...Spying is a recurring theme in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet as it creates an abundant amount of dramatic intensity throughout the play. It causes the death of Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and it reveals significant characteristics of major characters. Shakespeare specifically incorporates spying into certain scenes known as observation scenes or ‘closet scenes’. An observation scene dramatically enhances the climatic moments of the play and develops the complex reasoning behind many major characters such as Hamlet. The most important observation scene in the play is Act III scene IV as Hamlet discusses his true feelings to Gertrude while Polonius overhears the conversation. It probes the sexuality of Hamlet and Gertrude and is the turning-point in which Hamlet demonstrates a change in character. Throughout the play, Hamlet displays hostility towards his uncle Claudius due to the marriage between him and Gertrude. This is especially evident in the closet scene as Hamlet berates his mother with many sexual and incestuous references. In order to explain the relationship between Hamlet and his mother, Sigmund Freud’s theory the Oedipus Complex identifies this situation as a male’s unconscious sexual desire for his mother (Losh). Freud believes that these sexual desires are repressed unconsciously which in turns creates a lasting effect in a boy’s life (Losh). An example in this scene is when Hamlet says: “But to live / In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, / Stewed...
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...Drama Review of Hamlet By studying the Stage Show of Wuhan University Abstract As the longest masterpiece of Shakespeare, Hamlet impresses us with its tragic revenge of prince Hamlet. This stage show presents us the core part of Hamlet through performance of “nunnery scene”, “closet scene” and Hamlet’s monologue. Thus, this article will mainly focuses on drama review of the stage show from aspects of technical arts, adaption and editing as well as performance of the actor and actresses and a character analysis combing with Oedipus complex, Electra complex together with the author’s personal reactions. Keywords: drama review; technical arts; performance, character analysis Contents I. Introduction………………………………………………………………………....3 II. Technical arts………………………………………………………………………4 A. Lighting &Music.……………………………………………………………..4 B. Stage Properties…………………………………………………………..........4 C. Costumes………………………………………………………………………4 III. Editing& Adaption………………………………………………………………..5 IV. Performance……………………………………………………………………….6 A. Hamlet…………………………………………………………………………...6 B. Ophelia………………………………………………………………………….6 C. Gertrude…………………………………………………………………………7 V. Character Analysis………………………………………………………………....7 A. Hamlet………………………………………………………………………….7 B. Ophelia…………………………………………………………………………8 C. Gertrude………………………………………………………………………..9 VI. Conclusion…………………………………………………………….................9 Introduction The original play of Hamlet is a masterpiece...
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...Hamlet, a tragedy about how Prince Hamlet of Denmark seeks to and eventually exacts revenge on his uncle King Claudius for murdering his father King Hamlet, explores a number of themes, each contributing to the flow of its overall plot in one way or another. Some of the predominant themes in the text include revenge, treachery, deception and gender. The idea of revenge first comes up in the text when the ghost of the dead King Hamlet appears to Prince Hamlet, discloses to the prince that he was murdered by his brother King Claudius and demands that he avenges him. Prince Hamlet agrees to this and even though he is hesitant about fulfilling this, as he struggles with the idea of murder, he finds a solution when a group of actors arrive at Elsinore, the Danish royal castle, and decides to use them to stage a play, with his uncle King Claudius among the audience, about the murder of his father as told to him by the ghost. This was meant to determine Claudius’s guilt or innocence by observing his reaction to the play. As the murder scene was presented, Claudius abruptly rose and left the room where the play was being staged and Prince Hamlet saw this as proof of guilt. Queen Gertrude, Prince Hamlet’s mother who was also among the audience, summoned his son to her closet to demand an explanation. While they were in her closet, Polonius, Claudius’s counselor, who was spying on the scene from behind an arras, cried out for help when it seemed as if the prince was about to murder the...
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...Each director has a distinct interpretation of the scene of Polonius’s murder. All three interpretations show fluctuating levels of hysteria within Hamlet’s mind. Michael Almereyda portrays Hamlet as having a great level of mental instability and hysteria. This is shown through his actions throughout this scene. At the beginning of the scene Hamlet is shown being extremely violent towards Gertrude. He throws her on the floor with great force, and then while on the ground he grabs her hair and forces her against the mirror. While against the mirror Hamlet makes Gertrude look at her herself. After this he pulls her away and wraps his arms around her neck and holds her there (Almereyda 2000). The violence expressed shows his inability to control his emotions. Further, this shows his mental instability because he lacks that ability have a normal interaction with his mother. He lets his anger overcome all other emotions he is feeling and takes it out on Gertrude. Also, within this scene Almereyda shows Hamlet’s hysteria after he has committed the act of killing Polonius. While still holding Gertrude in a choke like hold he shoots Polonius through a closet door. After Polonius is shot he falls out of the closet and onto the floor. Hamlet stands on the bed and looks down at the body. He appears shocked and as if he doesn't know what to do (Almereyda 2000). Hamlet's mental instability is shown here by the emotions he shows. He shows no remorse for what he has just done and only stays...
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...Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “There is always some madness in love, but there is also always some reason in madness. Love and revenge lead to strong motif of madness in William Shakespeare “Hamlet”. Hamlet like most sons, loved, his father dearly. Hamlet tries to seek revenge for his father’s death so he decides to act mad. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern try not to see what’s wrong with hamlet he says, “I am but mad north – North West when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw” (scene 2 act 2 page 57). He explains that he is mad, but he still knows what he is doing. There is no need to worry about him. Over and over again each character explains how they think Hamlet is mad, even his mother, and the queen. She says, “Alas,...
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...Introduction Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the most famously problematic plays ever written. It has inspired critics to argue over it, since it first appeared on the stage in 1601. • John Dennis implies that there is no clear moral lesson in the play, since both good and bad characters die, but he refers to Hamlet as the best of Shakespeare’s tragedies. • Samuel Johnson generally praises Hamlet for its entertaining variety and balance but he dislikes its resolution. • Johann von Goethe sees the character of Hamlet as lacking in heroism. • T.S. Eliot felt that Hamlet was an artistic failure. • A.C Bradley says “It was not that Hamlet is Shakespeare's greatest tragedy or most perfect work of art; it was that Hamlet most brings home to us at once the sense of the soul's infinity, and the sense of the doom which not only circumscribes that infinity but appears to be its offspring”. The layers of Hamlet seem endless. Even after more than four hundred years of critical debates, there is no consensus about the play. Interestingly, Hamlet begins with a question and it remains infinitely open to interpretation. It is therefore a play of mystery. One of the central concerns of the play is the nature and the role of the Ghost who takes the form of Hamlet’s dead father. In order to understand it, we firstly ought to consider the theatrical impact of ghosts and spirits on Shakespeare’s audience. Ghosts in Shakespeare’s Time Shakespeare’s contemporaries...
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...Hamlet kills Polonius in his mother’s bedroom, mistaking him for Claudius. The fact that Hamlet has feelings of anger and envy towards Claudius to the point where he wants to kill him shows that Hamlet has the Oedipus complex, since as stated in the introduction, a boy has an attachment to his mother, which in turn results in feelings of envy and aggressiveness towards the male figure, which in this case is Claudius. Gertrude comments on Hamlet’s actions saying “O, what a rash and bloody deed is this!” ( Shakespeare 3.4 26). In response, Hamlet says “A bloody deed—almost as bad, good-mother,/As kill a king and marry with his brother” ( Shakespeare 3.4. 27-28). This is when Hamlet finally confronts Gertrude about what Hamlet is furious with her for and what he thinks she has done. Hamlet quips with her, insults her, tells her he wishes she were not his mother, and when she, still retaining dignity, attempts to end the interview, Hamlet seizes her and she cries for help (Heilbrun). In turn, Gertrude has a very bewildered answer to this “As kill a king?” ( Shakespeare 3.4.28) which leaves Hamlet wondering if he is wrong about his mother’s involvement in his father’s murder. Hamlet comes to see that Gertrude is wholly ignorant of Claudius' successful plot against her first husband and equally oblivious of Hamlet's protectively possessive feelings towards her. She finds his melancholic behavior...
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...Compare the techniques used by Shakespeare to develop the theme of guilt in 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...
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...Psychoanalysis of Hamlet’s Subconscious Psychoanalytic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet In the first half of the 20th century, when psychoanalysis was at the height of its influence, its concepts were applied to Hamlet, notably by Sigmund Freud, Ernest Jones, and Jacques Lacan, and these studies influenced theatrical productions. Freud suggested that an unconscious oedipal conflict caused Hamlet's hesitations. (Artist: Eugène Delacroix 1844). In his The Interpretation of Dreams (1900), Freud's analysis starts from the premise that "the play is built up on Hamlet's hesitations over fulfilling the task of revenge that is assigned to him; but its text offers no reasons or motives for these hesitations".[83] After reviewing various literary theories, Freud concludes that Hamlet has an "Oedipal desire for his mother and the subsequent guilt [is] preventing him from murdering the man [Claudius] who has done what he unconsciously wanted to do".[84] Confronted with his repressed desires, Hamlet realises that "he himself is literally no better than the sinner whom he is to punish".[83] Freud suggests that Hamlet's apparent "distaste for sexuality"—articulated in his "nunnery" conversation with Ophelia—accords with this interpretation.[85][86] John Barrymore's long-running 1922 performance in New York was characterized as "revolutionary in its use of Freudian psychology; in keeping with the post World War I rebellion against everything...
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...John Doe English 2 H April 1, 2015 Hamlet Theme Essay The themes of Appearance vs. Reality are very prominent in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Throught the story many characters act in a deceitful manner in an attempt to seem like an innocent pawn in the game of life, when in reality they are the most corrupt characters in the play. Polonius an excellent example of appearance vs. reality. Throught the story Polonius seems to be a loyal servant to the kingdom, serving the previous and current king as a personal adviser. To the average citizen in the kingdom Polonius seems to be just as loyal of an adviser to King Claudius, but Hamlet exposes Polonius to be a deceitful man, who by supporting the new king has betrayed his previous ruler and the honor of the kingdom. Hamlet's mother Gertrude can also be used as an example of appearance vs. reality. To the people of the kingdom Gertrude appears to be an honest woman who remarried because of her love for Claudius, but in reality she remarried solely to stay in power and continue her luxurious life as a queen. Hamlet himself is also an ideal example of appearance vs reality, because of his constant act of insanity which causes him to appear mad when in reality he is perfectly sane and simply acting to benefit himself. Polonius a textbook example of appearance vs. reality. Almost immediately after the death of Hamlet’s father, Polonius readily accepts Claudius as his new ruler which is seen as a betrayal to the previous...
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...Hamlet Journal (1) Act 1, Scene 5, line 32 Ghost: I find thee apt, And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed That roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf, Wouldst thou not stir in this. 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. (2) Paraphrase: a. The ghost is glad that Hamlet is so excited about revenging the father’s death. The ghost explained how his death was meant to look and that his death was a lie. Then the ghost informed Hamlet who was responsible for his death. Hamlet’s uncle is the one who murdered his father. (3) My comments b. I think that this is the start of the book; before this the book was just getting you use to the characters. When the ghost appears to Hamlet he is eager to get revenge for his father’s death. But when the ghost tells Hamlet that his uncle is the one who kills him; I feel like when this is revealed it took the story to a new level. First your father just died, your mom married your uncle and now all of a sudden a ghost appears to tell you that his death was a lie. On top of it being a lie, the person who did it was your uncle. I think this is going to make Hamlet lose control over him. He will either go into a deep depression or he is going to be so angry and not be able to control himself...
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...Decay in Hamlet Decay is defined as “a gradual decline; deterioration,” disease as “any departure from health.” Both have multiple forms: physical, psychological, and social. Numerous examples of illness and deterioration can be found in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In this drama, Shakespeare uses imagery of decay and disease and the emotional and moral decay of his characters to enhance the atmosphere of the play and create a sense of impending doom. For example, in Act I, Laertes uses the analogy of plant disease to convince his sister Ophelia to preserve her virginity: The canker galls the infants of the spring Too oft before their buttons be disclosed, And in the morn and liquid dew of youth Contagious blastments are most imminent. (I, iii, 43-46) Furthermore, Hamlet’s description in Act IV of Polonius’ corpse being eaten by worms evokes a strong sense of decay and disgust: Not where he eats, but where he is eaten. A certain convocation of politic worms are e’en at him. Your worm is your only emperor for diet. We fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots. Your fat king and your lean beggar is but variable service -- two dishes, but to one table. That’s the end. (IV, iii, 22-28) While references to literal sickness and rottenness are made throughout the play, decay is perceivable in other ways as well. The characters in Hamlet decay emotionally throughout the play. For example, at the beginning of Hamlet, Queen Gertrude is happy, but...
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...Trust is an issue that is often problemcatic. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the character Hamlet trusts only a small number of people. He hides his real personality and opinions from his friends and family. Hamlet, to fool others, often changes his character. He questions the loyalty of his friends and family. In the play, friends and family cannot be trusted. Hamlet does not trust those who are close to him because of the numerous betrayals from his family and friends. Hamlet is unable to trust others due to the fact that his family and friends are willing to betray him. When Hamlet’s mother remarries, he speaks of how he feels he has been betrayed by his mother: “‘By what it fed on, and yet within a month – Let me not think on’t; frailty, thy name is woman! … Would have mourn’d longer, - married with my uncle, My father’s brother, but no more like my father … With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! It is not, nor it cannot come to good; But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue!’” (Act I scene II, 145 – 159.) Hamlet feels betrayed by his mom because of her marriage to his uncle, but he cannot voice his opinion to her. Along with his feelings of betrayal, he feels angry about her quick decision to marry again. He links her quick remarriage with her inability to control her sexual desires. He is furious at the fact that his mother prefers instant pleasure over love, and feels that his...
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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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...Analysis of Hamlet U5A1 Letitia Stevens Introduction to the Humanities (HUM1000) Unit 5 Literature Analysis of Hamlet Capella University May 2016 Introduction During the last years of Queen Elizabeth, “The Tragedy of Hamlet” was written by William Shakespeare. The father of Hamlet appeared outside of the Elsinore Castle on what seemed to a very cold night for the season that they were in. His appearance was referred to as of a warning that was leading to the killing in ancient Rome of Caesar. The presence provided Horatio and his company a suggestion that something threatening or evil had previously taken place and the would have been an offset to nature in Denmark. There was a transfer of power post the death of the king that led some to believe that the future of Denmark was in trouble. It is proven by the later appearance of the ghost that there would be a Denmark tragedy. What is a soliloquy? A Soliloquy defined is the disregard of the people around while speaking to themselves about in-depth thoughts, usually in a play or drama. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, n.d). In dramas and play, when this is used, the people or characters are not mindful of things that person speaking is speaking about. When realism was introduced in the late 1800’s, soliloquies was not as prevalent. In the play, “Hamlet” soliloquies were used throughout to disclose his most in depth feelings to the viewers. William Shakespeare uses soliloquies in not only “Hamlet” in other...
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