Sweets to the sweets.

This is probably the saddest quote in the play. Gertrude says this at Ophelia's funeral, ironically, because Ophelia had all bad things happen to her. She never tried to hurt anyone, she wasn't involved in spying or plots, she was an innocent bystander! Yet poor Ophelia is the one that fate destined to go mad. Even in her madness she is gentle and sweet. She makes flower wreaths and sings songs, and she was merely trying to hang flowers on a bough when she fell into the brook and drowned. At least the brook carried her for awhile, a last bit of kindness to this sad girl. Yet the brook too turns on her like so many others, and kills her.

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all.

Hamlet is beating himself up for not killing Claudius when he had the chance when he says this. I remember once I set up a long joke, and it was funny, but after a while I started feeling scared and guilty. Every time I would hide another object I would get a gut feeling. In many cases though, it's beneficial. Often it has saved lives, and even nations. I don't think we should ignore our consciences, they were given to us by god to be used. We shouldn't try to deny human nature.

To be or not to be, that is the question. Wheather tis nobler to suffer or take up arms against the foe.

I think Hamlet does think about suicide, but during his conversation with himself he decides that thats not what he wants. He has his moments of insanity, and that was one thought. He thinks about the line between the two, life and death, and decides it is very thin. That the very essence is life.
I once heard a man ask,"What is the difference between this life and the next?" I couldn't answer. He then replied, "One breath."
Hamlet really grasped this concept.

To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man pick'd out of ten thousand.

Hamlet says this. It's so true, because there are so few honest men in this world anymore. The probability to be honest is about the same as picking one man out of ten thousand. It seems that honesty is a thing of the past. People view it as just a nice thing, that it died long ago, like chivalry. This is especially true in our government and media. We seldom get just the plain facts, we get the twisted, curved, biased story. Luckily, many of us aren't so gullible, we can see the lies. We can see that it's as hard for a politician to be honest, for one man to be picked out of ten thousand.

Brevity is the soul of wit.

Polonius is talking to the king and queen about his theory on Hamlet. He is saying that quickness is the very heart of wit. Have you ever heard a joke that is dragged on forever, so when the punchline comes it really isn't funny anymore? That's what Polonius is saying. It's ironic that it would be Polonius, who drags everything out forever, is saying this.
If we hear an opportunity to joke we have to speak quickly, or it's not witty.

Give many man thine hear, but few thy voice.

Polonius says this to Laertes, as he is preparing to leave. This actually runs parallel to one of the rules I have learned. People like you if you listen to them, but a lot of the time they really don't care what you think. So, if you want people to like you listen to them, but don't talk excessively.
I think Polonius is also trying to tell laertes not to give his good opinion out to cheaply. I used to think that I had to tell my opinion all the time, and argue with everyone. Then, people started to treat everything I said as an argument, and I realized my mistake. Sometimes I just need to keep quiet!

Neither a lender nor a borrower be.

Polonius warns Laertes with this advice as he is venturing out into the real world. We could all use this advice. Maybe we wouldn't have a need for any bailouts if people wouldn't get loans they couldn't afford. There are some cases where we need a loan, but be quick about paying it off, or be constant in our payments. So many people get into trouble from buying things they want, and don't think about their debts. They just run up their credit card. Polonius is so correct in this aspect; do not get into debt. It's a cloud that hangs over you for the rest of your days.

Frailty, thy name is woman!

Hamlet says this about Gertrude after she marries Cladius. He is dissapointed that his mother would be so frail as to marry so low beneath her, and in such a short time after her husbands death. He is disgusted with the show of love his mother puts on. He thinks she is pathetic for needing to be loved so much that she forgets her original husband, who she should be still devistated over. In this asspect I agree, I think Gertrude should have had better will power, but with alot of other things, I disagree! If women are so frail, why do they put up with having a baby? They give birth to a human beings, throuhg excruciating pain, and Hamlet calls them frail!
Of course, Hamlet also bashes men too, so I guess it's okay.

Journal Entry # 1 Is Hamlet relevant for today's audience?

I definitely think the play is relevant, even more so today than it was back then. We now have even more murder and tragedy. We can learn so much from Hamlet. There are so many literature treasures hidden between all the "thous" and "thees". So many truths of the human soul are discovered, some that have been buried within us as we have become more advanced and rushed. Among all the terribly hurried lives we live, it's great to slow down and contemplate Hamlet. Some versions are only two hours, it doesn't take that long to sit down and watch one. After we have seen even a tiny bit of Hamlet, it sticks with us. We can dissect and break down one little scene a hundred times, and there are still new meanings. I have loved studying Hamlet, and anyone who doesn't' have the opportunity is deprived.

Journal Entry # 2 Why does the fact the Claudius does not stop Gertrude from drinking the wine condemn him even more in the reader's eyes?

I think Claudius never loved Gertrude, he just lusted after her. I don't condemn Gertrude for marrying him though. I think that she was so used to being loved that after her husband died she didn't know what to do with her self. Then Claudius is there; someone to love her and she just takes the offer. I think that when Hamlet confronts Gertrude she realizes what she lost, and what she has accepted. After that she loves Hamlet even more. Her ties to her son are much stronger than the ties to her new husband, and I think they always were.

Journal Entry #3 How would your react if your mother married your uncle?Why is he so concered about his mothers remarriage?

I would be scared, unsure, and really freaked out. When I think about how I would feel, I can really see what Hamlet was going through. I would wonder if my mother ever really loved my father, if she remarried so early. Hamlet really loved his mother, and seeing her show love to a man so immeasurable to his father wrung his heart. It truly tortured him, day and night, to watch her affections toward his uncle. He thought he knew his mother, but her deceit shook his trust so he felt like he didn't know her, therefore he was cold towards her. I would be too!

Journal Entry # 4 Does Hamlet really love Ophelia? Why do you think as you do? Use the play to back you up.

I think he does. He loves her enough to let her go knowing that he wouldn't be a good match for her. During the play when he tell her to get to a Nunnery he doesn't mean she is a flirt. He just doesn't want her to marry. He tells her how terrible and cruel men can be, and he wants Ophelia to be protected from all that. So he forsakes his love for her, to save her.
After Ophelia dies and is being buried, Hamlet jumps in her grave and yells that he loved her more than any number of brothers. I think he is speaking the truth. I don't think he is trying to be mean when Ophelia tries to return his “remembrances,” I just think he thinks she is in on the spying. But he did love her, and he is sorry that she drowns, he truly grieves.
But I do think that Hamlet should have gone to Ophelia and comforted her after he kills her father. She deserves that much from him after all the confusion he has given her. Maybe if he had talked to her, and perhaps sent for her brother, or sent her to her brother, she wouldn't have gone mad and drowned. On the other hand, how was Hamlet to know Ophelia would go mad? He had troubles of his own, going to England and avoiding his own death. He must have thought that Ophelia would just mourn for a couple months and be done with it, not that she would turn crazy.
Hamlet really loved Ophelia, more so than any other man could have, because he was willing to put aside his own desires and think about her first. Thats more than I can say for most men.

Journal Entry # 5 “Goodnight Sweet Prince, and flights of angels sing thee to they rest.” Horatio is the only person who is truly loyal to Hamlet. Wh

I'm loyal to all my friends, if one tells me a secret, I don't' tell anyone else. I'm also loyal to my mom and dad.
I really value loyalty. I think it is a rare commodity to come by these days. Now it seems like people are more loyal to money and themselves than to anyone else. Which is their folly because loyalty is something money can't buy. Just look at the government, everyone is so worried about getting themselves ahead, they don't care who they hurt in the process. Look at the locker rooms in our own school, it seems like only your very best friend is loyal to you. I think we should be more loyal to everyone, even if they aren't our really good friend, and even more loyal if they are. I remember once I confided in a friend and made him promise not to tell any body, not even his own mother. He could have broken his promise, but he didn't. To this day he hasn't uttered a word about it, and he doesn't know how important that was to me. If no one has anyone has loyal as that, I feel sincerely sorry for them. My friend was to me as Horatio is to Hamlet.
In Hamlets world, Horatio is like a life line. Everyone else has betrayed and back stabbed Hamlet, including his only love. If he didn't have Horatio, Hamlet might have gone truly mad. Horatio wasn't only loyal to Hamlet, he was loyal to the king, the queen, and Ophelia. Ironically, the most loyal character in the play is the only one that doesn't end up dead at the end.

Journal Entry # 6 If your parents really disliked the person that you wanted to marry, would you marry this person anyway? Explain.

If my parents didn't like the person I wanted to marry, thats probably a heads up that he isn't a good person. Often young people are blinded just by the thought of being in love, they don't slow down and think about living the rest of their lives with that person. If my parents don't like the boy I bring home, they can most likely see something I can't, and they have a lot more knowledge than I have. I know that if some of my aunts and uncles had listened to their parents opinion of their fiancées, they wouldn't' be in the trouble they are now. They were so in love and they thought no one understood, now all the wonderful romance died long ago,and they are left with heartache and trouble. I think Polonius was afraid that would happen to Ophelia.
When Polonius tells Ophelia not to listen to Hamlet I don't think he's being cruel, or that he doesn't know what it's like to be in love. He is like all fathers, not wanting to give up his little girl to a man he believes to be unstable. Polonius has known Hamlet for a long time anyway, so he knows all his ups and downs. It also shows how admirable Ophelia is, because she doesn't yell and cry, she just sets her jaw and says, “I will obey.” I hope I can be that quite and wise if my dad ever tells me my boyfriend is no good.Besides, no man can be good enough for daddy's little girl.

Hamlet

Hamlet is awesome!