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When Hamlet’s father orders him to kill Claudius, Hamlet’s reaction is one of questioning and disbelief. While he feels strongly about the murder of his father and yearns to discover the killer, he harbors suspicions about the truth behind the ghost’s jarring indictment of his uncle Claudius. So, Hamlet decides to put on a play: … Read more
There is no doubt that William Shakespeare and Henrik Ibsen are two of the most if not the greatest authors who ever walked the earth. Considered to be among the most influential and powerful works in the world of literature, ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare and ‘a doll’s house’ written by Henrik Ibsen both incorporate the … Read more
The Psychological Health of Polonius In The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, several characters exhibit the signs of possible psychological disorders, such as Prince Hamlet, Ophelia, and Polonius. With Polonius, Shakespeare seems to characterize a sneaky, untrustworthy snake of a man. Upon further inspection, however, it seems likely that Polonius suffered from one or … Read more
Critic Northrup Frye has evaluated Hamlet as a play without catharsis, a tragedy in which everything noble and heroic is smothered under ferocious revenge codes, treachery, spying and the consequences of weak actions by broken wills. While the play deviates from the traditional definition of catharsis as given by Aristotle in Poetics” through pity and … Read more
“ Horatio is Hamlet’s trusted friend and confidant. When we first see Horatio in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, he is called upon by the castle guards to address the ghost that they have saw. Horatio is a smart intelligent man, and when he sees the ghost makes him deeply uneasy. But Horatio is not afraid of the … Read more
In his famous speech, “I have of late, but wherefore I know not, lost all my mirth[…]” (II.ii.280), Hamlet illustrates an Elizabethan fusion of medieval and humanist ideas, perhaps lost on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern but not on E.M.W. Tillyard. Tillyard, in The Elizabethan World Picture, says that “what is true of Hamlet on man is … Read more
Shakespeare has always been able to create characters richly dichotomous in nature. In “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,” the portrayal of the ghost of Hamlet’s father vacillates through the play from Hamlet’s uncertainty of whether “it is an honest ghost” (144, l.5) or “a goblin damned” (40, l.4). In one sense, the ghost is honest in … Read more
Implicit in the schema of Hamlet lies the idea that an immoral world order has established itself, imposing political and social significance onto the once purely corporeal sense and function of ears and hearing. Although one must necessarily rely on the ear in order to learn the truth, the ear is also predisposed to faulty … Read more
Over the past few decades, gender roles have drastically changed in our modern society, compared to the older times. Today, women are given equal rights to vote, rights to education, equal job opportunities, and equal amount of pay doing the same work their male coworkers are doing, and most importantly, women can take control of … Read more
“For there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so” (2.2, 249-250) From the start of Shakespeare’s Hamlet it is clear that much of the action is cerebral. The play never escapes the confines of Hamlet’s head. One is never sure if Hamlet’s madness is actual or contrived, or if his mother’s … Read more
The most common distinction between a tragedy and a comedy is the arc of plot development. Generally speaking, a comedy moves from a world of disorder into a world in which everything is put back together again. A tragedy, on the other hand, typically begins with everything as it should be before unraveling into chaos … Read more
Harold Bloom asserts that “Our ideas as to what makes the self authentically human owe more to Shakespeare than ought be possible…” (15). If this is true, then the Prince of Denmark himself in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is the epitome of humanity in his perceptions of mankind and mankind’s unavoidable perversion of nature, and in his … Read more
Discuss the extent to which Shakespeare’s Hamlet is about Hamlet. Shakespeare’s Hamlet depicts theme such as fate, deceit and procrastination through many characters such as Claudius, Hamlet and Ophelia. However, it is Hamlet who really gives significance to the plot and to the major themes which will be discussed in this essay. In fact, one … Read more
“Hamlet is a tragedy without catharsis, a tragedy in which everything noble and heroic is smothered under ferocious revenge codes, treachery, spying and the consequences of weak actions by broken wills.” In truth, this statement is not a legitimate contention. The Aristotelian definition of “catharsis” is the purging of emotions of pity and fear that … Read more
Women living in Elizabethan times, although more liberated than medieval women, were still expected to do their husband’s will and obey at all times. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Queen Gertrude begins the play acting as a typical Elizabethan woman. She sits beside her new husband, Claudius, and reiterates each statement he makes. Further into the … Read more
Othello is a man of action. Hamlet is a man of inaction. If Hamlet were placed in Othello’s world and vice versa one could assume that both would function well in those circumstances. Othello is a man of action in a play that demands his hesitation and thought. Hamlet is a philosopher in a situation … Read more
“The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown. (I, V, 39-40) This is the Ghost of the late King Hamlet telling his son how his brother (Claudius) murdered him. He compares the serpent (from Adam and Eve) to his brother. This gives a whole new view of Claudius and what type … Read more
Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his inability to avenge his father’s death because he hasn’t been able to conquer himself in his internal conflict. This recalls the cliche- “One’s greatest enemy is no other than oneself”. I think procrastination is the inaction that leads to Hamlet’s downfall and behind the inaction, there were three main flaws: … Read more
Shakespeare’s Hamlet has often been considered one of the most intriguing and problematic plays of the English language. Among the many questions that Hamlet raises, lies the subject of whether or not Hamlet actually becomes insane. Using extensive evidence from the text and scholarly criticism, it can be efficiently argued that Hamlet does indeed maintain … Read more
Hamlet’s Inner Torment “To be or not to be, that is the question,” is one of Shakespeare’s most well known quotes from his tragic play, Hamlet. In the play Hamlet looses his father at the hands of his evil uncle, who then marries his mother and takes over his rightful throne. Over the course of … Read more
In Hamlet, the philosophy and ideas of Stoicism make their appearance onstage and shape the themes and dialogue of the play. Stoicism, which praises the superiority of reason and civilization over the more base element of emotion, is the backbone of much of the conflict in Hamlet. Hamlet’s dedication to his Stoic beliefs ends up … Read more
The Dynamics of the relationship between Hamlet, and Horatio. Horatio is the only person in the play that Hamlet trusts. Horatio is one of the two people who know for certain that Hamlet’s madness is an act. Horatio is the only friend/family Hamlet has. Horatio is the only one caring for him, taking care of … Read more
“This above all, to thine own self be true” (1.3.88). As Polonius offers this advice to his departing son Laertes, he also states one of the defining principles of the philosophical branch known collectively as existentialism. A paradigm firmly rooted in the individual experience, existentialism champions responsibility and states that man is nothing but the … Read more
Antithesis is a rhetorical device in which two contrasting words or concepts are juxtaposed within a parallel grammatical structure (literarydevices.com). In this case, the repeated use of this literary convention and the balanced structure it employs is meant to highlight the irony of the fact that Hamlet himself can’t seem to find a healthy balance: … Read more
“Hamlet challenges the conventions of revenge tragedy by deviating from them” (Sydney Bolt, 1985) The typical Elizabethan theatre-goer attending the first production of ‘Hamlet’ in 1604 would have had clear expectations. The conventions of Elizabethan revenge tragedy were already well established, drawn initially from the Senacan model of revenge tragedy, which combined bloody and treacherous … Read more
Alone in his childhood home, his father buried and his mother married to another man, Hamlet laments, “O that this too too sullied flesh would melt, thaw and resolve itself into dew” (1.2.129-30). Hamlet brings up suicide early in Act I and ponders it throughout the play. He not only considers the idea, but intentionally … Read more
Elizabeth Fowler Drama Essay / Eng 113-700 April 28, 2006 In William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” Queen Gertrude’s culpability of King Hamlet’s death has been the subject of much debate. Although her guilt or innocence in this matter is arguable, her culpability of many other deaths is also a subject worth investigating. Queen Gertrude is a woman … Read more
The play, The Tragedy of Hamlet The Prince of Denmark, follows the story of Hamlet after his father’s murder. Hamlet learns that Claudius, his stepfather and uncle, poisoned his brother and his father wants his death to be avenged. Claudius spies on Hamlet after discovering Hamlet has learned the truth of his father’s death by … Read more
Hamlet’s soliloquy in Act 1 Scene II is his first of the play and, as a consequence, allows the audience to see his inner thoughts for the first time. The subjects of this soliloquy are numerous: his father’s death, his mother’s response to this death, his mother’s remarriage to his uncle and Hamlet’s own sense … Read more
The Kite Runner is a book written by Khaled Hosseini in the year 2003. The author of the book is an Afghan-American who tells the story of Amir who is a small boy from the district of Kabul. The novel exposes many themes based on the Afghanistan customs and cultural practices. The book has many … Read more
In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Shakespeare illustrates a nature in Hamlet that Sigmund Freud identified long after the play was made. Right when the association amongst Hamlet and his mom is inspected, Freud’s oedipal complex speculation strikes a note. The oedipal complex is a hypothesis made by Freud which imparts that, “the child takes both … Read more
Introduction The theme of revenge keeps recurring in William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet. Most of the revenge missions that different characters in the play undertake end up in tragedy. Although Hamlet, the main character, contemplates revenging his father’s murder, he considers the tragedy that will result from his actions and therefore, he tries to rescind his … Read more
Trickery and Deception in Hamlet Trickery and deception are two devices that are demonstrated frequently throughout the Hamlet universe. First and foremost, Claudius, King Hamlet’s brother, murders King Hamlet to steal the throne of Denmark. Claudius tricked the entire kingdom, and deceived young Hamlet and his mother. Claudius murders the late King Hamlet by pouring … Read more
The author Izaak Walton noted, “The person that loses their conscience has nothing left worth keeping.” The characters in Hamlet constantly struggle with the power of their consciences, as they are tempted to satiate their innermost desires. Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, is the epitome of the power of conscience in the play. Although at … Read more
In Shakespeare’s text, Hamlet, madness is represented as the inability to act. For instance, Hamlet is unable to act as Claudius takes his rights to the throne though Hamlet is the rightful heir. It seems that any time hamlet acts, he is obligated to do so. Madness in Shakespeare’s text is represented as an obligation … Read more
One of the significant conflicts within Renaissance culture was how to rationalize the many instances of violence which took place in a society with such strong Christian values. While some preached from the New Testament of the importance of love and treating others well, many drew on the numerous descriptions of murder and war found … Read more
Hamlet and Macbeth are two of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays. Each share not only fame, however, but format: Both feature main characters with tragic flaws that become their demise. In the cases of Hamlet and Macbeth, this flaw is madness. Whether their insanity is feigned or unfeigned, it plays a key role in their … Read more
Insanity is defined as doing something over and over again and expecting a different outcome. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the young and not fully mature Hamlet might be thought of as insane. However, although he says and does things that are out of the ordinary, he is not doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome. It … Read more
Antithesis is a rhetorical device in which two contrasting words or concepts are juxtaposed within a parallel grammatical structure (literarydevices.com). In this case, the repeated use of this literary convention and the balanced structure it employs is meant to highlight the irony of the fact that Hamlet himself can’t seem to find a healthy balance: … Read more
In his powerful play, “Hamlet,” William Shakespeare utilizes the theme of playacting as a medium through which Hamlet can make political statements, as well as shield himself in supposed madness. Hamlet uses plays to not only inform Claudius that someone knows his secret, but also as a way to maneuver through different situations, so that … Read more
I. Introduction Past critics have deemed Ophelia an insignificant and marginal character in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, functioning only to further define Hamlet. One such critic, Jacques Lacan, interprets Ophelia as a mere object of Hamlet’s sexual desire: she is essential only because she is inextricably linked to Hamlet. Literary criticism denies Ophelia a story and purpose … Read more
“Understanding kills action.” With these three simple words, Nietzsche explains the idea behind Shakespeare’s development of the acting of thought as inaction, and also the reason that Hamlet hesitates for over 3000 lines of blank verse and prose to avenge the murder of his father. The motif of delay and inaction as thought can be … Read more
The act of revenge never fails to gather an audience, due to the simple fact that revenge raises one of the great questions in regards to human life: how does one seek justice when the law ceases to function properly? William Shakespeare tapped into the human fascination for the act of revenge, and produced a … Read more
Hamlet’s soliloquy in Act 1 Scene II is his first of the play and, as a consequence, allows the audience to see his inner thoughts for the first time. The subjects of this soliloquy are numerous: his father’s death, his mother’s response to this death, his mother’s remarriage to his uncle and Hamlet’s own sense … Read more
In Shakespeare’s play, the protagonist, Hamlet, is faced with the mission of avenging his father. He decides to act mad as part of his plan to kill Claudius and avenge his father. As the plot of the play rises, his madness becomes more and more believable. The readers know that Hamlet is acting mad because … Read more
Throughout his pieces and plays, Shakespeare incorporates themes that define human nature. In his play “Hamlet” he uses the characters to portray desire and flaws with society to teach the audience a lesson that is not always visible on the surface of his works. The lessons not only meant to be a lesson but also … Read more
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Claudius, brother to the late King Hamlet, secretly messed with the minds of others to get what he wanted when he wanted it. People thought of him as a supporter to people’s problems while he was the one behind all of them along. He will manipulate his wife, Queen Gertrude, who … Read more
Revenge in Hamlet In modern times justice is virtually always served. Most crimes and wrong doings are reprimanded and punishments are given. Yes, there are the scarce few who go above and beyond the law to take matters into their own hands. But it is the co formality of the law and of justice that … Read more
The author Izaak Walton noted, “The person that loses their conscience has nothing left worth keeping.” The characters in Hamlet constantly struggle with the power of their consciences, as they are tempted to satiate their innermost desires. Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, is the epitome of the power of conscience in the play. Although at … Read more
A common interpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, based on the widely read Folio edition of the text, is that the titular character is motivated by darkness, exhibiting depression and suicidal tendencies. The young prince often refers to suicide, and his soliloquies contain language that indicates that thoughts of death and suicide heavily impact his mentality. However, … Read more
