2 Matching Annotations
  1. Feb 2020
  2. shakespeare.mit.edu shakespeare.mit.edu
    Hamlet: Entire Play
    2
    1. bcfrank 04 Feb 2020
      The very place puts toys of desperation, Without more motive, into every brain That looks so many fathoms to the sea And hears it roar beneath.

      Here Horatio mentions that the sea is feared by many. This reminds me of the moment in Dracula were Lucy is found on the edge of a cliff by the sea. This seems to be a common theme among different literary works from this time period and even farther back. Is there a history to this supernatural and strange fear of the sea? Why does it have negative connotation?

    2. bcfrank 04 Feb 2020
      With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, In equal scale weighing delight and dole,-- Taken to wife: nor have we herein barr'd Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone With this affair along.

      This passage is good to point out because even before we know Claudius is not a good guy we can assume so because his own brother in law has just died and he married his sister within the month (According to Hamlet). This insinuates that he is a sinner because incestuous relationships have always been viewed very negatively. How does this relate to Shakespeare's time?

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