Today in class, we discussed Hamlet IVvi-IVvii. Hamlet chose to send multiple letters to Gertrude and Horatio so that Claudius would have to pay the ransom to the pirates. Hamlet switched the letters he was supposed to give to England about his death sentence with his own letters that had death sentences for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
We also discussed Laertes's qualities that were beneficial for Claudius's plan to kill Hamlet. Laertes is a skilled fencer and agrees to kill Hamlet in a sword fight in order to avenge the death of his father. Claudius needs to know how far Laertes was willing to go to get revenge for the death of his father. Laertes says that he will cut Hamlet's throat in a church. This is significant because it shows that Hamlet is honorable and now has the maturity to be the king. Laertes is willing to do a dishonorable and sinful assassination on the prince.
We also discussed whether the death of Ophelia was in fact a suicide. Because Ophelia is insane and has no grasp of the difference between right and wrong, we can assume that she did not commit suicide. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing if it truly was a suicide, which leaves the question of where to bury her. If she did kill herself, then she cannot be buried on holy ground.
The assignment for this weekend is to read V.
--Laura C
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