The Enduring Power Of Shakespeare's Characterisation Of Hamlet
“To what extent has your personal response to Hamlet been shaped by the enduring power of Shakespeare’s characterisation of Hamlet?”
In the tragic play Hamlet, the character Hamlet was undoubtedly one of William Shakespeare’s greatest characterisations. The overall effect Hamlet has on the audience due to his many human weaknesses is overwhelming. Hamlet’s character, heavily manipulated and influenced by his father’s murder by his uncle, displays qualities such as his; indecisiveness, uncertainties, apparent madness and revenge and vengeance for his father’s murder.
Hamlets indecisiveness could be seen as one of Hamlet’s greatest character flaws. From William Hazlitt’s point of view, Hamlet is not a character marked by strength will or even of passion but a character marked by refinement of thought and sentiment. Hamlet seems to be lacking the necessary ability of deliberate action, and is only rushed into extreme measure on the spur of the moment when he has no time to think. This can be seen in Act 4, Scene 4 when Hamlet purposely delays killing his uncle because he suddenly thinks to indulge his imagination in reflecting upon the outrageousness of the …show more content…
It can be scene that it all started when he was informed by his father’s ghost of his murder by his uncle, which subsequently married his mother and became King of Denmark. However, Hamlets “antic disposition” has famously sparked a debate: Does Hamlet truly go ‘mad’ or is it a deceptive act? There is still the impossible answer, just like many of the other questions raised by the play. In Act 1, Scene 2, Hamlet can be seen as distressed. “O, that this too solid flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!” Here, his desire for his “flesh” to “melt” and dissolve into “dew” registers his anguish over his father’s death and his mother’s remarriage to his uncle. Clearly Hamlets thoughts are suicidal and register some mental and emotionally
In the tragic play Hamlet, the character Hamlet was undoubtedly one of William Shakespeare’s greatest characterisations. The overall effect Hamlet has on the audience due to his many human weaknesses is overwhelming. Hamlet’s character, heavily manipulated and influenced by his father’s murder by his uncle, displays qualities such as his; indecisiveness, uncertainties, apparent madness and revenge and vengeance for his father’s murder.
Hamlets indecisiveness could be seen as one of Hamlet’s greatest character flaws. From William Hazlitt’s point of view, Hamlet is not a character marked by strength will or even of passion but a character marked by refinement of thought and sentiment. Hamlet seems to be lacking the necessary ability of deliberate action, and is only rushed into extreme measure on the spur of the moment when he has no time to think. This can be seen in Act 4, Scene 4 when Hamlet purposely delays killing his uncle because he suddenly thinks to indulge his imagination in reflecting upon the outrageousness of the …show more content…
It can be scene that it all started when he was informed by his father’s ghost of his murder by his uncle, which subsequently married his mother and became King of Denmark. However, Hamlets “antic disposition” has famously sparked a debate: Does Hamlet truly go ‘mad’ or is it a deceptive act? There is still the impossible answer, just like many of the other questions raised by the play. In Act 1, Scene 2, Hamlet can be seen as distressed. “O, that this too solid flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!” Here, his desire for his “flesh” to “melt” and dissolve into “dew” registers his anguish over his father’s death and his mother’s remarriage to his uncle. Clearly Hamlets thoughts are suicidal and register some mental and emotionally