Sunday, November 16, 2014

Class Notes

Performative Utterances
  • deBoer expands upon J.L Austin's theory of performativity and relating it to Hamlet
  • Hamlet has a negative tone throughout the entire story
  • When a thought or idea is made in the mind, actions are done to reinforce that that idea
  • Hamlet is unsure about his destiny to kill Claudius and reinforces his uncertainty with the soliloquies he utters
  • The paper is trying to explain how words can alter a personality or thought or idea
  • Raises the question of who we are and if we can truly control our fate
  • Polonius is the character who controls the traffic of language in the story and manipulates characters through verbal exchange
  • The scene where Hamlet catches Claudius in prayer is important because it shows what Hamlet wants 
  • Hamlet didn't kill Claudius yet because he wanted to kill him in a sinful act
  • Claudius has sinned so his prayers are not valid to God but Hamlet doesn't want Claudius to die while committing a holy action
  • Claudius was confessing his sins to God and how he felt guilty for his actions

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