...Angela Romero 1226344 English IX Tim Keppel An analysis of the characters of Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, revenge is the central topic, which breathes life into the play. As his main objective in life, Hamlet craves to avenge his father’s death, the king of Denmark, betrayed and killed by his own brother. Throughout the play, Hamlet comes across two other main characters in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Laertes and Fortinbras, whose fathers are also murdered. Even though there are differences between these 3 characters, this series of unfair deaths puts them in the same situation and makes them have aspects in common. Thus, the purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras in terms of behavior, the honor for their beloved fathers, the desire to revenge their fathers’ death and their modus operandi of vengeance; as well as to explain the perception they have of each other. On one hand, Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, is characterized by his eloquent behavior, his philosophical thinking, which constantly leads him to questions that cannot be answered easily, such as his famous one “to be, or not to be”. He is smart and lets others think he’s just mad. One of his other characteristics are his constant thoughts about existence and the duties of a man. “What is a man, if his chief good and market of his time be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more.” “For there are actions...
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...Hamlet’s Melancholy Critics of Shakespeare’s Hamlet have debated, discussed, and thoroughly pondered the meaning of Hamlet’s inaction in the play and what drives him in his thoughts and actions. Many speculate that Hamlet’s inaction is caused by a number of obstacles throughout the play, but through careful inspection of Hamlet at his very worst and very best, one can see that obstacles are not the problem with his inability to act—it is the constant state of melancholy he is thrown into by the events that ultimately ruin his life. Hamlet, having just lost his father, is not given time or sympathy for his much-needed grieving; and this, in turn initiates his melancholic state that controls his actions and motives to the very end of the play (Kirsch 17). Throughout the play one can see that Hamlet never once loses possession over those qualities that make him such a noble character. Even in his most tumultuous state he has healthy and positive feelings: a strong love of his father, longing for revenge, and disgust of his uncle and the deed he committed (Bradley 142). So, though Hamlet is not in his normal state, he is not distressed beyond reason and any obstacle that would not prevent him from acting before certainly should not now. The conclusion is inevitably that Hamlet is in a state of melancholy because of what has just happened. His healthy motives combined with the overwhelming feelings of melancholic aversion and lethargy create a seemingly unattainable mode...
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...metaphors in Hamlet. The main focus was on the Cup of Sovereignty, which is the metaphor for the cup King Claudius drinks from during the marriage proposal. Even though I read information from this source I am not going to use this because it does not relate to my thesis. However, it does explain the significance of the cup referencing to corruption and the poisons that ruined many lives. This article helped me understand the symbolism of deception in William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Barron’s. Hamlet. New York: Barron’s Educational Series, 2002. Print This book contains the Shakespeare’s play Hamlet and a modern interpretation of the script. This source was used to read the play and fully understand exactly what action was taking place. I am not using this book to quote any material because it is a form of cliff notes; however it was helpful in interpreting scenes and breaking down Elizabethan sentences. Boyd, Brian. “Literature and Evolution: A Bio-Cultural Approach.” The Johns Hopkins UP 29.1 (2005): 1- 23. JSTOR. Web. 4 December 2013. This article is about the “sophisticated concealment and deception” Shakespeare incorporated in Hamlet (Boyd 16). I am using this source because it relates to my thesis. It explains how Shakespeare uses deception to exaggerate life-and-death issues. This was helpful because it analyzed the deception within Hamlet and how Shakespeare used counter-deception to prevent predictability. Gorfain, Phyllis. “Play and the Problem of Knowing in Hamlet: An Excursion...
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...Sarkovski ENG4U1 January 15, 2014 Hamlet as a Tragic Hero In Shakespeare’s plays, many factors create a tragic hero. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero must be a person of high character who faces his destiny with courage and nobility of spirit, hence the pity felt by the audience. In Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”, the character Hamlet is depicted as a tragic hero because of his noble intentions, the pity he evolves and his sincere, yet, self-destructive over analysis of his predicament. In the play “Hamlet”, the death of Hamlet’s father and the suspicious remarriage of his mother bring the audience to feel pity for him. For instance, Hamlet says: “Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew.” (Act I, Sc. ii, Ln.129, 130) Although, he is saddened by his father’s death, the larger cause of Prince Hamlet’s misery is Queen Gertrude’s disloyal remarriage. By viewing Hamlet’s state of depression in the Elizabethan perspective, Elizabethans believed that the human body is made up of four basic elements, called humors: phlegm, blood, yellow bile and black bile. Hamlet’s seems to be suffering from what Elizabethans referred to as “Melancholy”. This was associated with too much “black bile” in the body. It is similar to what medicine calls “clinical depression” today, in which it is the state led to lethargy, irritability and distorted imagination. Since this is the 17th rather than the 21st century, Hamlet can’t just move on or seek medication;...
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...Ranking the Play Hamlet The Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet is among the best ever written, and perhaps the very best. Why do the literary critics say this? In this essay let’s examine the play to see what makes it a prizewinner. Phyllis Abrahms and Alan Brody in “Hamlet and the Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy Formula” give some detail about the reasons for the undying popularity of this play: No play demonstrates the power and glory of Shakespeare’s tragic vision more than Hamlet, which for over 350 years has excited us with its action, its insight, its brilliant language. Hamlet is an unparalleled adventure story, complete with suspense, intrigue, murder – even a battle at sea with pirates. It is a play of intense emotional and physical violence. Yet underlying all of this are some of the most profound explorations of the mysteries of human existence. (43) This play is ranked by many as the very greatest ever written. Cumberland Clark in “The Supernatural in Hamlet” gives the consensus regarding Hamlet that exists among literary critics of today: 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 plays with an important Supernatural element, and, in the opinion of many, the greatest tragedy ever penned. (99) There is no more exalted ranking than the above. Richard A. Lanham in the essay “Superposed Plays” maintains that no...
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...Contemplation of Death; A Soliloquy Analysis In William Shakespeare’s act three, scene one, of hamlet the main character, hamlet, performs his most famous soliloquy, started “To be or not to be”. In the conclusion of act two this soliloquy has more of a rational outlook; he seems to have reverted to a dark state. Hamlet’s contemplates suicide due to the actions that have taken place. Hamlet’s father, the king, has been killed by Claudius, the king’s brother, and overtakes the throne by pushing hamlet out. Hamlet is to avenge his father’s death and kill Claudius. Hamlet at this point is confused on what to do. “To be” is to live and take revenge on Claudius or “not to be” and allow himself to die in not deal with the hardships. The theme...
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...and over numerous time periods. When analysing English literary tradition and the stratification and progression of English as a language there are very few discussions that would not include at least some reference to the works of William Shakespeare as he clearly illustrates the means in which both new words and language are coined as he was extremely prolific is his creation of both new words and the utilisation of existing dialect to form new meanings. Hamlet forms an extensive and rich text from which to examine both this progression of English language but also provides a viable source of comparison to other texts included within the module, its location chronologically makes it a good source of evaluation when contextualised against much earlier work such as Beowulf we are able to identify the progression from early English and it's heavy Germanic influences into middle English of Chaucer and then on to the more standardised early modern English that Shakespeare utilised. We are also able to contrast Hamlet with more contemporary English work such as in order to see how much spelling uniformity, syntax and form have progressed. Evidence of this is displayed even when...
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...The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Set in the Kingdom of Denmark, the play dramatizes the revenge Prince Hamlet exacts on his uncle Claudius for murdering King Hamlet, Claudius's brother and Prince Hamlet's father, and then succeeding to the throne and taking as his wife Gertrude, the old king's widow and Prince Hamlet's mother. The play vividly portrays both true and feigned madness – from overwhelming grief to seething rage – and explores themes of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption. Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play and among the most powerful and influential tragedies in the English language, with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others." The play was one of Shakespeare's most popular works during his lifetime It has inspired writers from Goethe and Dickens to Joyce and Murdoch, and has been described as "the world's most filmed story after Cinderella". Shakespeare based Hamlet on the legend of Amleth, preserved by 13th-century chronicler Saxo Grammaticus in his Gesta Danorum as subsequently retold by 16th-century scholar François de Belleforest. He may also have drawn on or perhaps written an earlier Elizabethan play known today as the Ur-Hamlet. He almost certainly created the title role for Richard Burbage, the leading tragedian of Shakespeare's time. In the 400 years since, the role has been performed by highly acclaimed actors and actresses from each successive age. Three...
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...however, have a flaw that makes them relatable to us. Hamlet, the title character from Hamlet, is very indecisive in deciding when to kill his uncle, and King Lear is blinded by his pride and shuns the only of his daughters that actually love him. The final reason why Shakespeare is still relevant to us is the fact that his plays serve more than to simply entertain us. They teach us lessons and give us warnings. Shakespeare’s plays all have a theme to them, something that provides us as an audience an understanding of why the plot is going in the direction that it is. For instance, one of the themes in Hamlet is revenge. Hamlet’s father was killed by Hamlet’s uncle. Later, as a ghost, Hamlet’s father comes to Hamlet to ask that he kill his uncle and provide his father peace. Thus, the entire play begins and the audience is immediately able to understand why the events of the play are happening. Shakespeare’s use of simple themes, yet complex plots and characters, allow audiences to find the plays enjoyable to watch and accessible to people from different cultures. The true genius of Shakespeare’s themes are, due to the way they are written, different people can come away from the same play with different ideas on what the theme was. Looking at Hamlet again, some people will see it as dark story of revenge and vengeance, one that ultimately leaves not just Hamlet’s uncle dead, by also his mother, the woman he loved, and Hamlet himself dead as well. Others will see this play and...
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...“The inconsolable grief Hamlet experienced after the shock of his father’s death left him lethargic and inactive.” Do you agree with this analysis of Hamlet’s reluctance to act? “While seeking revenge, dig two graves: one for yourself.” As Douglas Horton reveals, seeking excessive revenge, despite its purpose, leads one to ultimately fall into an adversity. One of the most famous plays about revenge, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, epitomizes the consequences of excessive revenge. Shakespeare uses Hamlet’s desperate avenge for his father to show the tragic downfall as consequence. Although Hamlet is very shocked and outraged by the inconceivable situations and becomes reclusive, he is not lethargic; he instead plans to murder Claudius simultaneously, meticulously and actively. In the beginning of the play, Claudius kills Hamlet the Great to become the king of Denmark. Hamlet the Great, as an apparition, comes up to Hamlet and reveals his unfair death. The ghost of Hamlet the Great says, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder”. (I.v.31) Already feeling betrayed by his mother, who married Claudius after his father’s death, Hamlet decides to avenge him. However, Hamlet struggles to take an action right away; he is ambivalent whether he should believe in the words of ghost or not. So, Hamlet plans to catch Claudius off guard and test his guilt. Hamlet asks a group of traveling actors to perform a play that mimics Claudius’s actions of killing Hamlet the Great. He says, “For...
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...Comparative analysis: Hamlet and The Lion King Hamlet is a 1990 drama film based on a tragic play with the same name, written by William Shakespeare. On the other side The Lion King is an animated musical movie. Walt Disney Pictures released the movie in 1994. As the movie Hamlet, The Lion King was also influenced by Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet. Both the movies are about revenging the death of a cherished family member but in different ways. Since a long time the idea of revenge has existed in our human nature. It has been our instinct to take back for a person that has been hurt. Today we find that many literary works uses revenge as a theme for the plot but how it is shown depends from a character to another. Hamlet and The Lion King are two superb examples. In the castle of Elsinore in Denmark, prince Hamlet sees his father’s ghost. Through the ghost Hamlet learns that his own brother, Claudius, who wants the thrown to Denmark had murdered his father and married his dead brothers wife, the queen Gertrude. The spirit tells Hamlet to, “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (1.5.25 Shakespeare) and Hamlet obeys the spirit’s wishes. He then begins to seek more evidence on Claudius and his betrayal towards his brother. Hamlet enters into a deep melancholy and appears to be in madness, which makes Claudius and Gertrude worry about his erratic behavior. They employ Hamlet’s friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to watch over him and to discover the cause of his...
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...Horatio, to watch with them. When he sees the ghost, he decides they should tell Hamlet, the dead King's son. Hamlet is also the nephew of the present King, Claudius, who not only assumed his dead brother's crown but also married his widow, Gertrude. Claudius seems an able King, easily handling the threat of the Norwegian Prince Fortinbras. But Hamlet is furious about Gertrude's marriage to Claudius. Hamlet meets the ghost, which claims to be the spirit of his father, murdered by Claudius. Hamlet quickly accepts the ghost's command to seek revenge. Yet Hamlet is uncertain if what the ghost said is true. He delays his revenge and begins to act half-mad, contemplate suicide, and becomes furious at all women. The Lord Chamberlain, Polonius, concludes that Hamlet's behavior comes from lovesickness for Ophelia, Polonius's daughter. Claudius and Gertrude summon two of Hamlet's old friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to find out what's wrong with him. As Polonius develops a plot to spy on a meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia, Hamlet develops a plot of his own: to have a recently arrived troupe of actors put on a play that resembles Claudius's alleged murder of Old Hamlet, and watch Claudius's reaction. Polonius and Claudius spy on the meeting between Ophelia and Hamlet, during which Hamlet flies into a rage against women and marriage. Claudius concludes Hamlet neither loves Ophelia nor is mad. Seeing Hamlet as a threat, he decides to send him away. At the play that night, Claudius runs...
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...Bloom’s Classic Critical Views W i l l ia m Sha k e Sp e a r e Bloom's Classic Critical Views alfred, lord Tennyson Benjamin Franklin The Brontës Charles Dickens edgar allan poe Geoffrey Chaucer George eliot George Gordon, lord Byron henry David Thoreau herman melville Jane austen John Donne and the metaphysical poets John milton Jonathan Swift mark Twain mary Shelley Nathaniel hawthorne Oscar Wilde percy Shelley ralph Waldo emerson robert Browning Samuel Taylor Coleridge Stephen Crane Walt Whitman William Blake William Shakespeare William Wordsworth Bloom’s Classic Critical Views W i l l ia m Sha k e Sp e a r e Edited and with an Introduction by Sterling professor of the humanities Yale University harold Bloom Bloom’s Classic Critical Views: William Shakespeare Copyright © 2010 Infobase Publishing Introduction © 2010 by Harold Bloom All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For more information contact: Bloom’s Literary Criticism An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data William Shakespeare / edited and with an introduction by Harold Bloom : Neil Heims, volume editor. p. cm. — (Bloom’s classic critical views) Includes bibliographical references...
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...ALLEGOR AND IRONY IN 'OTHELLO' Y ANTOINETT B. DAUBER E Othello is Shakespeare's Spenserian tragedy, in which the theme of slandere d chastity becomes a vehicle for exploring the problems of an allegorica l art . Allegory is the mode of selfconscious faith, and Spenser's corpus may be rea d as a portrai t of the artis t as allegorist , wrestling first with the burdens of selfconsciousness and then with the burdens of faith.l In Othello, Shakespeare compresses and objectifies this struggle. Unlike Spenser, he is not committed to the maintenance of allegory, and so he freely dramatizes the interna l weaknesses and external onslaughts that lead to its destruction. What I am calling the 'Spenserian ' quality begins with the chivalric elements in the tragedy. Truly, Othello is a kind of Savage Knight, Desdemona, the absolutely, almost miraculously, worthy lady, and Iago, something of a manipulator like Archimago.2 But more particularl y I would call attention to a specific engagement with Spenserian rhetoric . Consider Cassio' s words of welcome to the disembarking Desdemona: Tempests themselves, high seas, and howling winds, The gutter'd rocks and congregated sands, Traitors ensteep'd to enclog the guiltless keel, As having sense of beauty, do omit Their mortal natures, letting go safely by The divine Desdemona. (2.1.68-73)3 He sets her in the line of Spenser's heavenly allegories . As a parallel , we may recal l Una , slandere d by the arch-magician , abandone d by 123 her...
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...Beginning theory An introduction to literary and cultural theory Second edition Peter Barry © Peter Barry 1995, 2002 ISBN: 0719062683 Contents Acknowledgements - page x Preface to the second edition - xii Introduction - 1 About this book - 1 Approaching theory - 6 Slop and think: reviewing your study of literature to date - 8 My own 'stock-taking' - 9 1 Theory before 'theory' - liberal humanism - 11 The history of English studies - 11 Stop and think - 11 Ten tenets of liberal humanism - 16 Literary theorising from Aristotle to Leavis some key moments - 21 Liberal humanism in practice - 31 The transition to 'theory' - 32 Some recurrent ideas in critical theory - 34 Selected reading - 36 2 Structuralism - 39 Structuralist chickens and liberal humanist eggs Signs of the fathers - Saussure - 41 Stop and think - 45 The scope of structuralism - 46 What structuralist critics do - 49 Structuralist criticism: examples - 50 Stop and think - 53 Stop and think - 55 39 Stop and think - 57 Selected reading - 60 3 Post-structuralism and deconstruction - 61 Some theoretical differences between structuralism and post-structuralism - 61 Post-structuralism - life on a decentred planet - 65 Stop and think - 68 Structuralism and post-structuralism - some practical differences - 70 What post-structuralist critics do - 73 Deconstruction: an example - 73 Selected reading - 79 4 Postmodernism - 81 What is postmodernism? What was modernism? -...
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