...have different views and sides, but are both violent men who seek revenge for their fathers’ murders. However, there are also foils within the side characters: in this case, we see Horatio, a devoted servant and companion to Hamlet, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, hands for the opposing side. Just as with any foils, they have clear differences, but are quite similar in their roles. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern act as a foil to Horatio in their role as the corrupt version...
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...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...
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...characters and the plays events significantly impact Hamlet constantly pushing him towards vengeance. Hamlet’s uncertainty between action and inaction are a direct result of the character’s sense of obligation and convenience. Hamlets toying with madness and indecision resolve in tragedy. Hamlet and his behaviours that are neither actions or inactions symbolise the fundamental flaw in his character, indecision. The beginning of Hamlet’s journey for revenge is displayed through the use of death imagery in Act 1, Scene 5, when the Ghost tells Hamlet, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder”. Hamlet’s instructions to avenge his father's death represents an essential moment in the plot as the play then begins to focus around revenge and justice. Hamlet’s most honest and fatal character weakness is exposed. That weakness being his major inability to take decisive action. This inaction is shown in Hamlet’s first conversation with the Ghost, Hamlet shows his persistence to pursue revenge for his father’s death “Haste me to know’t, that I with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge.” (1.5.29) This supports the concept of a determined Hamlet corrupted with desperate human emotions. Laertes opposes the concept of inaction when it comes to revenge as he represents determination and strength, “That both the worlds I give to negligence, let come what comes, only I’ll be revenged most thoroughly for my father” (4.5). Laertes also declares his commitment...
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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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...story of Hamlet. Ever since the first scene, we are thrown into a world in which the line between life and death has become very thin. As one of the first characters we are introduced to is the Ghost of the former King of Denmark, Hamlet’s father. In the first scene, a meeting with the dead is come about, although Horatio, Bernardo and Marcellus are afraid by the Ghost as he appears. They are blown with curiosity and want to know why he has reappeared in the living world, “Stay! Speak, speak! I charge thee, speak!” (1.1.65). This curiosity is passed on to the audience and brings them into a wondering with the death of the King that sets the tone for the rest of the play. Hamlet is one of the characters that is consumed with the idea of death after the death of his father. He is driven by the knowledge that he will someday also be perished, and this death is what forces Hamlet to set revenge. In perhaps his most famous speech, “To be or not to be,” Hamlet introduces the question on what the difference is between living and dying and what the point is. Hamlet is not disturbed by his father’s death, but how his mother has gotten over it so quickly, because he is afraid if someone could get over someone’s death like that, then life has no meaning what so ever. Death imagery really sticks the theme of death in the audiences mind throughout the play. The word”rank” shows up constantly in Hamlet’s descriptions of both the world and his mother’s relationship with Claudius. “Things rank...
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...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 a...
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...can be divided into two categories: a work's thematic concept is what readers "think the work is about" and its thematic statement being "what the work says about the subject". The most common contemporary understanding of theme is an idea or concept that is central to a story, which can often be summed in a single word (e.g. love, death, betrayal). Typical examples of themes of this type are conflict between the individual and society; coming of age; humans in conflict with technology; nostalgia; and the dangers of unchecked ambition. A theme may be exemplified by the actions, utterances, or thoughts of a character in a novel. An example of this would be the theme loneliness in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, wherein many of the characters seem to be lonely. It may differ from the thesis—the text's or author's implied worldview. A story may have several themes. Themes often explore historically common or cross-culturally recognizable ideas, such as ethical questions, and are usually implied rather than stated explicitly. An example of this would be whether one should live a seemingly better life, at the price of giving up parts of ones humanity, which is a theme in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Along with plot, character, setting, and style, theme is considered one of the fundamental components of fiction. Mostly people regards themes as thesis or thesis as themes but there is a clear distinction between them which is given...
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...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 that a man might play, But I have that within which passes show- These but the trappings and the suits of woe” However, his deep thoughts and soul do not stop him from being impulsive, which makes everyone believes he is...
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...English 12 12 January, 2015 Hamlet Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, can be quite difficult to comprehend at fight sight. Some of the many characters in the play support the similarities and differences shown in Hamlet. Certain traits seen in these characters are sometimes seen in Hamlet, adding to who he’s seen as. Without these characters, there wouldn’t be the development seen by Hamlet’s character. By having them, Shakespeare attributes to Hamlet without deliberately saying it. In the play, the main ideas shown by some characters is betrayal and revenge. This idea is mainly developed through the similarities and differences seen between Horatio and Laertes towards Hamlet. Horatio compares in a way that...
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...Men and Vengeance… and Women “ Hamlet is one of the most dangerous things ever set down on paper. All the big, unknowable questions like what it is to be a human being; the difference between sanity and insanity; the meaning of life and death; what’s real and not real. All these subjects can literally drive you mad.” Michael Sheen One of the most celebrated Shakespearean plays, Hamlet , follows the tragic downfall of a young Prince Hamlet as he plummets into depression and apparent insanity after the death of his father. Consequently, Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, inherits the throne and marries the widowed Queen Gertrude. When Hamlet has the opportunity to converse with his dead father’s spirit, Hamlet learns that his father was murdered by his brother, Claudius; hearing this, Hamlet devotes himself to requiting retribution on his uncle. In many of Shakespeare’s plays, it is a common theme that the quest for revenge drives one to insanity. Not only does Hamlet follow this trend, it introduces that men in Hamlet are the ones to seek vengeance upon others while bringing women down along with them, supporting Shakespeare’s usual portrayal of women as scapegoats. In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, it is generally the male characters that tend to take action and seek revenge upon others, due to the cultural sexism during Shakespeare’s time of writing. In many of his plays, Shakespeare usually has men in focus, most likely because of the ...
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...Jake Nevins 3/15/13 English foundations honors 2 Mrs. Muratori 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...
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...Hamlet Movie Scene Comparison Act II, scene 2 is the longest scene in Hamlet. In this scene, Rosencrantz and Guildernstern come to the King, Voltimand and Cornelius report the message from Norway, Polonius suggests to Claudius and Gertrude the reason of Hamlet’s madness, Hamlet calls Polonius a “fishmonger”, Rosencrantz and Guildernstern bring in the players, Hamlet decides to let the players play the Old King’s murder. Scene 2 is divided into sub-sections in a way to present the plot and the theme more clearly. The “fishmonger scene” refers to the part from Polonius’s explanation of Hamlet’s madness “Your noble son is mad” (2.2.92) to the end of Hamlet and Polonius’s first interaction “except my life” (2.2.210), initiates Hamlet’s actions on revenge and vouchsafes how other characters view his “madness”. This essay will compare the actors’ gestures and line arrangements from directors Kenneth Branagh and Franco Zeffirelli to depict the different effects in Hamlet’s madness. First, the actors’ gestures between Kenneth Branagh version and Mel Gibson version show differences to the interpretations of Hamlet’s madness. There are not many gestures in the Kenneth Branagh film, which can mean something. When Polonius talks to Claudius and Gertrude, also when he talks to Hamlet, he does not have obvious big body movement, but instead just standing straight, walking steadily, behaving perfectly like a honorable and educated man; Hamlet as the noble son of the King and Queen, and the...
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...One of the most unique things about the play Hamlet (with Hamlet playing the main character) is the way relationships between the main and lesser characters have not changed from Shakespeare's time period in which he wrote this play to the modern dilemmas of today. The character Hamlet relates through individualism of self to others in the play and Shakespeare uses this confusion of self and nature thus assuring many types of readers who can relate to his Hamlet characterization. Hamlet portrays himself with all his human flaws, but it is this humanity that makes him distinctive from everyone else in the story. In addition, all of Hamlet's waking hours are preoccupied with his own thoughts thus adding more intensity to his feelings and perceptions about where he sees imperfections, worry and tension as well as confusion, but without a doubt it is these human qualities which makes his situation so impossible for him to resolve easily. Another tragic role of the play is its irony. The irony allows the storyline to show humor as well as the cause and effects of each action taken. There is usually little reason for a tragedy to be funny so Shakespeare has used this type of humor to add more irony to the already tragic events of the play. Pause for thought is in the types of conflict that play a major part in the play and the relationships between Hamlet and the two people who have been closest to him; being Ophelia and the ghost. Hamlet cannot share his strong feelings and emotions...
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...Kayla Romine Mr. Kaplan English 12 P.4 28 March 2012 The Difference of Insanity: Hamlet against Ophelia In the Renaissance, madness was the theme of William Shakespeare's writings. He attended grammar school, but nothing further. So for his writings to be written with intelligence, it was greatly admired by many. Shakespeare’s career was in the time of Elizabeth I, 1558-1603 and James I, 1566-1625. His writings were not his own original work. It has been said that he took the story, Hamlet, from Saxo Grammaticus and changed the way Hamlet was portrayed from his story into a more “mad” version of Hamlet that waits to get revenge and is not truly mad from the start. It is also said that Shakespeare stole a majority of his stories from other writers during his time, making them more well-known and changing the moral of the story. In the Renaissance, people looked at insanity as if it were a crime. It was looked down upon. People did not understand that it was something that occurred within the mind, so they thought if they sprayed people with water it would shock them out of their insanity. The Renaissance culture also gave an intellectual rendition to three specific kinds of madness: folly, demonic possession and melancholia. In that time, thoughts of madness were confused by religious beliefs and sometimes even mistaken for nonsense. The dictionary defines madness as “extreme anger, excitement, or foolishness” and in Hamlet, Hamlet is characterized as insane because he...
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...King Claudius plotted to ship Hamlet off to England to be killed. Shakespeare wrote his plays during the Elizabethan era, and life was much different for people of that era, then it is for people of present day. How words and dialogue were written in the play, is hard for us to understand with are modern day language and slang; the same can be said for the ideas and influences certain parts of the play have on us. Someone who was alive during the Elizabethan era and attended one of Shakespeare’s plays would view the live production very differently than a modern day audience would. There are a few points that come to mind when comparing the differences between the Elizabethan era and modern day; such as the great chain of being, extreme importance on religion, and the pride in defending your honor. These examples of the differences between the two eras are very noticeable in Act IV Scene IV lines 53-66, when Hamlet exclaims: Rightly to be great Is not to stir without great argument But greatly to find quarrel in a straw When honor’s at the stake. How stand I then, That have a father killed, a mother stained, Excitements of my reason and my blood, And let all sleep-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? Oh, from this time forth, My thoughts be bloody...
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