Salvador de Madariaga's La jirafa sagrada (The Sacred Giraffe) Amidst the fight for women’s suffrage in Spain, Salvador de Madariaga wrote The sacred giraffe, being the second volume of the posthumous works of Julio. In 1925, the time the book was published, women in the United States and much of Europe had secured the right to vote while those in Spain still remained in the fight. Madariaga an active politician as well as a writer sets up his novel as a world turned upside down. The humorous
he believes is the reality of each of his given situations and searches for answers which he never finds. According to Salvador de Madariaga, "the true tragedy of Hamlet [is] not his incapacity to avenge his father; not his frustrated ambition; but his incapacity to be Hamlet. He can think Hamlet; he cannot be Hamlet" (95). Through this statement, Madariaga is explaining that Hamlet's beliefs, his idea of reality, and his own perception of his existence does not go beyond his thoughts
Delving into the character of King Claudius in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, we find a character who is not totally evil but rather a blend of morally good and bad elements. Let’s explore the various dimensions of this many-sided character. Peter Leithart in “The Serpent Now Wears the Crown: A Typological Reading of Hamlet,” considers the gravity of the main sin of offense of Claudius: Claudius's murder of King Hamlet, the act catalyzing the drama of the play, is presented as a sin of
Ambiguity of Hamlet In Shakespeare’s dramatic tragedy Hamlet, the reader finds ambiguity of one type and another here and there throughout the play. The protagonist himself is an especially ambiguous character is his own rite. Harold Bloom in the Introduction to Modern Critical Interpretations: Hamlet expounds on the ambiguity and mysterious conduct of the hero during the final act: When Horatio responds that Claudius will hear shortly from, presumably that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Imagination and Realism in Hamlet Shakespeare’s tragic drama Hamlet is a composite of poetic and realistic elements. Which predominates? This paper analyzes the presence of both realism and imagination. Richard A. Lanham in “Superposed Plays” discusses the poetic or imaginative side of Hamlet: The real doubt comes when we ask, “What poetic do we bring to the Hamlet play?” As several of its students have pointed out, it is a wordy play. Eloquence haunts it. Horatio starts the wordiness
Hamlet’s Best Friend, Horatio A.C. Bradley in Shakespearean Tragedy notes a problem involving Horatio in Shakespeare’s Hamlet: When Horatio, at the end of the soliloquy, enters and greets Hamlet, it is evident that he and Hamlet have not recently met at Elsinore. Yet Horatio came to Elsinore for the funeral (I.ii. 176). Now even if the funeral took place some three weeks ago, it seems rather strange that Hamlet, however absorbed in grief and however withdrawn from the Court, has not met
Horatio – Unsullied Character in Hamlet Perhaps even more innocent than Ophelia in Shakespere’s Hamlet is Horatio. This essay will treat his character in depth, including many literary critical evaluations. Who is the play’s historian? None other than Horatio. In the first scene Horatio gives a detailed history of what has gone before regarding King Hamlet: Our last king, Whose image even but now appear'd to us, Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway, Thereto prick'd
Horatio – Hamlet’s Dearest Friend In Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet there are many characters who can be accused of many sins – but not Horatio. Rightfully Hamlet compliments Horatio on his nobility and dignity; he is indeed a faithful friend. This essay will highlight this ideal friendship as part of a general consideration of Horatio. Cumberland Clark in “The Supernatural in Hamlet” describes Horatio’s reaction when the prince intends to follow the ghost: Hamlet addresses the spirit, which
Ambiguity within Hamlet The Shakespearean tragic drama Hamlet, though recognized as an unexcelled classic of tragedy by many literary critics, is nevertheless ambiguous in various words and actions. This problematic dimension of the drama will be considered in this essay. Howard Felperin, in his essay “O’erdoing Termagant,” expounds on the ambiguity within Hamlet’s directives to the plays (“O, it offends me to the soul . . .”): Yet whether or not Hamlet’s account of the purpose
Dramatic irony in the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet has long been the subject matter of literary critical reviews. This essay will exemplify and elaborate on the irony in the play. David Bevington in the Introduction to Twentieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet identifies one of the “richest sources of dramatic irony” in Hamlet: Well may the dying Hamlet urge his friend Horatio to “report me and my cause aright To the unsatisfied,” for no one save Horatio has caught more than a glimpse of
The Wise Polonius of Hamlet In Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet there is one character, besides the protagonist, who is very quotable because of the wisdom of his comments. This is the father of Laertes and Ophelia, namely Polonius. He is the subject of this essay. In “Shakespeare’s Nomenclature” Harry Levin discusses the name “Polonius’ and other names from the play: The Latinism Polonius reminds us of the Polish question, moot throughout Hamlet, where the onomastics are polyglot. If Marcellus
Themes in Hamlet Within the Shakespearean tragic drama Hamlet there are a number of themes. Literary critics find it difficult to agree on the ranking of the themes. This essay will present the themes as they are illustrated in the play – and let the reader prioritize them. Michael Neill in “None Can Escape Death, the ‘Undiscovered Country’” interprets the main theme of the play as a “prolonged meditation on death”: How we respond to the ending of Hamlet – both as revenge drama
Hamlet -- Realism and Imagination Do realism and imagination coexist side by side and equally present within the Shakespearean drama Hamlet? Let us examine the evidence from the play, along with literary critical opinion on this subject. In “Acts III and IV: Problems of Text and Staging” Ruth Nevo explains how “all things are opposite of what they seem” at a crucial time in the play: In the prayer scene and the closet scene his [Hamlet’s] devices are overthrown. His mastery is
To what extent is spirituality woven into the fabric of Shakespeare’s tragic drama Hamlet? This essay proposes to answer that question. David Bevington, in the Introduction of Twentieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet, finds a very obvious spiritual dimension to the drama: According to popular Elizabethan belief, both Catholic and Protestant, spirits from the dead could indeed “assume a pleasing shape,” in order to abuse a person in Hamlet’s vulnerable frame of mind and so lead him to damnation
The Structure in Hamlet William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Hamlet invites various interpretations of the structure because of the play’s complexity. Let us in this essay analyze various interpretations of structure. Mark Rose, in “Reforming the Role,” highlights the “double plot” structure within Hamlet and another tragedy: Hamlet and Lear are the only two of Shakespeare’s tragedies with double plots. [. . .] The story of Polonius’s family works analogously in Hamlet. Each member
The Supernatural in Hamlet Though Shakespeare cannot claim the invention of the ghosts in tragedies, still he can claim to have clothed his ghost in Hamlet with convincingness. This essay concerns his one supernatural character in the tragedy. Regarding the supernatural in Hamlet, Cumberland Clark says in “The Supernatural in Hamlet”: At least six or seven years pass after the writing of Midsummer Night’s Dream before we find Shakespeare engaged on Hamlet, the second of the great
Hamlet – the Wise Polonius The older gent in Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, namely Polonius, is no type character. Rather he is quite rounded and complex. This essay will explore his character. In the Introduction to Twentieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet, David Bevington presents Polonius as similar to Hamlet in various ways: Polonius, his [Hamlet’s] seeming opposite in so many ways, is, like Hamlet, an inveterate punster. To whom else but Polonius should Hamlet direct the
Hamlet – the Ambiguity The extent of the ambiguity within William Shakespeare’s drama Hamlet deserves consideration. Literary critics disagree in their assessments of how prevalent the ambiguity is in the work. Lawrence Danson in the essay “Tragic Alphabet” discusses the equivocation and ambiguity within the play: Equivocation – the conflict between the reality Hamlet perceives and the language used to describe that reality – has made all expression a matter of mere seeming, and
Hamlet – the Character Laertes In “The World of Hamlet” Maynard Mack describes the interference of a possessive Polonius in the life of his son, Laertes: “The apparel of proclaims the man,” Polonius assures Laertes, cataloging maxims in the young man’s ear as he is about to leave for Paris. Oft, but not always. And so he sends his man Reynaldo to look into Laertes’ life there – even, if need be, to put a false dress of accusation upon his son (“What forgeries you please”), the better
Hamlet and Horatio Horatio holds the seat of honor in Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, for being the only character among the dramatis personae who is extremely close to the protagonist. Horatio’s emotional bond with the hero is paradoxically closer than that of Hamlet’s mother to the hero. This essay will examine the character of Horatio, Hamlet’s truest friend. D.G. James’ essay, “The New Doubt,” explains the hero’s passionate admiration of Horatio: But we must remark how Hamlet