...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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...Hamlet and Horatio enter a hall in the castle. Hamlet is in the middle of telling Horatio his experiences since he left for England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Hamlet recalls that that the first night he crept from his cabin and located the cabin of the two agents where he found the sealed packet containing Claudius' instructions to the English King. When he returned to his cabin, and opened the packet, he discovered that Claudius had ordered that Hamlet be beheaded in England. Acting quickly he wrote new instructions requesting the English king to execute the agents who brought the commission. The prince folded up the instructions just as the original ones were folded, sealed them in the packet with the seal on his father's...
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...This first quote is from Act III, Scene ii of Hamlet. Hamlet is giving instructions to the troupe of actors that has come to the castle. These actors are going to perform a play within a play and Hamlet has added some lines to the play in the hope of exposing Claudius’ treachery. “Termagant” is an allusion to a god that Elizabethans believed Muslims worshipped. Herod is the king in the Bible that had John the Baptist beheaded and was responsible for Jesus’ death. This allusion is particularly important to Hamlet because like Claudius, Herod married his brother’s wife. John the Baptist told Herod that this was evil, so Herod’s wife Herodias instructed her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist, a request with which Herod complied. Hamlet is telling the players not to overdo their acting, not to be more like Herod than Herod himself. Hamlet wants the players to reveal the treachery in a subtle way. Hamlet is disturbed, although perhaps not mad, and although his anger against his mother and stepfather is intense, it tortures him more than them. Throughout the play, he is unable to act on his desires and seek revenge, as his father’s ghost has instructed him to do. I think he fears what might happen if the players are too bold. I think he wants to get back at Claudius through Claudius’ conscience, or at least get back at his mother, who is less stable than her husband. In the third quote, Hamlet is talking to Ophelia. It is right before the play is to be performed. He...
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...Shakespeare proficiently brings together the main plot and sub-plots of the play, and moves rapidly towards the final resolution. Shakespeare decided to set corruption in Elsinor, a royal castle in medieval Denmark. Prior to the first act Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude is widowed to King Hamlet. When this tragedy starts, we are introduced to Marcellus, Bernardo, and Francisco who guard the castle at night. While on watch an apparition of King Hamlet appeared to them and they then knew something was wrong, the question was what should they do. Once hamlet learns of his father’s return, he at once insists that he go on watch to witness his father’s appearance. The following night Hamlet’s father does appear and commands Hamlet to avenge his death. Hamlet’s father tells him of the corruption that has taken place behind the walls of Elsinor. He informs Hamlet of his uncle’s rage and what it has lead him to do. He tells Hamlet of the serpent who stung him, and how he goes by the name of Claudius. Hamlets composure wit, and strength would know be tested to their limits. What could Hamlet do, what would he do? A clever wit and common sense are his only hope to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet then lives in madness and by that madness hopes to force Claudius to confess his sin. Act One is considered to be a link in the revenge plot sequence, which is commonly known as the main plot. Act One distinguishes relationships between all of the characters in the play, and carefully develops...
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...poetic and inspiring person. With all of his burdens, it is no wonder that Hamlet is so prone to sadness. Many people would simply give up and stop looking for justice. However, Hamlet proves that he is a tragic hero by using his anger, resentment and sadness to motivate him to seek a just revenge which is, of course, Cladius’s death. What is very interesting about the play, however, is that Hamlet delays this revenge for almost the whole play. He discovers Cladius’s betrayal in Act I when the ghost of his father visits him. Yet, he does not really strive to get revenge until late in the final act, Act V. This is evidence of just how depressed he is. As everyone knows, depression really affects behavior. It tends to make people inactive and unmotivated. Even though Hamlet knows he has been betrayed by his mother and uncle, his anger about that is far outweighed by his depression. It tends to blunt the instinct he has to seek revenge. However, when Hamlet discovers proof of his uncle’s treachery (the letter to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern), he is ready to take revenge. Outside of murder and betrayal, there are other reasons for Hamlet’s depression: the death of his love, Ophelia, his resentment toward his mother, his betrayal by his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and the overwhelming feeling that his father, King Hamlet, did not deserve to die. King Hamlet’s death obviously affects Hamlet. It is even worse, because he knows that it is the King’s brother, Hamlet’s...
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...Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a classic story of revenge. The theme of revenge is evidenced many times throughout the play. While revenge is a central theme, many critics would agree that the story is more of a character study of the namesake protagonist than a simple revenge tale. The character is more complicated than the theme in itself. The Prince Hamlet is an actor pushed into the role of a reluctant, conflicted, and indecisive avenger. He is an actor who sees himself as such, and cannot take action. “The form, structure and incidental features of revenge are clearly present: the offense which demands vengeance, the avenger, the violent confrontation, the destruction of the guilty” (Austen 1). “Involved a ghost of a murder victim who clamored for revenge and a hero who was prepared to avenge the ghost’s death” (Bell,1). Yet Hamlet is an actor and an intellectual. Two character traits that are obstacles to his bound mission of revenge. Austen states, “Hamlet is a tragic hero who knows that action is required of him, but his purpose is blunted by an inability to act. He is a frustrated actor, whose conception of action does not translate itself into deeds” (1). He also writes, “Urged on by the Ghost of his father, Hamlet at first appears to be resolute: 'thy commandment all alone shall live I Within the book and volume of my brain' (I.v.102-3). Yet even this allusion to books makes us question his resolve, for he has only just vowed to 'wipe away all trivial fond records...
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...Angela Romero 1226344 English IX Tim Keppel An analysis of the characters of Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, revenge is the central topic, which breathes life into the play. As his main objective in life, Hamlet craves to avenge his father’s death, the king of Denmark, betrayed and killed by his own brother. Throughout the play, Hamlet comes across two other main characters in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Laertes and Fortinbras, whose fathers are also murdered. Even though there are differences between these 3 characters, this series of unfair deaths puts them in the same situation and makes them have aspects in common. Thus, the purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras in terms of behavior, the honor for their beloved fathers, the desire to revenge their fathers’ death and their modus operandi of vengeance; as well as to explain the perception they have of each other. On one hand, Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, is characterized by his eloquent behavior, his philosophical thinking, which constantly leads him to questions that cannot be answered easily, such as his famous one “to be, or not to be”. He is smart and lets others think he’s just mad. One of his other characteristics are his constant thoughts about existence and the duties of a man. “What is a man, if his chief good and market of his time be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more.” “For there are actions...
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...What’s an Osric? All throughout the play Shakespeare use comedy to relieve us from or lead us into drama. In this case, in comes a young courtier named Osric to bring a message to Hamlet. Hamlet engages him as he has several others in the game of word play. Hamlet seems to enjoy these games especially when he has a worthy opponent, which Osric is not. Osric represents a theme that is played out even in our modern time. He is a rich young person whose wealth has bought him access to a place he would not have ascended to otherwise. Osric shows he is willing to do or say most anything to avoid conflict and protect his status. Hamlet is aware of his status and his delight in being part of the king’s court and uses it against him. HAMLET...
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...Laertes, when he thought King Claudius had killed his father, directly confronted the King, but with a mob to back him up. After hearing Claudius side of the story, Laertes began plotting with Claudius to kill Hamlet by treachery. He didn't care about what was right or wrong, he just wanted revenge, even if it meant cutting Hamlet's throat in a church. He didn't bother to hear Hamlet's side of the story. However, just before the fight Laertes did finally hear Hamlet's apology which he would have accepted but he foolishly delayed the opinions of "elder masters". Meaning Claudius and continued the duel against his conscious. Laertes's father had warned him, but Laertes ignored that advice. When plotting to murder Hamlet, Laertes said. "For...
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...Hamlet review and critique On Sunday October 26, 2003 at 2:00 PM I saw Hamlet the play at Cal State Fullerton campus in the Little Theatre. Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is a tragic play consisting of numerous deaths. The deaths that took place played a very important role in the unfolding of the play. From viewing this play the audience can almost guess who was going to die. A prince named Hamlet is the main character. Hamlet planned to take over the throne in Denmark, but treachery would spoil all of Hamlet's plans. The King, Hamlet's father, was found dead. Hamlet was devastated when he learned of his father's death, but what made him more uneasy was the fact that Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, remarried so quickly to the brother of the dead King. The brother would be the one who would betray Hamlet. Horatio, a loyal friend to Hamlet, was on night watch outside the castle, he told the prince of an incident when they saw an apparition who resembled King Hamlet. Hamlet came out the next night hoping to see the ghost. Sure enough, the ghost appeared and called to Hamlet, wanting to speak with him. The spirit talked about how Claudius poisoned the King while he was sleeping. The spirit wanted the prince to avenge his murder. All was quiet in the kingdom until the start of Hamlet's supposed insanity. The Prince was with his mother talking when the prince noticed someone in the room. Hamlet thought it was Claudius, and killed him. Hamlet did...
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...he 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 English literature, with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others."[1] The play was one of Shakespeare's most popular works during his lifetime[2] and still ranks among his most-performed, topping the Royal Shakespeare Company's performance list since 1879.[3] 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".[4] 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 (hypothetical) Elizabethan play known today as the Ur-Hamlet. He almost certainly created the title role for Richard Burbage, the leading tragedian of Shakespeare's...
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...This passage appears in the text quite early on, quickly giving the audience a window into Hamlet’s soul and the clockwork of his thoughts. In this the first of several of Hamlet’s soliloquies, Hamlet sets the scene as it has evolved in his mind. Hamlet begins the passage by cursing himself for what is happening around him. He wishes that he did not exist any longer. He desires that he did not have to live in a world that would allow what is happening around him to occur. He craves for his body to dissolve into nothing, wishing that he could will his body to “thaw and resolve itself into dew”. But since he cannot melt, he would consider suicide if God “the Everlasting” were not so against the notion. His belief is that God has his “fix’d his canon ‘gainst self-slaughter!”. Hamlet feels that things are falling apart around him. He resolves that the world is a kind of un-weeded garden, the garden itself being an allusion to the world around him. Hamlet’s world/garden “grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature”. His garden is flowered with treachery and pain, weeded by the evil King, Queen and the others. This allusion can be considered applicable to the state of Hamlet’s mind as well as to the State of Denmark. Being that Hamlet sees the State of Denmark as falling to ruin and chaos in the hands of Claudius. All after his father, who had been “so excellent a king” to the people of Denmark. He compares his father and Claudius as being like unto a “Hyperion...
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...Chaos of the Mind Hamlet, although a revenge play by nature, is clearly highly entwined with psychological aspects. This is clearly characterized in the first of Hamlet’s soliloquies (Hamlet I.ii 129-159) portraying the occurrences in the state of Denmark as seen through the eyes of Hamlet, giving the audience a window into his soul and the mechanism of his thoughts. Hamlet begins the passage by cursing himself for what is happening around him. He wishes that he did not exist any longer. He desires that he did not have to live in a world that would allow what is happening to occur. He craves for his body to dissolve into nothing, wishing that he could will his body to “thaw and resolve itself into dew”. Unfortunately, he cannot melt and though he would consider suicide the Christian God whom he holds as “the Everlasting” is against such notions, having “fix’d his canon ‘gainst self-slaughter!” Hamlet feels that things are falling apart around him. He uses the allusion of an un-weeded garden to refer to his surroundings. In this garden there are things growing such as seeds of “things rank and gross in nature” and flowers of treachery and pain. The weeds are the evil King, Queen and the others who follow them without considering their malevolent deeds. This allusion can be considered applicable to the state of Hamlet’s mind as well as to the State of Denmark (being that Hamlet sees the State of Denmark as falling to ruin in the hands of Claudius). Hamlet sees Claudius as...
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...and tragedy. Unlike much of the entertainment we seek today, Shakespeare’s plays revolve as much around the flaws of its protagonists as it does their journey in seeking justice. In Hamlet, a heartbroken Danish prince embarks on a journey in avenging his farther who was murdered by his uncle. Claudius, Hamlet’s greedy uncle, is the root cause of much agony in Elsinore but can the audience really hold him solely responsible for the tragedies which befell the other characters? The answer is that Claudius’ treachery was the catalyst of all disorder in the play but, Polonius and Hamlet himself are also to blame. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Polonius’ tendency to overthink and meddle in others’ business leads to the death of several characters. Whether your intentions are good and your heart is in the right place is besides the fact that you are at fault for any and all trouble you cause. When Polonius says, “Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. I do know, when the blood burns, how prodigal the soul lends the tongue vows” (1.3.115-17), he tells his daughter Ophelia that Hamlet does not really love her but is deceiving her as a means of seduction. As a result, he orders her to quit making herself available for him. This sniveling behaviour ends up setting a new tone for the rest of the play. Once Hamlet secretly puts up an act of insanity in his pursuit to kill Claudius, Polonius offers advice to both Gertrude and Claudius when they speculate the reason for Hamlet’s madness. He says...
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...In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the image patterns such as an unweeded garden, rot, and deception conveyed by Hamlet demonstrate how his impelling sense of justice and inability to act on his decisions doom him to his fate. The image pattern of an unweeded garden exemplifies Hamlet’s melancholy view of Denmark's monarchy and his hesitation to uproot the metaphorical weeds. Hamlet’s use of rot imagery manifests his dissatisfaction with life and inability to vie for his throne. The pattern of deception imagery delineates how Hamlet’s impotence to avenge his father’s death furthers the deterioration of his life. Image patterns used by Hamlet demonstrate his nobility and that his desires are incongruous with his reality. As Hamlet depicts the flaw in Denmark’s monarchy through the use of unweeded garden imagery, his ethics and consequent disillusionment emerge. Prior to Claudius’ usurping of power through murder and incest, Hamlet’s nobility resides in him being the immediate heir to the throne. "’tis an unweeded garden, / That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature / Possess it merely" (Shakespeare, I.ii.6). Hamlet accurately portrays the flaw in Denmark’s monarchy: incest. As a weed destroys a garden by spreading rapidly and impeding the penetration of sunlight onto the beautiful plants, Claudius, the biggest “weed” of all, impedes the instillment of morality in his inferiors and encourages evil. Disgusted by Claudius’ duplicitous antics and Denmark’s subsequent political...
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