Hamlet
Is there family conflict in your novel? How do the members of the family get along?
In short, yes. The entire play is based on a family conflict: Hamlet's Uncle Claudius murdered Hamlet's father in order to steal the throne and his wife. The entire dynamic of this family is confusing to me, especially because I missed most of the second day of class when we were watching the film.
As you can see in this character map, drama between characters is all but scarce in this Shakespearean tragedy. I am unsure what point in the film we have reached, but just by taking a glance at this helpful map: Claudius (Hamlet's Uncle) murders his brother to become the King, Claudius then marries Queen Gertrude (Hamlet's Mother) who was previously his sister in law (clearly breaking the bro code here), Hamlet kills Polonius who was the advisor to Claudius and father to Laertes and Ophelia who, coincidentally, is a lover of Hamlet, Hamlet's childhood friends are also spies, Horatio is Hamlet's friend, and there is a graphic of Yorick's Skull because why not.
Based on this map, I will conduct a somewhat uninformed character analysis. Hamlet is quite obviously the protagonist in this play: (a) the play is named after him, (b) his father was murdered so he is screaming for sympathy, (c) he is connected to every other character, and (d) he is half of the main love story. Claudius is then, by default, the antagonist because he murdered the protagonist's father and broke the bro code.
If the movie has not already been finished, I am excited to continue watching. My prediction is that Gertrude steps up as a heroic figure. This prediction is due to my knowledge that one of Shakespeare's most common motifs is the contrast between requited and unrequited love. Being that Hamlet and Ophelia seem to have a mutual love for one another, and that Gertrude and Hamlet Sr. were in love, I believe that Gertrude will understand and perhaps act on her lack of love for Claudius.
In short, yes. The entire play is based on a family conflict: Hamlet's Uncle Claudius murdered Hamlet's father in order to steal the throne and his wife. The entire dynamic of this family is confusing to me, especially because I missed most of the second day of class when we were watching the film.
As you can see in this character map, drama between characters is all but scarce in this Shakespearean tragedy. I am unsure what point in the film we have reached, but just by taking a glance at this helpful map: Claudius (Hamlet's Uncle) murders his brother to become the King, Claudius then marries Queen Gertrude (Hamlet's Mother) who was previously his sister in law (clearly breaking the bro code here), Hamlet kills Polonius who was the advisor to Claudius and father to Laertes and Ophelia who, coincidentally, is a lover of Hamlet, Hamlet's childhood friends are also spies, Horatio is Hamlet's friend, and there is a graphic of Yorick's Skull because why not.
Based on this map, I will conduct a somewhat uninformed character analysis. Hamlet is quite obviously the protagonist in this play: (a) the play is named after him, (b) his father was murdered so he is screaming for sympathy, (c) he is connected to every other character, and (d) he is half of the main love story. Claudius is then, by default, the antagonist because he murdered the protagonist's father and broke the bro code.
If the movie has not already been finished, I am excited to continue watching. My prediction is that Gertrude steps up as a heroic figure. This prediction is due to my knowledge that one of Shakespeare's most common motifs is the contrast between requited and unrequited love. Being that Hamlet and Ophelia seem to have a mutual love for one another, and that Gertrude and Hamlet Sr. were in love, I believe that Gertrude will understand and perhaps act on her lack of love for Claudius.
Claire, I am in the exact same place as you, having also physically missed the second day of class (and mentally missed the first) where we watched this movie. Your explanation, however, of the central conflict(s) in this play certainly helps to shed some light as to what exactly is going on right now. I found the graphic you used to be especially helpful, and I look forward to discovering the significance of Yorick's skull. I only disagree with you on one point, and that is your argument that Gertrude will step up to be a heroic figure. From what I was able to watch, Queen Gertrude has already become a heavily criticized character. She seems to be wholly reliant on the men around her to sustain her desire for affection (and power). Even Hamlet lashes out against her in his first monologue, criticizing her cold decision to go and marry her dead husband's brother. Shakespeare has already established Gertrude not as a villain, but also not as a particularly likeable character, so I doubt that she will have a full character transition and become a heroine.
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