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Femininity In Hamlet Essay

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Femininity In Hamlet Essay
Since the Renaissance, when Shakespeare born and wrote his works, many of the plays and literature styles have gained wide popularity among the readers and influenced many of the readers and the critics. Furthermore, people often say, it is widely believed at this time that role of males stand completely opposite to that of females; however, through the play of Hamlet, Shakespeare portrays a complex representation of human beings including femininity in its protagonist and title character, prince Hamlet. The Women in Literature and Life Assembly states in one of their articles, “Defining masculine and feminine characteristics allowed writers like Shakespeare to draw males with certain ‘feminine’ characteristics and females with certain ‘masculine’ …show more content…
When young Fortinbras was a boy, his father, former king of Norway, gets killed in a battle with King Hamlet, young Hamlet’s father, and loses Norwegian territory which by ended up part of Denmark since King Hamlet won the fight and killed King Fortinbras. Furthermore, young Fortinbras’s uncle, old Norway, takes over the throne instead of giving it to his nephew, young Fortinbras, just as Claudius who also crowns himself when King Hamlet dies. When the play opens, however, the responses of young Fortinbras and young Hamlet depart to completely different directions, which perhaps in masculine and feminine ways. Just as Horatio describes him “of unimproved mettle hot and full” (1.1.97-98), young Fortinbras never really get to know his father, but he blames King Hamlet for the death of King Fortinbras and immediately raises an army called “lawless resolutes” to reclaim Norway’s lost territories. On the other side, Hamlet chooses to stay away from his duties as the only price of Denmark and the successor to the crown. While Fortinbras is training his army and treats Denmark to reclaim their lands and avenge his father, Hamlet has done nothing but complaining about his fate and struggles to kill Claudius even he had a chance to do so. Just from how frightened Hamlet is from his opening phrase of the soliloquy in Nunnery

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