B2 ELA 12 Hamlet Dull Revenge Questions
B2 ELA 12
What claim does Girard develop in this essay?
What is Girard’s explanation for why Hamlet fails to take revenge swiftly? What does he argue is the link between this behavior and revenge theater?
What central idea does Girard begin to develop in lines 25-70?
What is Girard’s tone toward Shakespeare and his play? Explain how his feelings are revealed through his language as well as his choice of details.
Girard's tone toward Shakespeare and his play is critical. He questions the authenticity of Shakespeare's portrayal of desire and suggests that Shakespeare's genius lies in depicting mimetic desire rather than genuine individual motivations. His language reveals a skeptical and dismissive attitude toward Shakespeare's work, referring to it as an outlandish hypothesis and comparing it to Scientology.
Girard provides three examples of the models that he claims Hamlet needs to work up a taste for vengeance. Identify these examples and discuss how their presentation within the argument strengthens or diminishes Girard’s claims.
Girard provides three examples of models that he claims Hamlet needs to develop a taste for vengeance: Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon. These examples are presented as historical figures who have embodied the desire for power and revenge. However, their presentation within the argument does not necessarily strengthen Girard's claims, as it relies on the assumption that Hamlet's motivations are purely mimetic and that these historical figures serve as models for him.
