...The Impression of Last Words In the world famous play Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Shakespeare includes many ideas and themes that specifically relate to the Elizabethan era. Hamlet’s last soliloquy in the play, found in Act 4 Scene 4 lines 32-66, contains many fascinating references to the Elizabethan culture. These references to Elizabethan life helped Shakespeare’s audience gain a better understanding of the theme and true meaning of the play. Hamlet’s final soliloquy is a major turning point in the play; it presents the audience with a chance to witness Hamlet’s inner most thoughts and how they have changed since the beginning of the play. Shakespeare ensures that the Elizabethan audience will understand this shift in Hamlet by incorporating the political, religious and social beliefs of the Elizabethans into the speech. Shakespeare mimics the political situation of Hamlet’s Denmark to that of Elizabethan England in Hamlet’s speech in order for the audience to easily comprehend and relate to Hamlet’s thoughts. While Hamlet watches an army going to fight over a small, worthless piece of land, he realizes that he is “one part wisdom/and ever three parts coward” (4.4, 42-43). He is astonished that this army is willing to risk their lives for a piece of land “which is not tomb enough and continent/to hide the slain” (4.4, 64-65) simply because their king said so. During the Elizabethan era, the monarchy had complete power over their country and were respected by all (Alchin)...
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...William Shakespeare. “The play, set in the Kingdom of Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius for murdering the old King Hamlet, Claudius's own brother and Prince Hamlet's father, and then succeeding to the throne and marrying Gertrude, the King Hamlet's widow and mother of Prince Hamlet ("Hamlet”).” Shakespeare’s main objective was to impress his Elizabethan audience because entertainment through theater was extremely important to everyone in the era ("Elizabethan Theater"). Shakespeare successfully captivated an Elizabethan audience with this production (“Hamlet”). This essay will explain how an Elizabethan audience was targeted by Hamlet’s final monologue (act 4, lines 32-66). This speech effectively targeted and engaged an Elizabethan audience because its format, mentions of revenge and exciting nature caused the audience to sympathise with Hamlet’s decisions and feelings, and become enthusiastic and involved in the play. The format of this speech is a key factor which explains why the Elizabethan audience is effectively targeted. This speech is written and delivered in the form of a soliloquy. This means that it is an “uninterrupted speech delivered by a single character to the audience but not to other characters” (Jaber Al-Ogaili 48). Soliloquies are a literary device that is most often used as a technique to express the character’s inner most thoughts and feelings in a realistic and personal way. The audience feels connected with the character...
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...George Awtrey English April 16, 2011 Hamlet’s Psychological Analysis William Shakespeare was and still is one of the most renowned play writers of all time. Shakespeare had a talent like no other that allowed him to create plays that entertained viewers of his era and beyond. One of his most popular plays is Hamlet. Because this play was one of his more complex works it is also became of the most analyzed plays as well. The main character, Hamlet, has fascinated readers and audiences for centuries, and one of the first thing to point out about him is that he is indecisive (22 Newell). But even though he is thoughtful to the point of obsession, Hamlet also behaves rashly and instinctively. When he does act, it is quickly with little or no premeditation, like when he stabbed Polonius through the curtain without even checking to see who he was. He seems to step very easily into the role acting crazy, behaving erratically and upsetting the other characters with his careless speech (22 Newell). It is also important to note that Hamlet is extremely laid back and unconcerned with it comes to the state of affairs in Denmark and in his own family. He is extremely disappointed with his mother for marrying his uncle so quickly. He rejects, Ophelia, a woman he claimed to have loved once. At a number of points in the play, he contemplates his own death and even the option of suicide. But, despite all of the things with which Hamlet expresses dissatisfaction, it is remarkable that...
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...The Importance of Hamlet’s Soliloquies In the Shakespearian tragedy Hamlet, we see the main character, who shares the name of the play, process many of his thoughts and evaluate many different options before he makes each of his decisions through the soliloquies he delivers throughout the play. From the first soliloquy in act 1 to the final one in act 4, many of major events in the play that involve Hamlet are decided through his trains of thought, as well as his opinions on various matters and his methods of dealing with his emotions. In the play, Hamlet’s soliloquies reveal his character by showing three of his most important traits; his indecisiveness, his nobility and his apparent self-hatred. Although Hamlet has many different character traits, and is perhaps one of the most complex characters in any of Shakespeare’s tragedies, the most prominent one is his indecisiveness. He contemplates every one of the major decisions he makes and makes sure that what he is doing is what he thinks is the right thing, and he rarely acts without thinking about it beforehand. Much of this thinking is described in his 7 soliloquies, for instance in the third soliloquy he delivers, he mentions “The spirit that I have seen may be the devil, and the devil hath power T’ assume a pleasing shape. Yea, and perhaps out of my weakness and my melancholy, as he is very potent with such spirits, abuses me to damn me. I’ll have grounds more relative to this” (2, 2, 577) which shows that although the...
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...Hamlet’s Unwilling Descent into Madness William Shakespeare’s Hamlet contains many instances when a problem of interpretation allows for different stances, but perhaps one of the most prominent questions is Hamlet’s descent into madness and to what degree he controls this madness or if it consumes him. This question is of great importance because it allows the reader to either justify or condemn Hamlet’s actions. In the 1990 Kevin Kline version of Hamlet, Hamlet’s interactions with others and his numerous soliloquies show that his madness is not an act; rather, he cracked under the extreme circumstances of his surroundings. Losing his father and seeing his mother marry his uncle within a few short months took an uncontrollable toll on Hamlet. His heightening emotions and increasing violence show that the film takes the stance that Hamlet cannot control his actions as he succumbs to insanity rather than someone in control of their action. Different versions of Hamlet take many stances on this issue from depicting Hamlet as a plotting mastermind to a man spiraling hopelessly out of control. This film is sympathetic to Hamlet’s plight as it shows his steady and unwilling descent into madness. The numerous violent incidences with his family and his dark soliloquies depict Hamlet as a man lost to his madness. By focusing on his relationships with others, the viewer can see that the interpretive stance does not place the blame on Hamlet but rather his circumstances. For example...
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...Unit 3 activity 7 FINAL The soliloquy in act 4 scene 4 that starts with “how all occasions do inform against me” echoes a monologue recited to Hamlet’s two friends, Rozencratz and Guildenstern. The monologue earlier in the story paints the picture that Hamlet is still struggling with his thoughts of all the events that are happening and he is still unsure of what to do. He is adamant that murdering his uncle is against his character so he finds himself in a dilemma. Following the soliloquy in act 4, the Elizabethan audience is left with a favourable scenario. The lords would favor his philosophical thought process and the lower classes would favor the anticipation of bloody mess end of the act brings. The main reason for this is Hamlet’s soliloquy. This soliloquy serves as a continuation of the monologue to show the audience that Hamlet is getting over all that and is finally set on his mission. It also serves to show the audience how Hamlet came to those final decisions and gives the audience something to be excited for. As Hamlet approaches his destination England, he comes across Fortinbras marching with his army to Poland to fight a way for merely nothing. Hamlet in shock claims that man will fight and act so violently for something of little gain. This encounter reminds Hamlet of what he has to gain from his plan of murdering the king. Following this encounter is when Hamlet recites the soliloquy mentioned before. It is at this point that Hamlet realizes that his duty...
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...the most read play and it lives up to expectations, too. Hamlet can be better seen by analyzing Hamlet's soliloquies. The majority of Hamlet's monologues demonstrate Hamlet's self-loathing and even a readiness to bite the dust. The soliloquy "To be, or not to be: that is the question" shows up in Act 3 Scene 1. It is, maybe, one of the best-known soliloquies by Hamlet in the play, which produces significant scholarly investment even today. Hamlet is feeling profound agony and distress in light of his father's passing. It appears that he is not able to acknowledge this partition. He would like to live. Considering suicide, he doubts himself rationally in the event that it is legitimized to live with so much agony and anguish or if finishing his own particular life is the best conceivable choice. "To be, or not to be: that is the question" Hamlet makes this a stride further and works on the supposition that everybody would rather be dead than living, and is alive simply because he has a trepidation of slaughtering himself. Hamlet is no more addressing whether he needs to die, yet just whether or he finds himself able to slaughter himself, on the grounds that murdering himself clashes with his religion. Hamlet’s sadness over his father's demise and his mother's snappy marriage made him wish for death even before he discovered that his uncle killed his father. In Hamlet's first soliloquy, he wishes that his "too too sullied flesh would melt!"(1.2.129), and that "the Everlasting had...
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...lines 31-65, in which the titular character Hamlet decides that the time for revenge is at hand in an insightful soliloquy. The audience would have been attracted to the scene because they would receive a moral insight into Hamlet’s mind, revealing his true thoughts. It also would have expanded on the theme of revenge, and how this theme would affect the final scene of the play. Finally, by focusing on the theme of morality, the soliloquy would have provided audiences with a thought-provoking look into their own consciences. In Shakespeare’s original version of Hamlet, Hamlet’s speech from Act IV, scene iv effectively targets the Elizabethan Era audience. Through the soliloquy, the audience is able to clearly see Hamlet’s thoughts, and this discerning look behind his motif effectively catches the audience’s attention. At the beginning of Hamlet’s speech, the audience becomes aware that Hamlet regrets his hesitation to avenge his father, and he decides the time for vengeance is upon him. The prince admits this when he thinks to himself, “How all occasions do inform against me,/ And spur my dull revenge” (IV. iv. 31-32). It is apparent to the audience what Hamlet is thinking, and allows them to predict how these thoughts will affect his actions. Thus, the audience is interested to hear what else he thinks to further understand his future plans. It is as if Hamlet’s thought pattern is a puzzle; thought by thought, the audience is able to piece together the way his mind works until...
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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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...William Shakespeare. “The play, set in the Kingdom of Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius for murdering the old King Hamlet, Claudius's own brother and Prince Hamlet's father, and then succeeding to the throne and marrying Gertrude, the King Hamlet's widow and mother of Prince Hamlet ("Hamlet”).” Shakespeare’s main objective was to impress his Elizabethan audience because entertainment through theater was extremely important to everyone in the era ("Elizabethan Theater"). Shakespeare successfully captivated an Elizabethan audience with this production (“Hamlet”). This essay will explain how an Elizabethan audience was targeted by Hamlet’s final monologue (act 4, lines 32-66). This speech effectively targeted and engaged an Elizabethan audience because its format, mentions of revenge and exciting nature caused the audience to sympathise with Hamlet’s decisions and feelings, and become enthusiastic and involved in the play. The format of this speech is a key factor which explains why the Elizabethan audience is effectively targeted. This speech is written and delivered in the form of a soliloquy. This means that it is an “uninterrupted speech delivered by a single character to the audience but not to other characters” (Jaber Al-Ogaili 48). Soliloquies are a literary device that is most often used as a technique to express the character’s inner most thoughts and feelings in a realistic and personal way. The audience feels connected with the character...
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...Importance of Hamlet’s Soliloquies in Shakespeare’s Hamlet Shakespeare often has his characters speak in soliloquies during the course of his plays. Soliloquies are essential to the presentation of a story through the medium of a play because they provide the opportunity the chance to tell the audience specific pieces of information which cannot be disclosed through normal conversation. In his work, Hamlet, Shakespeare’s title character is shown to speak in seven soliloquies. Each soliloquy advances the plot, reveals Hamlet’s inner thoughts to the audience and helps to create an atmosphere in the play. The first soliloquy which Hamlet delivers gives the audience their first glimpse of him as a character. Hamlet is reflective and depicts the way he views his own position; he tells of his father’s death and then his mother’s quick remarriage. He says, “It is not, nor it cannot come to good” (I, ii, 163), when referring to the marriage of his mother. This gives the audience a hint of foreshadowing because it is the first time when Hamlet mentions the future. This speech also reveals his thoughts further when he says that his mother is frail because she is a woman, while he also admits that he knows he must hold his tongue. During the course of this speech Hamlet makes several allusions to historical figures and this demonstrates to the audience that he is an intelligent young man. One of these allusions is when he compares the love his late father had for his mother to Hyperion...
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...Hamlet Aristotle once wrote, “You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honour”. William Shakespeare wrote the play, Hamlet, as a revenge tragedy to entertain the Elizabethan audience. In act IV scene IV, Hamlet questions his courage and lack of ability to make a decision to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet compares himself to a military leader who demonstrates great bravery while questioning what defines honour. Shakespeare strategically utilizes his characters flaw to create deception, greed and ultimate revenge within the play. Therefore, Hamlet’s final soliloquy causes the Elizabethan audience to connect to the emotions the play evokes while simultaneously engaging them. To begin with, Hamlet’s final soliloquy allows the audience to elicit feelings of empathy over the personal conflict and struggle Hamlet is facing over avenging his father’s death. Firstly, Hamlet is overcome with grief and sadness at the loss of his father and recent marriage of his mother, which causes him to question his inability to act out his revenge. Hamlet states, “How stand I then, that have a father killed, a mother stained, excitements of my reason and my blood, and let all sleep” (IV.IV.55-59). This conflict of conscience would cause the audience to sympathize with Hamlet as he mourns the unimaginable loss of his precious family and the realization that the world he knows will never be the same again. Additionally...
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...was entitled to Denmark. His only wish was for his happiness and to be a strong and healthy family, like when his father still reigned as king. During these times he cared for Ophelia and had no foul intentions in any thought at all, until he was corrupt by vengeance and madness. On the other side Hamlet has dark black hair that symbolizes his new corrupt and dark ways that led him to succeeding in his aspirations. If it weren’t for these dark changes that surrounded Hamlet ho would have never accomplish what he set out for. The clothing that Hamlet is wearing is also symbolizes Hamlet’s personality. The red that occupies half of his clothes represents his willingness to spill blood to get what he wants. This is shown when he is ready to fight Laertes at the graveyard. He also takes the opportunity to fence against Laertes at the very first opportunity possible. The gray that takes up half of Hamlet’s clothes represent his lack of emotion in the beginning of the story. With his father recently passed away, Hamlet only wants things to return to the way they were but can’t express himself due to his lack of...
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...combining aspects associated with its time, and some beyond – Hamlet continues to cross boundless eras. Hamlet explores ideas of chaos creating tragedy creating confusion, and obscuring reality. This disorder stems from a Renaissance Humanist perspective due to a break in the Chain of Being. In disturbing this natural order, chaos is manifested in the lives of all characters, with particular effect on the internal workings of Hamlet. His inaction in avenging the King’s “most foul and unnatural murder” is justified by the disarray present in the metaphorical “ear of Denmark”. Although I excuse Hamlet’s “pigeon-livered” actions, his inability to restore the Chain of Being fosters the chaos, perpetuating a vicious cycle. Such notions are reflective of Hamlet’s time. Furthermore, close investigation of Hamlet’s frame of mind suggests good reasons for his procrastination. During the third soliloquy, Hamlet uses tangible imagery to personify murder in “murder, though it have no tongue, will speak”. This highlights that he is acknowledging the enormity of what he has been asked to do as he is “a figure trapped in circumstance” (Kruse). Such paradoxical language also encapsulates the disorder of Denmark as “murder” is the process which ends life; however Hamlet uses personification to bring it alive and “speak”. The responder gains a tangible understanding of...
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...ghost of king Hamlet starts Hamlet’s journey and is his supernatural aid. According to “An Analysis of a Hero’s Journey in William Shakespeare’s Play Hamlet”: Hamlet’s heroic “Journey begins with the ordinary world in which Hamlet is in a very melancholy mood due to the untimely death of his beloved father” (2). Then Hamlet “...follows Horatio to the woods where he does meet the ghost of his father. His father then tells him that his death was at the hands of Claudius and that Hamlet must avenge” (3). This is Hamlet’s call to adventure. Before hearing this request, Hamlet lived a normal life, studying in England. Until, a mysterious ghost prompted him to kill his uncle for revenge. Hamlet has never, presumably, killed anyone in the past, and the ghost is expecting him to kill. The ghost is also his supernatural aid. The ghost only directly conversed with Hamlet twice. One was in the forest where the ghost told Hamlet that a...
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