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Shakespeare’s texts have been re-visited, re-interpreted and re-invented to suit the context and preferences of an evolving audience, and it through this constant recreation it is evident that Hamlet “does not define or exhaust its possibilities”. Through the creation of a character who emulates a variety of different themes, such as revenge, realisation of reality and the questioning of humanity, we can see the different possibilities within Hamlet as an “admirable text” with enduring human value. Furthermore, the emotional journey of Hamlet and his progression of madness provide further opportunity for differing interpretations. Hamlet connects with audiences from a variety of socio-historic contexts primarily due to its address of fundamental human issues and what it is to be human.…
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Hamlet, Prince of Denmark has remained the most perplexing, as well as the most popular, of William Shakespeare’s tragedies. Whether considered as literature, philosophy, or drama, its artistic stature is universally admitted. To explain the reasons for its excellence in a few words, however, is a daunting task. Apart from the matchless artistry of its language, the play’s appeal rests in large measure on the character of Hamlet himself. Called upon to avenge his father’s murder, he is compelled to face problems of duty, morality, and ethics that have been human concerns through the ages. The play has tantalized critics with what has become known as the Hamlet mystery, that of Hamlet’s complex behavior, most notably his indecision and his reluctance to act.…
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In spite of the fact that the plot evokes the implication that it occurred between the close of 16th century and the start of the 17th century, Shakespeare’s Hamlet surpasses the constraints of time and muses upon both the primitive and contemporary man. In the late 16th century in England, people of all classes on the social echelon, with the exception of royals, were able to publicly eyewitness theatre. Audiences craved new plays to assuage their appetites. One of numerous dramatists that capitalized this abundance of opportunity was Shakespeare. Opposed to the modern time, audiences spectated the play to hear it rather than see it. The articulation of the lines and significance of how the story was recited was crucial…
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Throughout Hamlet, William Shakespeare’s eloquence and use of thematic imagery helps convey Hamlet’s state of mind as troubled and ambiguous, establishing him as a tragic hero whose feelings of death are nothing short of an enigma. From the opening scene with the ominous apparition to the brutality of the final scene, death is seemingly portrayed further than that of its simplistic physical nature. Hamlet’s thought provoking and introspective nature causes him to analyze death on different levels, ways that are much more profound. Hamlet’s acceptance of death is gradual but very much evident in the play, as his idle nature transitions to one of cowardice and eventually determination and resolve. As the reader is introduced to Hamlet,…
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Hamlet is generally regarded as Shakespeare’s magnum opus, sometimes it is even referred as the highest literary product of human genius. Critics have always been argued on the interpretation of Hamlet and even after more than 400 years, yet these argues still going strong. One of the most controversial that topic for critics since the beginning is the interpretation of the third act of Hamlet, where many critics themselves baffle because normal interpretations will make Hamlet subsequent actions irrational and impossible to explain. Many will use insanity to explain Hamlet actions. However, we will presume that Hamlet is staying sane throughout the course of the story. This paper is an attempt at interpreting the purpose and significant of…
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How all occasions do inform against me,/ And spur my dull revenge! What is a man/ If his chief good and market of his time/ Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more./ Sure, he that made us with such large discourse,/ Looking before and after, gave us not/ That capability and godlike reason/ To fust in us unused. Now, whether it be/ Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple / Of thinking too precisely on th' event—/ A thought which, quartered, hath but one part wisdom/ And ever three parts coward—I do not know/ Why yet I live to say “This thing’s to do,”/ Sith I have cause and will and strength and means/ To do ’t. Examples gross as earth exhort me./ Witness this army of such mass and charge/ Led by a delicate and tender prince,/ Whose spirit with divine ambition puffed/ Makes mouths at the invisible event,/ Exposing what is mortal and unsure/ To all that fortune, death, and danger dare,/ Even for an eggshell. 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, or be nothing worth! (IV.iv.34-68)…
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The following are journal entries for our reading of Hamlet. Each entry should be completed after we have finished reading and/or viewing that scene in class. The purpose is to prepare you for class discussion; therefore, you should have something written for each entry before we discuss it in class (even if it’s only a question). See Ms. M with questions ahead of time – don’t expect to be given answers in class! Be sure to cite textual evidence to support all your answers – remember to record act, scene and line numbers.…
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In this introduction to the play Stephan Greenblatt directly emphasises not only the depth but also the mystery about the main character of Hamlet. He points at the different impressions Hamlet makes on his co-characters and the spectator can only refer to these onstage interactions. A diverse character like Hamlet therefore leaves much space for interpretation.…
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Any critical evaluation of the play “Hamlet” must be chiefly concerned with the character of Hamlet. Unlike Shakespeare’s other tragedies, “Hamlet” is singular in purpose and scope-it is the story of one man’s personal and moral collapse under the weight of his own (and other’s) decisions, intentions and machinations. The play is not complicated with subplots and extraneous secondary characters, but is wholly focused on the man himself. This dedication to a singular dramatic intention paradoxically makes for “Hamlet” to be, subjectively, Shakespeare most confusing play. It is problematic in its protagonists’ inscrutability, his missing motives, his contradictory actions, and his utter implacability to settle into one stable character. Almost everything he does further contradicts him as an individual in the world of the play and as a dramatic character. For this reason my critical evaluation of the play is that it is artistically self defeating due to its own subversions of character and dramatic convention, and this should render it unfulfilling and disappointing as a dramatic performance. Paradoxically, the plays confusion renders it all the more infuriatingly readable-it is both alienating and enticing, a work which defeats itself in its own realisation and at the same time is only worthwhile and meaningful in this artistic enigma-the individual components should not work, yet it does strike a powerful emotional and dramatic resonance in its completion. Many aspects of “Hamlet” as a text are easily criticised-it is certainly a work with a large amount of problems. However, in a rather subversive and mysterious manner the play is a wonderful work of literature.…
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The purpose of this report is to compare and contrast two movies made about Hamlet. I will present and discuss different aspects of the version directed by Kenneth Branagh to that of Franco Zefirelli. During this paper you will be presented with my opinions in reference to determining which version of Hamlet best reflects the original text by Shakespeare. I will end this paper with my belief and explanation of which movie is true to the original play.…
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In the beginning of the play, the reader is introduced to the disorder in Denmark, a prevalent motif. The mysterious death of the king spurred the disorder, and the prospect of revenge was magnified by the supposed appearance of the late King Hamlet’s ghost. The ghost’s appearance and subsequent speech intensify the disorder by validating the reader’s suspicion of Claudius as a murderer and an incestuous, adulterous serpent.…
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“What is established in act one?” is a broad question which could be approached in a number of ways. Throughout Act one of Hamlet, a number of aspects of a revenge tragedy are set up, to assist the responders understanding of the play and its plot. Factors such as atmosphere, character profiles and personalities, values held in the Elizabethan time, themes of importance and settings are also explored in this exposition as the play builds up to the climax and tension develops.…
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The tone of Hamlet's first soliloquy begins as sad and depressed as Hamlet contemplates suicide. The tone changes to angry and bitter while Hamlet ponders the relationship between his mother and his uncle. Through Shakespeare's use of diction and syntax he shows Hamlet's disapproval of this relationship.…
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Act 5 scene 1 depicts burial ritual of Ophelia, the main women character of the play, who committed suicide. The scene under analysis portrays psychological burden and pressure caused by her death. Shakespeare describes that death of Ophelia is heavy for her relatives and Hamlet. The passage has an important meaning for the whole play unveiling traditions and values of the society, and confrontations between Hamlet and Laertes.…
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In Act 1:1 of Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ the audience is shown the ghost of the dead King Hamlet and the genre of a revenge tragedy is introduced. The scene is set in the night which immediately creates a sense of mystery, intrigue and apprehension, linking to the feelings created by the idea of ghosts and the supernatural which were typical of Elizabethan revenge tragedy playwrights. Shakespeare also uses various language techniques to create this mood in this scene. The scene begins with the guard Bernardo asking the question ‘Who’s there?’ creating a tense mood of uncertainty. Half lines are also used by Shakespeare to create a broken rhythm in the conversation, increasing the feelings of insecurity and unease as the text does not flow. The discussion about the Ghost is full of contrasts and tensions showing the uncertainty felt by the characters. Marcellus states ‘Horatio says tis but our fantasy/ And will not let belief take hold of him’, showing the audience that Horatio is sceptical towards the existence of the supernatural. We see that Horatio is an educated, rational character as Marcellus seems to respect and depend on his opinion for deciding on the existence of the ghost. This loyalty in Horatio’s opinion juxtaposes with the treacherous news that Hamlet is about to receive regarding his father’s murder by Claudius. As Horatio is an educated character, his part-acceptance of the Ghost’s existence could persuade the audience to believe in the Ghost as well, as Horatio’s testimony is far more convincing than what the superstitious watchmen say. Marcellus goes on to call the Ghost ‘majestical’ but Horatio says that it acted ‘like a guilty thing’. This indicates that there’s confusion over the Ghost’s intentions and origin from the start. The Ghost also foreshadows the tragedy to come. Horatio wonders if it ‘bodes some strange relation to the eruption to our state’ and suspects the Ghost may have some supernatural knowledge of the ‘country’s fate’ which…
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