Hamlet: Language and Imagery
Horatio tells Hamlet that he speaks ‘wild and whirling words’, but with Shakespeare, this can never truly be the case. Even phrases that appear so have always a complex meter behind them and, in Hamlet especially, it seems that every word is chosen individually to serve a particular purpose. Despite being almost four hundred years old, Shakespeare is considered the landmark in English literature as the dawning of the modern age of drama. Previously, drama such as the medieval morality plays was used to demonstrate moral stances, but Shakespeare focused on investigating the individual in society. The rise of eponymous drama illustrates the sudden power of the person in literature. This breakaway of Shakespeare’s ‘greatness’: many of his contemporaries and followers attempted to recreate his style, often decaying into wanton violence and atrocities (as with John Webster). His plots could be said to demonstrate moral stances (perhaps Othello could promote trust or fidelity with the consequences of jealousy and infidelity illustrated) but then Romeo and Juliet destroys the lovers who are attempting to reunite broken families, so it is difficult for that theme to be accurate. However, Shakespearean originality lies in the plots and variety even with in particular plays – Twelfth Night is generally considered a comedy but the persecution of Malvolio decays beyond the comic with the close of the play worryingly unresolved with his promise the he’ll ‘be reveng’d on the whole pack of you.’ The characterisation of his figures was also unique for his time: Shakespeare seems to have held great insight into likely human reactions to the extreme situations in which he places his characters, with...
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...he voice of the ghost that is heard, to show his indifferent attitude to his friends. Polonius’s language is used to further his character: his authority in Court (almost Claudius’ equal) contrasts with his rambling language to exacerbate his foolishness and almost guarantee his later destruction.
Therefore, Shakespeare’s use of language not only creates tension, suspense, interest, diversity, and mood, but his imagery exaggerates the feelings already created by the rest of his text. Thus, though it could be said that his plot, variety, characterisation or any number of the different mechanisms that he used to create his tales earns him the title of ‘great’, in the first two acts of Hamlet, it is his language and imagery that makes Shakespeare a truly original playwright.
Works Cited:
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Global Shakespeare Theatre Series. 1996
We firstly delve into the city and what it means to the Mexica people. Then, we enter the minds of the people who enjoy their part of society in different ways. From the warriors and priests, to the mothers, wifes and children of Tenochtitlan. Next, Clendinnen enters the world of rituals, sacrifices and aesthetics before finishing off with the defeat of the Mexican city of Tenochtitlan by the forces of Cortes in 1521.
The author is graphic in his detail of the people and the places of importance during this time in history. The book is written more from a Northern point of view and so I didn’t get quite the same perspective of the Southern side but still learned more than I knew before.
Much of the dramatic action of Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet is within the head of the main character, Hamlet. His wordplay represents the amazing, contradictory, unsettled, mocking, nature of his mind, as it is torn by disappointment and positive love, as Hamlet seeks both acceptance and punishment, action and stillness, and wishes for consummation and annihilation. He can be abruptly silent or vicious; he is capable of wild laughter and tears, and also polite badinage.
Originally titled The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke, this tragedy has been reproduced more times than any other play written by William Shakespeare (en.wikipedia.org 1 of 9). Prince Hamlet also has the lengthiest appearance of any character in all of Shakespeare's plays (en.wikpedia.org 6 of 9). In the play, Prince Hamlet is caught between balancing his need to avenge his father's death, dealing with the disgust he felt for Gertrude and Claudius' love affair, and maintaining the relationship he has with Ophelia without exposing his plans to kill his uncle Claudius for the murder of King Hamlet.
William Shakespeare’s dramatic and poetic techniques and his use of hyperbole are used to describe the characters emotions and weaknesses. The use of dramatic irony is used to create personal conflict. This is done throughout the play to describe the characters concerns and their situations.
By using just the right combination of words, or by coming up with just the right image, Shakespeare wrote many passages and entire plays that were so powerful, moving, tragic, comedic, and romantic that many are still being memorized and performed today, almost four centuries later. But the greatness of Shakespeare’s ability lies not so much in the basic themes of his works but in the creativity he used to write these stories of love, power, greed, discrimination, hatred, and tragedy.
...t, with traitorous gifts- / O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power / So to seduce!–won to his shameful lust / The will of [King Hamlet’s] most seeming virtuous queen” (I, v, 42-46). This is important because the Ghost is comparing Claudius to the serpent that seduces Eve in the Garden of Eden, confirming his manipulative nature. Therefore, through Shakespeare’s extensive use of imagery, Claudius’ corrupt, manipulative, and ruthless nature can be seen.
Through the elements of technique portrayed in this essay, it is clear to see that Shakespeare is able to influence the reader through soliloquies, imagery, and dual understanding. This overall influence being both the communication of a deeper meaning, and a more complex understanding of the events and statements within Hamlet.
No ‘part’ of the whole repertory of dramatic literature is so certain of success with almost any audience, and is yet open to such a remarkable variety of interpretation. There are as many Hamlets as there are actors who play him and Bernhardt has proved that even a woman can score a success. (101) Could the enduring reputation of Hamlet be attributed to the “ultimate form” in which the Bard of Avon expressed his ideas? Robert B. Heilman says so in “The Role We Give Shakespeare”. It is the way of venerable texts whose authenticity has impressed itself on the human imagination: he has said many things in what seems an ultimate form, and he is a fountainhead of quotation and universal center of allusion.
Language Techniques in Hamlet by William Shakespeare Shakespeare used a variety of language techniques throughout Hamlet,
In Hamlet’s speech, Shakespeare’s efforts to target his Elizabethan audience develop the theme of the frailty of man. Shakespeare conveys this underlying theme of the play by subt...
Perhaps the most notable aspect of Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, is its intense focus on its eponymous character.
How does the use of comic relief best contrast the tragedy of Hamlet? In great works of literature a comic relief is used as contrast to a serious scene to intensify the overall tragic nature of the play or to relieve tension. As illustrated in Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, intense scenes are joined with character’s banter and vacuous actions as to add a comic relief. In Hamlet, Polonius acts as a comic relief by his dull and windy personality, Hamlet uses his intelligence and his negativity toward the king and queen to create humor, while on the other hand Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are a comic relief by their senseless actions and naïve natures. Polonius, Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are all used as a comic relief to increase the ultimate tragic nature of the play.
The imagery in the play of Hamlet is composed of disease, poison, and decay this adds to the overall atmosphere of horror and tragedy. First, hamlet uses images of disease to show the state of the country of Denmark and his mother. Second, the imagery of poison is used to describe his father’s death. Lastly, Hamlet describes his feelings toward himself and Claudius and his feelings toward his mother by using images of decay. In Hamlet, as in all literature, imagery adds to reader’s ability to imagine the feeling of the story.
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.