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HAMLET - Story line

On a dark winter night, a ghost walks the ramparts of Elsinore Castle in Denmark. Discovered first by a pair of watchmen, then by the scholar Horatio, the ghost resembles the recently deceased King Hamlet, whose brother Claudius has inherited the throne and married the king’s widow, Queen Gertrude. When Horatio and the watchmen bring Prince Hamlet, the son of Gertrude and the dead king, to see the ghost, it speaks to him, declaring ominously that it is indeed his father’s spirit, and that he was murdered by none other than Claudius. Ordering Hamlet to seek revenge on the man who usurped his throne and married his wife, the ghost disappears with the dawn.

Prince Hamlet devotes himself to avenging his father’s death, but, because he is contemplative and thoughtful by nature, he delays, entering into a deep melancholy and even apparent madness. Claudius and Gertrude worry about the prince’s erratic behavior and attempt to discover its cause. They employ a pair of Hamlet’s friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to watch him. When Polonius, the pompous Lord Chamberlain, suggests that Hamlet may be mad with love for his daughter, Ophelia, Claudius agrees to spy on Hamlet in conversation with the girl. But though Hamlet certainly seems mad, he does not seem to love Ophelia: he orders her to enter a nunnery and declares that he wishes to ban marriages.

A group of traveling actors comes to Elsinore, and Hamlet seizes upon an idea to test his uncle’s guilt. He will have the players perform a scene closely resembling the sequence by which Hamlet imagines his uncle to have murdered his father, so that if Claudius is guilty, he will surely react. When the moment of the murder arrives in the theater, Claudius leaps up and leaves the room. Hamlet and Horatio agree that this proves his guilt. Hamlet goes to kill Claudius but finds him praying. Since he believes that killing Claudius while in prayer would send Claudius’s soul to heaven, Hamlet considers that it would be an inadequate revenge and decides to wait. Claudius, now frightened of Hamlet’s madness and fearing for his own safety, orders that Hamlet be sent to England at once.

Hamlet goes to confront his mother, in whose bedchamber Polonius has hidden behind a tapestry. Hearing a noise from behind the tapestry, Hamlet believes the king is hiding there. He draws his sword and stabs through the fabric, killing Polonius. For this crime, he is immediately dispatched to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. However, Claudius’s plan for Hamlet includes more than banishment, as he has given Rosencrantz and Guildenstern sealed orders for the King of England demanding that Hamlet be put to death.

In the aftermath of her father’s death, Ophelia goes mad with grief and drowns in the river. Polonius’s son, Laertes, who has been staying in France, returns to Denmark in a rage. Claudius convinces him that Hamlet is to blame for his father’s and sister’s deaths. When Horatio and the king receive letters from Hamlet indicating that the prince has returned to Denmark after pirates attacked his ship en route to England, Claudius concocts a plan to use Laertes’ desire for revenge to secure Hamlet’s death. Laertes will fence with Hamlet in innocent sport, but Claudius will poison Laertes’ blade so that if he draws blood, Hamlet will die. As a backup plan, the king decides to poison a goblet, which he will give Hamlet to drink should Hamlet score the first or second hits of the match. Hamlet returns to the vicinity of Elsinore just as Ophelia’s funeral is taking place. Stricken with grief, he attacks Laertes and declares that he had in fact always loved Ophelia. Back at the castle, he tells Horatio that he believes one must be prepared to die, since death can come at any moment. A foolish courtier named Osric arrives on Claudius’s orders to arrange the fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes.

The sword-fighting begins. Hamlet scores the first hit, but declines to drink from the king’s proffered goblet. Instead, Gertrude takes a drink from it and is swiftly killed by the poison. Laertes succeeds in wounding Hamlet, though Hamlet does not die of the poison immediately. First, Laertes is cut by his own sword’s blade, and, after revealing to Hamlet that Claudius is responsible for the queen’s death, he dies from the blade’s poison. Hamlet then stabs Claudius through with the poisoned sword and forces him to drink down the rest of the poisoned wine. Claudius dies, and Hamlet dies immediately after achieving his revenge.

At this moment, a Norwegian prince named Fortinbras, who has led an army to Denmark and attacked Poland earlier in the play, enters with ambassadors from England, who report that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. Fortinbras is stunned by the gruesome sight of the entire royal family lying sprawled on the floor dead. He moves to take power of the kingdom. Horatio, fulfilling Hamlet’s last request, tells him Hamlet’s tragic story. Fortinbras orders that Hamlet be carried away in a manner befitting a fallen soldier.

Revenge, ambition, lust and conspiracy return to the heads of those that conjured them in Hamlet, completely annihilating two families--the innocent with the guilty

Polonius’ Advice to Laertes poem and Glossary

Polonius’ Advice to Laertes

Hamlet I, iii, 55-81

Yet here, Laertes! aboard, aboard, for shame!	55
The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail,
And you are stay’d for. There; my blessing with thee!
And these few precepts in thy memory
See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,	59
Nor any unproportioned thought his act.	60
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch’d, unfledged comrade. Beware	65
Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,
Bear’t that the opposed may beware of thee.
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;
Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,	70
But not express’d in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man,
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are of a most select and generous chief in that.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;	75
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine ownself be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.	80
Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!

Lines 59-60 
Give thy thoughts no tongue, Nor any unproportioned thought his act. 

Don't let on to what you are thinking too easily. Never take action on anything you haven't thought through properly. (Polonius breaks both of these all through the play - in fact he gets himself killed for breaking the second piece of advice). 

Line 61 
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. 

Make friends easily, but don't slum it as a way of making yourself popular. 

Lines 62-65 
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel; But do not dull thy palm with entertainment Of each new-hatch’d, unfledged comrade. 

When you have a good friend, stick fast to him. But don't go out of your way to get friendly with any old John off the street. 

Lines 65-69 
Beware Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in, Bear’t that the opposed may beware of thee. 

Try to stay out of fights, but if you find yourself in one - make sure that you keep the guy you are fighting afraid of you. 


Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice; 

Listen to everyone, but be choosy over who you agree with. 

Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment 

Always listen when people criticise you, but don't be too quick to criticise other people. 

Lines 70-74 
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not express’d in fancy; rich, not gaudy; For the apparel oft proclaims the man, And they in France of the best rank and station Are of a most select and generous chief in that. 

Buy the best quality clothing you can afford - because people often judge you by what you are wearing. But spend your money on quality, not just on being flash. Remember that the French pay a lot of attention to how you dress (Laertes is going to France). 

Lines 75-77 
Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

Don't lend people money: you won't get your money back, and you will probably quarrel with the person you lent it to. Don't borrow money either, learn to manage your own. 

Lines 78-80 
This above all: to thine ownself be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. 

Always be who you are; if you are who you are, then obviously everybody else can trust you to.

MODEL SEMESTER END QUESTION PAPER

I B. Tech. I Semester Regular Examinations February, 2014

Course Code: 13HE 1101                                 Subject:  English: Reading and Writing skills 

Common to CSE/EEE/IT/Chemical Engineering Branches

Time: 3 hours                                                                                                 Max. Marks: 70

                                                            

MODEL PAPER

1.      Answer ONE QUESTION from each unit.

2.      Each question carries 14 marks.

3.      All parts of a question must be answered in one place, otherwise they will not be valued

                                                                               UNIT-I

1.      a)  Read the following passage and answer the following questions : (4X2 =  8Marks)(CO1)

           Culture is a very powerful in our lives. It determines many of the experiences we have and the meanings we give to them. But what exactly is culture? To the sociologist, culture is everything that we are socialized to do, think, use and make.  Much of what humans think and do is learned from the society they live in. Because humans live in groups and communicate with each other, they pass on what they know and believe to their children and to each other.

They pass on , for example ideas about what they believe is important or not important in life, what they see as normal and abnormal behavior; and what they believe to be right or wrong, All these ideas form the culture of the particular society they live in , and guide the behavior of the members of that society.

1.  What is culture from sociological perspective?
2.   How do people acquire their learning?
3.   Write synonyms of the words:  normal , particular
4.   Write antonyms of the words : communicate, believe   
   
   b)  Critically appreciate the following lines:      (CO 4)                                     (6 marks)

“The Lunatic, the lover and the poet have

In common, the power of imagination”

2.       a) Read the following passage and answer the following questions :(4X2 = 8 Marks) (CO 1)

Crowds are one example of what sociologists call collective behavior. Collective behavior is social behavior that is relatively unorganized, spontaneous, and unpredictable. It contrasts with institutional behavior, which occurs in a well-organized, rather predictable way. Institutional behavior is frequent and regular. Every week day, masses of people hurry to work. On every campus, groups of students walk to classes. These predictable patterns are controlled by social norms and are essential for social order. We could not survive without them. Collective behavior, however, is predictable and operates outside these norms. Fashion, public opinion, social movements, and revolutions are other examples of collective behavior.

1)      What is the contrast between institutional and collective behavior?

2)      Why we do need social norms? 
3)      Write synonyms of the words: collective, frequent 
4)      Write antonyms of the words:  unorganized, survive    

       b)  Critically appreciate the following lines:                  (6 marks) (CO 4)

        “thousands at His bidding speed

         and post over land ocean without rest;

        They also serve who serve who only stand and wait.”

UNIT - II

3. a) How  do parents treat their  boys and  girls ? What are the social expectations of parents from their children?                               (6 m) (CO 3)

   

                  b)  Correct the following:   (3M) (CO 5)

             

1.  I am reading the Hindu daily.

2.  I just completed reading this novel.

3.  Let us attend the  meeting and discuss about the issues.

4.  The students entered into the library for borrowing books.

5.  The committee has differed in their opinions.

6.  One of the fruits have become rotten.

             c) Write One-word substitutes for the following:  (3 m) (CO 2)

           

1. One who advocates peace in all circumstances.

2. One who loves books

3. One hates mankind

             d) Fill in the blanks with apt words.       (2 m) (CO 2)

           

1. It’s not ______ (fare/fair)to blame me for everything.

2. The airline’s symbol was painted on the aircraft’s ______ (tale/tail)

 4. a) Which two aspects of the freedom movement  does Kalam  highlight?    (6m) (CO 3)

     b) Correct the following:  (3m) (CO 5)

1. He is attending the classes regularly.

2.  I took my breakfast ten minutes ago. 

3.  He is standing besides her in the photograph.

4. The manager is angry at him.

5. One of the students were awarded the medal.

6. Politics as well as economics are social sciences.

c) Fill in the blanks with appropriate prefixes/suffixes. (4x ½ = 2 m) (CO2)

1.--- reverent: lacking the expected respect for official, important or holy things

2.----precedented: never having happened or existed in the past

3. All children want the ------ (approve) of their parents.

4. He died in a ---- (mystery) plane crash that no one ever discovered the cause of.

d) Fill in the blanks with apt phrasal verbs. (2 m) (CO2)

1. You can always count ____ (on/in/up)Martin to help you if you have problems.

2. He was so angry it took me half an hour to calm him _____ (out/up/down).

                                                            

UNIT-III

5. a) How does Wordsworth describe Lucy  in terms of nature. (8m) (CO 3)

    b)“Advertising is a very common feature of media.”Substantiate. (6m)   (CO3) 

                                 

                   

6. a) The sensationalism by media is unhealthy  (8m) (CO 3) 

   b) Describe a technical device of your choice (6m) (CO 3)                                                         

                                                              

UNIT-IV

7. a) Write about   the  lesson  you have  learnt from “A Special kind of Blessing”?  (8m) (CO5)

   b) Write about any programme you regularly watch on the TV.   (6m)       (CO 3)

                                                      

8. a) Write a letter  to the General Manager of a company asking for  more time to join 

         the job.(8m) (CO 5)

 

    b) Write a précis of the following passage: (CO 5)                                                  (6m)

When you smile a real smile, two things happen to your face: your lips move up towards your cheeks, and your cheeks themselves go up and gather in the skin around the eyes. And a real smile will usually only last for up to four seconds. False smiles are seen on the faces of politicians who have just lost an election, people who are pretending they’re pleased to see you, and door-to-door salesmen. False smiles usually appear slightly too eagerly or too late, and they tend to go on for too long. But if you really want to know if a smile is real or false, look at the eyes. In a false smile these don’t change – however much the person has practised smiling. Eyes are important in other ways, too. When you feel good, your pupils get larger; when you feel bad, they become small. Ancient Chinese traders always looked their customers straight in the eyes. If the pupils become big, the person was interested, and they could ask for more money.

UNIT - V

9. a) Write an essay on the topic, “Does migration to other planets solve the problem of

        overpopulation?”  (8m)     (CO 5) 

    

     b) Describe the series of dreams envisaged by  Martin Luther King Jr. (6m)    (CO 3, CO 4) 

10. a) Write  an  essay on the  topic, “The future of the society with robots.”   (8m) (CO 5)

       b) Make notes out of the following passage  (6m)   (CO 5)

At the recently concluded UN climate change talk in Durban, the world agreed to a new global climate change regime by 2020 to bring down emissions to save the planet. But cutting carbon emissions will be a tough task for India in the years to come as the country needs to balance its development trajectory with transition to a low carbon economy. Transition to a low carbon economy means huge investment in clean technology, switching from coal and oil to low-carbon fuels for power generation and transport. And the most important part of this low carbon growth will need changes in behaviour and lifestyle of the people. Manufacturers and retailers will also play an important role in selectively editing out products that lead to more carbon footprint while promoting energy efficient and energy conservation products to consumers.

India has to look for new ways to cut emissions and pay big-time for these. The transition to green energy calls for investing big-time in solar, biomass or off-shore wind energy but despite that India will still not be able to substantially reduce dependence on coal.

"India really needs to focus on how it will meet the power demand post 2020. It is a warning bell to start looking of low carbon power sources that reduce dependence on coal and oil," a senior environment ministry official said. "We know protests over nuclear energy and we cannot meet the power demand by only harnessing solar, wind and hydel energy. This means we will face acute power shortage in years to come," he said. The big question emerging out of the Durban outcome is whether India is rich enough to pay for the cost of transition to a low-carbon economy?