William Shakespeare's Hamlet

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Hamlet In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the tragic hero reveals his inner conflicts and introspective attitude in each of the lengthy soliloquies in the play. Hamlet is a static character whose thoughts never dramatically change. Each soliloquy delves further into Hamlet's motivations, or lack thereof, and psyche. Each soliloquy, each slightly different, is all united by vivid imagery, introspective language, and discussion of Hamlet's delay of action. The first soliloquy serves to 'set the stage' for the rest of Hamlet's thoughts, feelings, and actions. It is here that Hamlet first reveals his hatred for his mother's incestuous marriage to his uncle, Claudius, his low self-image, and his great reverence for his father. Each aspect of this soliloquy has an integral and conflicting part in Hamlet's role. While he hates Claudius and immensely idolizes his father, Hamlet will be plagued by his low self-image, thus taking no action and contributing even more to his existing problems. In the beginning lines of this soliloquy Hamlet is already considering suicide. O that this too too solid flesh would melt,… Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! O God! How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world (I, ii, 135-140). Through these lines it is obvious that Hamlet is in the midst of a deep depression. He has no control over the "uses of the world." Hamlet compares Denmark to an "unweeded garden" to symbolize the corruption within his country, that is seeded within Claudius and his incestuous marriage to Gertrude. Hamlet goes on to compare his father to Claudius and comment on the relationship between King Hamlet and Gertrude. So excellent a King that was to this Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother That he might not beteem the winds of heaven Visit her face too roughly (I, ii, 145-148). In Hamlet's eyes Claudius is a beast in comparison to the god-like features of his father. This lays the foundation for Hamlet's vengeful intentions. Hamlet's also comments on the loving relationship enjoyed by his parents, in disbelief of Gertrude's actions. He does not understand why his mother married Claudius in such haste, causing such internal torment for Hamlet. This leads Hamlet to make a generalization about all women. "Frailty, thy name is woman"(I, ii, 146)! Hamlet displays his inability to separate his emotions from his rational being.

Hamlet by WIlliam Shakespeare
1044 Words | 3 Pages
William Shakespeare was a Stratford Grammar School boy, who was a member of the Church of England, similar to just about everyone else in Stratford. However, due to some events that occurred in the Shakespeare family home, there is some evidence that could prove that the family may have had some Roman Catholic connections. When William Shakespeare was 10 years old, legal issues and debt took a toll on his family’s life. Shakespeare’s father’s stopped attending alderman meetings which resulted in the removal of his name to become an alderman, and he was also forced to sell his beautiful home. The cause of this crisis is unknown, however the records can be used to throw together the idea that there were peculiar religious events going on (Fox). Due to these mishaps, William Shakespeare’s religion is a bit of a mystery. The play, Hamlet, was written by William Shakespeare during the Elizabethan era, which happened to be a time when religious conflicts were a big deal (Alsaif). The protagonist in the story, Hamlet, is a character who seems to make his choices through his religious beliefs. Hamlet is a very indecisive person, but his thoughts on religion tend to persuade him. In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses the character of Hamlet to show the flaws in all religions. Hamlet does his best to follow the rules of Christianity, but he often questions the morality involved. Although Shakespeare belonged to the Church of England, he didn’t find any particular religion to be perfect.
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Hamlet by William Shakespeare
1104 Words | 3 Pages
In William Shakespeare’s 1 Henry IV, Falstaff and King Henry IV share father-figure relationships with Henry “Hal,” Prince of Wales. The former, a drunk and cavalier knight, acts as a surrogate father to the prince, while the latter, a determined and distanced monarch, is his blood. Yet, who is the better father-figure to Hal? Although Falstaff and Prince Henry share a strong, quasi father-son relationship, the former’s manifestation of the tavern atmosphere, venality and dishonor are obstacles to the Prince’s goals; King Henry IV, on the other hand, is the better father-figure because he motivates his son to realize his ambitions, and embodies the setting of the court and the monarchy in which the Prince belongs and will one day inherit.
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Hamlet And Catcher In The Rye Depression Essay
1844 Words | 4 Pages
As a teenager, Hamlet loses his father to murder, and this event triggers Hamlet to become depressed and hurt deeply. When Gertrude questions her son’s choice to wear all black, Hamlet responds, “For they are actions that a man might play. But I have that within which passeth show, These but the trappings and the suits of woe” telling his mother there is more grief inside him than can be reflected (1.2.87-89). Hamlet tells his mother that all the black clothing he wears, and all the sobbing he does is only a hint of the grief that lays inside of him after his father’s death, and she realizes soon how greatly the death is affecting her son. Gertrude begins to notice her son’s grief taking ahold of him as Hamlet begins to spiral into insanity. Gertrude tells Claudius, “I doubt it is no other but the main: His father’s death and our o'erhasty marriage” about Hamlet’s depression and mental state (2.2.59-60). Soon, family and friends begin to see in Hamlet the depression he is driven to because of his father’s death, and his mother’s hasty remarriage. Less than two months after the King of Denmark died, Gertrude wed Claudius, her late husband’s brother. This marriage caused the grief of Hamlet to spiral even more into rage and depression, as he could not do anything to fix all the problems with the royal family. Hamlet’s anger towards his mother’s remarriage and the death of his father intertwine, creating an even more vengeful young man, as he yells at his mother, “A bloody deed—almost as bad,good mother, as kill a king and marry with his brother” (3.4.34-35). Just trying to deal with the grief of his father’s death, the wedding added to the pressures of Hamlet’s teenage life, and the depression he was already
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Hamlet and his battle with depression
1756 Words | 4 Pages
Hamlet, a young prince preparing to become King of Denmark, cannot understand or cope with the catastrophes in his life. After his father dies, Hamlet is filled with confusion. However, when his father's ghost appears, the ghost explains that his brother, Hamlet's Uncle Claudius, murdered him. In awe of the supposed truth, Hamlet decides he must seek revenge and kill his uncle. This becomes his goal and sole purpose in life. However, it is more awkward for Hamlet because his uncle has now become his stepfather. He is in shock by his mother's hurried remarriage and is very confused and hurt by these circumstances. Along with these familial dysfunctions, Hamlet's love life is diminishing. It is an "emotional overload" for Hamlet (Fallon 40). The encounter with the ghost also understandably causes Hamlet great distress. From then on, his behavior is extremely out of context (Fallon 39). In Hamlet's first scene of the play, he does not like his mother's remarriage and even mentions his loss of interest in l...
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Shakespeare's Hamlet
1035 Words | 3 Pages
Tragedies in the Greek theater when compared to tragedies in the Renaissance theater varied in similarities and differences. Greek theater encouraged the use of religious figures while Renaissance theater was supposed to be strictly pagan in its ideologies. Theater was most dominantly used to depict the social and religious constraints of the time period. For example, Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex are both portrayals of deceit, murder, and revenge all of which lead to the demise of its leading characters. Hamlet is depicted as a young man who is seeking revenge for his fathers death. Oedipus is a king who means to free the people of Thebes from a disease that has been plaguing them. They share similarities in that each of their love interest are conduits of their pain and anguish, further pushing the protagonists over the precipice. The voice of reason that they share is Creon in Oedipus Rex and Horatio in Hamlet. Their tragic flaw is that they are both ultimately and utterly doomed and no amount of guidance will steer them away from what has been predestined by fate. They are ultimately doomed to be their own Achilles heel.
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William Shakespeare's Hamlet
733 Words | 2 Pages
In “Hamlet,” Shakespeare commendably conveys a, if you will, a “love story” between the major characters in the play. Hamlet, Gertrude and Claudius are the individuals he writes about. In this story, Gertrude must choose between her son, a loyal, sincere male figure in her life that has always supported and loved her, or a man who can offer her power and fulfill her dependency trait, which one may say is what she has always strived to attain. Gertrude’s inability to see the bigger picture of King Claudius’ deceit and ill morals is what makes Gertrude a weak and submissive character. While Gertrude means no harm, her poor judgment contributes significantly to the rotten events that occur throughout the play. The choices Gertrude does make ultimately leads to her death and the downfall of the ones she loves as well.
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Hamlet by William Shakespeare
1556 Words | 4 Pages
The transition of royalty from King Hamlet to King Claudius seemed smooth, but the tension within the royal family created some complications. Almost all of Denmark gave their loyalty to a new king without any suspicion as to how the previous ruler died. Although Denmark’s citizens are unaware of the fratricide, this fickle faithfulness exemplifies the social and moral decay of Denmark. Most of Denmark’s subjects act upon their own selfish interests and lack any conviction. Shakespeare uses Polonius, formerly a loyal servant to King Hamlet, as a microcosm of Denmark’s oblivious and hypocritical society as a whole. The Lord Chamberlain of Claudius’s court and the father of Laertes and Ophelia, Polonius has good intentions, but he tends to be somewhat conniving and underhanded. He frequently leaps to the wrong conclusions, and his speeches are comically pompous and long-winded. He is completely incapable of figuring out what Hamlet is up to. Looking to stay on Claudius’s favorable side, Polonius pleases the new king’s demands and even puts his own children’s reputation and lives in jeopardy. Because of his meddling in Prince Hamlet’s business, Polonius ends up dying on his own account.
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William Shakespeare's Hamlet
732 Words | 2 Pages
William Shakespeare's Hamlet Perhaps the greatest uncertainty in William Shakespeare's Hamlet is the character of Queen Gertrude. Undoubtedly a major player with regard to number of lines and contribution to the action of the play. her personality is nonetheless basically undeveloped. It is also notable that Gertrude is perhaps the only character besides Hamlet. with enough power over all of the characters to stop the play's tragic.
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William Shakespeare's Hamlet
1165 Words | 3 Pages
Shakespeare’s Hamlet revolves around the title character’s undeniable obligation to immediately avenge his father’s death by killing Claudius. Yet much time elapses before Hamlet finally does slay his evil uncle, leading to a fundamental question: what causes the hero to delay before eventually managing to salvage some retribution? The answer is that Hamlet’s reoccuring state of impractical contemplation renders him incapable of any decisive action that could have brought quick revenge.
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Claudius' Speech
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William Shakespeare’s Hamlet revolves around Hamlet’s quest to avenge his father’s murder. Claudius’ first speech as King at the beginning of Scene 2, Act 1 introduces the themes of hierarchy, incest and appearance versus reality and plays the crucial role of revealing Claudius’ character as part of the exposition. The audience is left skeptical after Horatio’s questioning of King Hamlet’s ghost in the first scene of the play. By placing Claudius’ pompous speech immediately after the frightening appearance of Hamlet’s ghost, Shakespeare contrasts the mournful atmosphere in Denmark to the fanfare at the palace and makes a statement about Claudius’ hypocrisy. Through diction, doubling and figurative language, Shakespeare reveals Claudius to be a self centered, hypocritical, manipulative and commanding politician.
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How Does Shakespeare Present Gertrude's Madness In Hamlet
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Even so, Hamlet feels betrayed by her remarriage to Claudius and feels as though there is no one he can trust. Hamlet’s sanity is further compromised by this lack of faith in his mother. When Gertrude is first introduced, we see that her loyalties clearly lie with her new husband, King Claudius. She is “faithless” and does not show compassion for the reasonable feelings which Hamlet is dealing with because of the recent death of his father (Knight). Instead she tells Hamlet that he should “…cast thy nighted color off, And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark (I.ii.68-69).” Hamlet does not take the callous advice of his mother very kindly, seeing her as betraying King Hamlet and him through her quick remarriage of the late king’s brother. Through the “…wringing [of] his mother’s heart” Hamlet is able to compel his mother to admit her guilt. Gertrude speaks of the “black and grainèd spots” which she sees on her soul, and asks Hamlet to stop berating her about her disloyal actions (III. iv.91). Even as she confesses this guilt about her incestuous behavior, she continues to shows loyalty toward Claudius. However, when Hamlet confesses that he is indeed sane to his mother and asks her to tell King Claudius that he is mad. Gertrude does as he asks, saying that Hamlet is “Mad as the sea and wind” (IV.i.7). It is plausible that Gertrude truly sees Hamlet as insane, but she could also be covering for her son out of love and guilt for betraying him. The defining moment of Hamlet’s relationship with his mother comes at the height of Hamlet’s madness. When Claudius organizes a duel between Hamlet and Laertes Gertrude shows her motherly affection she says to Hamlet “Here, Hamlet, take my napkin, rub thy brows. The queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet” (V.ii.282-283). Shortly after, she drinks out of a goblet poisoned by
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Hamlet Acts Morally, Harms Others by his Actions, and Realizes his Tragic Limits
1017 Words | 3 Pages
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.
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Hamlet, the Existentialist
1068 Words | 3 Pages
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic play about murder, betrayal, revenge, madness, and moral corruption. It touches upon philosophical ideas such as existentialism and relativism. Prince Hamlet frequently questions the meaning of life and the degrading of morals as he agonizes over his father’s murder, his mother’s incestuous infidelity, and what he should or shouldn’t do about it. At first, he is just depressed; still mourning the loss of his father as his mother marries his uncle. After he learns about the treachery of his uncle and the adultery of his mother, his already negative countenance declines further. He struggles with the task of killing Claudius, feeling burdened about having been asked to find a solution to a situation that was forced upon him.Death is something he struggles with as an abstract idea and as relative to himself. He is able to reconcile with the idea of death and reality eventually.
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Hamlet's Oedipus Complex
685 Words | 2 Pages
Hamlet’s attachment to his mother was quickly made evident within the first act of the famous tragedy. Hamlet, who sulks around wearing black clothing to mourn the death of his father, first speaks in the play to insult his stepfather. He voices his distaste at his new relationship with his uncle by criticizing that they are, “A little more than kin and less than kind” (I.ii.65). He believes that it is unnatural for his uncle to also be his father, and eagerly jumps at an opportunity to offend Claudius. However, Hamlet acts entirely different towards his mother, despite his poor attitude....
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Conflict in William Shakespeare's Hamlet
2442 Words | 5 Pages
Old Hamlet is killed by his brother Claudius. Only two months after her husband’s death a vulnerable Gertrude marries her husband’s brother Claudius. Gertrude’s weakness opens the door for Claudius to take the throne as the king of Denmark. Hamlet is outraged by this, he loses respect for his mother as he feels that she has rejected him and has taken no time to mourn her own husband’s death. One night old Hamlets ghost appears to prince Hamlet and tells him how he was poisoned by his own brother. Up until this point the kingdom of Denmark believed that old Hamlet had died of natural causes. As it was custom, prince Hamlet sought to avenge his father’s death. This leads Hamlet, the main character into a state of internal conflict as he agonises over what action and when to take it as to avenge his father’s death. Shakespeare’s play presents the reader with various forms of conflict which plague his characters. He explores these conflicts through the use of soliloquies, recurring motifs, structure and mirror plotting.
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William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Hamlet by WIlliam Shakespeare

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Hamlet And Catcher In The Rye Depression Essay

Hamlet and his battle with depression

Shakespeare's Hamlet