Theban Plays- Themes

proper burial of the dead- Antigone's brothers were fighting each other in battle and killed each other. One was given a proper burial because he was fighting for Thebes but the other one was left out for the birds. Creon the king says that that was his punishment for going against your own. Antigone refuses to go by her Uncle's rules. She decides to bury him herself even though she knows she will be killed. The guards find her in action and bring her before the king and she doesn't deny it. She tells him there is no shame in honoring your own brother. She does what she thinks is right and that is to bury her brother.
Prophecy:
tells people their fate. Oedipus hears from the prophet that he will kill his father and marry his mother. His parents and him try to stop fate. This fails and the prophecy comes true. He cannot control his fate. Nobody can.
The Blind See:
The prophet, Tiresias, is blind yet he is the only one who knows what is going on in everyone's life. He sees things very clearly when he is not the one who can physically see anything.
Loyalty:
Antigone is loyal to her brother, she will not give up until she has given him a proper burial. Even if it means going against the law and getting killed.

Odyssey- Hero Qualities

courage- He out smarts many people and has courage to fight for his freedom.
brave- He doesn't give up and knows that someday he will make it back to his home and his wife. he stays positive and stays brave.
intelligent- knows how to think on his feet. he makes his own decisions. Out smarts many monsters and people.

The Tragic Man- Hamlet

A Belief in His Own Freedom:
Hamlet knows that he is alone in his life. Everyone he has cared about in his life has died except Horatio. He knows he must meet life head on. He must be read for anything and be willing to do anything that comes his way. He is willing to do this and accepts that he must deal with life all on his own.
A Supreme Pride:
Even though Hamlet has no one left in his life you are drawn to him throughout the book. You are interested in what he is going to do next. He thinks he is much better than most people. He knows that his mother could have done better with her second marriage. He believes he should know who lives and dies. He respects the Gods and religion in his life and other peoples.
Capacity for Suffering:
Hamlet shows a lot of suffering in this play. He believes in what he is doing is the right thing to do. He wants to help his father but also help himself by getting rid of Claudius. He feels some guilt because he is not a crazy person to begin with. He isn't a killer until the end. Even though he has to lie to Ophelia he knows it was the right thing to do. He really does love her but he knows the king is watching him and he has to lie to stay on track with his plan to kill Claudius. In the end he doesn't fear death. He knows what he has to do and if that means dying than so be it. He is willing to help his father.
A Sense of Commitment:
Once Hamlet decides that Claudius is really the murder of his father and knows that the ghost is right he sets out to accomplish his goal. He commits to killing Claudius and doesn't give up until that is done. He knows that this can't be left alone. Something has to happen to get even. He could forgive Claudius and be happy for his mother but then it wouldn't help his father so he knows he has to stick to the plan.
Vigorous Protest:
Hamlet has had so much pain in the last part of his life. He wonders when it is all going to stop. The bad thing is, it never does. His father dies and his mother marries within the next month. His love kills herself and he has to kill his uncle. He doesn't like that he has to carry out this action but he want to help his father out. He wishes the Gods would take away some of his pain and suffering.
Transfiguration:
Hamlet has always understood life very well. He understands that he must fight for himself and make the most of his life because he has no one left. He knows that he might also die in this revenge but he is willing to do that in order to help someone else that was very important to him. To the people left behind him he leaves a sense of pride. He was well respected and will be well respected after he leaves.
Impact:
Hamlet leaves behind his story. He asks Horatio to tell everyone what really happened and how everyone died. Hamlet has finally become the hero, and is was able to kill Claudius. In the end everyone in the play living knows how great he really was. Hamlet shows so much dedication and is does so much to help someone out. You realize how much pain he went through to just end up dying. He is a great hero and you as a reader are able to relate to his pain in at a personal level.

Cycle of the Hero- Beowulf

Call to Adventure:
The call to adventure is when Beowulf goes to Denmark to hopefully fight Grendel the monster that comes at night and eats the men of the country. Beowulf hopes to be the hero and let the country be at peace. He voluntarily set out to kill the monster.
Helpers:
In the story Beowulf doesn't really have any human helpers. He has to kill the monsters by himself. He has all the help he needs inside of him.
Threshold of Adventure:
This would be when Beowulf fights Grendel. He does it bare handed in the mead hall. Grendel comes in and starts killing any one that gets in his way. Beowulf is able to rip off Grendel's arm and when he goes back to where he lives he bleeds to death. This is the monster-battle and Beowulf comes out on top.
Helpers:
Beowulf is given a sword that is mighty and powerful from Unferth.
Triumph:
The triumph is after Grendel is dead and Grendel's mother comes and starts destroying the danish men. Beowulf is then asked to go into the lake and kill Grendel's mother. While in the cave under water he tries to use the sword given to him by Unferth. It doesn't work and he sees a sword on the wall that he knows will kill her. He cuts off her head and brings it back for everyone to see.
Flight Back Home:
Beowulf and his warriors go home to Greatland with many treasures and their hearts full of victory. They are welcomed home and Beowulf becomes king of Greatland for 50 years. He is a great king to his people.
Threshold Struggle:
The threshold struggle is the fight between the dragon and Beowulf. Beowulf must fight one more dragon before his life is over. Some man stole treasure from the dragon and the dragon is very upset. The dragon burns houses and needs to be stopped. With help from a young soldier Wiglaf, Beowulf is able to kill the dragon. During the fight Beowulf was stabbed and dies at the end.
Elixir:
In the end, Beowulf leaves the country to Wiglaf and asks to be burried high on a cliff so many other people can see. The tresurewas burried with him and he has left the great stories and memories of himself.

Hamlet Act 5

Hamlet comes back from his trip and goes into a graveyard. He hears a gravedigger singing and he wonders how someone could sing while digging a grave. Hamlet asks who the grave is for and he cannot get a clear answer to his question. A funeral procession comes into the scene and Hamlet soon realizes that the grave is for Ophelia. Hamlet is devastated and when Laertes jumps into the grave and calls Hamlet names for killing her Hamlet comes forward. The two men get in a fight and Hamlet tells everyone that he loves Ophelia and nothing could stop their love for each other.
Hamlet tells his best friend Horatio that he realized the kings plot of trying to kill him. He has turned the plan around and his two friends and killed them. A servant comes and asks if Hamlet would fence with Laertes for the king. Hamlet agrees even though he doesn't want to. In the match Hamlet is winning. He has not gotten hit with the poison yet. Gertrude wants some wine so she drinks from the poisoned cup that was for Hamlet. As Hamlet is watching his mother die Laertes scratches Hamlet with the poisoned sword. After Hamlet forces them to switch swords and Hamlet wounds Laertes with the poison. As Gertrude and Laertes die Laertes tells Hamlet that this was Claudius' plan to kill Hamlet. Hamlet kills Claudius right away. As Hamlet is dying he asks Horatio to tell the full story to everyone. Horatio is the only one who knows the whole story. Fortinbras comes in and takes the crown as King. He orders a military funeral in honor of Hamlet.

Hamlet Act 4

After Hamlet leaves with Polonius' body Gertrude goes right away to tell Claudius what has happened. Claudius is angered and sends Hamlet's friends to take the body from Hamlet. Claudius wants the body to preform funeral services. When the two friends find Hamlet they ask him where the body is. Hamlet will not answer, he gives them snide remarks but refuses to tell where the body is. They bring Hamlet to Claudius. Since they don't have Polonius they bring Hamlet. Claudius tells Hamlet that he must leave at once to go to England. At the end of the scene Claudius tells the audience that he plans to kill Hamlet before he is able to come back. He will never bother them again.
Fortinbras is on his way to Poland. As Hamlet travels to England they cross paths. Fortinbras in in great hurry and is always planning. Hamlet realizes that this is what he must do to kill Claudius. He makes a plan and soon puts it into action.
Back at the castle Gertrude learns that Ophelia is mad. She comes in singing of death goes on and on and gives people flowers. Claudius is mad about Ophelia and now Laertes has returned and is very angry. Laertes comes in and is mad at Claudius and he tells him that he never killed anyone and he is not responsible to Polonius' death. Laertes is devestated that Ophelia is going crazy.
A messenger gives Horatio a letter saying that Hamlet is coming back to Denmark on a pirate ship. Claudius also gets a letter saying that Hamlet is returning to Denmark. Claudius and Laertes make a plan to take Hamlet's life. Laertes is going to fence Hamlet with a poisoned sword. If that doesn't work Claudius will have a poisoned cup of wine for him to drink after his win. This will for sure kill him. Gertrude comes in and tells everyone that Ophelia has drowned.

Hamlet Act 3

The two friends of Hamlet cannot find out what is wrong with Hamlet. Ophelia and Hamlet meet and the two men are spying on them. Hamlet denies loving her and says it was all fake and didn't she realize that they never had anything between them. Claudius says that that is not why he is mad. They plan to send Hamlet away to England. They agree to wait until they talk to Gertrude after the play.
Later Hamlet talks to the actors and tells them what to add into the play so that it will be like the death of his father. He asks Horatio to watch Claudius during the play to see if he makes any move that would look like he was the murder. The people come to watch the play and Hamlet makes snide remarks to Ophelia the whole time. The actors preform a silent play and then a play that is a lot like the murder of King Hamlet and how Claudius got Gertrude to marry her. In the play when King Hamlet is murdered in the garden Claudius storms out of the room after he has stopped the play from going any further. Hamlet now knows that the words spoken by the ghost were true. He must kill Claudius for what he has done to Hamlet's father. Hamlet's two friends come and tell Hamlet that Claudius is very angry for what he has done. They tell Hamlet that Gertrude would like to see him in her room. He promises his friends that he will not hurt her for what she has done. He will only speak to her with sharp tones. It is what she deserves.
Claudius orders Hamlets two friends to take Hamlet to England so he won't try to hurt this family anymore. Polonius tells Claudius that he plans to spy on the conversation between Gertrude and Hamlet. Claudius then tells the audience that he feels bad for killing King Hamlet and it was a bad idea. He kneels down and to pray and Hamlet comes in and is about ready to kill Claudius. He realizes that Claudius will go to heaven if he kills him because he is in prayer. Hamlet wants him to go to hell. Hamlet will kill him when he is committing a crime so he will go to hell. Hamlet leaves him to his prayer and Claudius rises and says that he was unable to pray and he doesn't know why.
Hamlet goes to talk to his mother and Polonius hides behind a curtain. During their conversation Gertrude cries out for help. This scares Polonius and he also cries out. Hamlet thinking he has caught Claudius in the act of spying he stabs Polonius and kills him before he even checks. Hamlet rips on his mother for marrying Claudius. The ghost retruns to tell Hamlet that he needs to be thinking about killing Claudius. Gertrude cannot see the ghost and thinks that Hamlet has gone mad. The ghost leaves and Hamlet orders Gertrude to never again sleep with Claudius. He tells her of the plan to send him to England. He tells her that he thinks this is a plan to kill him. He says he will make his own plan to kill Claudius to get back at him. He leaves dragging out Polonius.

Hamlet Act 2

Polonius sends people to question Laertes. Ophelia comes in and is in and tells her dad about Hamlet. He has gone mad she says and her dad thinks it is because he cannot see Ophelia anymore. They rush off to see the King.
Claudius sends two childhood friends to spy on Hamlet and find out why he is mad. Claudius and Polonius decide to spy on Hamlet and find out if he loves Ophelia or not. Hamlet meets his two friends and quickly finds out that they are spies. Actors come in and give a speech. Hamlet decides he wants to do a play that is similar to the death of his father and see if Claudius is really guilty.

Hamlet Act 1

In the beginning of the act the guards are guarding the castle and a ghost apears. He doesn't say anything he just stands their. They try to speak to it but it doesn't talk back, it leaves. The ghost is in the form of the King Hamlet who is dead. The guards decide to Hamlet about the ghost.
Claudius is holding court. He has become the new king of Denmark. He sends troops to stop an attack from Fortinbras. He gives permission to Laertes to go to France and study. Hamlet is not allowed to go back to the university because Claudius wants to keep a close eye on Hamlet after his father's death. Hamlet not happy because his mother and his uncle have decided to marry before a month has passed after King Hamlet's death. The guards come and tell Hamlet about the ghost and Hamlet is going to meet the ghost that night.
Laertes says goodbye to his sister Ophelia and tells her to stay away from Hamlet because he doesn't really love her. Polonius comes in and tells Laertes to leave. He then tells his daughter the same thing. She agrees.
Claudius is having a party and he drinks the whole night. Hamlet is going to go meet the ghost. The ghost wants him to come and Hamlet does even though his friends forbid him to go. The ghost tells him how he died. He says that he was sleeping and Claudius comes and puts a poison into his ear. He tells Hamlet that he must kill Claudius. Hamlet is horrified but says he will. He then tells no one about what has happened.

Machiavellianism

Look up the term and discuss how it relates to the play.

Machiavellianism is when a person does something, perhaps immoral, to achieve or to retain political power. This is used with Claudius and he kills Hamlet's father to take control as king and to have Gertrude as his wife. These acts are very immoral.

"to be or not to be"

Hamlet's soliloquies comprise an important portion of the reading. Discuss why they are important and what function they serve, based on your readings so far.

Hamlet's soliloquies are important because they help us understand what is going on in Hamlet's head. They help us get inside his brain and know what he is really thinking not just what he says to other people. Hamlet figures out that Claudius was the true murder of his father by asking for the play to be done in front of Claudius. Hamlet was able to see the truth and know that Claudius really did kill Hamlet's father.