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hamlet and existentialism
the existentialist view of Hamlet
worldview
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The Existentialist Views of Hamlet
Do we matter? Will anything we do endure? These are questions from existentialism. The dictionary defines existentialism as "the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for his acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad" (Merriam Webster). In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet struggles with the concept that nothing from our lives last and time grinds everything away. Hamlet's major conflict was his existentialist view of the world.
Does a prince of Denmark have any worth if "Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth into dust; the dust is earth; of earth we make loam; and why of that loam, whereto he was converted, might they not stop a beer-barrel? Imperious Caesar, dead and turn'd to clay, Might stop a hole to keep the wind away" ( V. i. 206-209)? Hamlet saw examples of lives crumbling to dust. Twenty thousand men and twenty thousand ducats are spent on "A little patch of ground that hath in it no profit but the name. To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it." ( IV. iiii. 19-21). These lives are expended for nothing and even Hamlet's father, a good and wise king, was murdered with only Hamlet mourning for an extended period. The king's wife said "Seek for thy noble father in the dust: Thou know'st 'tis common; all that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity." ( I. ii. 72-74) and she later encourages Hamlet to stop pretending to mourn for his father. Hamlet protests that he feels actual grief for his father but he fears that his father's life is already becoming meaningless.
This existentialist worldview forced Hamlet to overanalyze before action...
... middle of paper ...
.... Hamlet died believing his life counted for nothing.
Works Cited and Consulted:
Bloom, Harold. Introduction. Modern Critical Interpretations: Hamlet. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986.
Bradley., A. C. Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.
Burton, Philip. "Hamlet." The Sole Voice. New York: The Dial Press, 1970. N. pag. http://www.freehomepages.com/hamlet/other/burton-hamlet.htm
Mack, Maynard. "The World of Hamlet." Yale Review. vol. 41 (1952) p. 502-23. Rpt. in Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism. Rev. ed. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. New York: Oxford University P., 1967.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html
In the film Rashomon, we are given contradicting testimonies from the characters, but what is strange is that the bandit, the samurai, and his wife all claim to be responsible for the killing. Another strange aspect is that the fourth witness, the woodcutter, should have been the most objective person, but even he tells a version that may not be true. An explanation for the testimonies that these 4 give is that they were not motivated by a sense of justice and a search for truth, but rather by their own pride and sense of honor, which is shown by what the characters say and how the film used visual and audio aspects to help tell their stories.
in it's life from good times to bad. The book starts off with Raptor Red
Bradley, A.C. "Shakespeare's Tragic Period--Hamlet." Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. Toronto: MacMillan, 1967.
2. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Washington Square Press, 1992.
Shakespeare, William. The Three-Text Hamlet. Eds. Paul Bertram and Bernice Kliman. New York: AMS Press, 1991.
Following the testimony of the bandit the police then hear the testimony of the Musago. She starts off by saying that after Tajomaru took advantage of her and she could not put up any sort of fight because she is too weak. After Musago was raped she went to her husband to be consoled and too untie him but what she found was pure hatred f...
Rap is about giving voice to a black community otherwise underrepresented, if not silent, in the mass media. It has always been and remains … directly connected to the streets from which it came. (144)
Those in the mainstream have long considered rap music controversial. However its controversy escalated to a whole new level when the world was introduced to “Gangsta Rap,” where violent acts and suggestions are graphically portrayed (yale). The notorious rap group responsible for the introduction of gangsta rap was NWA (bomp). Gangsta rap has been criticized and debated over for its graphic sexual content, and violent imagery (yale). The lyrics in many songs contain violent and explicit lyrics that usually talk about killing someone along with sounds of gunshots in the background. Gangsta rap also talks about drug use and portrays negative attitudes toward women, especially black women. The artists refer to women as, “bitches,” “whores” and sex dispensing “hoes.” On the contrary there is a nice sideffect to controversy; you can use it
Goldman, Michael. "Hamlet and Our Problems." Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ed. David Scott Kaston. New York City: Prentice Hall International. 1995. 43-55
Rashomon is a film which allows you to come up with your own ending. You are told four stories, all completely different from one another, but about the same thing. As the viewer, you are to come up with your own truth. Also you are then forced to see why people may lie or embellish. Whether it be to keep themselves out of trouble or make themselves seem as if they are a better person then they really are. The reality is that we are no better then what people think we are. This is because we are unable to judge ourselves. We are unable be honest with ourselves. We are unable to see ourselves in a bad light without having made up some excuse. We try to justify everything that it is that we may do, so not to damage our egos. It is our egos which keep us like this. It is our egos which make us feel good, so we are going to do anything to keep our ego at a high point. Why is it that we are willing to lie so that we don’t have to see who we really are? What is it about ourselves that we wish not to see? Maybe it is the fact that we all want to be viewed as this perfect person that can do no wrong and make no mistakes. So we embellish on our own behalf in order to hide our imperfections, our mistakes.
Bradley, A.C. "Shakespeare's Tragic Period--Hamlet." Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. Toronto: MacMillan, 1967.
Dixon, Travis L., TaKeshia Brooks. “Rap Music and Rap Audiences: Controversial Themes, Psychological Effects and Political Resistance.” Perspectives. 7 April 2009. .
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html
time. As time progresses, countries seem to be able to grow at a much more rapid
...World of Hamlet.” Yale Review. vol. 41 (1952) p. 502-23. Rpt. in Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism. Rev. ed. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. New York: Oxford University P., 1967.