You're Never Really Done....

~Here I'll take a single paragraph from a past essay and practice my editing skills~

Original: When the speaker snaps back to his own life, he complacently admits his inability to dig, but feels confident about his writing. He thinks of his ancestors with so much pride and admiration, but when it comes to himself, he simply says: “I’ve got no spade to follow men like them” (Heaney 28). The poem’s shift of tone from inspired to complacent shows how tough it can be to meet family expectations. The speaker takes his self-satisfied remorse and turns it into confidence. He is determined to take his pen and “dig with it” (Heaney 31). The speaker settles his conflict by obliging to his family, but in his own way. Heaney uses the speaker’s complacency and confidence to show that it is possible to meet family expectations while still being an individual.

Edited: When the speaker snaps back to his own life, he complacently admits his inability to dig, but feels new-found confidence in his writing. He thinks of his ancestors with so much pride and admiration, but when it comes to himself, he simply says: “I’ve got no spade to follow men like them” (Heaney 28). The poem then shifts tones from inspired to resigned to show how tough it can be to meet family expectations. The speaker finally realizes the value of his talent and is determined to take his pen and “dig with it” (Heaney 31). Heaney uses the speaker’s complacency and confidence to show that it is possible to meet family expectations while still being an individual.

Branagh's Depiction of Hamlet: Good and Ugly

What struck me most about Branagh's portrayal of the ghost scene was not the ghost itself but Branagh's decision to depict the assassination. I was really imagining a quiet, maybe painless murder; Claudius walks up while Old Hamlet sleeps, pours the poison in his ear, walk away, and voila! I pictured assassination, but Branagh depicted cold-blooded murder. The thing that hit hardest was the eye-contact between the brothers. In Branagh's version, Claudius looked almost guilty for a second. Maybe this will lead up to something important, or perhaps the actor just had trouble with his facial expressions. It's hard to imagine what you'd look like after poisoning your brother and watching as he flailed in pain. Branagh's harsh portayal of the murder and the interaction between old Hamlet and Claudius really emphasizes a sense of betrayal and family tension; At that moment, I really started to hate Claudius.

That brings me to Hamlet and his actor. I agree with Branagh: that is not an easy scene to act. There's so much emotion that must be flowing through Hamlet's head. This certain mix of emotion is almost possible to achieve in a sense. How many people do you know who have met their dead father? None. Although I do admit it's tough to play the role, I felt like the actor could have done more than stare in awe at the ghost. Branagh himself did a good job setting the mood of the scene, though. It was extremely clear that this was not a family reunion. There was business to be dealt with and the ghost had no time to really rejoice with his son. The last thing that struck me about the scene in a positive way was Hamlet's hand almost, I think, touching his dead father's hand. It helped me realize how close Hamlet might have been with his father, and the loyalty he has towards him.

Now... the criticism! I'll be straightforward; I was cringing for a solid 50% of the scene. The ghost was really not how I pictured it to be, which is understandable, but I felt like Branagh kind of butchered the ghost for me. Most of the mood and tone of the scene was fantastic, but some of the filming was tough to watch. The worst part being the back and fourth between his mouth and his bleeding ear. I was honestly really confused and personally I didn't want to stare at his mouth that long. I liked the ghost's eyes though, they were chilling. I don't know what to think about the ghost whispering all his lines. It added mood to the scene, but it was not pleasant to listen to.

Besides that little rant, I believe Branagh did a great job depicting emotion and setting up tension for future scenes.

The 'valiant' ghost!

Hamlet First Impessions

After reading Act 1 Scene 2 in Hamlet, I couldn't help but feel bad for Hamlet. It seems like his world kind of flipped upside down; his dad died and his mom practically abandoned him. Yikes.
Hamlet must feel like he's on his own in this situation. He seems to be the only one actually mourning his father's death. When Hamlet wears black clothing to honor his father, Claudius and Gertrude are bothered by his clothing and tell Hamlet to "cast thy nighted color off" (1.2.70). The king and queen further express their insensitivity when they try to convince Hamlet to get over the death, telling him that mourning too long would be "unmanly grief" (1.2.98).

Not only is his mother not faltered by her husband's death, she married within a month, and ran "With such dexterity to incestuous sheets" (1.2.163)! Instead of grieving with Hamlet, his mother just remarries his uncle. SUSPICIOUS! Hamlet obviously does not approve of their marriage, questioning "why she married with [his]/uncle,/[his] father's brother, but no more like my father/Than [he] to Hercules"(1.2.153-158). From what I can tell, Hamlet's father was a noble king, and Hamlet makes me picture Claudius as a selfish and chubby brother who can not even compare to Hamlet's father. It is clear Hamlet's and Claudius' minds operate differently. Claudius reeks of greed, while Hamlet shows honor in family.
Hamlet really doesn't deserve any of this. My first impression has led me to believe Hamlet is an honorable and noble prince.

When Horatio and Bernardo deliver news of the apparition appearing in the form of his father, it sparks Hamlet with a little hope. Perhaps by communicating with the ghost Hamlet will unravel the secrets of his family. Honestly, I can respect Hamlet for not just accepting the hand he was dealt with. It can be easy to just go with the flow. It's not like his royal life ended. Hamlet is still "the most immediate to [the] throne" (1.2.113), but instead of just waiting to be king he remains respectful to his family and continues to side with his father.

Tone in "Digging"

In the poem “Digging” by Seamus Heaney, Heaney uses moods and tones of anxiety, admiration, complacency, and eventually confidence to show the speaker’s struggle between sorting his individuality and honoring his family obligation. Heaney introduces an unnamed speaker who is distracted as he tries to write by the sound of his father digging below him. The speaker continues to reflect and admire his father and grandfather’s hard work. In the end, he realizes and accepts that he cannot oblige his family’s tradition of digging, but will instead “dig” with his writing. Heaney uses the speaker’s emotional rollercoaster throughout the poem to express how the natural desire for individuality conflicts with family obligation.

When Heaney introduces the speaker, we can tell he is anxious as he tries to write. In his hand, “The squat pen rests; snug as a gun” (Heaney 2). The speaker holds his pen tightly, like a gun, because he feels nervous, protecting himself from the criticism of his family for not being able to dig. The noise “under [his] window, a clean rasping sound” and “when the spade sinks into gravelly ground” (Heaney 3-4), distracts him from his writing. The sound of the spade almost haunts the speaker, reminding him that he’s writing instead of digging. Heaney uses odd language such as “a clean rasping sound” (Heaney 3) to further express the speaker’s lack of connection with his family. Lastly, we see the speaker “look down” (Heaney 5), perhaps at himself for not digging like his father. Heaney sets up a tone of anxiety through the speaker’s distraction to show the how the conflict of individuality and obligation is not easy to deal with mentally.

As the speaker reminisces about his father and grandfather, Heaney uses prideful language and tone to show the speaker’s admiration for his ancestors. He delves deep into his past and depicts his father’s “coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft\Against the inside knee was levered firmly” (Heaney 10-11). The speaker describes his father’s work with words that show experience and pride. Heaney shows “The coarse boot nestled on the lug” (Heaney 10) to contrast the confidence he and his father have in digging. As the speaker continues to think of his father’s work, he thinks to himself: “By God, the old man could handle a spade” (Heaney 15). His thoughts show nothing but pure admiration for his father and his hard work. He continues to revel on his ancestors’ labor as he describes his grandfather “going down and down\For the good turf” (Heaney 23-24). The speaker reminds himself of his family’s determination and confidence in their work, which makes his writing feel shameful. Heaney describes the speaker’s ancestors as experienced and passionate to show how insignificant people, including the speaker, can feel as they try to differ themselves from their family.

When the speaker snaps back to his own life, he complacently admits his inability to dig, but feels confident about his writing. He thinks of his ancestors with so much pride and admiration, but when it comes to himself, he simply says: “I’ve got no spade to follow men like them” (Heaney 28). The poem’s shift of tone from inspiration to complacency shows how tough it can be to meet family expectations. The speaker takes his self-satisfied remorse and turns it into confidence. He is determined to take his pen and “dig with it” (Heaney 31). The speaker settles his conflict by obliging to his family, but in his own way. Heaney uses the speaker’s complacency and confidence to show that it is possible to meet family expectations while still being an individual.

Seamus Heaney uses the speaker’s multiple shifts in tone and emotion to help us understand how difficult it can be to decide between following dreams or expectations. People want to be themselves, but that can be difficult when family obligation looms over us. When the speaker accepts he cannot follow his family’s footsteps, he decides to forge his own path.