Act five begins with gravediggers talking about how they suspect Ophelia committed suicide and question her burial in a Christian graveyard. This relates to what we discussed last class, where some of us suspected that Gertrude described Ophelia’s death as an accident so she would be spared the typical burial of someone who committed suicide during this time. Hamlet arrives in the graveyard with Horatio and picks up a skull. This once again causes Hamlet to ponder what happens after death. He is appalled at the thought of Yorrick, the jester he once knew, as only a skull. He begins to think about how even powerful men, including Alexander the great, are reduced to dust after death. He says, “Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust, the dust is earth, of earth we make loam, and why of that loam whereto he was converted might they not stop a beer barrel?” (5.1.177-189). A lot happened as Ophelia was brought out to be buried, and after Hamlet and Laertes fight, Hamlet declares his love for Ophelia. I don’t think Hamlet has taken full responsibility for Polonius’s death yet, which can be seen through his lack of guilt relating to Ophelia’s death. 

In Scene Two, I thought it was interesting how Hamlet could see that Laertes was the mirror image of his own desires for revenge, leading him to seek Laertes’s forgiveness. We have discussed how Laertes is a FOIL to Hamlet because they both are seeking revenge for their fathers, but Laertes is quick to act, while Hamlet is indecisive and reluctant to take action. Although these characters contrast each other, they died the same death, both poisoned by the same blade after forgiving each other. I believe that by the time Hamlet is waiting for the duel, he has reconciled with death and is at peace with it. The idea of death and the question of whether or not there is an afterlife, is something Hamlet has pondered throughout the entire play, and I believe he has finally come to terms with death itself by the end. It seems like every character was consumed with either seeking revenge or involved in the plan to kill, leading to the typical Shakesperan tragedy ending of everyone dying.

Hamlet: Act III Scenes II-III

 A play inside of a play, what a classic theather moment. Hamlet's play that he planned is being set up at the beginning of Act 3 Scene 2. Hamlet is instructing his actors for the play on what he wants for the acting style. He instructs quite specifically in saying "Speak the speech I pray as I pronounced it to you" (3.2.1). Meaning he wants the actors to say it exactly how he spoke it to them so that it is accurate and will get a reaction from Claudius. Also before the play starts, Hamlet instructs Horatio to keep an eye on Claudius for him. To see if there will be a reaction which will be Hamlet's answer on the true death of his father. Hamlet is quite rude and blunt to Ophelia, Gertrude, and Claudius. He mocks Claudius, comments on Gertrude's appearance in a harsh manner saying that there is "metal more attractive" (3.2.97), and also makes jokes and innuendos towards Ophelia (basically taunting and teasing her to make her feel embarassed/guilty). 

The play begins with a scene between the King and Queen. Talking about their 30 years of marriage and how great it has been. The queen promises that she will never marry again if the king passes but he responds saying that promises are broken. But the queen insists on he promise that she will never remarry when he dies. Then the reenactment of the kings death begins, as Hamlet makes commentary urging his mother and uncle to feel guilty because he knows they know what the play is resembling. When the king in the play is murdered with the poison in the ear, Claudius abruptly stops the play and Hamlet knows officially that his uncle murdered his father. Hamlet knows he must seek revenge for his father. Claudius fears that Hamlet is becoming dangerous and too violent, so he tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to take Hamlet to England. Hamlet furious about seeking revenge, decides to go and threaten his mother. Polonious decides to spy on them for Claudius. 

Claudius decides to pray after the play when he is left alone. He begs for divine mercy for killing his brother. He begs that God should, "forgive me my foul murder"(3.3.53) and that his "fault is past" (3.3.52). Hamlet enters seeing Claudius so vulenerable, begging and praying for forgiveness. He questions whether or not he should murder Claudius right then and there. But as he nears Claudius to avenge his father, he stops. 

Hamlet, Act II

I wonder how many spies actually lived in Denmark during the late middle ages. Because from Act II, it seems like everyone either was a spy, had a spy, or was being spied on! The act opens with Polonius giving Reynaldo money to spy on Laertes. After Reynaldo is sent off, Ophelia, frightened, tells her father about Hamlet’s strange behavior and appearance. Polonius mistakenly comes to the conclusion that Hamlet’s insanity was caused by Ophelia breaking up with him. He concludes that Hamlet must have truly loved Ophelia and decides to tell Claudius. Polonius remarks, “This is the very ecstasy of love, Whose violent property fordoes itself, And leads to desperate undertakings” (2.1.101-102). While it may seem that old Polonius just read the room wrong, this statement actually foreshadows much of the tragedy to come. The violent property of love will later be reflected in Ophelia’s death and Hamlet’s acts to avenge his father. Also, this quote reminded me of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet which similarly states, “These violent delights have violent ends”. I guess Shakespeare must have had a really crazy love life!

Once Polonius unites with Claudius and Gertrude, he begins a long and rambling explanation of Hamlet’s madness. He explains that his orders for Ophelia to reject Hamlet’s love has caused his insanity. Polonius formulates a plan to spy on a meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia with Claudius who agrees. At this point, I had to put my book down and sigh because how many more spies could we possibly have. It seems Hamlet himself has grown tired of all the spies when his casual and humorous conversation with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern turns suspicious as he suspects they have been sent to spy on him (2.2.254-292).

Hamlet begins plotting his revenge play, staged around the Murder of Gonzago, in an attempt to reveal his uncle’s guilt. When he is alone, Hamlet begins a soliloquy full of self-loathing as he wallows in despair. He reprimands his cowardice and inability to act on his revenge. Hamlet questions, “Am I a coward?”. This simple phrase summarizes the self-hatred and conflicting emotions that he is experiencing from his father’s death and the arrival of his apparition. The added pressures of vengeance and murder now weigh heavy on his conscience.   

Hamlet, Act I Scenes 3-5 (Gabby Welhoelter)

 In these scenes all I could think about was contrast. The contrast between Ophelia and her brother and how their father talked to both of them was extremely telling. Ophelia got lectures from both her brother and her father about her loyalty and love for Hamlet. Laertes first scolds her and tells her she is too young to know Hamlet's intentions and even suggests that his intentions are wrapped up in the plans of the state (" for on his choice depends/The sanctity and health of his whole state..." (Hamlet 1.3.20-21)). My favorite lines from this scene are in Opelias retort to her brother when she says "But good my brother,/Do not as some ungracious pastors do,/ Show me steep and thorny way to heaven,/ Whiles like a puffed and reckless libertine/ Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads,/ and recks not his own rede" (1.3.46-51). A sister telling her brother to listen to his own advice has never sounded so elegant, and it reminds me quite a bit of Mister Dimmesdale. Afterward, their father comes in. The way he speaks to Laertes sounds just like you expect it would, a dramatic speech about following your own path and being a kind gentleman to all. (Kind of like the speeches we hear from parents about us going away to college). But the speech he gives Ophelia is completely different. He's looking out for both of his kids but he thinks Laertes can have good judgment while Ophelia can't. Laertes is allowed to follow his own path while Ophelia is forbidden to see her boyfriend because Polonius can't believe the judgment she has made of his character. Next, the juxtaposition of this speech with scene four is so funny to me. Scene four is just Hamlet ranting about how corrupt humanity is and is extremely philosophical about the state of man, which is pretty much the opposite of what Polonius has described him as (young and idealistic, unfaithful, etc). I especially think that when Hamlet says "I'll make a ghost of him that lets me" (1.4.85) that it shows his ability to set his mind to something and to do it. He will kill someone if that means talking to his father again (sounds a little like foreshadowing, no?). His conversation with his father that closes out our reading is a direct foil to the conversation between Laertes and Polonius. Hamlet is being told about the world and given advice on what to do, like Laertes but with a darker undertone. It is revealed that Claudius killed Hamlet's father through poison being poured into his ear. The reason he is a ghost is that he is stuck in Purgatory since he was killed before he could confess his sins, complete penance, and be absolved of them. Hamlet then makes his friends swear to never repeat what they saw or heard that night to anyone after the ghost has gone. This section, specifically scene 5, is filled with themes of trust and betrayal. It truly feels as if no one can be trusted. In the context of which this play was written, it makes perfect sense. Losing a child makes you feel hopeless, alone, and everything else we said hamlet was feeling about his father's death. Shakespeare is showing he feels as if no one can be trusted or talked to through these scenes. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne: Transcendentalist Baddie and Literary Genius (Chapters 20-END)

 As I read the last few chapters I could not help but notice the many allusions and references to the transcendentalist movement. As discussed in class, Transcendentalism is “a philosophy suggesting that ultimate reality is unknowable or asserting the primacy of the spiritual over the material or empirical.” This idea of reality being unknowable is continually reinforced throughout Hawthorne’s work. Oftentimes, Hawthorne describes his characters in a seemingly contradictory way. In these later chapters specifically, Mr. Dimmesdale’s heart both “dreads” and “yearns” for his meeting with Pearl (190). When portraying Pearl’s reflection in the brook, he writes, “In the brook beneath stood another child -- another and the same… there was both truth and error in the impression.” Even the Scarlet letter, the centerpiece of the novel, becomes a symbol whose meaning is clouded in ambiguity. These contradictory descriptions seem to be Hawthorne's way of reinforcing the idea that ultimate reality is unknowable. 

This support for transcendentalist ideas is consistent in later scenes. When Mr. Dimmesdale returns from the forest, he cannot help but notice an “importantly obtrusive sense of change” (198). He describes the edifice as exhibiting “so very strange, and yet so familiar, an aspect, that Mr. Dimmesdale’s mind vibrated between two ideas; either that he had seen it only in a dream hitherto, or that he was merely dreaming about it now.” (198). Mr. Dimmesdale’s experiences upon leaving the forest further suggest that ultimate reality is unknowable, as he is unable to discern whether he had seen reality “in a dream” or whether he dreams about it in the present. 

Another aspect of the novel that carries great significance is Hawthrone’s characterization of the townspeople. Throughout the work Hawthorne highlights the hypocrisy of the members of Puritan society. They also refuse to view Mr. Dimmesdale as he wants to be seen. Dimmesdale’s attempts to confess of his sinful actions prove futile, as the townspeople only revere him more. On page 199, as Mr. Dimmesdale comments on his transformation upon emerging from the forest, he states, “his friends, no doubt, will still have insisted with him, -- “thou art thyself, the man!” In relation to the transcendentalist movement, Hawthorne seems to suggest that the townspeople’s reluctance to see things beyond the lens of social conventions and their stubbornness in adhering to their hypocritical and often wrongful views prevents them from “transcending.” To transcend means to go beyond the limits of something typically abstract. The philosophical movement certifies its support for this act, asserting “the primacy of the spiritual over the material and empirical.” Through this characterization of the townspeople as stubborn and hypocritical, Hawthorne suggests that their behavior grounds them to their humanity, thus subjecting themselves to the oppression and suffering that plagues human society. Contrastingly, Hester and Pearl are often portrayed as divine and otherworldly. Perhaps their willingness to reject social conventions and expectations allows them to eventually transcend the futile demands society imposes upon them. 

Aside from the plethora of transcendentalist ideas interwoven within these chapters, I found the ending enjoyable. Hawthorne closes the book in the marketplace, the same setting that served as the backdrop for the opening of the novel. The scenes of the Election Day celebration further the novel’s social critique. The Native Americans present at the ceremony, unaware of the history behind the scarlet letter, think its wearer is a person of great importance. While it was meant to serve as punishment, outsiders view it as a designation of someone special. The duality of the symbols' meaning further highlights the hypocrisy of the townspeople. 

As a reader, I found that the novel’s ending satisfied many of the existing conflicts. Roger, aka the leech meets an untimely death, which I found fitting as the “leech’s” source of vitality is removed when the minister dies. I thought it was interesting that even in death Hawthorne never reveals Roger’s true full name. Perhaps this is to reinforce the air of mystery with which the leech is portrayed or maybe it serves to reinforce the idea that reality is unknowable. Hawthorne additionally writes that "no man for any considerable period of time can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true" (197). Although this quote refers to Mr. Dimmesdale's public and private self I think it certainly applies to Roger as well. There are instances where Hawthorne briefly describes Roger's past self. Perhaps his decision to never reveal the leech's true name suggests that the leech has worn the "face" of Roger and has become so absorbed in achieving revenge on the minister that he is overwhelmed by this character and subsequently becomes the person he was once only pretending to be. Thus, his past self and true name is no longer relevant to his character.

Lastly, I found the context surrounding Mr. Dimmesdale's confession quite interesting. Although he confesses his sins and is able to die free of most of his regret, his confession does little to change the oppressive nature of Puritan society nor does it humanize the experience of sinning as a universal action. Even in his defiance, Dimmesdale is appropriated by the Puritan system as a means of reinforcing its pre-established messages.

Although sin remains something to be harshly condemned, the meaning of the Scarlet Letter, following Hester’s death is painted in ambiguity. Hawthorne writes, “The Scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world’s scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, and yet with reverence, too.” 

In blurring the meaning of the Scarlet letter, what do you guys think Hawthorne suggests? I view it as his way of not only redefining the line between hate and love, sin and righteousness, but erasing this line entirely and exploring the dichotomy between these opposing things. 

Chapters 15 - 19

Chapter fifteen opens with a fascinating description of Roger Chillingworth as seen collecting herbs by Hester Prynne. It is as if she is seeing him for the first time, painting him as the reader has long viewed him: a haggard and evil old man. Her long held feeling of being in his debt has faded, as she no longer respects him for keeping their marriage secret, but rather: “she marveled how she could ever have been wrought upon to marry him!” (160). Hester’s recognition of the true Chillingworth is both satisfying for readers as well as a show of progress. From here, Hester further strays from the life she’d settled into, when she, at the beginning of chapter seventeen, seeks out Dimmesdale in the woods. This exchange is curiously balanced with themes of nature, as Hawthorne interposes the forest's unwavering natural beauty and effervescence with the triviality of humanity’s drama. Pearl is sent to wait out her mother and the pastor’s conversation by the brook, which is often visited by troubled people. Hawthorne writes of how the brook heard this talk, and maintains “a murmuring babble, with not a whit more cheerfulness of tone than for ages before” (195). Hawthorne often invokes nature in the midst of Hester and the pastor’s discussion, perhaps as a commentary on how this drama, so trivial, will not have any lasting impact on the world. Hawthorne’s characterization of the brook and its nonchalant acknowledgement of the nearby conversation tells that the water has come and gone unbothered thus cementing the unimportance of such dramatic matters.

The Scarlet Letter: Chapters 1-4

 Chapters 1-4: 

Hawthorne opens his exquisite novel with incredibly detailed imagery and the subtlest of hints at background. Hawthorne never explicitly explains to the reader what is actually happening, but it seems to create a sort of mystery for the reader to unravel. I already have an idea of who the father is but don't worry, I won't share it. Hawthorne creates a sort of fantastical chase for the reader to understand characters and their motivations. I felt almost excited while reading in trying to discern what was happening and what the characters meant by what they said.

Hawthorne employs significant imagery to juxtapose Hester from the rest of the townspeople. He paints Hester as a strong, independent, beautiful, almost holy woman. Through this, Hawthorne seeks to encourage the reader to like Hester’s character compared to the drab, dark, sullen descriptions of the townspeople. He presents Hester as this radiant bright spot in the dark, depressing town.

While Hawthorne presents Hester as this strong, radiant character, there is a brief description on page 51 which leads me to believe that her punishment takes a small toll on Hester. Hawthorne writes, “Hester Prynne might have repaid them all with a bitter and disdainful smile. But, under the leaden infliction which it was her doom to endure, she felt, at moments, as if she must needs shriek out with the full power of her lungs, and cast herself from the scaffold down upon the ground , or else go mad at once” (51). This brief quotation shows the complexity of Hester’s feelings. While she puts on a brave face, Hester is still a person and isn’t unaffected by the harsh abuses hurled at her by the people from her town.