Hamlet Test

Hamlet test Choice1: Option 2 Quote: Literal level: This quotation appears in Act 4 Scene 3 on lines 27 to 28 and is said by Hamlet toward Claudius. 1. This quote is said by Hamlet towards his uncle Claudius and develops the audience’s view of Hamlet’s as a character. This quote allows the audience to see the hatred that Hamlet had towards his uncle Claudius. We can clearly see that this quote was said with no respect. In this quote, Hamlet is saying that when his uncle dies, he will be buried in the same soil as the worms and the worms will eat up his body. By looking at this, we can conclude that Hamlet does not believe in the power of the King. In the end, Hamlet feels that all humans are equal and exist in the same circle of life, regardless if you were born as a king or a pleasant. Claudius could be seen feeling more of Hamlet’s insanity when this quote was said. Hamlet always hid his hatred from Claudius, but we can see that is no longer the case. Hamlet now speaks what comes to his mind, right after this speech; Hamlet reveals to Claudius that he killed Polonius which builds the conflict and the plot even more. Finally, this quote creates conflict among Claudius and Hamlet. Claudius never suspected Hamlet as a threat, but after this quote the disrespect that Hamlet showed has infuriated Claudius. 2. This quote develops the theme of power. The quote is directed towards Claudius and it questions the true meaning of power. Normally when a King passes away, he is buried in the ground, and then overtime decompose and is consumed by the worms. The worms are later fed to fish and the fish is later served to simple peasants or less fortunate people. How can a mighty King end up as a meal for a beggar? Power is not eternal and should not occupy the entire life of a person. Hamlet thinks that Claudius is too engulfed by the thought of being powerful. The desire for power motivated Claudius to kill the Old King, which leads to the plot of revenge by Hamlet. This quote develops the theme of power because it questions the meaning of power in the circle of life. 3. During the Elizabethan Era, the Kings and Queens ruled the country. Kings were seen as the most powerful person in the country. In this quote, Hamlet is trying to say that when Kings die, they are buried in the earth. The worms consume the soil of the King, which is later used to catch a fish, which is later consumed by a person who is a lower class then the king. This thought was unthinkable in the Elizabeth time period. They questioned themselves: how can the mightiest be the meal of a beggar? This astonishing quote stunned the people of the Elizabethan Era and made this quote even more emotional and powerful. It made the audience question themselves in contemplating whether their monarchy is truly powerful. This quote also uses repetition to make the audience more engaged. It starts off talking about a fish and then moves on to a worm, and then talks about a worm then finally a fish, “A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.”. If you read this repetition in the reverse order almost every line leads down to something, and then it repeats back up to the top in a circular pattern. This makes me imagine of a food chain and how it cycles just like how the fish and the worm in the quote cycles too. This relates back to the idea if the Kings are truly the ruler of the country. Choice 2: Option 4 Quote: Literal level: This quotation appears in Act 4 Scene 7 on line 126 and is said by Laertes. 1. Laertes is crucial to developing the plot of this story because in this quote, Laertes wants revenge against Hamlet due to what he thought Hamlet did towards Ophelia. This quote truly shows Laertes’ anger and hatred toward Hamlet. Claudius is planning to use Laertes to slay Hamlet by having them duel in a sword fight. This quote develops the plot because the dialogue shows that Laertes accepts what Claudius is demanding. It may seem to the audience that Laertes is simply accepting orders from the King Claudius, but in reality Laertes wants to slay Hamlet for personal reasons as well because of the Ophelia’s death. The conflict between Hamlet and Laertes deepens. 2. This quote develops the theme of revenge because Laertes is stating that he wants and will cut the throat of Hamlet to avenge for his sister. This clearly shows the thought of death at its simplest kind: to cut one’s throat. Also, the lines before this quote are relating to death as well because this quote is an answer to Claudius’ asking Laertes to fight and slay Hamlet. With such powerful words and eagerness, Laertes openly shows the hate he has towards Hamlet and the desire he has for revenge. 3. Christianity was firmly enforced during the Elizabethan Era. Because of this, everybody was quite pious and the church was considered a sacred place. Murder on the other hand, was thought of as a really evil sin to commit. Thus, Laertes is stating that he would go as far as murdering someone in a church truly shows his true anger towards Hamlet. This line could be considered an imagery because the audience can clearly visualize the scene of a murder in a church, which is pure blasphemy. The Elizabethan audience would be tormented and shocked with disbelief as they would never consider such a sinful act. Laertes’ extreme anger and the sins he is willing to commit shows the Elizabethan audience the strong emotions he has towards Hamlet and Ophelia. Hamlet test Choice 4: Option 2 Quote: Literal level: This quote appears in Act 5 Scene 2 on lines 385 to 395 and is said by Fortinbras. 1. The quote develops the plot and is said by Fortinbras after the royal family of Denmark is murdered. When Fortinbras was entering the courtyard, Horatio is the first to tell Fortinbras about the tragedy that has happened to Hamlet. This quote develops the character of Fortinbras because previously through the play he is perceived as an enemy by everyone else. After this quote was said, we feel less bitter towards Fortinbras as he pays tribute the Hamlet and we develop sympathy for Hamlet because of his heroic actions. Furthermore, this quote advances Hamlet’s character because Hamlet is finally honored for what he has done and is also seen as a hero. This moment in the play is really effective at finalizing the plot because it makes the audience feel sorrow for the sacrifice that Hamlet made. Finally, this is the last quote of the entire play and ends all the conflict that we’ve seen though the book. The speech that Fortinbras said states the end of all the revenge and fighting and shows that Hamlet will get a respectable funeral for his contributions to the country. 2. This quote advances the theme of death, which is evident to us because it talks about the corpse of Hamlet. Fortinbras orders that Hamlet’s body be treated the same way as would a fallen soldier be treated by saying “Go, bid the soldiers shoot”. This line from the quote develops the theme of death because Fortinbras feels pity about the death of Hamlet yet at the same time he honors the death of Hamlet. Fortinbras believes that Hamlet could have achieved much more with his life if he is alive. With this being said, it tells the audience that there will be no more future deaths because there is no longer any revenge. 3. This quote said by Fortinbras is trying to tell the audience that Hamlet would have been a great king if he had the chance, he later tells Horatio to go tell everyone about this tragedy and also to tell the soldiers to fire their guns in memory of Hamlet. In this quote, there are many literary devices. The first device I see is allusions, which referred to Hamlet as a soldier. This targets the Elizabethan audience because in that time period, war and soldiers were common and everyone would understand what a soldier’s funeral would look like. The Elizabethan Era audience would understand the amount of respect shown towards a fallen soldier. The second literary device I find is imagery. For example, in the quote “Becomes the field”, Fortinbras creates an image of a cemetery in the readers mind, thus allowing the audience to visualize that Hamlet will be entombed in the ground, beside his comrades and fellow soldiers. Work Cited Shakespeare, William. Hamlet (The New Folger Library Shakespeare). Simon & Schuster; New Folger Edition, 2003. "In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Explain the Significance of the Quote "To Cut His Throat I' the Church."How Does It Relate... - Homework Help - ENotes.com." Enotes.com. Enotes.com. Web. 13 Aug. 2014. "In Act 4 Scene 3 of Hamlet, How Does Hamlet Explain the Levelling of All Mankind?In Act 4 Scene 3 - Homework Help - ENotes.com." Enotes.com. Enotes.com. Web. 13 Aug. 2014. "Shakespeare's Tragedies." Google Books. Web. 13 Aug. 2014.

“Phenomenal Woman” Analysis

“Phenomenal Woman” Analysis Maya Angelou is a name not foreign to anyone who is remotely interested in poetry. A renowned African-American female who is known for speaking against racism and sexism, Angelou wrote many well-known poems that speak to the world. “Phenomenal Woman”, one of her best poems, truly exemplifies Angelou’s style. Through the use of many poetic devices such as metaphor, connotation, and imagery, “Phenomenal Woman” is truly the greatest poem and tells women all over the world that beauty and confidence does not originate from physical attributes. Firstly, metaphors are used in several places in the poem to vividly describe the scene. One particularly striking example is the comparison of men to bees in the line “Then they swarm around me, A hive of honey bees”. The skillful use of metaphor here vibrantly describe the scene of men keenly approaching Angelou as she enters the room. The comparison of eager men to bees is effective in showing the interests these men have in her. The use of the verb “swarm” further demonstrates the degree to which these men are attracted by her. Furthermore, bees are creatures that are generally friendly but with a slight hint of annoyance. Angelou’s choice to use bees to describe men instead of other animals shows that she positions herself equally, if not above, the men of the society, thus becoming more confident. “Phenomenal Woman” was written around an era in which racism and sexism still affected the daily lives of women. The poem can thus be interpreted as Angelou’s call to all women to stand up for themselves and consider themselves equal to men. Overall, the use of this metaphor successfully conveys the message that inner beauty and confidence are powerful in gaining the respect of others. Angelou uses this metaphor to show women around the world that they should believe in themselves and be confident in their physical attributes. Secondly, the use of connotation in this poem is witty and playful and shows the resilience in Angelou’s efforts to strive for gender equality. “I’m a woman / Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, / That’s me” is a repeating phrase that occurs several times in the poem. The word “phenomenal” has two meanings in this poem. The obvious meaning of “phenomenal” is “remarkable and extraordinary”. This definition of the word is certainly emphasized in the poem. As Angelou describes her body, her actions, and her confidence, she repeatedly reminds the readers that she is a truly phenomenal woman. Angelou’s phenomenal mind urges other women to follow suit with high impact. On further readings of the poem, readers can also interpret the word “phenomenal” as “large”. In colloquial language, “phenomenal” can be used to describe things of large sizes such as a phenomenal amount of money or a phenomenal number of people. Here, Angelou can be suspected to use the word “phenomenal” to mockingly describe her own physical size since Angelou’s image as shown in media has always been a large African-American woman. The extra connotation of the word “phenomenal” adeptly juxtaposes with the literal meaning of the same word, demonstrating Angelou’s confidence and pride in being both emotionally and physical phenomenal. The use of the same word twice, one immediately after another, cleverly portrays the image of Angelou as a large yet confident woman who is ready to take on any challenges that stands between her and equality. Readers are made to think twice on the meaning of the word “phenomenal” and truly understand Angelou’s message that every woman is unique and beautiful. Finally and most prevalently, the use of imagery paints a colorful picture of Angelou’s character and further reinforces the strong message she is sending to the world. Amongst numerous locations on the poem where imagery is used, the most useful usage of it is in the many parallel lines with which Angelou describes her own body and actions. For example in the second last stanza Angelou describes the way she interacts with men by saying “It’s in the arch of my back, /The sun of my smile, /The ride of my breasts, /The grace of my style”. In four short lines, Angelou paints a portrait of herself with a strong body, an optimistic smile, a feminine figure, and a calming poise. Angelou is able to identify positive characteristics of her body and her personality and thus gain confidence from them. As she uses imagery to paint a picture of herself, readers can identify similarities in their own bodies or bodies of those around them and gain confidence as well. The description of Angelou’s body and personality resonates with others reading the poem regardless of the gender of the readers. The resonance created speaks louder than words and becomes a memorable and powerful image in the mind. Images of strong, powerful, positive, and self-respecting women come to the minds of readers; thus Angelou has successfully conveyed the message that a woman is beautiful as long as she is confident. In conclusion, “Phenomenal Woman” is one of the greatest poems ever written because of the potent message it sends through the use of poetic devices. The theme of gender equality and self-respect in women has been frequently explored by many poets and writers throughout the years but none does it better than Angelou in “Phenomenal Woman”. Creatively, Angelou’s message is able to reach the heart of men and women alike. The importance of educating the men in understanding gender equality is often overlooked by popular culture, yet a proper balance between the genders can only be established when individuals of both genders agree on the same principle and act accordingly. Works Cited "Poetic Devices." . N.p., n.d. Web. 10 July 2014. . "Phenomenal Woman - Poem by Maya Angelou." Phenomenal Woman - Poem by Maya Angelou. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 July 2014. .