...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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...In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the war between Norway and Poland becomes a turning point for the main character: Hamlet. There are many instances in Act IV, Scene IV, that provide insight into the characters for the audience. At the end of this scene after Hamlet speaks to Fortinbras and the Captain of the army, Hamlet makes a speech about how these events have affected how he now perceives this dilemma. Hamlet is affected by the coming war because he realizes that the actions of others are more honourable than his own, and this causes him to change his way of thinking to help the audience to understand his role more clearly. Firstly, after speaking with Fortinbras and the Captain, Hamlet observed that they were going to war for something without worth to them. Hamlet asks about the troops and what they are fighting for, the Captain says: “Truly to speak, and with no addition, We go to gain a little patch of ground That hath in it no profit but the name. To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it. Nor will it yield to Norway or the Pole A ranker rate, should it be sold in fee” (Shakespeare 4.4.16-21). Winning this war would give them a worthless piece of land, but they are fighting anyways. Hamlet concludes that the troops are fighting for honour. He realizes that the troops do not want to gain anything physical from this war, but also do not want to lose the title of honour. If the troops were not to fight, then they would be called weak and cowards, and a man’s honour in Elizabethan...
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...Hamlet's Soliloquy - To be, or not to be Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" soliloquy is arguably the most famous soliloquy in the history of the theatre. Even today, 400 years after it was written, most people are vaguely familiar with the soliloquy even though they may not know the play. What gives these 34 lines such universal appeal and recognition? What about Hamlet's introspection has prompted scholars and theatregoers alike to ask questions about their own existence over the centuries? In this soliloquy, Shakespeare strikes a chord with a fundamental human concern: the validity and worthiness of life. Would it not be easier for us to simply enter a never-ending sleep when we find ourselves facing the daunting problems of life than to "suffer / the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune"? However, it is perhaps because we do not know what this endless sleep entails that humans usually opt against suicide. "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil / Must give us pause." Shakespeare seems to understand this dilemma through his character Hamlet, and thus the phrase "To be, or not to be" has been immortalized; indeed, it has pervaded our culture to such a remarkable extent that it has been referenced countless times in movies, television, and the media. Popular movies such as Billy Madison quote the famous phrase, and www.tobeornottobe.com serves as an online archive of Shakespeare's works. Today, a Shakespeare stereotype...
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...and Effect Essay – Elizabethan Target Audience “Always mystify, torture, mislead, and surprise the audience as much as possible (Roff).” Hamlet is a dramatic production written by William Shakespeare. “The play, set in the Kingdom of Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius for murdering the old King Hamlet, Claudius's own brother and Prince Hamlet's father, and then succeeding to the throne and marrying Gertrude, the King Hamlet's widow and mother of Prince Hamlet ("Hamlet”).” Shakespeare’s main objective was to impress his Elizabethan audience because entertainment through theater was extremely important to everyone in the era ("Elizabethan Theater"). Shakespeare successfully captivated an Elizabethan audience with this production (“Hamlet”). This essay will explain how an Elizabethan audience was targeted by Hamlet’s final monologue (act 4, lines 32-66). This speech effectively targeted and engaged an Elizabethan audience because its format, mentions of revenge and exciting nature caused the audience to sympathise with Hamlet’s decisions and feelings, and become enthusiastic and involved in the play. The format of this speech is a key factor which explains why the Elizabethan audience is effectively targeted. This speech is written and delivered in the form of a soliloquy. This means that it is an “uninterrupted speech delivered by a single character to the audience but not to other characters” (Jaber Al-Ogaili 48). Soliloquies are a literary...
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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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...Cause and Effect Hamlet Essay William Shakespeare, arguably the greatest language in the English language and England’s national poet, has written numerous histories, tragedies, comedies and poems. Throughout his plays, his use of dramatic irony, immaculate word choice and wording, and his vast imagination has made him a successful playwright even in his time. Shakespeare’s scripts for his theatrical company, needed to pertain to the needs and fascinations of the Elizabethan audience. It is safe to assume that all his sonnets, poetic speeches, electrifying action and soliloquies in his play were created for the delicate and quickly appreciative of language Elizabethans of his time. A particular example out of the many soliloquies present in the tragedy of Hamlet is the beautiful and moving speech in Act IV, Scene IV (IV, iv, 35-70) of Hamlet depicting his admiration of Fortinbras and his disappointment in himself. The poetic loving audience is noticeably the cause while this splendid speech, along with the many others, is the effect. This soliloquy is a mere example of Shakespeare’s disgust for the political manipulations of his time, the acceptance of murder, and the change of self brought on by others. In the brilliant vocalization of Shakespeare’s feelings through the speech made by Hamlet, it is evident that Shakespeare despises the waste of lives due to war without justification. Perhaps, knowingly that the audience would share this view or dissentient of lives lost...
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...fulfillment and endless enjoyment. Sometimes, however, peace and happiness does not last forever and comes hardships. These hardships are something that the characters in Hamlet have to deal with, and it is also something the audience can relate to. This way of life is very relevant in Shakespeare's play Hamlet, which covers the competency of love, hate and power struggles found within the characters which later leads to an unfortunate ending. Hamlet, the main character of William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, is one of the most complex characters ever created. His intricacy can be seen in the amount of soliloquies he speaks throughout the play. Each one of Hamlet’s soliloquies reveals his innermost thoughts and gives the reader or audience insight as to what he is feeling at that time. The audience cannot help but to show some feeling towards the characters such as Hamlet, Fortinbras and King Claudius. All throughout the play, Shakespeare uses various characters to represent the social, economical, and cultural effects that are shown in Hamlet that may also correspond to the Elizabethan audience. Some characters that represent these effects include Hamlet, Fortinbras, Claudius, and Rosencrantz. It is through these characters’’ speeches and actions that really target the audience. The numerous soliloquy presented by Hamlet is one of the speeches in the play that captivates the audience. This is because the audience can relate to it, and they can anticipate what's to come and see the development...
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...Rating Hamlet Is this Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet at the top of the rating chart, or is it just near the top? This essay intends to examine various aspects of this subject, along with critical opinion. Could the enduring reputation of Hamlet be attributed to the “ultimate form” in which the Bard of Avon expressed his ideas? Robert B. Heilman says so in “The Role We Give Shakespeare”: It is the way of venerable texts whose authenticity has impressed itself on the human imagination: he has said many things in what seems an ultimate form, and he is a fountainhead of quotation and universal center of allusion. “A rose by any other name” comes to the mouth as readily as “Pride goeth before a fall,” and seems no less wise. [. . .] The Ophelia-Laertes relationship is strongly felt near the end of Goethe’s Faust, Part I, and the Hamlet-Gertrude-Claudius triangle echoes throughout Chekhov’s Sea Gull (24-25). 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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...popular plays is Hamlet. Because this play was one of his more complex works it is also became of the most analyzed plays as well. The main character, Hamlet, has fascinated readers and audiences for centuries, and one of the first thing to point out about him is that he is indecisive (22 Newell). But even though he is thoughtful to the point of obsession, Hamlet also behaves rashly and instinctively. When he does act, it is quickly with little or no premeditation, like when he stabbed Polonius through the curtain without even checking to see who he was. He seems to step very easily into the role acting crazy, behaving erratically and upsetting the other characters with his careless speech (22 Newell). It is also important to note that Hamlet is extremely laid back and unconcerned with it comes to the state of affairs in Denmark and in his own family. He is extremely disappointed with his mother for marrying his uncle so quickly. He rejects, Ophelia, a woman he claimed to have loved once. At a number of points in the play, he contemplates his own death and even the option of suicide. But, despite all of the things with which Hamlet expresses dissatisfaction, it is remarkable that he thinks about these problems only in personal and philosophical terms. He spends little time concerning himself about the threats to Denmark’s national security from outside forces or the threats to its stability from within (1 Hamlet's). Also, there is always a little more to Hamlet than the other characters...
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... torture, mislead, and surprise the audience as much as possible (Roff).” Hamlet is a dramatic production written by William Shakespeare. “The play, set in the Kingdom of Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius for murdering the old King Hamlet, Claudius's own brother and Prince Hamlet's father, and then succeeding to the throne and marrying Gertrude, the King Hamlet's widow and mother of Prince Hamlet ("Hamlet”).” Shakespeare’s main objective was to impress his Elizabethan audience because entertainment through theater was extremely important to everyone in the era ("Elizabethan Theater"). Shakespeare successfully captivated an Elizabethan audience with this production (“Hamlet”). This essay will explain how an Elizabethan audience was targeted by Hamlet’s final monologue (act 4, lines 32-66). This speech effectively targeted and engaged an Elizabethan audience because its format, mentions of revenge and exciting nature caused the audience to sympathise with Hamlet’s decisions and feelings, and become enthusiastic and involved in the play. The format of this speech is a key factor which explains why the Elizabethan audience is effectively targeted. This speech is written and delivered in the form of a soliloquy. This means that it is an “uninterrupted speech delivered by a single character to the audience but not to other characters” (Jaber Al-Ogaili 48). Soliloquies are a literary device that is most often used as a technique to express the...
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...Shakespeare’s Hamlet was remembered by many Elizabethan Era viewers as both a philosophical and oft-debated masterpiece (Dickson). These controversial themes attracted viewers everywhere, enticing them to see the play. One scene in particular from the original text of the play where this proves true is act IV, scene iv, lines 31-65, in which the titular character Hamlet decides that the time for revenge is at hand in an insightful soliloquy. The audience would have been attracted to the scene because they would receive a moral insight into Hamlet’s mind, revealing his true thoughts. It also would have expanded on the theme of revenge, and how this theme would affect the final scene of the play. Finally, by focusing on the theme of morality, the soliloquy would have provided audiences with a thought-provoking look into their own consciences. In Shakespeare’s original version of Hamlet, Hamlet’s speech from Act IV, scene iv effectively targets the Elizabethan Era audience. Through the soliloquy, the audience is able to clearly see Hamlet’s thoughts, and this discerning look behind his motif effectively catches the audience’s attention. At the beginning of Hamlet’s speech, the audience becomes aware that Hamlet regrets his hesitation to avenge his father, and he decides the time for vengeance is upon him. The prince admits this when he thinks to himself, “How all occasions do inform against me,/ And spur my dull revenge” (IV. iv. 31-32). It is apparent to the audience what Hamlet is thinking...
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...Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet’s uncle Claudius, murders Hamlet’s father to inherit the crown of Denmark and the love of Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. Throughout the play there are six soliloquies that reveal the character of Hamlet and others. In more than any other Shakespearean play, the audience is painted a better picture of Hamlet’s mind. Shakespeare questions the social and Christian institutions in the face of tragedy with the usage of several ambiguous phrases. Through word play and tone shifts, Hamlet’s collapsing sanity is reflected and shows the deconstruction of his views towards the Church and its values and his family. Hamlet’s questionable sanity is first reflected in the Church and its teachings. During the Elizabethan Era, most people practiced Catholicism, and it was not until later in the 1500s that the Catholic religion was called into question by another developing religion at the time, Protestantism. Not only does society begin to doubt the teachings of the Church, Hamlet does as well because he has lost complete faith in Christian values. According to Hamlet, those values have the cause of Claudius murdering his own brother and marrying his wife. Hamlet is unable to accept this unfortunate fate, and in turn, exclaims to the heavens, “O God! O God” (I.ii.132)! Hamlet has lost faith in the Everlasting because he is disgusted that God would let such an incestuous act happen. Shakespeare’s use of ambiguity leaves the audience confused about whether Hamlet is cursing...
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...Outline Hamlet Essay Politics, hatred, envy, incest, love, and most importantly revenge. These are all themes that boldly occur in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Literature is made to be understood and related to by the audience and throughout Hamlet; Shakespeare presents his audience with many soliloquies. As a matter of fact, the most famous of words in English literature "To be or not to be" (III, i, 58) is in a soliloquy said by Hamlet. Like all speeches in Shakespearean pieces, Hamlet's soliloquy captures the audience's eyes, ears, and hearts with relation to the economic, social, and political aspects of life. Through the common social tendencies of humans and Body Paragraph 1 Death is all around, whether caused through nature or by another man it will always haunt the world. Many people tremble upon the subject of death and it even haunts many to think of dying, this is why and how Shakespeare found a way to captivate his audience. This is evident when Hamlet says "while, to my shame, I see the imminent death of twenty thousand men, that for a fantasy and trick of fame, Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot whereon the numbers cannot try the cause, which is not tomb enough and continent to hide the slain?" (IV, iv, 59-65). Here Hamlet expresses the great number of people that are being slaughtered in comparison to the one man who he is destined to kill to avenge his father. The audience analyzes this and now understands what it means to take a life. Shakespeare shows...
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...Hamlet Act IV – Cause and Effect Literary Essay The original Elizabethan play, Hamlet by Shakespeare, targets the audience in social, cultural, and economic values. The speech that was chosen, was found in Act IV, Scene IV, lines 30-66, and it causes its target audience to have an effect on all three of these values. This field of study is important because it shows the reader that there is a relationship between the dramatic works and their target audience. The first, second, and third points will discuss Hamlet’s soliloquy’s and how the speech causes its target audience to have an effect on the social, cultural, and economic values, as they are all crucial evidence to this thesis. Firstly, there is one reason why the speech causes its target audience to have an effect on the social value. Hamlet’s soliloquy indicates his failure to act when he has so much reason to do so. “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 unused. Now whether it be / Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple / of thinking too precisely on th' event -- / A thought which, quartered, hath but one part wisdom / and ever three parts coward -- I do not know / Why yet I live to say 'This thing's to do', / Sith I have cause, and will, and...
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...Story of Hamlet in Hamlet Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet has one outstanding character, namely the protagonist Hamlet. His character is so complex that this essay will scarcely present an adequate portrayal of his character. John Russell Brown in “Soliloquies and Other Wordplay Let the Audience Share Some of Hamlet’s Thoughts” explains the interplay of dialogue, soliloquies and narrative in Hamlet’s role: By any reckoning Hamlet is one of the most complex of Shakespeare’s characters, and a series of soliloquies is only one of the means which encourage the audience to enter imaginatively into his very personal and frightening predicament. The play’s narrative is handled so that a prolonged two-way chase is sustained between him and the king, during which the audience knows more than either one of them and so thinks ahead and anticipates events. In interplay with Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Polonius, and perhaps with Claudius, Gertrude and Ophelia, Hamlet has asides to draw attention to what dialogue cannot express(55-56). Marchette Chute describes the opening scene of the drama: “For two nights in succession, just as the bell strikes the hour of one, a ghost has appeared on the battlements, a figure dressed in complete armor and with a face like that of the dead king of Denmark, Hamlet’s father. [. . .] The hour comes, and the ghost walks” (35). Horatio and Marcellus exit the ramparts of Elsinore intending to enlist the aid of Hamlet. There...
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