...There comes a time in one’s life when he loses faith in his beliefs or in his relationships. In 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...
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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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...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 had not fixed his canon 'gainst self-slaughter!" (1.2.131-2). It is immediately obvious that this passage is written in metrical form, making it a versed passage. Most of the lines in this soliloquy end with an exclamation point or a question mark. Hamlet's statements seem very direct and all seem to hover around the idea of...
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...FEBRUARY 3, 2014 COMMENTS OFF ON COMPARE AND CONTRAST ESSAY ON HAMLET AND DEATH OF A SALESMAN Compare and Contrast Essay on Hamlet and Death of a Salesman Different characters in fictional work serve to develop the plot in different ways. this happens often, be it strengthening the protagonist, or working towards weakening and destroying the protagonist. This is no exception in William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, and in “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller. The female characters in the two works choose to hide or deny the truth, and this does not work out well for them, or for the protagonists in the end. Linda chooses not to confront her husband, although she knows that he has plans to commit suicide. Gertrude chooses not to accept her wrongdoing by marrying Claudius, and she does not accept the consequences of her action. The female characters treat the protagonists in different ways, and this contributes to the development of the protagonists. The different personalities of the female characters in the stories enhance the characters of the protagonists in different ways. By denying reality, the female characters contribute to the downfall of the protagonists. Linda is the main character in Miller’s work. She is a loving and loyal wife to her husband. She chooses to reprimand and rebuke her sons for not caring more about their father, although she knows that her husband is not well. Linda knows of her husband’s intention to commit suicide. She reveals this to her sons when...
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...Hamlet: William Shakespeare biography: * William Shakespeare is the grand literary figure of the Western world. During England's Elizabethan period he wrote dozens of plays which continue to dominate World Theater 400 years later. Shakespeare handled high drama, romance and slapstick comedy with equal ease, and so famous are his words that his quotes, from "To be or not to be" to "Parting is such sweet sorrow," take up more than 70 pages in recent editions of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. His works rival the King James Bible (also produced in the 1600s) as a source of oft-quoted English phrases. Shakespeare is known as "the Bard of Avon," in a nod to his birthplace, and many of his plays were originally performed in the famous Globe Theater in London. Among his best-known plays are Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and MacBeth. He is also known for his poetry, especially his sonnets. (Who2biographies) * William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in 1582. Their daughter Susannah was born in 1583, and the twins Judith and Hamnet were born in 1585. Hamnet died in 1596... William Shakespeare's precise birthdate is not known; he was baptized on 26 April 1564, and over time 23 April has become the accepted date of birth, in part because he also died on 23 April in 1616.( Who2biographies) * Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories, and these are regarded as some of the best work ever produced in these...
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...Who was William Shakespeare? Shakespeare is William Shakespeare, one of the English-speaking world's greatest playwrights and poets, who possessed a great knowledge of human nature and transformed the English theatre. Yet many facts of his life remain a mystery. Some have been acquired from painstaking looks at the records of the time, so that this summary is based on generally agreed facts. It has been said that we only know three things about Shakespeare: that he was born, married and died. He was baptised on April 26, 1564; we do not know his birth date, but many scholars believe it was April 23, 1564. His father was John Shakespeare (who was a glover and leather merchant) and his mother Mary Arden (who was a landed local heiress). John had a remarkable run of success as a merchant, alderman, and high bailiff of Stratford, during William's early childhood. His fortunes declined, however, in the late 1570s. William lived for most of his early life in Stratford-upon-Avon. We do not know exactly when he went to London but he is said to have arrived in 1592. There is great conjecture about Shakespeare's childhood years, especially regarding his education. It is surmised by scholars that Shakespeare attended the free grammar school in Stratford, which at the time had a reputation to rival that of Eton. While there are no records extant to prove this claim, Shakespeare's knowledge of Latin and Classical Greek would tend to support this theory. In addition, Shakespeare's...
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...father’s murder But Hamlet has to answer four questions: Is the ghost real? Is revenge good or evil? Is Claudius guilty? These questions, complicates Hamlet’s decision and his reflective, intellectual nature and the revenge obligations of Laertes and Fortinbras that parallel the main plot. Hamlet is tasked with avenging his father’s horrible and unnatural murder. However, he faces a dilemma: should he believe in the honesty of the ghost? The ghost might be a devil. By nature a thinker and truth-seeker, his first step is to evaluate the truth of the ghost’s command, but this self-examination causes delay. Moreover, his extreme depression at his mother’s detestable remarriage, and the fact that Claudius was elected king, has served to make him sarcastic and disbelieving. A chain of circumstances provides a series of obstacles that Hamlet first has to overcome in order to achieve his revenge. This however, affects Hamlet on a spiritual level, as he accepts that both good and evil exist in the world, and that there is a fitness in performing his duty of revenge. His nobility and balance is at constant war with each other from the beginning to the end of the play. The ethical concerns Hamlet has for Claudius and Gertrude are plain to see, at the time, the church considered marriage to a sister in law tantamount to incest. Hamlet’s ethical concerns surrounding his mother’s sudden remarriage is overtly expressed when Gertrude asks Hamlet at her wedding, “If it be, why seems it so...
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...A recurring theme in both Webster’s Duchess of Malfi and Shakespeare’s Hamlet is the concept of female honour and chastity, even though the women of the plays are secondary to the main plot. A woman’s necessity to marry is a negative message in Hamlet, and proves to be the hubris of the Duchess- it is her marriage that, in part, leads to her eventual death. Ergo, Wiggins’ statement about ‘second marriages troubling the male imagination’ is certainly true from the outset. The second scene of Hamlet opens onto a celebration, but in Hamlet’s first soliloquy, he distains his mother, for her ‘frailty’ in needing a new husband, likening her to worse than a ‘beast’ wanting ‘discourse of reason.’ Bearing in mind, the contemporary society where women spinsters and widows were stigmatized, yet, according to these plays, a woman’s remarriage was socially unacceptable. However, such is the misogyny and class based prejudice that a high-ranking woman is not socially stigmatized but merely gossiped about in private. However, the famed serial monogamist Henry VIII married six times; even introducing divorce, yet Hamlet is troubled by his mother’s single remarriage, even before learning of his uncle’s treachery, despite the fact that his father is dead. Perhaps then, it is the line ‘or ere these shoes were old’ that demonstrates his trouble with the hastiness of the remarriage, rather than the concept of the marriage itself. Throughout, the Duchess is defined not through her ideals, as noble...
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...undeveloped to most “civilized.” Rather, they suggested that each individual culture should be understood in terms of its unique beliefs and ideals. That is, in order to observe and understand how people live and operate in a particular culture, it is important to consider the way other view the world within the framework of their culture. A great example of this idea is depicted by Laura Bohannan in her work “Shakespeare in the bush.” With an argument in mind, that human nature is more or less universal, she travels to Africa and discusses a famous Shakespeare’s tragic play with native people of a tribe Tiv, expecting only slight variations in its interpretation accounted for discrepancies in culture. To her surprise, Bohannan finds out that customs, beliefs, translations and culture have an enormous role in the perception and interpretation of Shakespeare’s play and that its meaning is not as universal as she previously thought. She realizes that many concepts that are well-known and taken for granted in western society are so remote to the elders of the tribe, that they become convinced that Bohannan got the story wrong. For instance, Hamlet’s uncle’s succession to the throne being as a motive to kill Hamlet’s father, was entirely misunderstood, since in Tiv...
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... 1ST YEAR BETHUNE COLLEGE Purity is defined as the absence of impurity or contaminants in a substance. The term also applies to the absence of vice in human characters. As for women, the term 'purity' encompasses the notion of chastity which is a prerequisite of a 'good/gentle woman'. The virtue of purity as embodied in human beings was to become quite a popular trope since the middle ages. From Dante's Divina Commedia (1308-11) to Spenser's Faerie Queene (1590-96), purity is treated as an ideal for everybody to strive towards. It is always analogous to goodness. A character with this trait (more usually female ) is treated both by the narrative and many of the characters as being a shining example of good. Almost always beautiful, she often gives off a soft radiance that attracts people. She is almost exclusively soft-spoken, polite, optimistic, and just all round pleasant to be around. The 14th century alliterative poems Pearl , Purity ,and Patience, draws easily on the Bible for its narrative and illustrate the virtue of purity in character. In Shakespearean tragedies like Othello , Desdemona is killed by her husband Othello who thinks she was unfaithful. The gentle-hearted Ophelia, Hamlet’s unfortunate lover, lost in a world too cruel for her pure fragile soul, is driven mad and topples from a branch into her watery death.Cordelia is the epitome of goodness in King Lear , for her loving virtuous and compassionate nature...
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...Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism Introduction A very basic way of thinking about literary theory is that these ideas act as different lenses critics use to view and talk about art, literature, and even culture. These different lenses allow critics to consider works of art based on certain assumptions within that school of theory. The different lenses also allow critics to focus on particular aspects of a work they consider important. For example, if a critic is working with certain Marxist theories, s/he might focus on how the characters in a story interact based on their economic situation. If a critic is working with post-colonial theories, s/he might consider the same story but look at how characters from colonial powers (Britain, France, and even America) treat characters from, say, Africa or the Caribbean. Hopefully, after reading through and working with the resources in this area of the OWL, literary theory will become a little easier to understand and use. Disclaimer Please note that the schools of literary criticism and their explanations included here are by no means the only ways of distinguishing these separate areas of theory. Indeed, many critics use tools from two or more schools in their work. Some would define differently or greatly expand the (very) general statements given here. Our explanations are meant only as starting places for your own investigation into literary theory. We encourage you to use the list of scholars and works provided for each...
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...his mother’s sexuality. A reflective and thoughtful young man who has studied at the University of Wittenberg, Hamlet is often indecisive and hesitant, but at other times prone to rash and impulsive acts. Hamlet is extremely philosophical and contemplative. He is particularly drawn to difficult questions or questions that cannot be answered with any certainty. Faced with evidence that his uncle murdered his father, evidence that any other character in a play would believe, Hamlet becomes obsessed with proving his uncle’s guilt before trying to act. Claudius - The King of Denmark, Hamlet’s uncle, and the play’s antagonist. The villain of the play, Claudius is a calculating, ambitious politician, driven by his sexual appetites and his lust for power, but he occasionally shows signs of guilt and human feeling—his love for Gertrude, for instance, seems sincere. Gertrude - The Queen of Denmark, Hamlet’s mother, recently married to Claudius. Gertrude loves Hamlet deeply, but she is a shallow, weak woman who seeks affection and status more urgently than moral rectitude or truth. Polonius - The Lord Chamberlain of Claudius’s court, a pompous, conniving old man. Polonius is the father of Laertes and Ophelia. Ophelia - Polonius’s daughter, a beautiful young woman with whom Hamlet has been in love. Ophelia is a sweet and innocent young girl, who obeys her father and her brother, Laertes. Dependent on men to tell her how to behave, she gives in to Polonius’s schemes to spy on Hamlet...
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...RESEARCH and WRITING CUSTOM EDITION Taken from: Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide, Eleventh Edition by James D. Lester and James D. Lester, Jr. To the Point: Reading and Writing Short Arguments by Gilbert H. Muller and Harvey S. Wiener ISBN 0-558-55519-5 Research and Writing, Custom Edition. Published by Pearson Custom Publishing. Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Custom Publishing. Taken from: Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide, Eleventh Edition by James D. Lester and James D. Lester, Jr. Copyright © 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc. Published by Pearson Longman, Inc. New York, New York 10036 To the Point: Reading and Writing Short Arguments by Gilbert H. Muller and Harvey S. Wiener Copyright © 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc. Published by Pearson Longman, Inc. Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Custom Publishing All rights reserved. Permission in writing must be obtained from the publisher before any part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN 0-536-97722-4 2005240359 AP Please visit our web site at www.pearsoncustom.com ISBN 0-558-55519-5 PEARSON CUSTOM PUBLISHING ...
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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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...critical theory today critical theory today A Us e r - F r i e n d l y G u i d e S E C O N D E D I T I O N L O I S T Y S O N New York London Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Routledge Taylor & Francis Group 270 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 Routledge Taylor & Francis Group 2 Park Square Milton Park, Abingdon Oxon OX14 4RN © 2006 by Lois Tyson Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business Printed in the United States of America on acid‑free paper 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 International Standard Book Number‑10: 0‑415‑97410‑0 (Softcover) 0‑415‑97409‑7 (Hardcover) International Standard Book Number‑13: 978‑0‑415‑97410‑3 (Softcover) 978‑0‑415‑97409‑7 (Hardcover) No part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data Tyson, Lois, 1950‑ Critical theory today : a user‑friendly guide / Lois Tyson.‑‑ 2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0‑415‑97409‑7 (hb) ‑‑ ISBN 0‑415‑97410‑0 (pb) 1. Criticism...
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