Intelligence is an important factor when being a king. In order for a king to keep his kingdom safe he has to plan ahead, and outwit his enemies. In order for Hamlet to plan ahead and outsmart Claudius, he has to use his intelligence. Hamlet uses his intelligence to through off his enemy by acting mad so he wouldn't notice his to plan to seek revenge. "Here, as before, never, so help you mercy,/How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself/As I perchance hereafter shall think meet/To put an antic disposition on,/That you, at such times seeing me, never shall..."(I.v.177-181). This quotation above shows Hamlet telling his friend Horatio that no matter how strange he may seem , don't mind it and don't say anything because it is all an act. Hamlet uses his intelligent to formulate a plot to act crazy and mess with everyone's mind, while secretly he is sane and is just planning his revenge out on Claudius.…
American author, John Steinbeck once said “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power.” The theme of corruption is demonstrated in Hamlet by a series of events that lead to devastating decay. The “beginning of the end” is caused by Claudius, the present king of Denmark, Gertrude’s new spouse, and Hamlet’s uncle. Claudius is an intelligent antagonist whose Machiavellian plan of fratricide and his thirst for power drives Shakespeare’s tragedy. His powerful ability to manipulate brings Hamlet to insanity, but also brings short-term peace to the kingdom of Denmark. Critics argue that this trait would not leads to Claudius’ demise if it were not for Hamlet. However, Claudius’ own fear of his corruption being exposed destroys his facade of a capable king and ultimately leads his downfall.…
Context: In Act 2, scene 2, a troupe of traveling players visits Elsinore, and Hamlet convinces one…
Hamlet was brought up as a prince, a noble born, embedded with sweetness. Showered with love and provided with whatever necessary for a prince… He was out studying and not being involved in politics of Denmark or even being involved with the series of war King Hamlet has being fighting. He embodies a full course of human emotion, ranging from grief, love, anger, rage, and passion to fear and insanity. Ultimately, Hamlet has no interest in becoming the king rather his concern is to avenge his father’s death which he could not fulfill because his character does not show someone who is capable of murder, apart from this, there were various factors that contributed to Hamlet’s delay in seeking revenge against Claudius.…
Any Christian knows that as humans we are all sinners and we are forgiven every day. Hamlet in this story ends up killing two men which are Polonius, and Claudius the present king of Denmark. The act of murdering another human is the ultimate sin to most Christians however, I think hamlet did what he thought was right to avenge his father’s unfair death. Hamlets father comes to him as a ghost asking him to seek revenge. Hamlet is unfairly pressed to a sinful act. Hamlet also has a thought of suicide. Suicide is a sin that will send whomever straight to hell. Hamlet does not act on the thoughts of self-death. The time period and legal aspect of this story also has a little to do with the act of murder.…
1. Claudius realizes that he cannot just simply arrest Hamlet because the Danish people adore Hamlet, and doing so could reflect negatively on him.…
Hamlet is a better king than Claudius. He is very cautious in making sincere decisions. Hamlet does not make hasty decisions. He is intelligent and innovative. “No my lord I ‘am too much in the sun “to a little more than kind and less than king.…
A great number of lessons can be learned from Hamlet by Shakespeare. A very important lesson is that not everyone wants a leader, but every kingdom needs one. What is meant by this is that in a kingdom there will always be people who are not in favor of the person in charge. However, in a functioning kingdom a strong leader is of essence. The arrival of Fortinbras in Act 5 Scene 2 of Hamlet is clear evidence that Shakespeare was in hopes of a noble leader replacing Elizabeth. Shakespeare believed that corruption was swarming in the state of England, and a noble leader was needed to replace her.…
Reread Hamlet’s fourth soliloquy below; it is found in the play in Act 4, Scene 4. Then answer the questions on this page and provide director’s notes that indicate how you would instruct an actor to speak and behave while delivering this soliloquy.…
“Most people who drink alcohol do not become alcoholics.”(Gale pg.2 Para 2) An alcoholic addiction stems from other personal problems of the past or a current problem. Many people may think that an alcohol addiction is a disease or they may not. Alcohol has become a self-medication so that people can dismiss their problems for the time being. If someone feels they have an alcohol addiction, or others do, there are different treatments to help the matter but someone who is addicted to alcohol is usually in denial and treatment will only help a person if they are willing to except it themselves.…
Throughout Hamlet, many characters develop showing their change of mind and emotions. Gertrude, the Queen of Denmark and Hamlet's mother, is an exception. Throughout the entire play she thinks only of herself. Even when she tries to think of or help others, her final decision revolves around her life and how the situation will affect her. Gertrude's selfishness is displayed in her marriage to Claudius, her forcing Hamlet to accept Claudius as his father, and her betrayal of Hamlet to Claudius after Hamlet sees his father's ghost.…
A foil character is a character who provides a contrast to another character. In the play, Hamlet by William Shakespeare there are multiple foil characters who not only provide a contrast to one another but share some similarities as well. All the foils in this book are foils of none other than the main character, Hamlet. The first foil character is Fortinbras, although he is not a major character in the play he does play an important role. Like Hamlet, Fortinbras’ father has also passed away and his uncle has taken over as the King of his country, Norway. However, unlike Hamlet he is not set on vengeance due to the death of his father. Fortinbras also takes leadership into his own hands by creating his own army and taking on the land of Poland when Hamlet can’t even make the decision to kill his uncle or show his true feelings about the marriage between Gertrude and Claudius. Laertes, son of Polonius and brother to Ophelia is also a close foil to Hamlet in this play. Although he does not truly become a foil to Hamlet until act 3 he still plays an important role. In act 3, Hamlet murders Polonius thinking that he is Claudius when coming out from behind the curtain. It is shortly after this scene that Laertes becomes enraged and is then made into a foil of Hamlet. They are both in similar situations of dealing with the murder of their fathers as well as the belief of having to avenge those murders. With Laertes’ revenge he does not wait patiently and think about what he must do like Hamlet does throughout the play, instead he acts on impulse and without thought. He knows and believes that he has to avenge his fathers death and has the passion and dedication to do so right away unlike Hamlet. Hamlet is patient with the avenge of his fathers death and for many logical reasons. He has to make sure what he is being told by the ghost is in fact what happened and by changing himself to act crazy and planning the play to catch Claudius’ reaction was a smart way of…
Hamlet is one of the most complex characters and stories in western literature. Shakespeare has loaded this play to the brim with philosophy and ideas far beyond his years. Hamlet himself can be dissected and interpreted in thousands of different ways; but most notably he is dramatic. Dramatic in every sense of the word, he enjoys acting and plays and he is extremely animated in all of his interactions. The same drama that impassions him, tortures him; so much so that he often contemplates suicide. Possibly the most significant drama in the play and in Hamlet surrounds the sanctity of the, and specifically, Hamlet’s mind. Hamlet doesn’t allow anyone to intrude his mind for many reason none more important then the other. The reasons that seem the most profound all surround the validity of his own sexuality and the judgments of the gender relationships he is apart of. Hamlet seemingly blames his mother for parts of his fathers death. He knows she didn’t actually kill him but he blames her for her lack of grief and also her marriage to the swine that is Claudius. He even goes as far as to say to her “aye madam, it is common” right after Gertrude told him about how all life ends he basically calls her a hooker. (I, ii, 13) It is peculiar that he has such a reaction to a mother trying to comfort her grieving son. Throughout the play Hamlet comes up against many trials but none greater then the challenge of accepting who he is versus what he is trying to be. All of Hamlet’s greatness and all of his flaws come from the same source his extreme aversion to the gender relationships posed in his world. In order for us to truly understand hamlet we have to penetrate what he so actively tries to protect; which in Hamlet’s case is his mind and his understanding of love, and his own sexuality.…
There are many kinds of people in the world. Some people are kind, generous, caring, etc. But there are the kinds of people who are selfish deceiving and very cruel to those around them and only puts themselves before other people, these are characteristics of a Machiavellian character. In the story of Shakespeare, Hamlet, shows a great example of a Machiavellian character Claudius. Claudius is the type of man who is willing to go to the extremes in order to keep high position of power. He doesn’t care for the well being of others and only cares about himself. In Hamlet Claudius faces many threats to his position of power that has brought out his Machiavellian characteristics. Some of which are his willingness to kill and end the lives of other people, being very deceitful and trickery to those around him and manipulates and uses other people without thinking about the negative consequences it might have on the people he is using, all for his high position of power.…
The third and final reason Hamlet would not be a good king is that he is immature and boasts a sassy attitude. Even in the first scene Hamlet is introduced, the reader can plainly see his insolent disposition. It is easily seen that Hamlet is not amused by the situation he is in. Where this is especially apparent is where he says this, “ A little more than kin and less than kind.” (1.2.65). When he says this, the meaning behind it is a pun about the incestuous relationship between Gertrude and Claudius. If that does not add insult to injury, Gertrude’s…