Hamlet's Time-Out Of Joint

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The vividness of the Time Out of Joint
William Shakespeare composed in 1601 the play of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark which was considered at the time as a masterpiece, and it is still considered as one till the current time. One of the reasons for the great attraction of the play lies in Shakespeare's unique writing techniques. By the use of these unique writing methods Shakespeare elevates the language from its fundamental facility as a mean of communication, to a level in which the language is being transferred from its abstract notion to a degree that it becomes materialized for the audience at the Globe or the contemporary reader. Therefore, in Hamlet prince of Denmark, the audiences in the theater experience the elaboration of the words …show more content…

However, there are other aspects of time which are also important to our investigation of the subject of time in Hamlet. In order to further explore the issue of the fractured time from its historical aspect, it could be instructive to analyze the following dialogue between Hamlet and Horatio in the first act. I think it was to see my Mother's wedding. […] Thrift, thrift, Horatio. The funeral baked meats Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables. Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven Or ever I had seen that day, Horatio. My father, methinks I see my father – …show more content…

In order to shed some light over this claim, we should use Professor Lingui Yang’s essay titled “Cognition and Recognition: Hamlet’s Power of Knowledge”. According to Yang when Hamlet speaks about "marriage tables" (Ibid.) it reflects his cognitive fracture since he is suffering a conflict in his consciousness. This conflict stems from the forthcoming marriage of Claudius and Gertrude, since in Hamlet's mind the right chronological order should have been one in which the late father-king would have passed the thrown to Hamlet as he is the natural successor. Consequently Hamlet comprehends that the natural biological time was ruptured by the murder of the king, thus, causing a discrepancy in Hamlet's mind, hence, he expresses it as though the prior sequence of the royal marriage was organized and methodical like the form of a table. Therefore, it is comprehensible that from Hamlet's point of view the marriage of King Claudius to Gertrude symbolizes the deflection of the royal lineage which in itself is also in correlation with the historical

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