Blog Assignment #6

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning, I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing:
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"

One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
Once you go there was never, never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world

It was a wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn't believe what I'd become

Revolutionaries wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be king?

[Chorus]
I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman Calvary choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never rule this world
But that was when I ruled the world

[Chorus]

Viva la Vida is a song that basically explains what has been happening around me, it speaks of power, and how it changes hands from one to another. Like in the song, we show our loyalty to the king, as the sentinel Bernardo said, “Long live the king!” (1.1.3). Power dances around here in Denmark, and while it seems like Claudius holds all power, it is definitely being challenged by hamlet. I tell him, “O, speak to me no more. / These words like daggers enter in my ears. No more, sweet Hamlet.” (3.4.95-97). I said this to him because I was truly disturbed that he was not able to handle the change of power from his father. He became very disturbed; he said he was talking to King Hamlet’s ghost! “Why, look you there! Look how it steals away! / My father, in his habit as he lived!” (3.4.135-136). He is just a crazy child, he thinks that as in the song, where the wicked and wild winds blew the doors to let him in. He thinks that he is in a similar instance where his father is returning from the beyond to guide him. “Be my mirror, my sword and shield, My missionaries in a foreign field” is similar to this relationship between Hamlet and his past father, where Hamlet seems to be fighting this war for his lost father.

“Revolutionaries wait, For my head on a silver plate” can be used to show that once all of us are dead, there are certain people waiting to step into power. Fortinbras makes haste, in remembrance, “I have some rights of memory in this kingdom, / which now claim my vantage doth invite me.” (5.2.390-391). He makes note of the kings of past, but welcomes the shift of power into his own hands. As Hamlet is dying, he tells Horatio, “And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain, / to tell my story.” (5.2.348-349). The song leads to believe that a person’s greatest legacy is their memory, which is held to the best example by Fortinbras’ acknowledgement of Hamlet’s endeavor, “Bear Hamlet like a soldier on the stage, / For he was likely , had he been put on, / To have proved the most royal;” (5.2.397-399)

I personally believe the monarch represents some hidden power, where the king is not really in power, but are influenced by those around them. Like in the song, they are possibly just a lonely puppet on a string. This is more of a random thought though. Maybe Hamlet truly never wanted to be a puppet, and wanted to take down the puppet that murdered his father. “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” (1.5.25) this is where the spirit convinces Hamlet into his whole minded mission of revenge. But what hamlet doesn’t realize is that he is a puppet. He needs to come to understand that power changes hands.

Those in power will often take extreme steps to ensure that they maintain power. Claudius and I stooped to the level of spying in order to maintain the current balance. We called upon the assistance of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to do so. The king told to them, “So much as from occasion you may glean, / Whether aught to us unknown afflicts him thus, / That opened lies within our remedy.” (2.2.16-18.) To this I followed, “Your visitation shall receive such thanks / as fits a king’s remembrance.” (2.2.25-26 As we were eager to maintain the power, we were greedy, but that was when we ruled the world.