英国文学史及选读 Part IV The Renaissance (2) Hamlet, Prince of Denmark Act III, Scene I.ppt

1、Part IV The Renaissance (2),Hamlet, Prince of Denmark Act III, Scene I,Act III, Scene I - context,This scene opens with Claudius, the King, asking Rosencrantz and Guildenstern if they have discovered the cause of Hamlets madness. After admitting they did not find the cause, but were treated well by

2、Hamlet, they inform the King and Queen that Hamlet is happy that there is going to be a play presented tomorrow and he hopes that Claudius and Gertrude will attend.,Act III, Scene I - context,Pleased that there is something that amuses Hamlet, they both decide to attend the play and they urge Rosenc

3、rantz and Guildenstern to try and stimulate his interest further.,Act III, Scene I - context,Claudius asks Gertrude to leave so that he and Polonius can observe a clandestine (秘密的，私下的) meeting they set up between Hamlet and Ophelia. They tell Ophelia to pretend she is praying and they go and hide. H

4、amlet enters and gives a soliloquy on his thoughts about himself committing suicide.,Act III, Scene I - context,He sees Ophelia, and when she tries to return some gifts that he had given her, he claims he never gave her any. They have a discussion wherein Hamlet denies ever loving Ophelia and berati

5、ng (痛骂, 严斥) her and women in general for their trickery and pretentiousness.,Act III, Scene I - context,When Hamlet leaves, Claudius and Polonius enter. Claudius is convinced that Hamlets madness does not stem from his love for Ophelia, but that it is something else that is afflicting his soul. Clau

6、dius realizes that Hamlets actions are a danger to those around him. He decides to send Hamlet to England, hoping a change of atmosphere will settle his heart. The scene ends with Claudius stating that Hamlet should be watched.,Act III, Scene I - translation,生存还是毁灭，这是一个问题；是默然忍受命运的暴虐的毒箭，或是挺身反抗人世的无涯的苦

7、难，通过斗争把它们扫清，这两种行为，哪一种更高贵？死了；睡着了；什么都完了；要是在这一种睡眠之中，我们心头的创痛，以及其他无数血肉之躯所不能避免的打击，都可以从此消失，那正是我们求之不得的结局。死了；睡着了；睡着了也许还会做梦；嗯，阻碍就在这儿：因为当我们摆脱了这一具朽腐的皮囊以后，在那死的睡眠里，究竟将要做些什么梦，那不能不使我们踌躇顾虑。,Act III, Scene I - translation,人们甘心久困于患难之中，也就是为了这个缘故；谁愿意忍受人世的鞭挞和讥嘲、压迫者的凌辱、傲慢者的冷眼、被轻蔑的爱情的惨痛、法律的迁延、官吏的横暴和费尽辛勤所换来的小人的鄙视，要是他只要用一柄小小

8、的刀子，就可以清算他自己的一生？谁愿意负着这样的重担，在烦劳的生命的压迫下呻吟流汗，倘不是因为惧怕不可知的死后，惧怕那从来不曾有一个旅人回来过的神秘之国，是它迷惑了我们的意志，使我们宁愿忍受目前的磨折，不敢向我们所不知道的痛苦飞去？,Act III, Scene I - translation,这样，重重的顾虑使我们全变成了懦夫，决心的赤热的光彩，被审慎的思维盖上了一层灰色，伟大的事业在这一种考虑之下，也会逆流而退，失去了行动的意义。 喔轻点声！美丽的奥菲利亚来了。噢我的仙女啊，在你祈祷的时候，也为我所有的罪孽忏悔吧！,To be, or not to be - existence,Unlik

9、e Hamlets first two major soliloquies, this speech seems to be governed by reason and not frenzied emotion. Unable to do little but wait for completion of his plan to catch the conscience of the king, Hamlet sparks an internal philosophical debate on the advantages and disadvantages of existence, an

10、d whether it is ones right to end his or her own life.,To be, or not to be - choice,Many commentators read the choice between the life of action (to be) and life of silent acceptance (not to be) as a primary focus of Hamlets dilemma. According to that interpretation, whether tis nobler in the mind t

11、o suffer/the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune would get associated with not to be alternative, while to take arms against a sea of troubles/and by opposing end them with the to be.,To be, or not to be - death, the solution,In this take, the Princes further pondering the nature of death can be

12、 seen in the light that death could be considered as an option - the route which allows to avoid choosing between to be and not to be altogether.,To be, or not to be - dilemma,Hamlet asks the question for all dejected (悲伤的；沮丧的) souls - is it nobler to live miserably or to end ones sorrows with a sin

13、gle stroke? He knows that the answer would be undoubtedly yes if death were like a dreamless sleep. The rub or obstacle Hamlet faces is the fear of what dreams may come, i.e. the dread of something after death. Hamlet is well aware that suicide is condemned by the church as a mortal sin.,To be, or n

14、ot to be - existentialism,Regardless of whether the focus is placed on life vs. death or action vs. no action, the themes tackled by the soliloquy (and by Shakespeares play in general) led to the character of Danish Prince often getting compared to existentialists after the term was introduced in th

15、e twentieth century.,To be, or not to be - Schopenhauers comment,German philosopher Schopenhauer said: The essential purport (意义; 要点; 涵义;主旨) of the world-famous monologue in Hamlet is, in condensed form, that our state is so wretched that complete non-existence would be decidedly preferable to it.,T

16、o be, or not to be - Schopenhauers comment,Now if suicide actually offered us this, so that the alternative (两者择一，抉择) to be or not to be lay before us in the full sense of the words, it could be chosen unconditionally as a highly desirable termination (结束，终止) (a consummation devoutly to be wishd .)

17、There is something in us, however, which tells us that this is not so, that this is not the end of things, that death is not an absolute annihilation (毁灭，灭绝).,To be, or not to be - of us all,Some scholars limit Hamlets discussion to a deliberation (深思熟虑；慎重考虑) of whether he should take his own life.

18、Yet nothing anywhere in the speech relates it to Hamlets individual case. He uses the pronouns we and us, the indefinite who, the impersonal infinitive.,To be, or not to be - of us all,He speaks explicitly of us all, of what flesh is heir to, of what we suffer at the hands of time or fortune - which

19、 serves incidentally to indicate what for Hamlet is meant by to be“. - (Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Harold Jenkins, ed. London: Methuen, 1982. 489).,To be, or not to be - greeting Ophelia,Hamlets soliloquy is interrupted by Ophelia who is saying her prayers. Hamlet addresses her as Nymph, a courtl

20、y salutation common in the Renaissance. Some critics argue that Hamlets greeting is strained (勉强的, 不自然的) and coolly polite, and his request that she remembers him in her prayers is sarcastic. However, others claim that Hamlet, emerging from his moment of intense personal reflection, genuinely implor

21、es the gentle and innocent Ophelia to pray for him.,Hamlets melancholy - injustice, conspiracy, and betrayal,Hamlets revenge is not only a personal matter. What troubles him most is the injustice, conspiracy, and betrayal in the society.,Hamlets melancholy - mother, friends, girl friend,His father i

22、s murdered by his uncle and his mother is married to his uncle right after his fathers death. The marriage of his mother is the first blow to him as he had regarded her as a virtuous woman. Then his former friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been dispatched by the king to spy on him. This is a

23、 second blow, for as a humanist, he sets great store by (珍视；重视) friendship. Then his girl friend Ophelia is sent to find out whether or not he is really mad. This is something he can no longer endure.,Hamlets melancholy - disappointment of humanistic ideals,One incident after another seems to reveal

24、 to him that the time is “out if joint” and man is not so good as he had imagined, which disposes him to melancholy. Hamlet would have been a tragedy of “blood and thunder” if Shakespeare had not imbued the play with this sort of philosophical thinking, this humanistic search for the value of man an

25、d the disappointment of such ideals.,Hamlets procrastination (延迟, 拖延) - a spiritual study of character and human problem,The original version of the Hamlet story is a brief narrative in the legendary Danish History. The revenge story of the prince of Demark is well known in Europe. Shakespeare as a

26、great playwright transformed it from a sensational melodrama (情节剧) of murder and revenge into a spiritual study of character and human problem.,Hamlets procrastination - opportunities to kill Claudius,Many times Hamlet has the opportunity to kill Claudius but he always finds a reason not to do it. F

27、irst, he tries to discover whether or not Claudius really did kill King Hamlet, which gives him some time. After he has convinced himself that Claudius is to blame, he attempts to murder him just twice. The first time, he finds Claudius praying, and uses that as a scapegoat so he can again put off h

28、is pious duty. Later when he is alone with Gertrude in the bedroom, he thinks that Claudius is behind the curtains, and kills the man there. Unfortunately, Polonius becomes the victim of Hamlets dagger.,Hamlets procrastination - Inability to act on impulse,1. Inability to act on impulse Hamlets famo

29、us soliloquy (Hamlet, act III, scene 1) shows his depth and ability in thinking, and shows Shakespeares ability to manipulate language. Throughout the play, Hamlet stops to think before acting on anything. The more he thinks, the less he does. Therefore, thinking led him to doubt, which led to inact

30、ion. Thus conscience does make cowards of us all. Hamlets tragic flaw is his inability to act on impulse.,Hamlets procrastination - Oedipal Complex,2. Oedipal Complex / Oedipus complex (恋母情结) Some say that the cause is due to Sigmund Freuds theory that Hamlet has an Oedipal Complex, which is his lov

31、e for his mother. Hamlet stabs Polonius instinctively because he is where he truly desires to be, with his mother. His rage towards his mother, although it seems to contradict the fact that he loves her, really supports it. He yells at her out of frustration because he knows that he can never be with her. Adultery and incest (乱伦) is thus what he simultaneously loves and hates about his mother. 28,Hamlets procrastination - Other explanations,3. Other explanations Some critics attribute Hamlets procrastination to some fatal we