Hook, Line, and Sinker

Baiting. Shakespeare uses this technique to draw the audience in more to the plot. However, Shakespeare uses random baiting scenes as well. For example, Reynaldo is used to bate Laertes in France and Rozencranz and Guildenstern are used to bate Hamlet. Worthless! What is the point in having these scenes anyway? I can understand Rozencranz and Guildenstern, but really! Anyways, there is also the two women of the play, Ophelia and Gertrude, who are used to toy with Hamlet's heart. However, Hamlet easily counters them before he in turn uses his own bait against his uncle, King Claudius. By using his friendship with the players as an advantage, the prince has them perform a certain play giving him a chance to see how the King would react. It worked, enough said. Finally, Polonious is used as bait for Hamlet as he talks to his mother, who is also bait, strangely enough. The only good that came out of it was him getting run through with a sword. And that is the history of baiting within the walls of Hamlet's home.

T.S. Eliot, the King of Poets

First off... wow! I really enjoyed reading this poem. Eliot poured out his heart and soul into this peace to have us think upon his words, wanting us to take a step back and think about it: "What is he saying and how did it relate to his culture at the time?" I love poetry of any kind really, and this one completely engrossed me with all the details used to entrance the reader to keep reading and wanting more to understand what Eliot was saying.

This poem seems to talk about how throughout his life, the narrator of the poem is merely a wallflower, an outcast, a person on the sidelines who is merely waiting for the opportunity to speak out and make a difference. Referring to himself as R and G, the worthless due, he states that his only purpose in life was to serve and possibly thwart the protagonist, Hamlet. It's as if he is reflecting on his useless life and wanting to change it somehow. One line that seems to refer to this is "Till human voices wake us, and we drown." Does he want to throw his life away? Does he believe that he has no use for his life anymore that he would just go kill himself to save God or humanity the trouble? Maybe.

T.S. Eliot seemed to take his own thoughts and twist them together with a sense of chaos to have people really think about what he is trying to portray to everyone through his work. There is no sense of order, correct stanzas, or anything really. These are just my thoughts...

Question? Answer!

Yeah... I did the homework MJ but I didn't know we had to post a blog about it...

Anyways, I answered Jen's question:

"ok question, what the heck, hamlet is a worse then an emotional girl... if you promise revenge, then do it. i dont care ifs he's praying... sooo. Why in the world didnt Hamlet man it up and take care of buisness?"

My response was:

Well... I know he explained this earlier so I'll answer your first one. If you consider how Hamlet views the Christian/Catholic faith of the time period, one could understand the situation more. Hamlet is afraid that if he kills Claudius, who is praying, then he would go to Heaven. However, if he was to kill the king while he was doing something sinful or evil, then he would go to Hell where he belongs.

Worldviews of Hamlet

Alright! First off we have the whole issue in becoming the next king. Talk about pressure! He had to deal with it all his life until when he finally got the chance to make a difference, it was all taken away in nothing flat. What a bummer... Oh well! Secondly, he would have inherited the drunken kingdom of Denmark. But in Act I Scene 4 he speaks of how it would be better if there was a breaking of a tradition then a continuation of it. Finally, the influence of his mother and father, the late King Hamlet. There must have been two different ways of raising the poor lad as he grew up, not knowing that his father was to be murdered and his mother marrying his uncle. Lastly, the different worldviews that he was taught as a student while studying with Horatio and the rest of his friends. There must have been some serious conflict with his own worldviews while he was there.