Literature certainly isn’t just limited to novels; literature exists out of any form of text that adds a certain value to the readers. Therefore, a play could be part of literature as well. One example of a well-known play is Hamlet written by Shakespeare. Hamlet is still well recognized today although it was roughly written four centuries ago. How is it possible that Shakespeare’s Hamlet is still known and appreciated throughout the world? One could say that time, place, language and target audience affect the text either positively or negatively and that thus Shakespeare must have chosen the right time, place, language and target audience which makes Hamlet still stand out today. Though, the question remains if Hamlet would be the same nowadays …show more content…
So because Hamlet was written around 1600 in London in the renaissance period, the play could contain different themes and motives. Together with the almost poetic language which showed different thinking-processes and defined social groups, the language of the royal family contained far more literary devices than normal people and above all was Hamlet who’s soliloquies consisted almost entirely of literary devices, the purpose of the play was set, to let people think about the moral discussion of either taking revenge or committing suicide and leaving a horrible world, and the target audience was established, everyone in that period as everyone was learning to think for themselves but Shakespeare could of course only reach those who came to see his play. The combination of deep characterization for the first time in a play, the use of themes and motives that hadn’t been used for a long time and the poetical language made Hamlet a …show more content…
The whole essence of the play is based upon that time period. So if Hamlet was written in a different time, the renaissance thinking and morale debate may not have been as important as it is now. It could still be a tragedy, though the effectiveness of the play which is created by the deep characterization and morale debate as a result of the renaissance would be gone. If it was written in a different place, language could have been different and cultural differences could play a role. These could cause that the religion in the play would be different as well as the absolute ruler, instead of a monarch an emperor. Though monarch and emperor have a lot in common, a different religion could surely have changed the play. If in this other religion people wouldn’t believe in ghosts, than the play wouldn’t have been about revenge as Hamlet wouldn’t have known that his father was killed by his uncle. The entire morale debate would vanish leaving nothing left of the actual purpose. If the language of the play was different, which would be caused by either a different time or place or both, translation might be needed after which the play wouldn’t have been the same anymore as a translation always alters the meaning of words and sentences slightly especially literary devices and proverbs or sayings from other cultures. A different target audience would have changed the play as different social
What can we say about Hamlet that has not being said before? Almost nothing and we do not consider ourselves worthy of even commenting on such an incredible play. What we can say for sure is that its tragic tones still serve as a referent for the modern theater. The play has approximately 4,000 lines, and since the story is tightly knit, it is hard to choose parts to cull, as it has to be done carefully in order to the play keep its original meaning. In the same way, it will depend on which format we are planning on presenting the play, if it will be presented at a theater, we might keep closer to the original. On the other hand, if the cuts would have to be done for a movie, we would have to cull it severely, so it fits the timeframe.
The play is set back in the times when monarchs ruled. This is also important to remember when considering the reactions of a modern and contemporary audience to the honourable actions of Hamlet. Hamlet idolized his father. His father, King Hamlet, was a very noble man. The contemporary audience saw a king as being God on Earth.
Hamlet was written in the early seventeenth century, it has been said that Shakespeare derived the play from a story about a man murdering his brother, the king, and taking the queen and the throne for himself. Shakespeare shifted the focus of the story to the king’s son, Hamlet, and his thoughts throughout his search for revenge. The time period in which Hamlet was written is known as the Renaissance; human nature was analyzed in art, writing, plays, and other avenues to help aid man in this “rebirth” of ideals. Hamlet’s storyline focuses on the idea that people will never see past the facade others put forth; this is displayed through Hamlet’s lack of knowledge over the details of his father’s death, as well as his apparent insanity (SparkNotes
“I like the movie but it was not as good as the book” is a saying that is said by most people. In most cases, a movie changes drastically from the book it is based on. Hamlet is one of those cases. Although it does not change completely, there are some big differences and similarities within the book and movie. Reading the play and then watching the movie makes it easier to pick out the differences and similarities. Being able to compare and contrast the movie and play of Hamlet might make it easier to decide which one is better or which one gives a better story. The movie and play of Hamlet are different because of the chronological order, parts being left out and parts being added. They are the same in ways through dialogue, characters,
At some point in their education, most students have been required to read one or more works set in time periods vastly different from their own. These pieces of literature can present something of a challenge. They may use archaic English, words that are no longer in use, or words whose meanings have changed. These works can also confound our modern sensibilities with outdated views of society and the roles played by men and women. In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, one can find almost all of these elements, but was everything as it seemed on the surface or were characters and motives more complex than seen at first glance?
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most famous work of tragedy. Throughout the play the title character, Hamlet, tends to seek revenge for his father’s death. Shakespeare achieved his work in Hamlet through his brilliant depiction of the hero’s struggle with two opposing forces that hunt Hamlet throughout the play: moral integrity and the need to avenge his father’s murder. When Hamlet sets his mind to revenge his fathers’ death, he is faced with many challenges that delay him from committing murder to his uncle Claudius, who killed Hamlets’ father, the former king. During this delay, he harms others with his actions by acting irrationally, threatening Gertrude, his mother, and by killing Polonius which led into the madness and death of Ophelia. Hamlet ends up deceiving everyone around him, and also himself, by putting on a mask of insanity. In spite of the fact that Hamlet attempts to act morally in order to kill his uncle, he delays his revenge of his fathers’ death, harming others by his irritating actions. Despite Hamlets’ decisive character, he comes to a point where he realizes his tragic limits.
Hamlet’s mourning about the death of his father and the remarriage of his mother drives him to madness. This is the main characters inner tragedy that Shakespeare expresses in the play. First he considers suicide but the ghost of King Hamlet sends him on a different path, directing him to revenge his death. Shakespeare uses Hamlet to articulate his thoughts about life, death and revenge. Being a moral character he must decide if revenge is the right thing to do. Shakespeare relays many scenarios of reasoning to the audience about mankind His hero sets the wrongs on mankind right again.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare has been a play loved for several centuries. How has this play been a long-standing global favorite? Yes, Shakespeare’s writing is spectacular; some of the best written. But, as times change so do the people. Presently, most individuals cannot comprehend modern English.
As often associated with a tragedy, a conflict usually ensues between a protagonist and another force in the play. A tragedy is ‘a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that elicits pity or terror’ (Webster's dictionary). Given its structure and depth in characterization, this play will or can be analyzed and interpreted from various perspectives and beliefs. However, my analysis of the play is conducted on the basis of various components which are: Hamlet as a tragic hero, the ironic message conveyed in the play, the roles of its characters, the role and personification of madness, the role of paranormality, the role of friends and family, the role of inaction, the role of sex and violence, and the role of death as portrayed in the play. Based on literary definitions and portrayal of his character, there is popular belief that Hamlet as the protagonist acted to satisfy his own conscience but could his actions be attributed purely to his desire or was he being influenced by other factors?
Many have wondered why Hamlet, a work from around 400 years ago is relevant in modern society. One would think a piece of work written at the time based on a true story would eventually die out as it became irrelevant. That isn't the case of Hamlet and other works by Shakespeare simply because of how Shakespeare is able to wonderfully address the human condition and the fact that the human condition simply does not change within 400 years. As said by Craven a professor at UTSA, “Humans still experience love, loss, betrayal, war, humor and tragedy, which gives Shakespeare a foothold in modern times,”Due to this, Hamlet is still relevant today because its major themes such as love, betrayal, and tragedy are major forces that we as a species still have to deal with. These themes heavily resonates with us and can be seen in popular contemporary works that exist today such as Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games and the Twilight Series which shows us how Hamlet is relevant today because of its portrayal of human traits.
Hamlet is one of the most often-performed and studied plays in the English language. The story might have been merely a melodramatic play about murder and revenge, butWilliam Shakespeare imbued his drama with a sensitivity and reflectivity that still fascinates audiences four hundred years after it was first performed. Hamlet is no ordinary young man, raging at the death of his father and the hasty marriage of his mother and his uncle. Hamlet is cursed with an introspective nature; he cannot decide whether to turn his anger outward or in on himself. The audience sees a young man who would be happiest back at his university, contemplating remote philosophical matters of life and death. Instead, Hamlet is forced to engage death on a visceral level, as an unwelcome and unfathomable figure in his life. He cannot ignore thoughts of death, nor can he grieve and get on with his life, as most people do. He is a melancholy man, and he can see only darkness in his future—if, indeed, he is to have a future at all. Throughout the play, and particularly in his two most famous soliloquies, Hamlet struggles with the competing compulsions to avenge his father’s death or to embrace his own. Hamlet is a man caught in a moral dilemma, and his inability to reach a resolution condemns himself and nearly everyone close to him.
The perfection of Hamlet’s character has been called in question - perhaps by those who do not understand it. The character of Hamlet stands by itself. It is not a character marked by strength of will or even of passion, but by refinement of thought and sentiment. Hamlet is as little of the hero as a man can be. He is a young and princely novice, full of high enthusiasm and quick sensibility - the sport of circumstances, questioning with fortune and refining on his own feelings, and forced from his natural disposition by the strangeness of his situation.
Hamlet was written in the early 1600's right before Shakespeare died. This play portrays society in such a way by showing how easily the public is fooled by people of authority. Shakespeare was writing this play as a form of entertainment but it is now seen as how society used to be. All of the deaths and the general setting of the play describes how society was back then and in essence, Shakespeare was just writing it to entertain and not to show how society was. When Hamlet ends up dying in the end of the play, it wasn’t there to show how society was but to merely entertain. Shakespeare showed how Europe was in the late 1500's to early 1600's, but in that time it was for pure entertainment. This so called entertainment showed society the possible uncertainties their lives were based upon.
Hamlet is the best known tragedy in literature today. Here, Shakespeare exposes Hamlet’s flaws as a heroic character. The tragedy in this play is the result of the main character’s unrealistic ideals and his inability to overcome his weakness of indecisiveness. This fatal attribute led to the death of several people which included his mother and the King of Denmark. Although he is described as being a brave and intelligent person, his tendency to procrastinate prevented him from acting on his father’s murder, his mother’s marriage, and his uncle’s ascension to the throne.
First, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is a story about Prince Hamlet and his quest to gain the throne as King of Denmark, which is rightfully his. Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet, suffered a mysterious death when Hamlet was too young to succeed the throne; therefore, his Uncle Claudius took reign. However, when the ghost of Hamlet’s father visits Hamlet and his friends, Bernardo and Francisco, he receives some information that will change everyone’s life. The ghost of Hamlet’s father informs Hamlet that his death was in fact caused by Claudius. Hamlet then takes it upon himself to avenge his father’s death and take what is rightfully his, the throne of Denmark. Now, while this is an obvious brief synopsis, there are several other events that take place in other versions of Hamlet.