Although many works of literature are very long, the main idea can be summarized in one or two of its lines. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the most important line is: “This above all, to thine own self be true, / And it must follow, as the night the day, / Thou canst not then be false to any man” (1.3, 78-80). Spoken by Polonius, this advice is present throughout the entire play, together with the motifs of truth and lying. The characters desire to be true to themselves; however, some of them are not true to others.
The main character, Hamlet, is a character that is not true to others, nor to himself. When the Ghost of his father tells him he was murdered by Claudius, Hamlet doubts the truth. He does not trust the ghost of his father, so has to find a way to prove it. Deciding on how to prove or disprove the Ghost, Hamlet predicts: “The play’s the thing / Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King” (2.2, 616-17). Because he distrusts the Ghost, Hamlet is not true to his father. However, when his plan proves to him that the Ghost’s words are true, Hamlet still does not act; he still cannot avenge his father’s murder. Hamlet decides not to kill Claudius, using the fact that he is praying as an excuse. Hamlet does not want Claudius’s soul to go to heaven, therefore he decides not to kill him, explaining: “A villain kills my father, and for that, I, his sole son, do the same villain send to heaven” (3.3, 76-78). However, after trying to pray, the King claims that his prayers were not heard: “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. / Words without thoughts never to heaven go” (3.3, 97-8). Therefore, had Hamlet chosen to kill Claudius at that time, his soul would have gone to Hell. Hamlet uses God as an excuse for not acting. He is not true and is lying to himself, because he wants to kill Claudius, yet does not.
Claudius is also a character who is neither true to himself nor to others: he is not being true to the rest of the kingdom. He does not want to give up his gains, so the people of Denmark do not know why their previous King has died and his brother taken over. While making an attempt to pray, he realizes that his sins cannot be forgiven.
In The Story of an Hour, the main character, Mrs. Louise Mallard, is a young woman with a heart condition who learns of her husband’s untimely death in a railroad disaster. Instinctively weeping as any woman is expected to do upon learning of her husband’s death, she retires to her room to be left alone so she may collect her thoughts. However, the thoughts she collects are somewhat unexpected. Louise is conflicted with the feelings and emotions that are “approaching to possess her...” (Chopin 338). Unexpectedly, joy and happiness consume her with the epiphany she is “free, free, free!” (Chopin 338). Louise becomes more alive with the realization she will no longer be oppressed by the marriage as many women of her day were, and hopes for a long life when only the day prior, “…she had thought with a shudder that life may ...
As the top-selling buyer at Posh Style Studios, I know for a film to be exceedingly preferential, the audience’s interest is the key. Without the interest of your audience, you cannot achieve the primary goal: sales. In the best interests of Posh Style Studios, we are gratified to bring before you, your next immense sensation: “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin. The beguiling title refers to the time period upon which the central character, Louise Mallard, perceives that her husband is dead and then learns that he is after all, alive. In "The Story of an Hour", there are a number of literary elements that influence the story, having the audience on their toes for what will transpire next. The story's structure is also constructed on tongue-in-cheek elements. Kate Chopin uses irony to make the story a tease to the audience. The audience is forced to assume about what little is known, what they want to know, and what really is happening. This film will appeal to countless audiences as they absorb the pros and cons of communication, time...
Hamlet's beliefs are so strong, and his love for his father so great, he tries to avoid making the decision by proving the ghost is not lying. When Hamlet's experiment with the players verifies the ghost's story, Hamlet realizes he must choose which father to follow. Does he go against the teachings of the church and commit the act of revengeful murder? Or does he ignore the wishes of the father he adored? Choosing either path means disappointing one of them. The burden this decision leads Hamlet to finally fall from the plane of sanity.
The plays the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King". (55) Towards the end of the play, Claudius hastily removes himself from the crowd, verifying Hamlet's suspicions. Now, Hamlet not only possesses every reason to believe the ghost, but entrusts his faith in the ghost as well. However, Hamlet's faith does not lie solely in the ghost. He has another kind of faith faith in himself. Hamlet's belief that he can see through his revenge blatantly exemplifies his faith in himself.
In the players’ scene, Hamlet revises the play of The Murder of Gonzago, adding in a scene that hints at the murder of King Hamlet. When Claudius reacts to Hamlet’s trap and makes a sudden exit, Hamlet now knows that the ghost’s story is true and will “take the ghost’s word for a thousand pound.” He now has no reason not to act. Prior to witnessing Claudius’ reaction, Hamlet has been debating with himself over the legitimacy of the ghost and its story. He has been questioning himself and whether he is a coward, because all he has done is talk, not having taken any action. Now that Hamlet knows the murderous sin Claudius has committed, Hamlet feels no guilt in avenging his father’s death. The plot takes a turn, as Hamlet becomes more of a man of action than a philosopher.
As the story progresses it becomes evident that she suffered from more than one type, physical and emotional. Common to the women of that day, Louise obviously did not go around complaining about her unhappiness with her husband and her life. Her sister and husband’s friend were worried that she might not even be able to bear the bad news. One of the aspects of “The Story of an Hour” that is compelling to the reader is the fact that Louise Mallard feels excitement after learning of her husband’s death. She anticipates the possibility of being a free woman and able to live for herself. “She said it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free!”.(Chopin 236) Although her husband was not abusive, the reader intuitively understands that Louise felt oppressed in her marriage and now for the first time, she feels the possibility of constructing her own identity and identifying possibilities for her own
...rectly after he decides not to stab Claudius at prayer because he wants to ensure that Claudius’ soul is “…as damned and black as hell, whereto it goes…” He does not want Claudius to be sent to heaven but rather to hell. This hasty decision can be seen as madness, but it also reveals the inner confusion within Hamlet because when he is finally bold enough to act, he acts too quickly and kills the wrong person, which shows how desperately he wants to prove himself a brave and noble son to his late father, and not “pigeon-livered.”
King Hamlet was beyond annoyed that Hamlet had done what every child does when their parent asks them to do something, and did the exact opposite. Not only had Hamlet spoken to his mother about her poor choices, but he also had yet to kill Claudius. In Hamlet’s defense he had a good reason for why he hadn’t killed his uncle yet (definitely a good conversation to have over the holidays) and had half of Shakespeare’s characters taken the time to make sure things are done right then there probably wouldn’t be so much tragedy. Hamlet had waited to kill Claudius because he wasn’t certain about the ghost being his father and so he did not want to commit a sin that was not necessary. However, he still failed because he entertained King Hamlet’s ghost and that is a sin in and of its own. In order for Hamlet to decide whether or not he can trust the ghost of his father he decides to put on a play for his mother and uncle that was based around his father’s murder. As the play took place, Hamlet kept a close watch on Claudius and all of his emotions and that is how Hamlet knew that the ghost was not an evil spirit, but was definitely his beloved father. Once Hamlet comes to terms with the fact that he’s letting down his father even after he’s passed Hamlet is able to come up with a plan to kill Claudius so that he can suffer the same way that he has made
"To thine own self be true," (Polonius - 1.3.84) the words of a fool followed only by the tragic hero, Hamlet. The masks of the characters were what lead each to their tragedy.
Although King Claudius fails in comparison to his late brother King Hamlet, he still tries to portray king like traits and exemplify king like deeds. However, we quickly find that he is weak and faulty king not truly fit to rule. His character embodies irony to the fullest. Hamlet even refers him as a joke compared to his father. Even if Claudius is ruler over Denmark, he is still a peasant compared to King Hamlet: “So excellent a king, that was to this/Hyperion to a satyr, so loving to my mother” (I.ii.139-140). Yet, King Claudius tries to his newfound power to influence others. He uses the throne as a mask to hide his true self and...
However, when one of the actors gives a speech he berated himself. "HAMLET: O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! / Is it not monstrous that this player here, / But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, / Could force his soul so to his own conceit / That from her working all his visage wanned, / Tears in his eyes, distraction in his aspect, / A broken voice, and his whole function suiting / With forms to his conceit—and all for nothing!" (2.2.577-584). After getting moved over a fictional character, he is ready to face of what's in front of him. Hamlet is motivated to complete his goal to let the people of Denmark the truth about his father and uncle. Hamlet watched Fortinbras send an army across Denmark and wonders that so many men are going to die of a small piece of land. "HAMLET: Whose spirit with divine ambition puffed / Makes mouths at the invisible event, / Exposing what is mortal and unsure / To all that fortune, death and danger dare, / Even for an eggshell. Rightly to be great / Is not to stir without great argument, / But greatly to find quarrel in a straw / When honor's at the stake. How stand I, then, / That have a father killed, a mother stained, / Excitements of my reason and my blood, / And let all sleep, while, to my shame," (4.4.53-61). He looks at the men marching and says that this is pointless over land and at this moment Hamlet's thoughts turn into full on revenge on Claudius. He's fueled
Once Hamlet is positive that King Claudius did kill his father after catching his guilty conscience during the “Murder of Garbanzo,” he decides to murder him. Upon following out his scheme, Hamlet goes to kill Claudius but he is in the middle of prayer, so Hamlet repents. Claudius is praying to ask forgiveness for murdering his brother, but he is not full-heartedly sorry. Claudius is Catholic and does not want to die with sins on his soul, so he tries to repent his sins but is not genuine. Hamlet decides not to kill him because it would not be fair for Claudius to get to go to Heaven for dying while praying because his father did not get the same chance; King Hamlet died sinful, and Hamlet believes he is now in Hell because of
In the story of an hour, Kate Chopin uses many literary devices. Imagery, irony and symbolism makes the story interesting and the ending of the story raises many question came to my mind? How can such an event take so little time? What is the significant of that one hour? What does her heart trouble symbolize? These are some questions that came across my mind and the beauty of her writing is the symbolism and ironies she used and readers can have different interpretation.
"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin can be portrayed in many ways. The main character Louise has been notifued that her husband has passed away in a tragic accident. There is no telling what she felt towards him or the incident, due to her feeling the need to be "free". Was it the desire to actually be free or the desire to be alone and independent once again?
The vision of a dream may be overpowered by a staggering truth, that of forcing a person to accept the exposed reality of destiny. In The Story of An Hour, author Kate Chopin gives the reader the story of Mrs. Louise Mallard. A widow who astonished by her husband’s death is paralyzed by the elusion of the future awaiting. Unwillingly, she is rejoiced as liberation comes into her life. Although Mrs. Mallard loved her husband, she couldn’t defeat the approaching feeling of freedom, the plea for a longer life of empowerment and the reality of a rumbled dream as she realizes her husband’s survival.