Oak Bluffs High School - Beacon Yearbook (Oak Bluffs, MA)

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14 THE BEACON g him, by foul means. The Queen, while watching the duel, drinks the poi- soned cup intended for Hamlet, and dies. Hamlet, seeing this, turns on the King and stabs him. During the duel, in which Laertes had been using a poisoned rapier, the swords had changed hands and both opponents were stabbed with the poisoned sword. Therefore all the principal characters died. The whole play is intended to show that calculation and consideration ex- hausts the power of action. This play is wonderful in the character descrip- tion of several of the characters, es- pecially Hamlet. Hamlet has a strong character and a very weak will. All through the story Hamlet has, no doubt, a distinction between right and wrong, but he cannot bring himself to do the right things. Hamlet is a thinker and a student. He ponders long on every subject and studies ev- ery side of it. He pondered too long on this subject, as was characteristic of him, and lost the opportunity to revenge the death of his father. Ham- let was very loving. He loved his moth- er sincerely, although at times he ap- peared to lose his patience with her. Hamlet loved Ophelia and believed in her. He didn't realize that he was treating her unfairly. It is Hamlet's character that really makes the play so interesting. The reader is interest- ed in Hamlet and Wants to find out how he works out his problem. The character of Hamlet is very clearly brought out and made very true to life by the author. Ophelia is a very interesting char- acter. She has the usual affection for the members of her family, her father and her brother. She is very obedient and although her love for Hamlet is very great, she gives him up at her father's command. Ophelia has 11ot a very strong character, she is rather the clinging vine type. She takes things as they come, not trying to stand them. She had a rather magnetic personality, and draws people to her better them or do her best to under- by her apparent helplessness. Her death left a gap that could not be easily filled because she was so well loved. Hamlet is a very interesting play and is very well written, as are most of Shakespeare's plays. In con- clusion, Hamlet is good because of the various character descriptions in it. The theme is excellent, the setting is ideal, and above all, the whole play is true to life. However, there are some points which detract from its iu- terest, it is too drawn out, the reader rather loses sight of the plot in some places, as the author spends too much time with petty details. Nevertheless, this play is Well worth reading and it occupies an important place in Eng- lish literature. THE IDYLLS OF THE KING Helen Rose The Idylls of the King are a. group of poems Written by Alfred Lord Tennyson. The Word Idyll means picture, Hllfl The Idylls of the King give the reader twelve little pictures of the life and times of the Arthur of the liegend. The poems tell incidents which are either drawn from the old romances of King Arthur's court, or invented by Tennyson in the manner of the ohi romances. The chief groups, or cycles, of these romances are those dealing with CU The Coming of Arthur, C21

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THE BEACON f if .fx KU. e A ff ... lM lUUlllllllll 1V'lUl '-f ' T '3f1!if:iT, Barbara Bowman, Editor Helen Rose, Assistant Editor HAMLET VVho killed the King of Denmark? Did tl1e Queen have anything to do with the murder of her husband U? Did Hamlet really love Ophelia? lVas Ham- let's madness real or feigned? How did the Ghost's story affect Hamlet? These questions and others come to us when we read f'Hamlet',. t'Hamlet is a tragedy. It is not a drama of action but a psychological study, therefore, the plot lies not in the deed itself but i11 the method of doing the deed. It is lIamlet's train of thought that leads to tl1is failure, that really creates the plot of the drama. Another part of tl1e plot, a kind of sub-plot, centers about the afl fairs of Pt lonius and l1is family. The catastrophe is 11ot reached by the gradual development of the scenes as in other dramasg but rushes on the reader with surprise and rapidity. At one moment all the principal charac- ters stand before the reader, and at another they lie before him, dead. It seems as though, after the will of man had been baffled in every attempt lo disentangle the tragic knot, the hand of Heaven itself had been suddenly stretched out to avenge the murder. The tragedy shows the unfitfulness of a thoughtful, studious man, who sees both sides of the subject, to deal with situations requiring prompt ac- tion under extraordinary circum- stances. Hamlet suspected from the first that his father had died by foul means. VVith the appearance of the Ghost, Hamlet's suspicion was verified, also he was practically sure that it was his uncle who l1ad been the murderer of his father. Hamlet resolved to feign madness so that he might become very certain that his suspicions were true, before he made any accusations. Gertrude the Queen, becoming anxious at Ham- let's apparent madness, summons Hamlet to her boudoir. Polonius lllfid hidden behind the curtain, spying for the King. Hamlet became aware of his presence, and, i11 a fit of anger, thrust l1is rapier through the curtain alnd killed his fathers spy. Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius, was in love with Hamlet. Upon the death of her father, and the seeming indifference of llam- let toward her, Ophelia became de- pressed and committed suicide. Ham- let l1ad bee11 sent away by tl1e King, who determined to make away with Hamlet because he realized that Ham- let was becoming suspicious of him. Hamlet successfully eluded the King's messengers, who had bee11 Sellt with him, and returned to Denmark. The King, seeing that this plan l1ad been unsuccessful, plans with Laertes, who was bitter against Hamlet because he held the latter responsible for the death of his father and sister, to en- gage Hamlet i11 a duel and to defeat

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THE BEACON O15 Gareth and Lynette, C35 Lancelot and Elaine, fill The Holy Grail, C55 Guine- vere, and CGD The Passing of Arthur. The coming of Arthur reveals the fact that there is a mystery concern- ing our birth and death. We come in- to this world not knowing what will become of us. During life we come up against many difficulties which we must learn to overcome, and be able- to surpass. So it was with Arthur. There is a mystery concerning his birth that can- not be solved. When he was old enough, he became king. He was faced with ma11y difficulties, such as the scorn and hatred of the people. In spite of it all, he made himself Worthy of the great title 'tKing . This poem reveals to us the fact that no matter how hard your task may be, that if you possess the qualities of courage, strength, hope and faith, you are bound to succeed and will reach your hoped for goal. Where there is a will, there is al- ways a way. That is the moral lesson one receives from the poem, Gareth, Zllld Lynette. NVe should know what our aim and ambition is in life and go forward to victory with all that is i11 us. We should not let mere obstacles stand in our paths, but should conquer them all. We all want a chance in this World to prove ourselves worthy. When the chance comes we should be ready to receive it. After attaining our ambi- tion in life, we should prove ourselves worthy of it. XVe should not stop there but keep on fighting and let our merits mount. Gareth, who symbolizes courage and achievement, starts forth on a quest from King Arthur's Court with Lyn- ette, wl1o symbolizes the world and superficial judgment. If he succeeds his place will be firmly established amongst the knights of the Round Table. On the way he overcomes four knights, who are symbolic of life it- self. Morning Star signifies the temp- tations of youth, Noonday Sun, the foolish temptations of maturity, Eve- ning Star, temptations of old age, and the Black Knight represents death. He is horrible to look upon. Upon clos- er inspection he turns out to be noth- ing more than a harmless, attractive youth. When we meet death, its terror disappears. The fearing of death grows to be a habit. Habit is a cable, we weave a strand of it every day un- til it becomes so strong we cannot break it. Gareth went forward in life Zilld achieved his aim. He was ready when his chance came, and he made the most of it. One is always honored at the end of a hard struggle, and so Gareth was made a knight of Arthur's round table. The one main thought that one re- ceives from the ldyll Lancelot and Elaine is the fact that one can pos- sess a great deal of physical courage and yet lack moral courage. Lancelot fails to find happiness in the love of a pure and innocent girl, because of his guilty passion for Queen Guinevere. One may have the physical courage to face the dangers of life, but it takes moral courage and will power to face and overcome the big difficulties and temptations in life. To succeed in life, we must do that thing which we can do best. This is the moral one receives from the Holy Grail. If you start to do something that does not appeal to you, the thing to do is to start something that suits you. lt is like taking the wrong roa-1 i11 traveling, if you do not turn back you will never reach your destina- tion. The Holy Grail was the cup from which Christ drank at the last slipper