In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, loyalty conflicts between family, friends, and even the country. Hamlet showed that the only person who we owe loyalty to is ourselves. Putting other’s loyalties above your own will only benefit the other person. We only owe loyalty to ourselves. Our family, lover, and our state will not always be there for us, but we will never be without our body. Throughout the play, the characters give their loyalty to other people and they have to deal with consequences because of it. Loyalty is not owed to your family. Hamlet’s mom married the person who killed Hamlet’s father. If he were to give his loyalty to his mother, he would be disloyal to his father. This would lead to a conflict of loyalty for Hamlet. Hamlet made the right decision here putting his own self-interest over his loyalty to his family. This strain his relationship with Gertrude. He began to insult and mock her “HAMLET: Madam, how like you this play? QUEEN GERTRUDE: The lady protests too much, methinks. HAMLET: O, but she'll keep her word. (3.2.253-255)(Shakespeare)” Laertes picked a different approach, however, he showed loyalty to his family when he came back to Denmark to defend their family’s name. This decision leads to his death. When he was plotting with Claudius to kill Hamlet to avenge his father, he chose to be loyal to his family first. Hamlet …show more content…
This is what happened to Queen Gertrude. She was loyal to her husband Claudius, but this turned out to be a fatal mistake. It is important to choose who you give your loyalty to very carefully because it can cost you your life. King Hamlet made this same mistake when he was loyal to Queen Gertrude. He believed that she was loyal too, but she was cheating on him with his brother. This leads to the Claudius assassination of King Hamlet. The danger of giving other people your loyalty is that you don’t know what their real intentions
Within everyone's lives, self-motivation affects the relationships that one has with others. In William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,” characters struggle with adherence as they continually attempt to benefit themselves. Throughout the play, very few genuine friendships with loyalty were recognizable as the characters seek revenge to deceive Hamlet in the time of King Hamlet's murder. When the benevolence and sincerity were true as Horatio had shown, personal gain did not interfere. This compares to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s fake affair, who harmed to better themselves. Finally, Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude shows betrayal towards Hamlet, with the marriage of Claudius.
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is a timeless play which continues to remain relevant across all generations due to its presentation of ideas that are fundamental to humanity. The play highlights aspects that relate to the society of not only Elizabethan England but also that of our modern society. Hamlet, as a character, considers ideas from outside his time and is somewhat relatable to modern day man. By drawing from ideas of archetypes and the human psyche, it reveals that Hamlet relates deeply to the elements of humanity.
When individuals struggle to balance a desire for independence with the need to maintain meaningful relationships with others, it often results in complicated decisions, which alter relationships. In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the author justifies that when an individual is caught up in a dilemma, between one’s self-motivation or sincere relationships, meaningful relationships alter as a result of sophisticated decisions made. Hamlet is a character that is caught up in the crossfire between pursuing his self-motivations and his need to stay loyal to his relationships, with Ophelia, King Claudius, and his mother Gertrude.
In the 17th Century, when Macbeth was written , loyalty was highly regarded and had great value. The gunpowder plot in 1605, against King James I, shocked everybody . Treason against your own country was regarded as one of the worst crimes a person can commit and this is why Guy Fawkes was hung, drawn and quartered. In the play “Macbeth”, Shakespeare makes the themes of loyalty and family very clear to the audience in the first few scenes in the play. There are many examples of characters that were loyal and trusted, but that turned their back on the people that trusted them. With this becoming the case, it becomes very hard for people to put faith in others as in an instant they could turn their back and try and act on what they truly believe in.
Loyalty is a significant theme in ‘Hamlet’ because Hamlet himself judges people by their loyalty or disloyalty-his mother, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Horatio and he acts accordingly. The significance of the betrayal theme is that many of the major events in the play result from the betrayal of one character by another.
To obey is to comply with a command and do what someone says, to carry out someone’s orders. Loyalty is to obey unconditionally, regardless of any negative consequences. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Disney’s The Lion King, themes of loyalty and revenge are developed through the characters and their interactions with each other. Firstly, Hamlet and Simba show complete loyalty to their deceased fathers, and seek atonement in their honour, despite their own personal struggles. Secondly, Claudius and Scar both take vengeance out of jealousy of not inheriting the throne, and are determined to maintain it by killing the princes. Lastly, Laertes and the Hyenas are devoted to their leaders, Claudius and Scar, and assist them in their plans of wrath.
It is a commonly known occurrence, in real life and in literature, of someone who has excessive pride to allow it to alter their attitude and personality and affect their fate. In many cases, having this pride can lead to a fatal or tragic flaw. In ancient Greek tragedy, heroes tend to have incredible amounts of pride which causes imprudence and their destiny is altered because of this pride. This is known as hubris. With this hubris comes hamartia, where the character’s fate stems from a tragic flaw. In Shakespeare’s well-renowned play, Hamlet, the protagonist, Hamlet, is a victim of great hubris. Throughout the novel, Hamlet is continuously attempting to determine factors
It is clear how Hamlet a lack of communication with his family. Although what happen with his father do not justify his actions it does justify his emotions. Hamlet loved his father very much. With any loss of a dear person, the human reactions towards the lost are always unknown. The grief Hamlet felt was so intense it was the main reason on why he could not forgive his mom for marrying his uncle. It is unknown why Queen Gertrude married King Claudius. Perhaps she married him for love, grief, or even the sake of Denmark, During this time period if the king died the queen must remarry or the prince must get married to become the next king if neither of the events happens the next person (not the prince) must take the throne. Queen Gertrude
The play ‘Hamlet’ written by William Shakespeare had many aspects of betrayal, a lack of loyalty, and tragic deaths. The storyline begins as a ghost appears and he resembles the late king of Denmark ‘Hamlet’. King Hamlet was Hamlets father, after his ghost appears Hamlet conversates with the figure and asks him why he is here, and the ghost states that his brother Claudius poisoned him by pouring poison in his ear while he was asleep, married his wife and finally took the power of the throne. Already in a confused state of mind Hamlet questions the ghost and decides to act delusional and put on a play to decide whether he will get revenge on Claudius. Consequently, one can tell how selfish both brothers Claudius and Hamlet are, how much do you have to hate your own family to commit such hatred. Ultimately blood is not thicker than water.
As readers, we get the benefit to explore our favorite characters and explore their trials and tribulations. “Hamlet” by Shakespeare explores the theme of betrayal, which takes an interesting toll on Hamlet and causes him to go “mad”. Shakespeare expresses Hamlet thoughts through his soliloquies to give a better understanding of what he is going through. Hamlet’s struggles are shown through his anger, confliction, and his determination.
There are many themes that can be found within William Shakespeare’s works of literature. In the play Hamlet, it is evident that there is a prominent theme of obedience. Throughout the course of the play obedience is shown numerous times and involves many characters. These instances can be divided into three categories of reasoning to be obedient: obedience through family, obedience through an authority figure, and obedience through friendship and trust. These characters include Hamlet, Ophelia, Fortinbras, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Horatio and Marcellus.
Fisher, Jerilyn, and Ellen S. Silber. "Reading Between the Lines: Connecting with Gertrude and Ophelia in William Shakespeare's Hamlet." Women in Literature: Reading through the Lens of
Loyalty is being faithful to commitments and obligations. On the other hand there are many ways to display loyalty. One can be loyal to a person, political party, country, religion, or cause. The list is seemingly endless. William Shakespeare’s play King Lear exhibits many forms of loyalty, but one that shines particularly is loyalty to ones selfish needs. However there is a limit to loyalty which most over look. The characters Cordelia, the emotional King Lear, and the vile Edmund all manifest their loyalty to their own self, and all meet their demise. The limit to loyalty is death.
William Shakespeare’s dramatic presentation of disillusionment within Hamlet, to a great measure presents the notion that the quality of a leader is derived from one’s possession of integrity. Hamlet’s disillusionment which emerges from the discovery of Claudius’ regicide and the usurpation of his father’s divine position, produces a plethora of human dilemmas, such as the moral struggle between renaissance and medieval ideologies, the paralysing effect of uncertainty and the defining nature of mortality. Thus by exploring the universal complexity of human condition and its ability withhold integrity, Shakespeare connects to audiences of various historical contexts.
Hamlet is prominent for his role as a judge to evaluate the actions or significance of other characters, and remark them with respect in the play. Hamlet is courteous to respect his parents who are the cause of his existence and for his good upbringing. When Gertrude prays Hamlet, " I pray thee, stay with us. Go not to Wittenberg ", he obeys her advice and withdraws from his proposal of leaving Denmark (I,ii,119). Even though Gertrude disappoints Hamlet, he agrees to her plea, as the mother-son bond is strong enough to endure Hamlet's annoyance at Gertrude. Hamlet sets his mother at the position of authority in his life. Not only this proves that Hamlet