any guesses for hamlet question? (2 Viewers)

[Morgan1234pooki]

??

 

[yours]

‘Shakespeare’s Hamlet continues to engage audiences through its dramatic treatment of hardship and optimism.’

In light of your critical study, does this statement resonate with your own interpretation of Hamlet?

replace hardship and optimism with any of the following:

- expectations
- entrapment and release
- ambition and corruption
- conflict and beauty
- loss and consolation
- mortality and mourning
- isolation and uncertainty
- loyalty and disloyalty (this was a past question actually so it won't be this year, though you can still use these themes)
- honesty
- hope
- endurance
- resilience (similar to endurance)
- attachment and detachment
- perseverance
- desire as part of the human experience
N.B. markers notes for hamlet: "Textual references were drawn from all acts" for stronger responses "shows development" across the play. I don't think they'll ask about a specific scene, because you're supposed to weave together analysis of all the acts to give a holistic understanding of the play.

 

[miniwaybzz]

what themes could we talk about that apply to all the different versions of the question?

 

[yours]

what themes could we talk about that apply to all the different versions of the question?

expectations placed on hamlet (theme of revenge)
-expectations of what lies beyond (theme of mortality)
-expectations placed on women (theme of gender)
-how expectations can be thwarted (appearance vs reality theme, what we expect to be true isn't necessarily so, the notion of the 'unexpected reality' when corruption and/or truth is revealed)

entrapment and release - (how hamlet's task entraps him, and when he finally avenges his father he achieves release. theme of revenge.)
*The entrapment of 'living' and the release of 'death' - theme of mortality
*The entrapment of women and the release of patriarchal restriction (Ophelia's madness)
*The entrapment of deceit, how when we are tangled in a web of lies we are doomed, the release is the triumph of truth (reality vs appearance)

ambition and corruption
*ambition is necessary to avenge someone, and Hamlet's revenge is necessitated by corruption.
*(this doesn't really link to mortality, sorry, corruption makes you want to die? lol)
*Ambition as a masculine quality - unambitious women of the play. How ophelia is corrupted by the men around her.
*Corruption is essentially the same as the appearance vs reality theme.

Notice that I'm using the same themes to answer these so-called 'theme questions'. All they actually ask is for you to find a link between a certain noun and the main themes of the play (which will never change.)

 

[miniwaybzz]

Notice that I'm using the same themes to answer these so-called 'theme questions'. All they actually ask is for you to find a link between a certain noun and the main themes of the play (which will never change.)

AHH okay i see . So we should know about 3-4 themes in depth? Because ive just been revising about 8 themes but not in very much detail..

 

[_deloso]

Any idea on how I can shape my argument? It is about action vs inaction, deception(appearance vs reality) and mortality (death)

 

[yours]

AHH okay i see . So we should know about 3-4 themes in depth? Because ive just been revising about 8 themes but not in very much detail..

Yes. What are the 8 themes you've been revising? Some of them might be the same thing or elaborations of a greater theme e.g. You can look at 'suicide' as a theme, but its also part of the greater theme 'mortality'. You can just slip it into the paragraph with the topic sentence on mortality.

Any idea on how I can shape my argument? It is about action vs inaction, deception(appearance vs reality) and mortality (death)

Doing one/two paragraphs on each theme is fine. All you need to do is mention what themes you'll discuss in the intro, then discuss them one by one (always making some clear connection to the question - this can seem difficult but if you think about it for a few moments before you write the essay it shouldn't be too hard, like what I did above for 'expectations' 'ambition' etc.)

 

[miniwaybzz]

cheers man

 

[forkandspoon]

Hey, how would you link the main themes with 'attachment and detachment' as well as 'isolation' and 'mortality and mourning' ?
Thanks heaps.

 

[forkandspoon]

Also, how would you answer the hsc question


"Through its portrayal of human experience, Shakespeare’s Hamlet reinforces the significance of loyalty."
To what extent does your interpretation of Hamlet support this view?

in specific reference to the 'human experience' part of it. I have no idea what to say about the 'human experience' part.

thanks again.

 

[yours]

Also, how would you answer the hsc question


"Through its portrayal of human experience, Shakespeare’s Hamlet reinforces the significance of loyalty."
To what extent does your interpretation of Hamlet support this view?

in specific reference to the 'human experience' part of it. I have no idea what to say about the 'human experience' part.

thanks again.

sorry I misread your question. When I read 'human experience' I think the play wants you to focus on the characters and how they resemble real human-beings. i.e. Through the characters of Hamlet, Shakespeare's Hamlet reinforces the significance of loyalty (look at what relationships reinforce the significance of loyalty and why)

The portrayal of human experience is evident in everything the characters do, and how they react to human problems e.g. Hamlet's father dies - this event develops a lot of things; grief, love, admiration, mourning (same as grief), isolation, attachment (the importance of family, familial love) - these are all 'human experiences', a fancy word for 'feelings', or put simply, 'things that can happen to humans'. Don't be unnerved by unfamiliar expressions - it's all smoke and mirrors. I wouldn't put much emphasis on 'human experience', but rather on 'loyalty' and what links can be made to the idea. When you use characters as evidence you're already referring to the 'through human experience' part, if you remember to consistently state that the characters are multi-dimensional and authentic.

Please, the worst thing you can do is read the question, identify a 'theme word' and panic because it isn't what your notes are labelled under. Think about what you HAVE studied for, and how that can be related to the words in the question.
The play will never change. The questions will always be answered with the same/similar material, it's how you shape it and what points you make that count the most. Make sure you know quotes that demonstrate the nature of the main characters. Quotes that demonstrate the nature of their relationships with other important characters. There is a finite number of quotes you need to rote learn. Don't panic.

You should, really, have 4 themes, and decide on the day which themes suit the question. Mortality seems problematic, but the question may be on mortality itself, in which case 'appearance vs reality' would be the least relevanttheme (if you have evidence to say otherwise, please, prove me wrong! It's important to think about the play in different ways)

 

[smartalec]

mortality for appearance and reality:
hamlet's real internal questions are on mortality. his facade is that he puts an anti-disposession on.
haha. just trying to justify your statement

 

[bobthebuilder94]

Mortality seems problematic, but the question may be on mortality itself, in which case 'appearance vs reality' would be the least relevanttheme (if you have evidence to say otherwise, please, prove me wrong! It's important to think about the play in different ways)

hey i was just wondering if you could explain the difference/similarity/definition of existianlism vs mortality? Because I thought that hamlet put on his facade of madness (false appearances) to allow for his existential philosophizing, because the only point in the play he is true, is his soliloquies, and he just rambles on about suicide in them , and so on.

Also any recommendations for quotes that aren't usually used by people and packed with techniques to show that he is a man of action? Thanks

Also are you like some English tutor? Or just hsc student?

 

[bobthebuilder94]

bumb, @yours could you help us out man?

 

[nataaleee]

ERRRRR...How did @yours predict the wording of the 2011 question??

Any predictions for this year?

 

[BlugyBlug]

I have a hunch it may specify deception or mortality..and perhaps textual form (<-- form will fuck everyone over, no joke)

 

[Crobat]

I have a hunch it may specify deception or mortality..and perhaps textual form (<-- form will fuck everyone over, no joke)

They probably won't specify textual form, but they might ask you to weave aspects of the textual form into your answer i.e. using dramatic theatre literary techniques (focus on soliloquies to make it a bit easier) and talk about the structure of the play (so focus on delay and resolution to do that easier).

 

[liuque]

I have a hunch it may specify deception or mortality..and perhaps textual form (<-- form will fuck everyone over, no joke)

For textual form, I would think about Hamlet as a revenge tragedy play...
then i could fit all my paragraphs about conflicts involved in action, corruption of the world etc.

 

[Focus is Key]

If it's textual form I'll die