Lavender's AP Lit Class Blog

Lavender's AP Lit Class Blog

Monday, March 19, 2012

Spying in Shakespeare

I have decided for my topic to be about the effect of karma in Hamlet. My thesis statement will be somewhere around: Shakespeare shows that the characters who have done wrong, deserve punishment for their actions.

I will use the following scenes:
  • Polonius - stabbed by Hamlet (spying on Queen and Hamlet) (Forces Ophelia to leave Hamlet)
  • Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - killed in England (ordered by the King and Queen to spy on Hamlet)
  • King - killed by Hamlet (spied on Hamlet w/ Polonius) (murdered his brother) (attempted to murder Hamlet) (ordered Hamlet's death in England)
  • Queen - poisoned by King (married King too fast)
  • Laertes - poisoned by sward (attempted to kill Hamlet)
  • Hamlet - poisoned by sward (killed Polonius) (faked madness) (contemplated suicide)
  • Ophelia - suicide (helped her father/King spy on Hamlet) 
Karma bites them in the butt after they do wrong. I'll discuss each character and compare them and how severe their punishment was.
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5 comments:

  1. Rachel H.(a.k.a the Ninja)March 19, 2012 at 6:08 PM

    KARMA! THAT IS GENIUS! I am a firm believer in Karma and so I agree 1,000 percent. To add greater relief to your position I would suggest discussing a character such as Horatio who exemplifies goodness and is therefore the only character who doesn't die.

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  2. Kira HamblinMarch 20, 2012 at 9:13 AM

    This is such a good idea, You are going to have a lot of scenes to talk about. I agree with Rachel and think you should mention Horatio and how he is the only one who lives and is the only one who exemplifies goodness. Great Idea!!

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  3. Erin PihlMarch 20, 2012 at 7:19 PM

    This was a great idea, you will have a lot to write about. I really like your idea on comparing the punishments. You could also maybe talk about some other themes that tie in with karma. GREAT IDEA!!

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    Replies
    1. Slator "Lightning Bolt" AplinMarch 21, 2012 at 7:19 AM

      Karma is good! Its a possibility that you could also compare with what people in Hamlet think of spying and how their reaction ends in the ultimate death of that person.

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  4. David LavenderMarch 21, 2012 at 7:25 AM

    Kristie,

    Judging from the comments above, you have a topic that will clearly engage your reader; and while I like the idea of Karma, I'm not sure that you need to limit your 'bad deeds' to spying (Claudius, for instance, murders his brother; Gertrude admits that her marriage to him may have been 'o'erhasty', etc. & etc.). And while Rachel and Kira point out that Horatio is a great example of good karma (good actions being rewarded), this still leaves the question of what poor Ophelia could have possibly done to merit her fate. Still, I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with this!

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