Act One, Scene One opens in pitch darkness of the battlements of the castle of Elsinore: two guards, Barnardo and Fransico, evidently keep watch in a state of some anxiety which is immediately apparent in the edginess of their nervous questioning of each other's presence: “Who's there?”, “Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself.” Tension is created in this terse exchange: as a sense of fear should be evoked in the audience of a potentially imminent attack from a yet undisclosed source. Furthermore, Barnardo orders Fransisco to return home upon midnight, in his reminder that: “'Tis now struck twelve. ” Midnight plays an important role in many texts in signifing the beginning of supernatural activities, which essentially warn the audience that a possible supernatural event is to ensue.
Obscurity plays an important role in shaping the mood of the opening scene: the fog is so dense that each new character finds it hard to identify each other, so that consequently all approaching figures are yet again questioned over their identity. Thus, upon the arrival of Marcellus and Horatio, ...
Hamlet Act 2 starts with a conversation between Polonius and Reynaldo, his servant, about how Reynaldo is to find out about the behavior of Laertes, Polonius’ son. This event foreshadows the Queen and King’s conversation with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern about how Hamlet’s two friends will uncover the reason for Hamlet’s recent behavior change. In their conversation, Polonius tells Reynaldo that he is to ask random people about Laertes and to tell the people about how Laertes, in his youth, gambled, was intoxicated and got into fights. He then tells Reynaldo to spy on Laertes. Through these actions, Polonius shows that he will do almost anything to control his children and their reputations. Throughout this Act, one general theme is revealed. This theme is the scheming of characters to
Throughout a variety of movie interpretations of a given film, one version proves to be the most effective for distinct reasons. Within Act 3, Scene 4 of Hamlet, Shakespeare provides little direction by which the scene should be interpreted, but the play, taken in its entirety, proposes a certain way in which Hamlet and Gertrude express their emotions. This has led to distinctive cinematic interpretations of this scene, all in which portray the storyline in a unique way. Kenneth Branagh’s version of the closet scene provides a more realistic portrayal of the conflict between Hamlet and Gertrude than the Gregory Dovan and Campbell Scott versions; Branagh’s view on the mother-son relationship, Hamlet’s reaction to the ghost and Gertrude’s guilt is closer to the original text in which Shakespeare leaves room for audience interpretation.
When one reflects on the questions they are asked in life, one of the most thought provoking questions is “what is your favorite movie?” Though a trivial question, one constantly finds oneself baffled trying to think of a movie in which they can truly say is their favorite. Once one comes up with an answer to this question, the preceding question is “why?” What is it that truly makes a movie great? One can argue the characters, or the story line that makes the movie great. But ultimately it is the memorable scenes in which make the movie ones favorite. It is the scenes that truly stand out above the other components of a movie or play. For this reason, numerous writers emphasize one or two scenes in which stand out from all the rest. This technique was mastered by no other than the playwright William Shakespeare. Shakespeare throughout his tragedies focuses on two scenes that stand out to the audiences. Shakespeare’s emphasis on scenes is evident in act 1 scene 1, act three scene 1 of his play Hamlet, and Act 2kj… of his play King Lear.
Hamlet is a suspenseful play that introduces the topic of tragedy. Throughout the play, Hamlet displays anger, uncertainty, and obsession with death. Although Hamlet is unaware of it, these emotions cause the mishaps that occur throughout the play. These emotions combined with his unawareness are the leading basis for the tragic hero’s flaws. These flaws lead Hamlet not to be a bad man, but a regular form of imperfection that comes along with being human.
Throughout William Shakespeare’s tragic play, Hamlet, the main character and protagonist, intentionally named Hamlet, is faced with many difficult decisions. In attempt to avenge his father’s death, Hamlet acts confident when he is in the public’s eye but while he is alone he is constantly conflicted by his conscience and his heart. The character of Hamlet is defined by his soliloquies, which include an amalgamation of feelings of guilt and pondering cause and effect. In doing so, Hamlet causes his madness to cloud his judgement.
On the journey through the path of life, there are encounters with many different incidents and situations where we must act accordingly. Depending on what type of personality is possessed, there are numerous ways that we can deal with these encounters. In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the main character is confronted with a cluster of dilemmas and is in emotional distress. The ghost that encounters Hamlet, the monarchs’ incest, and the contemplation of murder, are the major conflicts which he must deal with one way or another. As a result of these three issues, as well as Hamlet’s particular character, he handles these issues internally which causes internal struggle and a passive response.
"To be, or not to be, that is the question."(Hamlet) This is the issue that torments Hamlet through the whole play. Should I live or would it be a good idea for me to pass on, would it be advisable for me to take revenge for my dad 's demise? These are all issues that Hamlet fights inside himself. Hamlet 's uncertainty is trailed by inaction. The purpose behind this battle with hesitation can be founded on numerous variables or on a mix of a couple.
Dramatic irony is when the audience or reader knows the words and actions of the characters in a work of literature, but certain characters in the story do not know them. The reader or audience has a greater knowledge of many of the characters themselves. Shakespeare employs dramatic irony in many of his tragedies; so that the audience is engaged, and so they are able to witness characters errors in their action, predict the fate of the characters, and experience feelings of tragedy and grief. As a tragedy, Hamlet deals with the problems that arise as a result of Hamlet's attempt to avenge his father's death. Throughout the play Hamlet is on the search of his self, while his actions are shaping who he really is. As he is attempting to find himself his actions go too far and cause many deaths even his own, and he never gets the opportunity of finding his true self. According to the Whit Cream team, “your choices, values and perspectives that shape your soul” define your self.
Incest, hatred, trickery, revenge, justice and a thousand more themes all appear in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Each character is complex and troubled by something. They all have their own sins which they face. The story follows each character, whether evil or good, and creates a dramatic atmosphere in a whirlwind of external conflict which then stirs up emotions, fashioning an internal conflict. One most certainly drives the other. The main character, Hamlet, certainly is focused on the most in terms of internal conflict; however, the other characters give off many signs and speeches that tell us he’s not the only one. All of the scenes where we get the most in depth with Hamlet’s internal struggle.
To understand a play, you must first understand the fundamentals for the play: protagonist, antagonist, exposition, rising action, crisis, climax and resolution. I will examine Hamlet by William Shakespeare. This is a great example for the purpose of this paper it provides a clear and great examples.
An individual’s response to conditions of internal and external conflict is explored throughout literature. In his play, Hamlet, Shakespeare delves into the themes of appearance versus reality, lies versus deceit, rejection versus self doubt and tragedy, and in doing so attacks the frivolous state of humanity in contemporary society. In order to explore these themes, however, he uses several forms of conflict to project his opinions and expand his ideas relating to the themes of the play. Internal conflict, as well as external conflict are dominant features of his works, and in Hamlet are made evident through a succession of dire events which can attack and destroy someone. However perhaps the most captivating form of conflict Shakespeare uses to expand and explore the ideas presented within the text is the conflict between the self and the universe.
The only characters to soliloquize in Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet are King Claudius and Prince Hamlet, the latter delivering seven notable soliloquies with much psychological content. However, the psychological dimension of others is presented.
In writing Hamlet, William Shakespeare plumbed the depths of the mind of the protagonist, Prince Hamlet, to such an extent that this play can rightfully be considered a psychological drama.
In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the protagonist exhibits a puzzling, duplicitous nature. Hamlet contradicts himself throughout the play. He endorses both the virtues of acting a role and that of being true to one's self. He further supports both of these conflicting endorsements with his actions. This ambiguity is demonstrated by his alleged madness, for he does behave madly, only to become perfectly calm and rational an instant later. These inconsistencies are related with the internal dilemmas he faces. He struggles with the issue of revenging his father's death, vowing to kill Claudius and then backing out, several times. Upon this point Hamlet stammers through the play. The reason for this teetering is directly related to his inability to form a solid opinion about role playing. This difficulty is not present, however, at the start of the play.
In 350 B.C.E., a great philosopher wrote out what he thought was the definition of a tragedy. As translated by S.H. Butcher, Aristotle wrote; “Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions. . . . Every Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its quality—namely, Plot, Characters, Thought, Diction, Spectacle, Melody. (http://www.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/poetics.html)” Later in history, William Shakespeare wrote tragedies that epitomized Aristotle’s outline of a tragedy. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one such tragedy.