Hunter Hearne

12/8/15
Mrs. Livingston
Honors English 12

Hamlet is a tale of how the King of Denmark is murdered by his brother. The prince,
Hamlet, of the slain king sees his father as a ghost and is informed of the malicious act. Hamlet
then unravels this idea to fool everyone into thinking he has gone mad with grief, when his main
motive is to exact vengeance upon his fathers wrongful death. There are scenes for drama and
exposition to play out, but what ends up happening is that the prince kills his girlfriends father,
Polonius, on accident. The girlfriend, Ophelia, becomes completely torn apart and goes mental.

Hunter Hearne
12/8/15
Mrs. Livingston
Honors English 12
Hamlet is shipped off to England, but instead just ends up back home in Denmark thanks to some
pirates (what a bunch of misunderstood gentlemen). As he is returning to his castle, he ends up at
the graveyard, just in time to see Ophelia getting buried: She has drowned. Hamlet bursts out of
this bushes and makes a scene, confessing his love. Ophelias brother, Laertes, doesnt like this
because, well, Hamlet killed his father, and indirectly killed his sister. They end up having a
fencing duel, in which the king has poisoned the tip of Laertes blade because he is suspicious of
Hamlet and his plot; as a backup, he has also poisoned some wine. What ends up happening is
the Queen, Hamlets mother, drinks the wine, she dies, Hamlet stabs Laertes, and then makes the
King drink the poison, but all of which because he was also stabbed with the poisoned blade. The
King then dies and Laertes makes a spiel about how it is a just killing and that Hamlet is not to
be burdened with Laertes, Ophelias, Polonius, the Kings, or the Queens death. Laertes then
dies along with Hamlet. Ironically then the army comes in and dismisses everything and the
commander becomes the new king.
In response as to how I am relating this to make it more memorable and meaningful
towards my understanding of the characters, and the turmoil, I have connected Hamlet to
modernized songs, which I have labeled and explained:

1. Carry On Wayward Son by Starship

a. Once I rose above the noise and confusion, just to get a glimpse behind this
illusion
For this song, I chose these lyrics to be relatable to the way Hamlet feels and acts
towards people. He chooses to understand everything around him, amidst the

Hunter Hearne
12/8/15
Mrs. Livingston
Honors English 12
chaos and lies. He sees through the lies his uncle is telling and is persistent in his
cause.
2. Ring Of Fire by Johnny Cash
a. Love is a burnin' thing, and it makes a fiery ring, Bound by wild desire, I fell
into a ring of fire.
These lyrics are directly correlated towards Ophelia and her feelings towards
Hamlet. Quoth she, Before you tumbled me, you promised me to wed. He
answers, So would I ha' done, by yonder sun, an thou hadst not come to my
bed. (Ophelia) (IV.v. 67 72) Ophelia has gone mad, and is talking without
thinking. Here she states about how her and Hamlet had relations in bed, and how
she is no longer a virgin. It does not directly spell out that she has feelings but it
does say that they had relations and she is obviously upset about not having him, I
mean she did go crazy.
3. Sweet Child O Mine by Guns N Roses
a. She takes me away to that special place, And if I'd stare too long, I'd probably
break down and cry
I feel that this exactly expresses what Hamlet feels towards Ophelia, and he is too
afraid and immature to show it. Quoth she, Before you tumbled me, you
promised me to wed. He answers, So would I ha' done, by yonder sun, an thou
hadst not come to my bed. (Ophelia) (IV.v. 67 72) Ophelia has gone mad, and
is talking without thinking. Here she states about how her and Hamlet had
relations in bed, and how she is no longer a virgin. This shows Hamlet has some
affection towards her, and knows how to show affection, but not in a long term
relationship. That if you be honest and fair, {your honesty} should admit no
discourse to your beauty. (Hamlet) (III.i. 117) Hamlet is making sure Ophelia

Hunter Hearne
12/8/15
Mrs. Livingston
Honors English 12
isnt playing dumb. Pretty people are usually stupid or arrogant because they use
their looks to get what they want, Hamlet is just saying that she is smart and is
acting foolish towards the point of arrogance. Being blinded by beauty. But this
also shows how immature Hamlet is, he is disrespecting a woman who loves him,
when she hasnt done anything wrong.
4. Plush by Stone Temple Pilots
a. And I see that these are lies to come, would you even care?
This would be the basic vibe that Hamlet shows towards his mother and definitely
his uncle. I shall speak daggers to her, but use none. (Hamlet) (III.ii 329)
Hamlet will speak harshly to his mother, but not hurt her physically. Words as
sharp as knives. Words cut deeper than actions. Hes going to be harsh, but
truthful.
5. You Give Love A Bad Name by Bon Jovi
a. An angel's smile is what you sell, You promise me heaven then put me through
hell
This is Ophelias outlook towards Hamlet. Quoth she, Before you tumbled me,
you promised me to wed. He answers, So would I ha' done, by yonder sun, an
thou hadst not come to my bed. (Ophelia) (IV.v. 67 72) Hamlet and Ophelia
had relations in bed, and she shows affection towards him.
You are merry, my lord. (Ophelia) (III.ii. 129) She is glad to see him happy and
their last encounter hasnt made him angry at her.
6. Paranoid by Black Sabbath
a. People think I'm insane because I am frowning all the time, All day long I think
of things but nothing seems to satisfy
This correlates as to what Hamlet is trying to make everyone believe he has gone
mad, but he is actually completely fine most of the time. Why, what an ass I
am (Hamlet) (II.ii. 611) Looking back on his actions, he feels remorse.

Hunter Hearne
12/8/15
Mrs. Livingston
Honors English 12
Hamlet is feeling bad based on his actions towards people and thinks maybe he
has gone too far with the whole madness scheme.
7. Ugly Kid Joe: Everything About You
a. And I get sick when I'm around, I can't stand to be around, I hate everything
about you!
Hamlets feelings towards his uncle. Your fat king and your lean beggar is but
variable service two dished but to one table. (Hamlet) (IV.iii. 26 28)
Basically telling his uncle that even though he is king, it wont matter when he is
dead; more or less a threat. My mother. Father and mother is man and wife, Man
and wife is one flesh (Hamlet) (IV.iii. 60) Calling the king his mother. He is
toying with his patients as to possibly state the TRUE reason as to why he is being
shipped to England. Or making fun of the king, calling him unmanly in the way
he handles things and of what he has done. O, from this time forth my thoughts
be bloody or be nothing worth! (Hamlet) (IV.iv. 68 69) Hamlet is coming to the
realization that he has done nothing to revenge his fathers untimely murder. He is
making a sort of self-promise to stop talking, and to take action to kill the king,
and exact revenge.