...Hamlet is intriguing play that was written by Shakespeare in the Elizabethan era. The play greatly exemplifies Elizabethan Culture and it is clear that the play was targeted towards the Elizabethan Audience. The various references to the Elizabethan culture might have been effective in that time period, but in modern society students can not relate to the references made in the play. That being said, how can one update the play Hamlet to appeal to modern teenage culture. One way is by changing the play's allusions to target modern audiences. There were many allusions in the play but the one that should be updated are the references to Herod and Hecate. Updating these two allusions in Hamlet would effectively target modern teenage audience....
Words: 614 - Pages: 3
... 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
...The Effect of Allusions in Hamlet Sometimes it takes a clearly conveyed comparison to fully understand a difficult concept. The greatest authors of all time create novels with important points that are not quite so obvious, and the reader has to do a little digging to grasp the intended meaning. When regarding Shakespearean plays, readers will surely notice that they are riddled with enigmas. How does Shakespeare give the reader clues to help grasp the novel? He uses allusions, carefully-placed references to something else. One of the finest places to look for Shakespearean allusions is Hamlet, a tragedy about the negative effect of ambition and revenge. The result of William Shakespeare incorporating allusions into Hamlet is the readers have a more sophisticated understanding of themes, characters, and conflicts. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, he uses allusions in order to develop themes in the play. One of the major themes in the play is action vs. inaction. In Act 1, Scene 5, Hamlet talks with the ghost of his father about the cause of his death. The ghost informs him that it was his uncle Claudius, as he suspected, and that it is imperative that he seek revenge at once. The ghost says, “I find thee apt. And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed that roots itself in ease on Lethe Wharf, wouldst thou not stir in this.” The ghost sees that Hamlet is eager to get revenge, but little does he know, this allusion is a prediction of what is to come. The ghost’s statement...
Words: 1024 - Pages: 5
...Chasing down Allusions in Hamlet “Look here upon this picture, and on this,— The counterfeit presentment of two brothers. See what a grace was seated on this brow; Hyperion's curls; the front of Jove himself; An eye like Mars, to threaten and command; A station like the herald Mercury New lighted on a heaven-kissing hill: A combination and a form, indeed, Where every god did seem to set his seal, To give the world assurance of a man; This was your husband.” (3.4, 61-71) So excellent a king; that was, to this, Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother, That he might not beteem the winds of heaven Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth! (1.2, 139-142) Act III is abounding with allusions. During Scene IV, Hamlet confronts his mother and candidly expresses his dismay with his mother’s irreverence to his father. He uses a multitude of allusions to describe his father. In particular, Hamlet references his father twice to Hyperion, the Greek god of the Sun. Hamlet illustrates his father as god-like, possessing their finest features like Hyperion’s curls. He also represents his father as the sun god Hyperion. The sun represents a central body around which the earth and planets rotate and are held in orbit. The sun also sustains life. Hamlet is alluding to the fact that his father was a great king, a strong and dynamic leader that cared for his family and populace. The sun symbolizes warmth, glory, triumph and inner light, all fine qualities reflected upon...
Words: 461 - Pages: 2
...ENG4U Modernizing Allusions in Shakespeare's “Hamlet” Umair Mohammad Mr. Scarrow Would most teenagers understand allusions written in the Elizabethan era, roughly four hundred and fifty years ago? The simple answer is probably not. The mundane lifestyle of the average modern teenager is not similar to that of a teenager that was born and raised during the Elizabethan era. Therefore, the text in many of the Shakespearian plays read in modern high schools should be updated to include modern versions of allusions. Furthermore, an act such as this would inhibit major benefits such as, students gaining a better understanding of the literature as a whole by being able to make connections due to the allusions. Transforming the allusions first made by Shakespeare in the Elizabethan era would not only be rather simple, but it would benefit teenagers. Many allusions created by Shakespeare in his play “Hamlet” can be recreated to suit the lifestyles and languages of modern teenagers. For example, “It out-Herods Herod. Pray you, avoid it.” (III, ii, 14) is an allusion referencing a very old biblical king that is very similar to Claudius from “Hamlet”. The majority of modern teenagers will not have any knowledge of this king, and thus a more modern allusion is in order. It could be done by researching a different person that can be compared to Claudius in this allusion. For instance, we could use Scar in Herod’s stead. This is because Scar is a character in “The Lion King”,...
Words: 474 - Pages: 2
...Shakespeare's play Hamlet is a very effective piece of writing. Or it was an effective piece of writing. The writing in Hamlet was suited for Elizabethan era audiences, wherein all figurative language, allusions, and other literary devices were intended to engage people in this time period. To make Hamlet a more accessible text to a contemporary audience we must consider updating some of the allusions within it. “O my offence is rank, it smells to heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, A brother's murder.” (3.3.137-139). And “It out herods Herod” (3,2,14) are both allusions that if given an update would effectively target a modern day teenage audience. The first allusion is one that causes great confusion to a modern day teenager as “the primal eldest” is not a familiar term in today's language. The primal eldest refers to the first recorded murder in the Christian Bible and it is used in Hamlet to compare with the crime of Claudius which is the killing of the previous king. This comparison was effective in the Elizabethan era, however today it has lost its appeal. This is most likely because Religion was a ruling force in the time of Shakespeare. It was prevalent in every aspect of society. This is not the case today. Although religion does prevail in western societies it does not have nearly the impact that it used to have. In order to make this allusion effective for today's teenager we must update it. The most effective update is “O my offence is rank, it smells...
Words: 670 - Pages: 3
...A Modern Day Allusion The Elizabethan era, once filled with long dresses, courtship and theatre has now transitioned into a time when less clothing is considered better and with some teenagers, dating is a quick as a game of musical chairs, switching partners when the music stops. Teenagers are more interested in social media and texting than interacting with other people. There a two allusions that can be switched into Hamlet to allow it to appeal to a young and modern audience. Updating the term Termagant and Hercules could appeal to a more modern audience. Termagant was originally “a deity erroneously ascribed to Islam by medieval European Christians and represented in early English drama as a violent character.” This original allusion is used to describe a nasty or violent person and in Hamlet is it used in Act III Scene ii, before Hamlet performs his play. It is used in the context of “I would have such a fellow whipped for o'erdoing Termagant. It out-Herods Herod.” Hamlet was telling the actors not to overdo their performance and to not have violent outbursts. Many teenagers would not know what this word meant unless they had to look it up for a project. The word bully would be a better fit for a modern audience, because for years, teenagers and kids have been taught about the definition of a bully and what it means to bully another person. The new line would read as “I would have such a fellow whipped for o’erdoing a bully. It out-Herods Herod“ By making this replacement...
Words: 669 - Pages: 3
...Hamlet A6 - Assignment 3 due Apr 13, 2012 - Apr 13, 2012 ENG4UZ-S-English-Gr.12-University Prep NS-Winter2012 ENG4U: English, Grade 12, University Preparation Unit 3: Values and Worldviews - Hamlet Activity 6: Chasing down Allusions in Hamlet Overview | Expectations | Content | Assignment | | Assignment Assignment 1 Complete the following assignment and submit your work to the dropbox. Complete the following chart, relating each reference or allusion given from Act III, below, to the purpose or theme of the play. Submit to the dropbox. Select another one yourself and post it to the discussion board. | If you would like to see how a close reading for allusion and other literary devices is executed, refer to the multimedia presentation “A Guided Tour of Close Reading”. | Allusion | Literal meaning | How it develops theme | Sources | I would have such a fellow whipped for o’erdoing Termagant (II,ii,14) | | | | It out herods Herod (III,ii,14) | | | | “For O, For O, the hobbyhorse is forgot” | | | | | | | | Assignment 2 Discussion Post your choice of allusion from Act III, its literal meaning, its implicit meaning and a statement about how it develops theme to the drop box. Document your sources using correct MLA notation. Enter the discussion here. Rubric View the rubric for this assignment. View the long description of the rubric for this assignment. Assignment 3 Enrichment | Why is this a play about a dead King, and an unresolved hierarchy? Document...
Words: 353 - Pages: 2
...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...
Words: 987 - Pages: 4
...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 to a Satyr”. Hyperion being an allusion to the Greek myth of the Titans, one of the children of Uranus and Gaea. A...
Words: 977 - Pages: 4
...Patty Cake ____ ENG 4U0 July 17, 2011 Allusion | Literal meaning | How it develops theme | Sources | I would have such a fellow whipped for o’erdoing Termagant (III,ii,14) | In this quote, Hamlet says that he would have whipped whoever was playing the role in the play, if they overdid their part. A “termagant”, is a deity often worshipped by Muslims, who was described as violent, overbearing personage in long robes. (dictionary.com)Everything must go exactly to plan of his father’s murder reenactment, hence why Hamlet is being so strict towards the actors. | This quote really shows how mentally insane Hamlet is going. If he threatens to whip actors for doing their job and over exaggerating a little, then perhaps this develops the theme of “mental issues”, which Hamlet seems to be carrying, and they seem to be getting worse and worse according to the passage. Throughout the play, his mental condition seems to be worsening, or he is doing a better job at pretending, either way, he seems more insane than ever. | "t”termagant." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 17 Jul. 2014. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/termagant>. | It out herods Herod (III,ii,14) | This allusion is from the bible, and specifically King Herod. King Herod was a ruthless king, who did anything and everything he could to get what he wanted, so this passage is alluding to, if the actor screws up, he would have out did King Herod, and that is not easy to achieve, as...
Words: 777 - Pages: 4
...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
...Allusion |Literal Meaning |How it develops Theme |Sources | | |I would have such a fellow|The meaning is that Hamlet |This quote helps develop theme |http://www. | |whipped for o'erdoing |would beat up a man for |because it represents the theme |bignerds.com/papers/86464/Theme-And-Understan| |Termagant |acting out.(Termagant-acting |of revenge and how it not only |ding/ | | |like a shrew) Tergament is an|effects one person but others | | | |allusion to a God that the |around them. | | | |Elizabethans believed that | | | | |the Muslims worshipped | | | |It out herods Herod |Hamlet wants Ophelia to avoid|This quote develops the theme of |http://www.gradesaver.com/hamlet/q-and-a/i-ne| | |acting like a termagant or a |state of mind in hamlet because |ed-to-post-an-allusion-from-either-act-i-ii-o| | |Herod. Also to not be more |it gives us an idea of the |r-iii-its-literal-meaning-its-implicit-meanin| | |like Herod...
Words: 258 - Pages: 2
...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...
Words: 420 - Pages: 2
...ISP Reflective Journal Dropbox: Reflective Journal - Formative Activity 7 – Culminating Activity Dropbox: Best Poem in the World (5%) Discussion: Best Poem - Formative Unit 3 – 25% Activity 1 – Culminating Assignment Essay Module Discussion: Integrated Quotations - Formative Discussion: Elaboration of Evidence - Formative Activity 2 – Worldviews and Interpretations Dropbox: “The Return” Response (Parts A, B, and C) - Formative Activity 3 – Text Attack Discussion: The 5 ‘W’’s - Formative Activity 4 – Dramatic Irony Dropbox: Incidents of Dramatic Irony – 2.5% Activity 5 – Target the Audience Discussion: Cultural/Political Passage - Formative Activity 6 – Allusions in Hamlet Dropbox: Allusion Chart – Formative Discussion: Posting Allusion Chart - Formative Activity 7 – Hamlet Act IV & Preparing to Write the Literary Essay Dropbox: Cause...
Words: 441 - Pages: 2
