Food in Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Unlike some of Shakespeare's other plays Hamlet doesn't seem to
contain as many references to food. When researching food in reference
to The Merry Wives of Windsor, it was easy to see much of the
symbolism behind the many references. One of the most interesting
references to food in Hamlet we discussed in class. I found it really
interesting how Shakespeare used posset as a way to describe poison
clotting in the ear. Unfortunately though, references like this are
few and far between in Hamlet. One scene that I found fascinating was
in act four, scene five. This is the scene where, apparently mad,
Ophelia begins to distribute various flowers. These flowers, some of
which double up as herbs and spices, carry specific meaning and
symbolism. In the text it is unclear to whom Ophelia is distributing
the flowers and herbs to. However, if you take a closer look at their
meanings along with what is going on in the plot of the play, it is
possible to make an educated guess as to who the flowers and herbs are
intended.
The first herb that Ophelia distributes is rosemary, which she cites
as being for remembrance. It is unclear in the stage direction whether
she hands these over to the King, the Queen, or her brother Laertes.
Ophelia at this point seems to be in a mad state due to her father's
death. Ever since Hamlet killed Polonius, Ophelia has been singing and
dancing around in a crazed state muttering incomplete thoughts.
Ophelia is saddened by the death of her father and distraught that
Hamlet was the murderer. I believe that Ophelia handed the Rosemary
over to Laertes as a reminder that he must a...
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...rn period I would have had
to try to use one of the medications in The English Housewife. And
while I'm sure their food was good, even by our standards, I do not
think I would trust their medical treatments, even for something
simple like a stomachache.
As a whole, I have had an enlightening experience with early modern
cookery, to say the least. I now have a whole now outlook and respect
for cooks in the early modern kitchen and for the cooks of today. I
also should say that I now realize how important modern medicine, a
hot shower and comfortable bed can be when you are sick.
Works Cited Page
Markham, Gervase. The English Housewife. Ed. Michael R. Best. Canada:
McGill- Queen's UP, 1994.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine.
New York: Washington-Square Press, 1992.
shall firstly do a summery of the play and give a basic image of what
Ophelia’s mental strength quickly dissipates due to multiple happenings in the play. The man that she once thought she was in love with kills her father, driving her into the dark abyss of grief. She begins to fall into madness, “...speaks things in doubt /That carry but half sense /Her speech is nothing” (3.3.7-8). She begins to jabber on about nonsense. She loses her ability to think, “...poor Ophelia /Divided from herself and her fair judgment” (4.5.91-92). Others see her as an emotional wreck, falling farther and farther into insanity. She finally can’t take it anymore, so she ends her own life, “As we have warranty. Her death was doubtful” (5.1.234). Others saw Ophelia in a dark light, saying that she took her own life, and that she did not deserve a nobel burial. Ophelia was driven into mania by a combination of negative things, that in the end, lead to her taking her own
Maki states, “Women of Ophelia’s time had little autonomy and their lives were reduced to the will of their father or husband.”, which applies directly to Ophelia’s state of mind. Maki also goes on to say that some symptoms of hysteria include, “choking and muteness”. For these symptoms to apply to Ophelia’s symptoms, they can be interpreted as muteness of her own opinions and and choking as in being smothered by all the men in her life. Her father and brother are pulling her in one direction and Hamlet is pulling her in another. Ophelia struggles with her instinct to remain as a respectable “good daughter” or to follow her sexul desires and chose to remain with
...of the characters’ lives as their motivation affects what they do. The play’s overall theme of manipulation for personal gain as well as general control transmits to me clearly that we are not in control, of the events that happen to us. In spite of that revelation we are in control of the way in which we react to the circumstances in our lives. Hence, no human fully grasps the capabilities to control the way we act. We simply allow certain circumstances to overpower us and dictate our actions. Ultimately, I learned that we are our actions and consequently we should acknowledge the accountability that is implied when we act a certain way. Instead of blaming others for the mistakes we make, we should understand that we have the control as much as the power to make our own decisions rather than giving that ability someone else.
In order to understand the main idea of the play, it is important to understand details of the background of the author as it will help to illustrate a possible connection to the play.
Ophelia in the fourth act of Hamlet is demonstrably insane, but the direct cause of her slipped sanity is something that remains debatable, Shakespeare uses the character Ophelia to demonstrate how women during this time were unable to break away from social norms. While it is evident that Ophelia is grieving over the death of her father, Polonius, as Horatio says of her “She speaks much of her father, says she hears / There’s tricks in the world, and hems, and beats her heart” (4.5.4-5), as lines from one of her many “songs” points towards grieving over an aged relative, “His beard as white as snow / All flaxen was his poll” with flaxen indicating a white or grayed head of hair (4.5.190-191).
...ne else in the play the power of language to alter reality, and the issues of conscious or unconscious deceit.
This can be proven by the change in Ophelia’s actions and behavior. Ophelia starts to sing strange songs in front of Gertrude about her father’s death and Hamlet’s madness. Ophelia sings to Gertrude and sings, “He is dead and gone, lady, he is dead and gone, at his head a grass-green turf, at his heels a stone” (4.5.26-29).This tells us that Ophelia is a very soft and is a very weak character and can easily get heart broken. She cares about her family and the death of her father has shattered her into pieces, it may cause problems for her to
In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, there is much symbolism throughout the entire play but one of the most controversial topics of the play is that of the seven deadly sins, (Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Wrath, Greed and Sloth). And which of the seven deadly sins is most responsible for the tragic ending of the play. Gluttony shows through most of the characters than any of the other sins. All of the characters show gluttony but a few more than others stand out. Like King Claudius.
themes of the play and helps us gain insight on other characters. I find the following quote to be
The men in Ophelia's life are wrong about her true personality. They make demands that are impossible to resolve due to the conflicting forces that influence her life. There is no way that she could possibly live up to these demands because they contradict each other. Due to the absence of Ophelia's mother, her life is completely dominated by the will of men. All of her decisions and choices in life are determined by the men around her, therefore Ophelia is a character that lacks freewill. She is deprived of the most basic intuition of humans, so therefore she loses the will to live.
It tells us what happens at the end of the play, in this case in
...the betrayal and dishonesty that is omnipresent in the play. Not only do they simply embody this concept, but they also serve to conclude the events of the play, by being the ending to what started the beginning.
Ophelia’s madness is because of what she encounters throughout the play by everyone around her. Her character is often looked past, people really don’t give her a second thought, and her emotions and wellbeing are almost entirely forgotten about. When her father and brother are telling her to stay away from Hamlet, she tries to speak up and tell them that she knows that Hamlet truly loves her. She tells them her feelings, but they say no, she is not to speak to Hamlet again and must obey. They didn’t take a second to try and look things over from her perspective.
The play Hamlet by Shakespeare, takes place in The Kingdom Denmark at the beginning of 17th century. The word tragedy means a failing of character in the hero of a tragedy that begins about his downfall. “The tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark” says it all because he was prince of Denmark and, he was not free to carve for himself. Hamlet, like all the other major characters, was untrue to himself. When he was himself, he was like Horatio, a student from Wittenberg. But as he said, "Horatio, or I do forget myself." He did forget himself. He erased himself and his humanist education from his own brain and there in the book and volume of his brain he wrote his father's commandment (the voice of Denmark, sent from Hell to speak of horrors, to breathe contagion, unfolding the secrets of his prison-house that he was forbid to tell to mortal ears). Hamlet was from himself taken away. In the play Hamlet by Shakespeare, the character Hamlet’s tragic flaw is outlined by his inability to act, and make final decisions upon his desired goals. So in the essay below there are some examples from the book that leads hamlet to his tragic flaw. At some point he is too rational that is also one of the causes that leads to his tragic flaw.