...and Allers present a clear difference between good and evil, whereas Shakespeare’s depiction of good and evil character in Hamlet is not so clear. The characters in The Lion King are categorised almost immediately in the orientation of the film, with the image of the characters giving the audience a clear picture of who the suspected betrayer is. However in the play Hamlet it’s a lot more difficult to label the characters as good or evil, the audience cannot be certain that Claudius is evil until the climax when he reacts to the play organised by Hamlet. There is a clear distinction between good and bad in The Lion King, this makes the audience highly suspect scar’s future betrayal of Mufasa and Simba. While in Hamlet we can never be sure about which characters to trust, as it’s difficult to ascertain whether Claudius is guilty for Hamlet’s (King) death because of his overly normal personality and lack in signs of guilt and worriedness. This indicates to the audience that Claudius is a calm and logical person, while it is then young Hamlet that is viewed to be untrustworthy due to his constant displays of madness. In The Lion King Scar is depleted as a skinny full grown adult male lion with a black mane, green eyes and a brown dark dirty fur complexion. Scars description connotes that he’s an unusual lion, most likely evil and unable to be trusted. Certain traits and events in The Lion King sets upon the audience that scar is evil, an example of this can be found in the orientation...
Words: 991 - Pages: 4
...revengeful and ambitious. The one thing all scholars unanimously agree upon is that Hamlet is a multi-faceted individual who is, while noble, also arrogant, revengeful and ambitious. This is the dilemma that Rosenberg (1992) feels lies behind the drama and puzzle of Hamlet which in turn makes choosing a character that can adequately play Hamlet’s role very difficult: “There have been gentle Hamlets, fierce hamlets, intellectual Hamlets, passionate hamlets, sophisticated Hamlets, naïve Hamlets, melancholy Hamlets; spirited Hamlets, and more” (Rosenberg,1992) each trying to capture and create the perfect Hamlet. Not only must actors adapt Hamlet’s character to their own, and, therefore, the individual perceives Hamlet according to his own image, but the actors themselves have a difficult time interpreting the intent of Hamlet’s actions. Rosenberg (1992) observes that “in every single scene in which Hamlet appears… choices must be made.” Why, for instance, did Hamlet withdraw from killing Claudius in the prayer scene; why do his objectives shift from returning at once to Wittenberg? The diversity of Hamlets character affects his ability to properly rule his country. He needs to not be so focused on his personal life. Hamlet is a very multi-faceted person who is noble but is too proud, revengeful and ambitious. Thus it is his downfall and prolongs his countries turmoil. Different authors have portrayed Hamlet in different ways. Goethe has portrayed him as too delicate for the task of...
Words: 1394 - Pages: 6
... Research paper hamlet INTRO Hamlet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare where the main character, Hamlet, Thesis: In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet mythological and biblical allusions informs us of Hamlet’s inevitable fall. Throughout the play, Hamlet uses many mythological allusions to show his feelings towards other characters such as Claudius, Gertrude and the old king as well as inform us of his “fall”. After Queen Gertrude is re-married to Claudius, Hamlet shows his feelings when he compares the late King Hamlet to Claudius. Hamlet tells his mother, "So excellent a king, that was to this / Hyperion to a satyr." (Ham. I ii 139-40). This allusion shows Hamlet's high praise for his dead father as well as his extreme hatred for Claudius. Hyperion is the Greek sun god. By comparing his dead father to Hyperion, Hamlet does not just connect his father to a titan, but also the source of light and with that hope and happiness. The sun is what also sustains life. Hamlet is alluding to how his father was a great king, a strong and dynamic leader that cared for his family and strength of Denmark. The sun also symbolizes warmth and glory which are qualities reflected upon his father. A good king, like the sun, is also a keeper of the peace who watches from above. It is evident that Hamlet greatly loved his father and is stunned by how his mother quickly moved on after his death to marry Claudius who Hamlet refers to as a satyr. Hamlet depicts Claudius...
Words: 1095 - Pages: 5
...Shipley Professor Marek ENC 1102, SEC 87 27 October, 2013 Drama Essay: "Hamlet's Ghost- To Believe or Not to Believe” Of all the plays written by William Shakespeare, Hamlet is the most intriguing. As the plot develops, themes such as indecision, deceit and revenge become apparent. As is expected, questions about the characters' motives arise as these themes are portrayed. Questions regarding Hamlet's love for Ophelia or his sanity arise. However, these questions develop throughout the story. The most important question arises at the beginning of the story in Act 1, and affects Hamlet’s every thought and action thereafter. Is the King's ghost a good spirit, merely seeking justice or an evil spirit sent to corrupt Hamlet? Perhaps the ghost is genuinely that of the dead king, but the fact that the ghost uses Hamlet to exact revenge and demands he commit the mortal sin of murder, clearly shows it to be an evil, malicious demon from hell. During the era in which Hamlet was written, there was a common belief of demonic intrusion, and corruption by the devil. Even today, it is not too difficult to find people who will agree that specters are evil demons, sent up from the bowels of hell to corrupt and destroy the living. In fact, a recent CBS poll reveals that almost half of all Americans believe in evil spirits, and that the dead can return in certain places and situations (Alfano). Because of this belief, the appearance of the spirit, along with the assumption of its wickedness...
Words: 1944 - Pages: 8
...Gertrude of Shakespeare’s Hamlet was a quiet, but complicated and misunderstood character. She was a misplaced cog in a broken, corrupt machine who never really quite fit, but she was neither good and needed nor bad and inhibiting. It seemed that everything she did, whether it be for her or her loved ones, was criticized, especially by her son Hamlet. And perhaps in sheer ignorance, or blatant apathy, she never addressed any of these critics or denied any rumors, such as the rumor that she was at play in the murder of her late-husband. As a matter of fact, she rarely addressed any of her feelings. Throughout the play, the audience is left to guess her intentions and thoughts because she did not give the mass of soliloquies that her son Hamlet did. But dissecting her lines and actions, we can assume that Gertrude was morally good because she was level-headed during the death of her husband, was okay with change, and knew when to speak up and when to let other talk. On the other hand, Gertrude can be seen as immoral because she showed next to no expressions of sympathy toward Hamlet’s grief period, spared no time to grieve the loss of her husband, and was eager to side with her new husband and king. Therefore, no clear statement about gertrude morality can be made, thus labeling her as morally ambiguous. Besides the fact that she cannot be labeled either extremes, she was specifically proven morally ambiguous because she shared aspects of both sides of the spectrum. This ambiguity...
Words: 872 - Pages: 4
...William Shakespeare's Hamlet, a ghost is discovered walking the ramparts of Elsinore Castle in Denmark by Bernardo and Marcellus, a pair of watchmen, and Horatio. Resembling the recently deceased King Hamlet, the ghost eventually comes in contact with Prince Hamlet and declares that it is his father in spirit. The ghost's words leads to Hamlet discovering the truth of his father's death and vowing to kill Claudius. After ordering that Hamlet deal with the revenge of the man who preempted his throne and married his wife, the ghost vanishes. After that meeting, Hamlet has not been seen the same, devoting himself to avenging the death of his father, but not before entering a stage of melancholy and apparent absurdity. The Ghost plays an important role to the entire play. Although there is a lack in appearances, each visit impacts his relationship with Hamlet. After his death, the Ghost comes back to his kingdom looking for his son. Because of that one major appearance and mentioning of his death, the most vital point of the whole play is given out. If the ghost had not risen from the dead, Hamlet would have no climatic meaning. A son must have utmost respect and undying love for his father to carry out such a vigorous retaliation. Possessing such intense feelings to avenge his father, Hamlet sacrifices his life in the pursuit of justice. Hamlet's madness is caused after the appearance of the Ghost because throughout the play, people start noticing Hamlet changing. His madness...
Words: 584 - Pages: 3
...This article discusses how Claudius represents the idea of a man being equivalent to a god while Hamlet represents the idea of a man being a servant of God and that if you are wanting to be good, you must not do evil things. This plays into the events of Claudius wanting to kill Hamlet. Claudius tricks Hamlet into believing that he is being sent somewhere to get over his father’s death. Hamlet later intercepts the letters from Claudius that have plans of execution for Prince Hamlet. This shows how selfish Claudius is. The fact that Claudius married Gertrude so quickly after the death of King Hamlet gave Prince Hamlet the feeling that he should requite his father’s death. His father’s ghost comes multiple times reminding him of how he needs...
Words: 309 - Pages: 2
...think and you’re no longer thinking logical. However, I do believe God has the right to take vengeance, because he is the ultimate judge. Revenge is immoral for humans, because either way someone gets hurt. It could be something as simple as hitting your sister and she hits you back harder. When revenge becomes serious, that’s when it can become deadly. Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” is one of the most famous plays of revenge. In the play, Hamlet sees the spirit of his father. The ghost tells Hamlet that his uncle, who is now the king, is the one who murdered him. From this point on, the play becomes one big plot for revenge. More than a handful of people die. In the end Hamlet does succeed in taking revenge for his father’s murder, but unfortunately it results in his own death. This example proves my point that revenge is immoral and unrelated to logic, because everyone in the end dies. Hamlet wanted revenge so bad that it consumed his entire body, mind, soul, and it ultimately lead to his death. Most people like Hamlet, are convinced that taking revenge will make them...
Words: 552 - Pages: 3
...The Role of Magic in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Hamlet, and Macbeth Like many other themes, magic and supernatural elements play a large role in many of Shakespeare’s works. The use of magic interests the audience, plays to the imagination, and adds dramatic intrigue to the story, even when the rest of the plot is comprised of believable events. These themes are most prominent in The Tempest, Hamlet, and Macbeth. In each of these plays, magic and supernatural occurrences not only play a large role in the plot, but also help to communicate various messages and literary value. Shakespeare utilizes magic and supernatural happenings in both positive and negative lights, depending on the purpose it serves in each of the mentioned plays. It is seen as a decision maker, nature, a prophet, a symbol of fate, and an equalizer. Regardless of its specific role in each play and its positive or negative depiction, it serves to move the plot forward through a force which acts beyond the capabilities and power of man, even man himself did conjure it. In The Tempest, we see an example of supernatural power conjured or exercised by man. Prospero, the wielder of this magic, uses magic as a means to set right that which was, in his opinion, wrong in his life and in the universe. In this play, we see magic used as an equalizer. Prospero uses his learned sorcery to reverse all of the supposedly false or unlawful happenings in his life, apparently feeling that these things were...
Words: 1605 - Pages: 7
...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
...Kim Nguyen Hamlet Act 1 Logs Act 1 Scene 1 Summary: The act opens with Bernardo, Marcellus, Horatio, and Francisco seeing the ghost king while on watch duty. The ghost appeared dressed in his armor and suddenly disappears. Because the ghost appeared, Horatio thinks it’s an omen of bad luck. He thinks the ghost king was trying to warn them that something bad would happen to Denmark soon, perhaps in the form of a military attack. The ghost then appears again and Horatio tries to talk to it. It would respond back and just disappears again. Horatio decides to tell Hamlet to try to talk to it because Hamlet was the ghost son so he can’t refuse to talk to his son. Quote Analysis: “No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm” Marcellus said this when the ghost appears. When the cock crowed at the first break of dawn, it was believed that it has the power to get rid of the evil powers. The morning light compels all evil because the light was believed to be good. Character Comment: Horatio – Horatio believed in thing s like ghost and witches. He believed in the world beyond ours. When Old King Hamlet came to visit in his ghost form, Horatio thought it was a bad omen for Denmark and the oncoming war with Fortinbras’ army. Act 1 Scene 2 Summary: Claudius and Gertrude get married and they have a feast to celebrate their new marriage and new life together. Claudius’ excuse for marrying Gertrude was to balance out the sadness toward Old King Hamlet’s...
Words: 909 - Pages: 4
...Chapter II: literature of the renaissance (End of the 15th - beginning of the 17th century) In the 15th - 16th centuries capitalist relation began to develop in Europe. The former townspeople became the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie fought against feudalism because it held back the development of capitalism. The decay of feudalism and the development of capitalist relation were followed by a great rise in the cultural life of Europe. There was an attempt at creating a new culture which would be free from the limitation of the feudal ideology of the Middle Ages. The epoch was characterized by a thirst for knowledge and discoveries, by a powerful development of individuality. It was then that great geographical discoveries of Columbus, Magellan and other travelers as well as astronomical discoveries of Copernicus, Bruno, Galilei were made. The invention of the printing press (Fyodorov in Russia, Guttenberg in Germany, Caxton in England) contributed to the development of culture in all European countries. Universities stopped being citadels of religious learning and turned into centers of humanist study. There was a revival of interest in the ancient culture of Greece and Rome ("Renaissance" is French for "rebirth"). The study of the works of ancient philosophers, writers, and artists helped the people to widen their outlook, to know the world and man's nature. On the basis of both the ancient culture and the most progressive elements of the culture of the...
Words: 8940 - Pages: 36
...Hamlet is said to be one the best literary works of all time and in my opinion, it may be, but many people have different opinions and interpretations of this play. Hamlet, Shakespeare’s longest play at 4,042 lines, was written in the 1600s. Hamlet is considered to be a revenge tragedy (Boyce). The story takes place in Denmark, where the king has been murdered by is brother, who then takes the thrown and marries the queen. Later, the prince Hamlet finds out after the ghost of his deceased father informs him. He then proceeds to take revenge on the murderer of his father (Shakespeare). One of the most outstanding parts of this play is the character Hamlet. He is one of the most complex characters in literature. There is constant debate to whether...
Words: 900 - Pages: 4
...Denmark when he dressed for battle? By God, I order you to speak. GHOST disappears. HORATIO: What paranormal occurring are these? The sighting of a dead king’s ghost is a bad omen for the country. I must tell prince Hamlet about it. HORATIO exits. Scene 2: Enters CLAUDIUS, POLONIUS. CLAUDIUS: I still have fresh memories of my brother the elder Hamlet’s death, but life still goes on—I think it’s wise to mourn him while also thinking about my own well being. Therefore, I’ve married my former sister-in-law, the queen, with mixed feelings of happiness and sadness. I know that in marrying Gertrude I’m only doing what everybody have wisely advised all along. POLONIUS: I am happy for you sir. But your nephew-son Hamlet is still mourning his father’s death. He has still not shunted his black robes. CLAUDIUS: Call him. I want to talk to him right now. Enters HAMLET HAMLET: You wish to see me, sir? CLAUDIUS: Hamlet, you are such a good son to mourn your father like this. But overdoing it is just stubborn. It’s not manly. It’s not what God wants. Please give up this useless mourning of yours and start thinking of me as your new father. HAMLET: I’ll obey you as well as I can, sir. POLONIUS: We have business to attend to sir. CLAUDIUS: Very well. I think we should leave hamlet alone for now. CLAUDIUS and POLONIUS...
Words: 1527 - Pages: 7
...Otu Ms.Cincinelli ENG4U1 July 19, 2016 Hamlet Quotations Choice 1 Mad as the sea and wind when both contend Which is the mightier. In his lawless fit, Behind the arras hearing something stir, Whips out his rapier, cries, “A rat, a rat!” And in this brainish apprehension kills The unseen good old man. This quotation is said by Gertrude, the Queen, also known as Hamlets mother, in Act 4, Scene 1, 8-12. This passage serves to develop the character of Hamlet, and show how much he has grown mad in comparison to his visitation to Ophelia, which is when they begun to believe he has actually lost his mind. This passage also serves to develop conflict because Hamlet has just killed Laertes’s father, and Claudius’s good friend. This can develop conflict between the men because just as Hamlet wanted to seek revenge for the murder of his father, Laertes will also desire to do the same, as we see in Act 4, Scene 5, 104-110. This passage also serves to develop theme of death because this makes two deaths. Two deaths that have driven the characters to insanity. As we see in the text Hamlet first decides to put on an act, as he said he may find it fit to in Act 1, Scene 5, 171-173. Although, as we can see, the events that begin to take place in his life gives way for his acting to become reality, and the death of his father being one of the few reasons. As for Ophelia, she became crazy very soon after the death of her father, whom Hamlet killed. A key literary device used to achieve...
Words: 1139 - Pages: 5
