Betrayal by Nia Plair

Hamlet - King & Queen

rashanaddison2 — 2020-11-19 17:28:29 UTC

"How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world" (1.2.137-138)

-The disloyalty/separation Hamlet feels represents betrayal
--> the diction (stale, flat, weary) gives emphasis to the idea of losing or being robbed of something/someone

King/Lord Hamlet - Gertrude

niaplair2 — 2020-11-22 05:02:49 UTC

Hamlet: “Mother, thou hast my father much offended …You are the queen, your husband’s brother's wife, And (would it were not so) you are my mother” (3.4.10-21)

Hamlet wishes Gertrude wasn't his mother due to the extent she has betrayed his father. He confronted her about her marrying her husband's brother as the queen. Hamlet's mother marrying his uncle is disturbing to Hamlet as her son. By specifically saying she is the "queen", Hamlet is pointing out that she is supposed to be influencing the people of Denmark.

In the Renaissance Era...

niaplair2 — 2020-11-22 05:25:40 UTC

there was a lot of conflict and tension between the Protestants and Anglicans. This conflict affected friends, families, and countries. Many people felt betrayed when their closed ones disagreed with them about politics and religion. Some examples of betrayal in Hamlet being reflective of the family-related betrayal during the Renaissance Era includes Claudius killing his brother, then marrying his brother's wife and Gertrude agreeing to marry her husband's brother.

niaplair2 — 2020-11-22 05:28:12 UTC

"Betrayal, Rejection, Revenge, and Forgiveness:An Interpersonal Script Approach" by Julie Fitness

niaplair2 — 2020-11-22 05:38:28 UTC

"Betrayal, then, may occur in any kind of relationship context if one or other party violates
salient relational expectations or “breaks the rules” in some way" (Fitness, 5).

Link of scholarly article below

niaplair2 — 2020-11-22 05:39:48 UTC

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niaplair2 — 2020-11-22 06:26:30 UTC

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Connection to Hamlet

niaplair2 — 2020-11-22 06:46:56 UTC

This scholarly article goes in depth about how people handle betrayal, rejection, revenge, and forgiveness. In Hamlet, rejection is connected to betrayal when Hamlet rejects Ophelia's love after acting as if he desired her.
King Hamlet feels betrayed by his brother for killing him and wants his son to get revenge.
Gertrude wants Hamlet to forgive her for marrying Claudius but Hamlet feels too betrayed by her unlawful actions. He is not only offended by his mother marrying his dad's brother. He is disgruntled that she married him 2 months after his father's death.

rashanaddison2 — 2020-11-22 22:47:05 UTC

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rashanaddison2 — 2020-11-22 23:00:42 UTC

Claudius - Laertes

rashanaddison2 — 2020-11-22 23:18:49 UTC

"The foul practice hath turned itself on me. Lo, here I lie, never to rise again. Thy mother's poisoned. I can no more. The King, The King's to blame" (5.2.348-351)

-The excitement, anxiousness, and trust Claudius had in Laertes failed
--> Claudius saw the desire and determination in Laertes' eyes when they agreed to kill Hamlet during the battle. However, Laertes exposes what was supposed to unfold and blames Claudius. Claudius felt the betrayal and was in shock for he knew he previously betrayed his own family

Betrayal

rashanaddison2 — 2020-11-23 00:54:30 UTC

- the characteristic of disloyalty and distrust influencing deep separation from morals; unfaithful

Traitor

rashanaddison2 — 2020-11-23 01:04:54 UTC

- one who betrays another's trust or is false to an obligation or duty friend

Benedict Arnold

rashanaddison2 — 2020-11-23 01:17:09 UTC

- an early American hero of the Revolutionary War (1775-83) who later became one of the most infamous traitors in U.S. history after he switched sides and fought for the British (his decision has invoked betrayal ever since he made the move)

Backstabber

rashanaddison2 — 2020-11-23 01:19:38 UTC

- A traitor or hypocrite, such as a co-worker or friend assumed trustworthy but who figuratively attacks when one's back is turned

Friend

rashanaddison2 — 2020-11-23 01:20:35 UTC

- a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection
--> one who is depended on to uphold their loyalty and faithfulness no matter the cause

Also, traitors...

niaplair2 — 2020-11-23 01:54:16 UTC

Traitors were viewed as people who went against England's religious beliefs. The country's main religion was Catholicism, so everyone was expected to be Catholics. In Hamlet, he often talks about how disappointed he is in Denmark. During the "To Be or Not To Be" speech, he states,

"The undiscovere'd country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns"

He is referring to Denmark not having much to offer so visitors are glad to leave. As the prince, he should not be belittling his country.

Traitor: Hamlet killing Polonius...

niaplair2 — 2020-11-23 02:00:28 UTC

caused Ophelia to feel betrayed and disrespected. She though Hamlet loved her and now his disloyalty has shown through his actions of killing her father. She trusted Hamlet enough to talk to him although her father and brother told her to avoid him.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

rashanaddison2 — 2020-11-23 02:05:40 UTC

-Hermia in love with Lysander
--> Theseus wants Hermia with Demetrius, however Hermia picks Lysander anyway
-Helena in love with Demetrius
--> Demetrius is now in love with Hermia and chooses her over Helena, his former lover

Julius Caesar

rashanaddison2 — 2020-11-23 02:10:12 UTC

-Brutus has Caesar killed
--> Brutus and significant others are close with Caesar, however they plot against him and murder Caesar
-Mark Antony and the triumverate
--> Antony and the triumverate plot against Brutus and his group to avenge Caesar's death

niaplair2 — 2020-11-23 02:12:45 UTC

The quote above describes how someone can feel betrayed when another person does something that offends them. Gertrude marrying Claudius offended Hamlet because it was immoral and violated the basic rules of family. Someone being a person's father and uncle was not socially acceptable but people did not question it due to their royal status. Hamlet was reasonably uncomfortable by these circumstances and was against the marriage of his mother and his uncle. This situation counted as "breaking the rules" to Hamlet.

niaplair2 — 2020-11-23 02:59:55 UTC

Hamlet's Soliloquies are important to the motif of Betrayal because they show his personal thoughts about each person who has betrayed him throughout the play.

Want to read more on Family Betrayal?

niaplair2 — 2020-11-23 03:48:49 UTC

Act 1 Scene 2 - Married too soon

niaplair2 — 2020-11-23 04:05:50 UTC

Hamlet is disgusted by Claudius and Gertrude's marriage. He tells the crowd how disrespectful it is for them to marry only 2 months after his father's death.

link to sparknotes reading<-line 129
Questions: How is betrayal connected to disloyalty? How do people feel betrayed by other's immoral actions?

Act 1 Scene 5 - Death? No... MURDER of King Hamlet

niaplair2 — 2020-11-23 04:14:28 UTC

Hamlet finds out that his uncle, Claudius, did not just marry his mother. He killed his own brother! After Ghost King Hamlet tells Hamlet this, Hamlet thinks about how betrayed his father must feel. Hamlet also loses all trust in Claudius.

link to sparknotes reading<-line 91
Questions: How does on fulfill their desire of avenging the death of a loved one? Why is betrayal so easily linked to revenge?

Act 2 Scene 2 - Plot for Revenge on Claudius

niaplair2 — 2020-11-23 04:26:45 UTC

After watching a well-acted, emotional play, Hamlet brings forth the idea of composing his own play about his father's death. He believes that Claudius will be greatly affected by the play. The goal of Hamlet's revenge is that Claudius' reaction will include admitting that he killed King Hamlet. Instead, Claudius gasps, runs to his brothers tomb, and cries. Seeing Claudius' regret and sadness was enough for Hamlet so he decided to not kill him at the time.
link to sparknotes reading<-line 508

niaplair2 — 2020-11-23 04:44:18 UTC

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King Hamlet - Claudius

niaplair2 — 2020-11-25 00:42:53 UTC

When King Hamlet feels betrayed by his brother for killing him, he asks Hamlet to avenge his death.

When a character feels betrayed, they usually want to reciprocate those feelings so that the person who betrayed them feels how they feel.

niaplair2 — 2020-11-25 00:43:48 UTC

Hamlet - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

niaplair2 — 2020-11-25 00:44:39 UTC

When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern betray Hamlet by agreeing to talk to him under Claudius's orders, Hamlet desires revenge. He ends up getting revenge when he sends the letter ordering for them to be killed in Act 3.

Laertes - Hamlet

niaplair2 — 2020-11-25 00:48:17 UTC

Laertes feels betrayed when he finds out that Hamlet killed his father, Polonius, so he tries to kill Hamlet through sword fighting. Hamlet ends up getting scratched by the sword with poison on it and dies (after Laertes, Claudius, and Gertrude die).

niaplair2 — 2020-11-25 00:54:38 UTC

Poison representing betrayal also relates to the theme stated. Poison is the cause of most peoples' deaths in Hamlet. King Hamlet, Hamlet, Laertes, Claudius, and Gertrude die because of poison. Betrayal was connected to all of their deaths. Killing someone with poison shows that you cannot actually kill them violently. The indirectness of poison represents that all of the characters were betrayed by loved ones.

niaplair2 — 2020-11-25 01:02:47 UTC

niaplair2 — 2020-11-25 01:02:54 UTC