Hamlet Summary ...

Honestly, I enjoyed every part of Hamlet! I must admit that I am usually not the biggest fan of Shakespeare and his works simply because I fail to comprehend his language. To me, Hamlet was well written, and the class involvement made it easier and more fun to understand. Not only was it one of Shakespeare most exciting pieces of literature, it was also extremely entertaining. During the story, he always kept you on your feet about what was to occur next. He also made you thoroughly think about each and every character that he presented in the novel. Hamlet was the ultimate love, revenge, and family story, gone wrong.

I must strongly compliment your way (Mrs. Watkins) in the strategy you used to teach Hamlet. The reading of the book and the watching of the play helped tremendously! I was finally able to understand the literary genius, and actually appreciate his works rather than get confused and miss important parts of the play. The study guides in between the scenes, mixed with the class discussions definitely helped improve my understanding of the novel. Because I was able to understand everything, I was able to find a like for it. I thought the twitter project was so cute! You allowed us to give our “modern” twist and this gave us our own personal connection.  If the book was taught differently, I probably would’ve missed key parts of the play, making certain scenes extremely vague.

The movie that we watched portrayed the play perfectly in my opinion. Kenneth Branaugh's interpretation was an excellent one. Although there are some conspiracies within the play, for example, if Hamlet had a relationship with his mom and if Ophelia had one with Laertes, the Branaugh portrayed it fit all of my interpretations. Too add he excelled in the way he portrayed Hamlet. To me, he portrayed Hamlet exactly as Shakespeare would have. There was so much passion and believability in the scenes, especially scene 4. Hamlets rash decisions where nicely presented, making me believe and feel the passion behind Shakespeare’s literary talents.

But, one class conversation I wish we have established was determining the truth behind Hamlets “madness.” Is he truly mad? When seeing Ophelia, you begin to second guess if it is feigned or true. Other than that, I loved Hamlet and the way we went about learning it as a group. I admire your creativity as well Mrs. Watkins. You thought of creative ways for us to relate and understand the play, making the play favorable to me. Hamlet is definitely my favorite Shakespeare work so far. I hope that when reading more of his literary pieces, it is explained, discussed, and taught just like you did for Hamlet.