Podcast for Hamlet Act 2

Hamlet

Act 2

Scene 1
Ophelia- Jung
Polonius- Julianne
Reynaldo- Duangkamon

Scene 2
Hamlet- Julianne
Queen- Jung
Guildestern- Duangkamon

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Hamlet Response Journal

Response Journal for Act 1, Scene 1 to Act 1, Scene 5.

1.     How does the play make you feel at this point? Record your emotional response(s) in a few sentences and then explore them for a few minutes, trying to figure out why you feel as you do.

-          At this point of the story, I’m getting more and more excited about it as I’m getting to know, understand, and follow the flow of the story. And I’m eager to know what’s coming next; especially I want to know what Hamlet will do to his uncle, King Claudius, and whether or not he will tell others about his encounter with his father’s spirit, the former king. Frankly, at first I’m totally not interested into this story because I couldn’t understand what its message is trying to tell. But after reading and watching the story, I start to understand it and also coming to know that this story is really interesting, fascinating, and full of curiosity due to the words that Shakespeare used.

2.     In what situations have you felt similar to the characters? What persons, places, or ideas from your own experiences came to your mind while you were reading this portion of the play? Try to list at least three associations, but don’t worry about trying to figure out why they came to mind. Just accept that they occur.

(a)   In act 1, scene 1, where Bernardo and Marcellus said that they saw a ghost and Horatio said “Tush, tush, ‘twill not appear.” There are times that I felt the same as Horatio and my friends are like Bernardo and Marcellus. Before, when I was young, my friends like to say that they saw scary ghosts in the toilet or at the hallway. Then every time, I will tell them, “Don’t say non-sense stuff! There are ghosts in this world!” My friends would argue with me that they really saw it and trying to scare themselves. And I would argue them back that there are no ghosts!

(b)   In act 1, scene 2, I personally felt the same way as Hamlet. His father, the former king, had just died and now everyone is celebrating the marriage of his mother, Gertrude, and his uncle, King Claudius. I can’t understand how their mood can change so fast, just about one month after the former king’s death; they just forget everything and celebrate their own marriage as if nothing had happened. If I was in that situation I would be really mad but also felt a bit happy for the mother. I’m mad about the uncle hurrying to get married so that he can take the place of the king. And also mad about the mother that how can she marry her own brother? But I also feel happy for her that she can find another love and forget the pain.

(c)    In act 1, scene 5, I have a feeling that is quite similar to that of Hamlet’s. When his father’s spirit showed to him and told him that his uncle, King Claudius, is the one who murdered him. If it was me, I would be really angry and mad. And I would definitely find a chance to revenge the uncle for killing my father.

3.     What portions of Shakespeare’s language attracts your attention? These might be individual words, phrases, lines, scenes, or images. Make note of whatever features draw your attention. Speculate for a few minutes about what you think they might mean.

-          The part that Hamlet’s father telling Hamlet about how he was killed by Hamlet’s uncle in act 1, scene 5 it shows a clear image to me showing that Hamlet’s father is really mad about it by the words that he used. The adjectives that he used to describe King Claudius showed that he was really mad about how cruel the uncle was.

4.     Make note of any portion of the play, its language, or events that cause you problems. Note any questions that you might ask.

-          The main problem that I have in this play is the language, or words that Shakespeare used in the story. The words Shakespeare used have very deep meanings and give me confusions on what the message is trying to tell or express. 

Spectator Sports: The Final Day

The apprehensive day that I have been preparing for a year has finally arrived.

                “Duangkamon Huangphattarakul”, the voice from the counter interrupted me. As my heart starts to beat faster, I made a short prayer before I went into that room. I was so nervous, panicked, and tensed. My hands were full of sweat and my heart beats so fast and loud that I can even hear it pumping as I made my way into the room.  

                When I step my foot into the room, my hands stopped sweating and became so cold and numb. When I saw the exam teacher, I felt like my breath is about to stop. He gave me a warm, gentle smile and asked me to take a sit. I also gave him a smile and a wai trying to act calm, but actually inside of me, I’m freaking out!

                “Duangkamon, can you play me some scales?” the exam teacher asked. Then I nodded without really knowing what to play. So I paused for a few seconds. When I was about to put my hands onto the piano, my hands were so cold that they started to quiver. After I’ve tried to calm myself down, I started playing the scales. When I was done with all the scales, I made a big sigh.

 

 

I got it here.

 

 



“(Sigh) Okay, I’m done with one section of the exam,” what I said to myself in my mind.

“Okay, now please play your exercises and pieces,” the exam teacher said.

                By now, I’m mellow because I'm not that nervous anymore. So, just right before I started playing my exercises and pieces, I took a deep breath and wiped my sweat on my skirt. Then I started playing. At the beginning of the pieces, I was playing quite okay, but when there’s some mistake, I started to panic. As I continue playing the pieces, my mind is all thinking, “Did I play well? What should I do?” Then I manage to keep myself calm and finished all the pieces.

“Ahhhh, finally it’s the last section of the exam!” I was think this in my mind, but at the same time, I was thinking again about the pieces that I played just now, dubious that I’ll get many deductions due to the mistakes that I made while playing them. While I was still thinking about it, the teacher said, “Duangkamon, can you step to the other side of the piano? Now, it’s the oral test.” Then I immediately stood up and walked to the other side of the piano. Then the teacher started to play some short pieces and asked me questions after he’s done playing. When he asked me questions, my brain was totally blank. I didn’t know what to answer so I paused for a few seconds and started to answer tentatively of whatever I could think of, but also worrying whether I'd answer anything gratuitous.

When I’m done answering, the teacher said, “Congratulations, you’re done with your entire test. Now, you can go out and relax!” and gave me a big smile. Then I made a big sigh, gave him a smile, and walked out of the room with great relief.

“Finally…finally I’m done with my test!”

 

 

I got this here.