Response Journal for Act 1, scene 1 to Act 1, scene 5

 1. How does the play make you feel at this point?

At this point of the play, I feel suspenseful because I want to know if the ghost will appear again.There are many things that make me curious and make me want to continue reading: I would like to know how each character will be reacting from Hamlet's encounter with the ghost and  I want to know if what the ghost is saying is true. It is a very interesting mystery that I hope I would find out the answer to. Another feeling I have while reading the play is the feeling of angry for Hamlet because his father was murdered by his own uncle so he could marry his mother.If I picture myself in the situation, I will really be depressed and sad about this event.

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?

a.       From my own experience, there were instances when I also want to know the truth, even if it is not about murder. For example, when I was young, I would like to know what my parents would get me for my birthday or maybe when I heard a rumor and what to find out whether or not it is true.  In this case, I feel like I am like Hamlet who also wanted to know whether or not the ghost’s story is real and would do anything to find out the truth. 

b.      I have also told secrets to my close friends and let them promise not to tell anybody, just like Hamlet who told the secret about the ghost of his father. He also promised them to keep the secret safe, just as anyone would do.

c.       I can identify with Horatio and his friends who want to talk about whatever significant events occurred in their surroundings.  It’s normal to want to share stories with friends. I, sometimes, talk to my friends about what I have heard or encountered.

3 What portions of Shakespeare’s language attracts your attention? These might be individual words, phrases, lines, scenes, or images.

The portion of Shakespeare’s language that attracts my attention is his style of using repetitive sounds. For example, “Tush, tush, ‘twill not appear.” and “stay, speak, speak, I charge thee speak!” The repeating sounds give emotion to the story and is a colorful part of the text that really attracts my attention. The language that Shakespeare uses also puts emotion into the text, making readers follow it. It is like I can feel an exciting song playing is or a sad song at some parts of the play.

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

The biggest problem in reading this long play is the tedious language used by Shakespeare because its archaic language used long ago. This kind of language interferes with understanding of the whole play. Some ideas are obsolete because the setting is that of long ago and is hard to relate or understand.The story could be interpreted in different ways and it confuses me sometimes when what I interpret is different from one others have interpreted.