T’have seen what I have seen, see what I see.”

This quote made me immediately think of Guernica by Picasso. This painting is of the inhumane destruction of an innocent civilian town. They were unsuspecting and innocent, and all of the sudden was destroyed over something that couldn't take more than a few minutes (a bombing). This could be related to hamlets downfall in Ophelia’s eyes. In this quote she is mourning the old hamlet, the same way the painting Guernica is mourning the town that was destroyed. The bomb to Guernica is old hamlets death to young hamlet, it couldn't have taken more than a few minutes to actually kill him, but destroyed the rest of hamlets life. This downfall had a vastly negative impact on hamlet, though the event was not his fault, and was a power move by someone else, the same way the destruction of Guernica was not the civilians fault, and was a power move in war.

Claudius reflects on the murder of his brother and is feeling very guilty. He knows that he did wrong, and that his karma is probably coming for him. I chose No.61 (Rust and Blue), by Mark Rothko, because I feel that it properly captures the internal dread that Claudius was feeling. Mark Rothko was depressed and this caused many of his paintings to have a somber feel. No.61 is very dark and dreary and almost intimidating to look at because of the blood red that pops out against the intense blue, so it fits with how Claudius’s guilt is taking over him.

In honorable fashion."

I chose the painting orange and yellow by Rothko because of the ideas that Rothko wanted his audience to come up with and feel. Rothko was all about bringing emotions to his viewers, which relates to this quote from Ophelia. She looks and listens to hamlet with the blind faith that the love he claims to have for her is real. She is telling her falling that what she sees she feels but be genuine love and she is ready to argue that fact. This made me think of Rothko's art because his goal when creating painting was to evoke emotion and new thoughts to his audience. It is up to the viewer to come up with their own perspective. In this case Ophelia is determined that was she sees within Hamlet is love, but her father is viewing the situation differently. It doesn't matter what reality is- and in both instances of Hamlets love and looking at the painting orange and yellow- it is up to the eye of the beholder.

Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell,

Be thy events wicked or charitable,

Thou comest in such a questionable shape

That I will speak to thee.”

This quote comes from the scene where hamlet is seeing the ghost for the first time, this is before he realizes the ghost is his father. Hamlet is confused and even a bit scared he’s unsure on what he’s looking at. “Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damned” this painting is very abstract, although many felt that this painting (Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2) was too futuristic for cubism, the influence of cubism is heavy in this painting. Many cubists focused on moments in time with flat geometric shapes that has the viewer looking at the painting and viewing it in a way to try and figure out the main figure or object in the painting. I felt that views of cubism relate to the feelings of confusion hamlet is feeling, along with the fear due to cubism being so “out there” compared to other works of art. The wonder in cubism that the views are able to have is due to the many overlapping and “busy” shapes.

A king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.”

- Hamlet (II.ii.243-244)

Painting: The Persistence of Memory - Salvador Dalí

In correlation to my quote, I chose The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dalí. Dalí, a surrealist who focused heavily on the subconscious and dream state, sought to uncover the deepest truths of the human mind through artistry. The Persistence of Memory takes everyday objects, such as clocks, and distorts them in an uncanny manner. In doing so, it places the audience in a dream-like school of thought, which to some viewers, can be unnerving. In the scene in which Hamlet says the aforementioned line, he is discussing dreams with his peers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Hamlet states that he feels as though the world is a prison, because he is constantly thinking and “bound” to his mind: including his thoughts, fears, and his bad dreams. He goes on to state that “a dream itself is but a shadow,” implying that his dreams bring him a sense of unease and fear, following him in a way he can never reach or understand, reflective of his mental state throughout the show.

I chose the Persistence of Memory to represent this quote, because I feel as though it encapsulates the uneasy feeling that dreams bring Hamlet. Hamlet is a tale of a man who constantly battles with his tendency to overthink, and Dalí successfully demonstrates how the subconscious can be a murky and unpredictable place to Hamlet (and humanity as a whole).

In this scene Hamlet puts on the play “The Mousetrap” to try and catch the conscious of the king. This play is also to target his mother who remarried to Claudius (his uncle). The painting “Vision After the Sermon” has a bright orange background which highlights Jacob wrestling with an angel. Just like in the painting the underlying intentions are brought to light by Hamlet’s bold commentary such as “Madam, how like you this play?” after the “player queen” promises to never remarry once the “player king” is dead. In response Gertrude replies “The lady doth protest too much methinks.” Her response is basically the equivalent of her saying “I get that you’re upset but you’re laying it on a little thick.” Hamlet is pushing the fact that she was supposed to be loyal to his real father like the “player queen.” Jacob symbolizes internal struggle which can be compared to Hamlet’s own internal struggles which Gertrude believes to be her new marriage to his uncle. However the internal struggles are over the murder of his father by Claudius. The women in the painting who are watching the fight can do nothing. They can be connected to Gertrude seeing Hamlet’s inner struggle however she has not idea that the struggle (angel) is over the fact he can not avenge his father yet.

Hamlet Quote:

“What is a man

If his Chief good and market of his time

Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more.”

-Hamlet(IV.iv.33-35)

The context behind this quote begins when Claudius tells Hamlet that he will be sent to England while disclosing to the audience that he’s sending Hamlet to his death. Hamlet meets Fortinbras’ army who are on their way to Poland. In the excerpt given, he starts to get motivation to avenge his fathers death regardless if it’s bloody or not. Autumn Rhythm #30 by Pollack was made by taking the canvas off the easel and walking through the painting. This led to controlled chaos. This directly contrasts this Hamlet quote and shows how impulsive Hamlet is and how he is able to make a chaotic decision that quickly. He displays uncontrolled chaos. This is because of his poor decision making skills that lead to bad impulsive decisions. Pollack, however, uses controlled chaos in this painting. This is because even though it looks chaotic, all the elements were controlled. Additionally in Autumn Rhythm #60,  Pollack wanted to speak to the post World War 2 anxiety and sort of soothe the public by leaving the canvas raw and exposed to allow the elements to work together. However in the quote, Hamlet acts the opposite and is getting riled up to avenge his father, doing the opposite of soothing the public. This is because by avenging his father, he implies he wants to kill Claudius and that will cause anxiety to the public of Denmark. 

That’s where Pollock’s Autumn Rhythm applies here. As a movement, Abstract Expressionism sought to create a medium to represent emotions, not ideas. There is no recognizable theme or didactic from Pollock’s painting. It is simply trying to capture a human emotion from a specific moment in time and allows the viewer to apply their own meaning to the image. Pollock’s methods had elements of randomness inside of his paintings, as there was meant to be a controlled chaos to his works. Some emotions cannot be controlled or described even if you tried your hardest. Hamlet’s division of his mind, his mixed feelings towards Ophelia and the world in general really aren’t controlled elements and more an attempt to control his chaos. So that’s why I connected this quote from Hamlet to this painting from Pollock.

“Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio 

A fellow of infinite jest…”

while literally holding the skull of the King’s former court jester, Yorick, who passed away. This theme of contemplating death and mortality is a recurring theme throughout the novel as Hamlet constantly explores the depths of his depression due to the events relating to the death of his father and vengeance surrounding him.

Van Gogh, similarly to Hamlet, explored the concepts of mortality and death throughout his life as he struggled mentally as well, being sent to a mental asylum where he painted one of the hallmarks in art history. In Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” he depicts a scene of the night sky which he saw through the window of the asylum he was staying in. He expresses his feelings and his subjective perception of the world through his painting by employing the elements of color theory, light, and texture (impasto).

Moreover, he adds a cypress tree in the left of his painting which represents death in mediterranean countries. This connects to Hamlet’s psychology as Hamlet is reflecting on those around him who passed and is the epitome of a character who cannot make up his mind in a world that doesn’t understand him, similarly to how Van Gogh was stuck in a world that didn’t understand or recognize him either at the time that he was alive.

I connected this quote to the painting above because in this example of neo-classical art, it exemplifies a relationship similar to that of Claudius and Gertude. I view Mr. Izard as Claudius, and Mrs. Izard as Gertrude very clearly in this picture due to all of the active focus on the man, giving him full control over the attention and attitude of the scene, similarly to how it is when Claudius rules as king of Denmark. Mrs. Izard is also gazing subservient to him, just as Gertrude does to Claudius in this book. It reflects the nature of the rule in this time, and represents the relationship that Hamlet loathes. Even the other salient features in this painting (detail, perspective, chiaroscuro, etc) add to the overall feel of the painting: important man and subservient wife, just as Hamlet claims to despise between his “parents”. The large amounts of riches within the painting, fancy clothes, and wealthy atmosphere contributes to the idea of royalty, which connects to the monarchy of Denmark.

I think this quote can be connected with many paintings that we have learned about in class but the one that I think it connects to the most is Vision After the Sermon by Gauguin. When looking at this quote the first line talks about a “special providence” which in this quote refers to the protective care of God, even for an animal that’s as small as a sparrow. This acknowledgment of divine powers is something that is also seen in the painting done by Gauguin as the woman are having a spiritual vision of Jacob wrestling an angel after listening to a sermon. Not only do both of these pieces connect religiously but they also connect on the idea of Fate and divine will. The vision experienced by the woman show the acceptance of what they have heard in the sermon and Jacob wrestling the angel symbolizes and shows the struggle with the divine. Hamlet’s quote also connects to this as he talk about Fate and the future. His quote (in reference to death) is saying that no matter what something will come, as if it meant to come now it won’t come in the future, if it is meant to come in the future it won’t come now, and if it is not meant to come now or the future, it will come eventually. Both of these works show their acceptance of the divine/fate, as the woman in the painting have accepted a new perspective of the vision after listening to the sermon while Hamlet seems to have accepted death and as he states at the end “Readiness is all” which is his own transformation as his readiness to face his own fate no matter what the consequences and outcomes are show his own spiritual change.

Quote:

“At such a time I’ll loose my daughter to him.”

-Polonius

In the context of this quote, Polonius is talking about Hamlet’s recent interactions with Ophelia after pretending to have gone mad. Polonius acts quite possessive of Ophelia and, similarly to an animal, says that he will not “loose” his daughter to Hamlet. This restraint is able to be seen through Kahlo’s artwork and also her life story. Kahlo suffered a car accident that left her with a broken spine, bedridden, and prone to injury and disease. Here, Kahlo expressed her emotions through her artwork. She was unable to leave her hospital bed and, like Ophelia, had much of her freedom restricted. The Broken Column shows her rigid prosthetic spine, nails along her body, and tears from her face to represent the immense pain that she expressed only through her artwork. Throughout their lives, both women were seen less as their own person. For example, Kahlo was often overshadowed by her muralist husband, while Ophelia wasn’t able to freely express herself due to her father controlling the things she would do or say. Not only did the lives of Kahlo and Ophelia have similarities, but also their deaths. Kahlo, after undergoing numerous surgeries, was in immense pain, and after enduring this pain for many years, Kahlo overdosed on painkillers. Ophelia, after hearing the news of her fathers death, goes into a manic state, where she fell into a river and did not make an effort to save herself. This idea of restraint is heavily present are large factors in the tragic lives of both women.

This quote reminded me of the painting Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. Considering Vincent’s back story regarding his struggles and battle with mental illness, I felt that it matched up well with this quote. In this quote Hamlet is explaining the melancholy that has afflicted him since his father’s death. The quote states, “lost all my mirth,” meaning that Hamlet has lost all of his amusement, which gives a sense of despair and hopelessness. Similarly, van Gogh battled with mental illness and made this painting from the window of his room in a mental hospital in a time of his own despair making this quote and painting connect. The second part of the quote reads, “forgone all custom of exercises,” which is Hamlet’s way of saying that due to his despair, his joy is being repulsed and held back so he is not himself. This connects well with Van Gogh, as his moods were up and down. There were times where he would spiral or go into a dark place such as when he cut his ear off. Because of this, I feel that it connects well with the painting. The painting itself also goes well with the quote, as the quote is giving off a mellow and somber tone and so is the painting. The elements of the nighttime and darkness connect with the quote. As well as the very still, eerie, and quiet atmosphere. Overall, the quote, backstory of the painter, and artistic elements tie together.

Within the play, Hamlet confronts suspicions he’s had of his friend who have been acting as a sentinel for Claudius. He uses instruments which he alluded to be as easy to play as lying, a person meant to be by his side, but instead working as another’s eyes. This is similar to the type of supervision families have over their young, who are not yet responsible for themselves, not a prince who should hold the throne. Renoir's painting of ‘Two Sisters’ depicts a noticeably older sibling to the youthful sister. The eldest having this sideward glance, peering out at something viewers nor sister  cannot. Vines are cascading around, boxing them in while they have bright botanicals on their hats, providing the mix of movement and color expressionists tend to apply. While the water and fence surrounds them, they are sheltered by the brightness of the world, which is deception within itself.

“How is it that the clouds still hang on you?”

The line from Hamlet in where Claudius says to Hamlet “How is it that the clouds still hang on you?” essentially means that Claudius is asking Hamlet “how are you still in the dumps” or “how are you still upset”. This line is during Act 1, Scene 2 right after Claudius addresses the court saying that while yes it’s sad that Old Hamlet is dead, we still need to be strong because war is approaching Denmark. It is very apparent that Claudius is not really upset about his brother’s death, however, Young Hamlet loved his father and so of course he will still be extremely upset about him dying. And of course, if Claudius is telling the whole of Denmark to get over the kings death, then he will also be telling the kings son to get over it as well. This line I believe fits very well into the painting The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dalí. In the painting the background is a sunrise-esque scene where it has brightened colors and the sun is shining on the water and the cliffs in the background. To me, the background is the state of mind where Claudius is, not much grief, sun shining, happier setting. Claudius isn’t weighed down by his brother’s death so he is more so in the sun than in the clouds, where Hamlet is. In my perspective Hamlet is the foreground of the painting, where it is darker, in the clouds, and time has just stopped and deflated. There is also a darker corner in the bottom right of the painting which I think could represent the A sad, dark memory of Hamlet’s father’s death.; black is also worn a symbol as mourning which is the current state of mind Hamlet is in. The weird face thing in the painting as well could represent Hamlet as him lying down in the darkness under the deflated clock just completely smothered with grief and his mourning state of mind. Even if we just looked at the title, that could be enough to link this painting to Hamlet. The Persistence of Memory could be linked to meaning the memory of his father’s death is still hanging around in Hamlet’s mind, it is persistent and constant. Old Hamlet’s death is what the whole play revolves around so even in that way, Shakespeare is keeping the memory of the death alive and persistent in our brains.

This quote made me think of Starry Night by Van Gogh. The reason behind this is that each of these things convey great emotion towards something. Like there fighting their own battles secretly. Like not many people know how they are feeling towards their motives. With Van Gogh it was really up to him on how he was feeling because he would change a lot of the time. It’s very similar with Hamlet because no one truly knew his motive during this period except himself .What these two also connect very well with is the use of bipolar disorder between the two. With Van Gogh, sometimes he would be normal and be happy and paint things such as Starry night that showed this feeling or sometimes he would be incredibly angry or upset which caused him to paint with such frustration or sadness. He would paint these  paintings because he needed to show the meaning of himself and truly express what he was going through. Art was only the true way to do that for him. With Hamlet, he is so angry about this actor being brought to tears by this speech because if he did this speech it would be even more emotional and actually have meaning to him. Not like the actor who has no emotion towards this like how Hamlet does. When Hamlet says this speech, he goes from this somewhat calm and collected, to this utter frustration towards him saying that he doesn’t have the same motive or passion for this the way I do. 

In this quote, Hamlet is expressing to Guildenstern his frustration with the ways in which Guildenstern and Rosencratz have tried to find out why Hamlet is seemingly going mad, remarking that Guildenstern seems to think he can play Hamlet like an instrument, even though he does not truly understand the inner workings of Hamlet’s mind at all. I connected this quote to Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) by Jackson Pollock. Autumn Rhythm is an abstract expressionism painting, and is meant to be experienced subjectively person to person. At this point in the play, many characters (Polonius, Gertrude) are experiencing Hamlet’s madness subjectively and formulating their own beliefs behind said madness and about Hamlet in general, much like how people experience the Pollock painting, finding their own reasons to answer “why?” As a result of these subjective, deeper interpretations, Autumn Rhythm holds more weight and deeper meanings than what may meet the eye, just as Hamlet’s madness and the play he had performed is much more than meets the eye, secretly encapsulating his plans and motives. Autumn Rhythm can be described as “controlled chaos,” with its seemingly random brush strokes that do in fact have starts, ends, and separate spaces. Hamlet’s whole persona of craziness can also be described as controlled chaos; he is quite literally trying to seem “crazy” and “mad” to purposely create chaos and confusion that he is secretly orchestrating very meticulously.

Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.”

Nocturne in Black and Gold by Whistler relates to this quote by Hamlet through him playing the long run in his revenge. I envision Hamlet thinking out his trap for Claudius as a last ditch effort to see if it’s really true that he killed old Hamlet. Nocturne in the black and gold is a mix between such vast contrasting colors and that’s how Hamlet could be fundamentally feeling about all of this.

As his revenge continues his “gold” runs out and its gradually more “black.” However, although hamlet makes more emotion based decisions and some not as smart as others I do find it interesting he didn’t want to just outright kill Claudius immediately especially after seeing old hamlet he actually took time to try and devise a plan.

There is no special meaning behind the paining however the light brushstrokes and almost shadowy figures at the bottoms really tie into the idea of hamlet losing himself within his revenge. It’s nothing too drastic like autumn rhythm by pollock but more slow and steady. The contrast from his personality to his mind is more calm and steady.

QUOTE:

"O God, God

How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable

Seem to me all the uses of this world!

--Hamlet

This is a point in Hamlets life where he is struggling and experiencing many troubles in his life. 

He explains his pain by saying, “O God, God, How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world!” Hamlet in this line thinks about suicide or “self-slaughter” and wishes that God or “the everlasting” had not made it a sin. 

This pain is related to the painting in that the depicted emotion in this painting is pain and has a somber/ dark undertone which depicts the pain and suffering that Hamlet is explaining in this line. Paintings from Rothko are meant to communicate emotions and to be meditated with in order to show the universal truths of human kind. This painting and its experience show the subjective experience with the darker undertones which show a deeper, conceptual meaning. These darker, more somber depictions represent Hamlet's thoughts relating to his troubles including his disgust at his mothers marriage to Claudius and his fathers death. 

Hamlet's thoughts of suicide also relate to Rothko’s experience. Rothko’s struggles with depression eventually led to alcoholism and drug use. All of this led to Rothko’s suicide. Hamlet's thoughts about suicide are in relation to all of the troubles he is experiencing, just as Rothko also experienced thoughts of suicide.