasn't like she could have remained single and still lived in the castle. In order to continue to live in the same style, she had to remarry. But does this act make her a villain? I don't think so.
Shakespeare's Sonnets
For my final project, I am analyzing a few of Shakespeare's sonnets. I am looking for constant themes, how Shakespeare's use of description presents these themes, and how Shakespeare did not follow the typical sonnet style. So for this blog post, I am going to look at a few of his sonnets, and try to figure out what Shakespeare is trying to say.
One sonnet that caught my eye in particular is Sonnet #3, which is as follows:
In my opinion, this sonnet is addressed to a woman, probably one that Shakespeare had a personal connection with. The words of this sonnet seem to warn the woman that she should have children; rather, "now" is the right time to have children (line 2). While I was initially confused by lines 3 through 8, a closer look helped me to at least hash out a possible meaning. I believe that lines 3 through 4 seem to suggest that by not having children, this woman would be denying other women the opportunity to have children. If the woman's child were to be male, she would deny another woman from marrying her son and having children with him. However, if the woman's child were to be female, she would be denying her daughter the opportunity to have children.
Lines 5 through 8 confused me even more. I began by looking up what "tillage" meant (line 6). According to the OED (Oxford English Dictionary), "tillage" in the sense of Shakespeare's poem means "sexual intercourse" (OED 1d). With this definition in mine, Shakespeare in lines 5 through 6 seems to broaden his guilt-trip. Not only would the woman be ruining the opportunities of future women by not having children, but she would also be harming her husband. For if she does not have children, her husband will not be able to have intercourse with her. I am a little shakey on this interpretation because it hinges on the fact that there was no opportunity for birth control in that age. But since I am unsure, I will continue with my analysis.
The footnotes provided in my textbook helped me to understand lines 7 through 8. According to the writer of these footnotes, these lines are asking "who is so foolish that he will selfishly deny posterity a child?" (p 1947). To me, Shakespeare seems to be asking if the woman is so selfish that she will deny her husband the opportunity to have children. But I could be absolutely wrong.
The final part of the sonnet I didn't need too much assistance on. In lines 9-10, Shakespeare tells the woman that her mother saw her youth and beauty in her daughter. The woman is her mother's reflection-she shows what her mother used to be. By including these lines, Shakespeare seems to indicate that the woman will be able to see her former beauty in her children. In fact, he states this exact idea in lines 11-12. In the final couplet, lines 13-14, Shakespeare warns the woman that unless she has children, she will be forgotten. If she has children, her children will be able to carry on her legacy, by telling others about her life and her stories. However, if she dies a widow, her legacy dies with her.
I don't know why this sonnet interested me so much. It reminded me slightly of Sylvia Plath's poem "Mirror", which I found interesting. I wonder if Sylvia read this sonnet, and got the idea for her mirror image from Shakespeare. But I think this poem interested me because I know a lot of girls who look like their mothers, my sister included. This sonnet makes me wonder if their moms indeed look at their daughters, and see their former lives and former beauty. Anyways, if you have any different interpretations, please feel free to comment.
One sonnet that caught my eye in particular is Sonnet #3, which is as follows:
Look in thy glass, and tell the face thou viewest
Now is the time that face should form another,
Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest
Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother.
For where is she so fair whose uneared womb
Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry?
Or who is he so fond will be the tomb
Of his self-love to stop posterity?
Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee
Calls back the lovely April of her prime;
So thou through windows of thine age shalt see,
Despite of wrinkles, this thy golden time.
But if thou live remembered not to be,
Die single, and thine image dies with thee.
In my opinion, this sonnet is addressed to a woman, probably one that Shakespeare had a personal connection with. The words of this sonnet seem to warn the woman that she should have children; rather, "now" is the right time to have children (line 2). While I was initially confused by lines 3 through 8, a closer look helped me to at least hash out a possible meaning. I believe that lines 3 through 4 seem to suggest that by not having children, this woman would be denying other women the opportunity to have children. If the woman's child were to be male, she would deny another woman from marrying her son and having children with him. However, if the woman's child were to be female, she would be denying her daughter the opportunity to have children.
Lines 5 through 8 confused me even more. I began by looking up what "tillage" meant (line 6). According to the OED (Oxford English Dictionary), "tillage" in the sense of Shakespeare's poem means "sexual intercourse" (OED 1d). With this definition in mine, Shakespeare in lines 5 through 6 seems to broaden his guilt-trip. Not only would the woman be ruining the opportunities of future women by not having children, but she would also be harming her husband. For if she does not have children, her husband will not be able to have intercourse with her. I am a little shakey on this interpretation because it hinges on the fact that there was no opportunity for birth control in that age. But since I am unsure, I will continue with my analysis.
The footnotes provided in my textbook helped me to understand lines 7 through 8. According to the writer of these footnotes, these lines are asking "who is so foolish that he will selfishly deny posterity a child?" (p 1947). To me, Shakespeare seems to be asking if the woman is so selfish that she will deny her husband the opportunity to have children. But I could be absolutely wrong.
The final part of the sonnet I didn't need too much assistance on. In lines 9-10, Shakespeare tells the woman that her mother saw her youth and beauty in her daughter. The woman is her mother's reflection-she shows what her mother used to be. By including these lines, Shakespeare seems to indicate that the woman will be able to see her former beauty in her children. In fact, he states this exact idea in lines 11-12. In the final couplet, lines 13-14, Shakespeare warns the woman that unless she has children, she will be forgotten. If she has children, her children will be able to carry on her legacy, by telling others about her life and her stories. However, if she dies a widow, her legacy dies with her.
I don't know why this sonnet interested me so much. It reminded me slightly of Sylvia Plath's poem "Mirror", which I found interesting. I wonder if Sylvia read this sonnet, and got the idea for her mirror image from Shakespeare. But I think this poem interested me because I know a lot of girls who look like their mothers, my sister included. This sonnet makes me wonder if their moms indeed look at their daughters, and see their former lives and former beauty. Anyways, if you have any different interpretations, please feel free to comment.
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