...unbearable. Hamlet’s Act 1 Scene 2 soliloquy shows his extreme despair and anguish. He wishes that it would not be a sin to commit suicide. His use of vivid imagery shows that he is a man on the edge of losing his precarious grip on the reality of his situation in life. Hamlet’s grip on reality is starting to crumble. Before his father died, he loved Elsinore and Denmark. He is now extremely unsatisfied with Denmark and the state it is in He compares the Denmark to an unkempt piece of land, calling it, “weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable/ Seem to me all the uses of this world! / Fie on’...
Words: 791 - Pages: 4
...English 203 October 24th 2012 Hamlet Question Set ACT I 1. What happens when Francisco and Bernardo meet at the beginning of scene1? Where are they, and when? Why is Horatio with Bernardo and Marcellus there? The play, begins in Elsinore with Francisco, who is waiting for Bernardo to relieve him of his duty right after midnight. Bernardo calls wondering who is there, to which Francisco replies that Bernardo should tell him who he is first. 2. What is Horatio's initial response to the story of the apparition? Horatio’s initial response is skepticism, as in disbelief. 3. What does Horatio first assume the appearance of the ghost means (1.1.)? He assumes it must mean that there is something wrong with the government. 4. What happens when the ghost appears for the second time (I.I)? Horatio asks the ghost why it had come in the first place and the reason behind such appearances 5. What do we know so far about the nature of the ghost? Do we know yet if it is a "good" ghost? Summarize the circumstances surrounding the first encounter with the ghost. The ghost is Hamlet’s father; one can categorize him as good because he explains to Hamlet the real reason behind his death. 6. Identify Hamlet’s first Soliloquy in Scene 2. What is it that is really bothering him about what has happened since his father's death? How would you describe the tone of his feelings? In his first soliloquy he mourns his father. It is a passionate and startling passage that...
Words: 1513 - Pages: 7
...Importance of Hamlet’s Soliloquies in Shakespeare’s Hamlet Shakespeare often has his characters speak in soliloquies during the course of his plays. Soliloquies are essential to the presentation of a story through the medium of a play because they provide the opportunity the chance to tell the audience specific pieces of information which cannot be disclosed through normal conversation. In his work, Hamlet, Shakespeare’s title character is shown to speak in seven soliloquies. Each soliloquy advances the plot, reveals Hamlet’s inner thoughts to the audience and helps to create an atmosphere in the play. The first soliloquy which Hamlet delivers gives the audience their first glimpse of him as a character. Hamlet is reflective and depicts the way he views his own position; he tells of his father’s death and then his mother’s quick remarriage. He says, “It is not, nor it cannot come to good” (I, ii, 163), when referring to the marriage of his mother. This gives the audience a hint of foreshadowing because it is the first time when Hamlet mentions the future. This speech also reveals his thoughts further when he says that his mother is frail because she is a woman, while he also admits that he knows he must hold his tongue. During the course of this speech Hamlet makes several allusions to historical figures and this demonstrates to the audience that he is an intelligent young man. One of these allusions is when he compares the love his late father had for his mother to Hyperion...
Words: 4820 - Pages: 20
...key scenes in both Macbeth and Hamlet. Guilt is defined as the remorseful awareness of having done something wrong. It was not unusual for Shakespeare to feature a lot of conflicted emotion in his plays, a favourite emotion for Shakespeare to right was guilt and therefore features heavily in his plays; Hamelt and Macbeth included. The use of guilt is often used to make the audience feel sympathy for the character or to change their perspective on the character as a whole; it is also used to drive the plot of the play and to create an atmosphere within the play. Macbeth showcases a lot of guilt to change the tone and atmosphere of the scene and to show how guilt affects religion and beliefs. For example in Act 2 Scene, after Macbeth has killed King Duncan, the audience finds him struggling with the guilt he feels. Shakespeare shows Macbeths guilt through his inability to say ‘Amen’ which would have previously come easily from him. But after killing Duncan Macbeth believes God has turned his back on him because he committed the biggest sin- Regicide- and have gone against the divine right of kings and so would no longer be under the protection of God. Furthermore, in his mini-soliloquy in Act 3 Scene 1 Macbeths says the murder of King Duncan “put rancours in the vessel of my peace”. This shows he is being tormented with a constant reminder of his crime and sins and this can be perceived as guilt coming out by the audience. Another line from one of Macbeth’s soliloquies after...
Words: 1110 - Pages: 5
...Hamlet Final Essay What do you think makes Shakespeare’s Hamlet such a powerful and enduring play? Thesis William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1603) explores the intrinsic aspects of humanity creating a powerful and enduring play by subverting the audiences’ expectation of a revenge tragedy play. Shakespeare enables universal anthropological appreciation through the emphasis on the thematic concerns of: the mystery and transcendental nature of death, clouded grey areas in between the dichotomy of good and evil morals, and the twisted manipulative nature of human behaviour. Therefore, through critical study of the play, Shakespeare augments and connects to the audience’s perspective and interpretations. Body Topic sentence 1. Overarching idea i. Point ii. Quote iii. Technique iv. Elaboration Sample Sentence Linking sentence (concluding sentence) Body 1 – Death Death is the inescapable reality of human life as explored in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the fact that the living world is made of death and decay is visible anywhere there is life. 1. Hamlet’s bereavement over his father i. Bereavement is an inescapable reality in which all humans must endure. ii. “But I have more within which passes show – These but the trappings and the suits of woe” iii. Rhyming couplet iv. To reinforce Hamlet’s underlying argument to his grief over the finality of his father’s death. Bereavement is an inescapable reality, exemplified when Hamlet says...
Words: 2776 - Pages: 12
...is evident in the play Hamlet; it is used throughout the play. Without dramatic Irony in Hamlet, there wouldn’t be any suspense and the audience would be less engaged because the characters would know just as much as them, which would make it boring and meaningless. Three of the most dominant dramatic ironies used in the play are: The ghost of old hamlet tells hamlet about the truth, Hamlet pretending to be mad and Hamlet thinking about a suicide. Therefore, Shakespeare uses dramatic irony in Hamlet to create sympathy and engage audience. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony in the ghost of old hamlet to create sympathy, which engages the audience in the play. In act 1 scene 5, the ghost of old hamlet appears to hamlet and reveals to Hamlet that the King was killed by Claudius who spread the story that his death was from a snake bite. “Now, Hamlet, hear. 'Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forgèd process of my death Rankly abused. But know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown.” (1.5.34-40). It evokes sympathy on the audience causing them to feel pity for Hamlet, because Hamlet’s father was murdered by Claudius and Claudius spread the word that King Hamlet was killed by snake bite. Therefore, Shakespeare uses dramatic irony in the ghost of old hamlet to create sympathy, which engages the audience in the play. Shakespeare uses dramatic iron in Hamlet to create suspense and...
Words: 722 - Pages: 3
...Home > Why Hamlet Delays His Revenge Why Hamlet Delays His Revenge (Excerpt from Quintessence of Dust: The Mystical Meaning of Hamlet) Kenneth Chan ... Hamlet is finally alone, and the stage is set for the soliloquy that gave rise to one of the most persistent mysteries in literature: Why does Hamlet delay his revenge? Hamlet Ay, so, God buy you. Now I am alone. Oh, 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 whole conceit1 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! For Hecuba! What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, That he should weep for her? What would he do Had he the motive and the cue for passion That I have? He would drown the stage with tears, And cleave the general ear with horrid speech, Make mad the guilty and appal the free,2 Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed The very faculties of eyes and ears. Yet I, A dull and muddy-mettled3 rascal, peak Like John-a-dreams,4 unpregnant5 of my cause, And can say nothing--no, not for a king, Upon whose property and most dear life A damned defeat was made. Am I a coward? Who calls me a villain, breaks my pate across, Plucks off my beard and blows it in my face, Tweaks me by the nose, gives me the lie i'th'throat As deep as to the lungs? Who does me this? Ha, 'swounds, I should take...
Words: 7854 - Pages: 32
...Hamlet’s Struggle with Life and Death In Act III, scene I of Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the thematic imagery, along with the symbolic use of syntax and diction that Shakespeare uses helps convey Hamlet’s state of mind as troubled and as having a painful view to life which, overall, is subtly expressed with weakness as he talked about death. Death is a major theme in Hamlet and through Shakespeare’s astonishing words in his “To be, or not to be,” soliloquy; it is obvious that Hamlet is conveyed as a troubled character. He is unsure about death. “To be, or not to be, that is the question:” (line 1), proves that Hamlet is troubled because the use of a colon is a sign that he is not only answering his own question, but he is expressing opposing views about life thus leaving him with an unsure decision about suicide. He answered himself by saying: “Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer/ The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune;” (Lines 2-3.) This imagery shows that Hamlet questions the honor of death, and since he is open to death he does not realize whether it would be honorable to go through the act of committing suicide or if it would be considered a sin. This makes him have a troubled state of mind because he has these two opposing views of death floating in the vastness of his thoughts. The first sentence of his soliloquy finishes with: “Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, / And by opposing, end them.” (Lines 4-5.) Hamlet still questions life and suicide, and...
Words: 1016 - Pages: 5
...II, 129-136). Hamlet’s first soliloquy is given early in the first act of Shakespeare's play and sets the tone of the character. Hamlet speaks these words following the recent death of his father, the hasty remarriage of his uncle and mother, and an encounter with his parents regarding their wishes for him to remain in Denmark ceasing his studies elsewhere; not in favour of Hamlet himself. This is the first time the audience becomes aware of Hamlet’s suicidal ideation and depression. Living for Hamlet is a burden, he sees himself as damned, forced to live in this world unhappy due to his religious beliefs. The theme of death is apparent in this quote and utilizes mood and atmosphere to solidify the state of Hamlet’s mind. This is the initial thought of suicide for Hamlet, verbalizing his desire for his flesh to melt and anger that God deems “self-slaughter” a sin. This provides evidence that Hamlet has considered suicide before but felt trapped because of the religious consequences of it. He also goes on to say the world is a “weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable” place alluding to the thought that suicide appears to be the best alternative to this unmanageable world. The mood is very morbid as Hamlet expresses his desire that “flesh would melt”, to leave his solid state and internal misery; continuing to describe life as an “unweeded garden/ That grows seed”. The world that had the potential for beauty is corrupted with weeds; to Hamlet there is no helping this metaphoric...
Words: 728 - Pages: 3
...ENG 4U Ms. Straus May 23, 2015 Hamlet Quotation Test Quotation 1: “How all occasions do inform against me And spur my dull revenge! What is a man, If his chief good and market of his time Be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more. Sure he that made us with such large discourse, Looking before and after, gave us not That capability and godlike reason To fust in us unus’d.” (Hamlet: IV, iv, 3238) Literal Level: This quotation is from Act IV, Scene IV, when Hamlet observes Fortinbras leading the army through Denmark towards Poland. Hamlet learns that the Norwegians are going to war with the Polish over a small, worthless patch of land. In this soliloquy, Hamlet ponders how these men are willing to risk their lives for such a small cause, when he is still so hesitant to act on his revenge on Claudius for his father's murder. 1. This passage helps to develop Hamlet’s character and the plot of the play because it is in this scene that Hamlet realizes that he must act on his revenge plan or else he is just going to be a purposeless “beast”. Throughout the play, Hamlet struggles with whether or not to exact revenge on Claudius because he is not certain of all of the facts. When Hamlet sees how willing the soldiers are to fight over such a small piece of land, he realizes that without action Hamlet is not taking advantage of the gift of life that God has given him. Hamlet realizes that humans have “capability and godlike reason” and that ...
Words: 2082 - Pages: 9
...Kaplan English 12 P.4 28 March 2012 The Difference of Insanity: Hamlet against Ophelia In the Renaissance, madness was the theme of William Shakespeare's writings. He attended grammar school, but nothing further. So for his writings to be written with intelligence, it was greatly admired by many. Shakespeare’s career was in the time of Elizabeth I, 1558-1603 and James I, 1566-1625. His writings were not his own original work. It has been said that he took the story, Hamlet, from Saxo Grammaticus and changed the way Hamlet was portrayed from his story into a more “mad” version of Hamlet that waits to get revenge and is not truly mad from the start. It is also said that Shakespeare stole a majority of his stories from other writers during his time, making them more well-known and changing the moral of the story. In the Renaissance, people looked at insanity as if it were a crime. It was looked down upon. People did not understand that it was something that occurred within the mind, so they thought if they sprayed people with water it would shock them out of their insanity. The Renaissance culture also gave an intellectual rendition to three specific kinds of madness: folly, demonic possession and melancholia. In that time, thoughts of madness were confused by religious beliefs and sometimes even mistaken for nonsense. The dictionary defines madness as “extreme anger, excitement, or foolishness” and in Hamlet, Hamlet is characterized as insane because he fits the definition the...
Words: 1294 - Pages: 6
...characters have been some of the most complex and famous characters in literature. They are played over and over again in community theaters, and their archetypes are used repeatedly in modern film and books. In Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Hamlet is arguably displayed as one of the most dramatic character ever created. From the moment we meet the prince we are captivated by his elegant, yet intense personality. The play opens up with frightened guards forced to stand watch in the cold, dark night. They are frightened because they believe they have seen an apparition, or ghost of some sort. Prince Hamlet has just arrived home from school because his father has pasted away. To make matters worse for Prince Hamlet, his mother, Queen Gertrude, has married his uncle, Claudius, the newly appointed king, very soon after his father’s death. When Hamlet joins the guards and his good friend Horatio, they too see the ghost. They’ll all soon realize the spirit is the image of the late King Hamlet, dressed in his armor, ready to fight. From our very first encounter with Hamlet, he is consumed by grief and obsessed by death. Although he is dressed in black to signify his mourning, his emotions run deeper than his appearance. In Act 1, Scene 2, he says to his mother: ‘Tis not alone my inky cloak, good-mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black ... Together with all forms, moods, shows of grief That can denote me truly. These indeed ‘seem’, For they are actions that a man might...
Words: 1102 - Pages: 5
...Identity Revealed In the second scene of the premiere act of Hamlet, Prince Hamlet gives a soliloquy between lines 129-159, as soon as he is left alone by Claudius and Gertrude. As he casts all of his thoughts and complaints about life, Hamlet seems to give out a lot of his own personality and deepest thoughts that he would not reveal to anyone else except for himself (and for the reader/audience is to deliberately know as well). In this speech it is obvious that Hamlet was holding in all of these thoughts until the right moment, when he's by himself, in when he could vomit them all out, just as he himself admits, "But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue" (1.2.159). Doing this so in his secret place, Hamlet allows to be honest with himself and therefore his words reflect Hamlet's true intentions, perspectives, thoughts, and ultimately his true colors- all which will later reflect in his actions throughout the rest of the play. The reader can even conclude that these lines foreshadow Hamlet's actions (or inactions) for the remainder of the play. In these lines, Hamlet's emotional state make him vulnerable, allowing his unrestrained words to reflect his true personality and motives. Hamlet begins his soliloquy boldly expressing that he wished he could die: "O, that this too too sullied flesh would melt,/Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!" (1.2.129-30). Furthermore, he wishes that God had not made suicide a sin so that he could do the act himself: "Or that the Everlasting...
Words: 1213 - Pages: 5
...In this interesting play, Hamlet, by Shakespeare, I've learned of the tragic events Prince Hamlet has dealt with. Starting from mourning his fathers death, King Hamlet, and than shortly after that his mother, Queen Gertude marries his uncle, Claudius. The play starts out introducing us to the watchmen, Horatio, Marcellus and Bernardo. There is a ghost on the platform of the castle that reappears around the same time every night. Other than horrify the men the spirit does not speak to them. The play than goes into the next scene in which the now, King Claudius is making a speech. His speech a mockery to Prince Hamlet says things of the sort, "With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, In equal scale weighing delight and dole--'' By this he is saying that the death of his brother although being very sad is balanced with happiness in the marriage to his brothers widowed wife, Queen Gertude. To add insult to injury Claudius tells Hamlet not to mourn for too long, that is normal to lose a father and to think of him as a father instead! "How is it that the clouds still hang on you?" "Whose common theme is death of fathers, and who still hath cried, from the first corse till he that died to-day, 'This must be so.' We pray you, throw to earth this unrevealing woe, and think of us as of a father." From this interaction between King Claudius, Queen Gertude and Hamlet in Act 1, Scene 2, we learn that the only one still in mourning is Prince Hamlet, which shows he is the only one of...
Words: 840 - Pages: 4
...explored and explained through countless stories and books over time. Shakespeare's Hamlet is no exceptions as the character Hamlet has unique relationships with Horatio as well as Rosencrantz and Gildenstern which dictate different types of friendships. Hamlet seems to have a genuine relationship with Horatio and trusts him while his interactions between Rosencrantz and Gildenstern show another story. He is more suspicious of them and knows that they are working for the king and queen so he isn't always honest with them and ends up turning on them. These two types of friendships show the idea of a real friend and someone playing the part or befriending someone to gain something else....
Words: 1434 - Pages: 6
