TODAY IN CLASS

Act I, Scene ii--
Claudius' "Agenda Speech" (lines 1-39)
Students should have provided a paraphrase (a "loose" paraphrase, getting the main ideas down).  The main takeaway, though, is that you can answer each of the following questions based on the ttext of Claudius' speech:

• Why does Claudius keep using "our" to refer to himself?  (Look up "royal we")
• How does Claudius use language to bridge the quick time between funeral and wedding? (see esp. 10-15)?
• Note how much "stuff" intervenes between between mention of the queen and the end of the sentence (the MESSAGE-bearing part of the sentence):  "taken to wife."
• What does Claudius think gives Fortinbras hope that his attack will be successful?
• What does Claudius think is the level of the King of Norway's knowledte of what his nephuew has been up to?
• What action does Claudius take at the end of this speech--how does the king hope to defuse the threat of war?

So--do you think Claudius has the makings of a smart and effective king"

We then read farther--in 5th up through approximately line 132, where Hamlet begins his first soliloquy.  In 1st/2nd, we didn't get quite so far. 

FOR TOMORROW

1st/2nd:  read (on your own) up THROUGH the soliloquy; you can stop where Horatio and the two soldiers enter on p. 31.

5th:  Review what we read in class today, and read Hamlet's soliloquy beginning around line 130-something (I do not have your book).  You can also stop at the point where Horatio, Marcellus, and Barnardo enter.