Hamlet response Spring 2012

Due Friday March 9, one page-single spaced on the following topic:

Discuss the character Hamlet and acting. At the end of Act 1, he puts on an “antic disposition,” and we watch him act oddly in several scenes in the play—to Polonius, to Ophelia, to Gertrude. In class we will be discussing various reasons or motives for his actions in these scenes, and the different kinds of “Hamlets” he might be. Think about these scenes at more depth. You can repeat some of the ideas we said in class but then go farther with your own thoughts. The difficult question is this: when is he acting and when is he “himself”—and what self would that be? When might a “role” become a reality or when is it possible to remain detached from a role? What is the play saying about acting through Hamlet? (Or is it saying anything?)