Existentialism In The Renaissance Shakespeare

Hamlet starts the soliloquy with the question, “what is a man?” Then he says, “If his chief good and market of his time but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more” (4.4.33-35). Hamlet sees men that eat, sleep, and repeat as taking the easy road in life and not using any action in their lives. He believe that men that live a life of inaction lead themselves to an early death. In Hamlet’s eyes, men that eat, sleep, and repeat are no better then a beastly animal. He hates men that live like this and believes that they are just waiting for their deaths to come like animals do. As time goes on Hamlet realizes that he has been living a life of inaction because of his inability to kill Claudius.

First and foremost, reading Shakespeare’s work leads to a better understanding of the English language. The bard had a vocabulary of over 24,000 words, most of which still exist in modern English. High school students enhance their vocabulary and sentence structure through reading his work. The subconscious use of new words and phrases through reading Shakespeare’s works leads to improved writing and oral skills. The extension of vocabulary is very helpful in post-secondary education; students will have better results with assignments such as presentations, reports, and essays. Not only are Shakespeare’s works useful in becoming familiar with the English language, the themes in his plays are still relevant to society.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic play about murder, betrayal, revenge, madness, and moral corruption. It touches upon philosophical ideas such as existentialism and relativism. Prince Hamlet frequently questions the meaning of life and the degrading of morals as he agonizes over his father’s murder, his mother’s incestuous infidelity, and what he should or shouldn’t do about it. At first, he is just depressed; still mourning the loss of his father as his mother marries his uncle. After he learns about the treachery of his uncle and the adultery of his mother, his already negative countenance declines further. He struggles with the task of killing Claudius, feeling burdened about having been asked to find a solution to a situation that was

William Shakespeare wrote plays that covered the breadth of human experience, which seem to have transcended the restraints of age because they contain universal themes. His body of his work is comprised of genres of plays, which varied from tragedies to comedies.

Much of the text is dated or archaic and is initially unknown to the typical student. Yet upon thorough study, the student will gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of Shakespeare's words and the English language.Despite the difficulty that dated text presents, the passions and emotions described by Shakespeare touch the hearts of his readers and audience, students included. Vivid imagery and poetic descriptions are presented effectively and have a great impact on the audience. Readers are provided with the opportunity to step into the lives of his characters; to feel their emotions and understand their motivations, a rewarding experience for the student.Although Shakespeare's wrote his plays more than 350 years ago, the relevance of their themes and subjects still exists.

His work touched an extensive amount of different topics and themes, all of which are still relevant today. His writing is the foundation of some of the most classic literature, and a great amount of modern pieces can be traced back to his style and ideas in some way. His language deepens the analytical, reading and writing skills of young readers, and develops an appreciation for the progression of the English language through time. If Shakespeare were to be terminated from school curriculums, students would lose important, education enhancing aspects of English and would be unable to create a far more in-depth understanding of the literary work of the past and

Shakespeare’s dramas deal with timeless themes such as e.g. love and hate, life and death, in a fairytale-y way, with a pinch of intricate entanglements, in such a way that makes the classical Greek love triangle seem trite. The language in the 400-year-old text is at once lyrical and hard-hitting, providing with a liveliness that still affects the present day reader. Shakespeare’s significance in the history of literature is invaluable, and his style has influenced authors since the 1600s. Not only has his works been a source of inspiration

In schools all over the country Shakespeare is being taught not only in high schools but also at the college level. My first thought of what to think of this is that Shakespeare shouldn’t be taught nearly as much as it is. There are various different sources severely less painful to teach and learn. But the more I researched and learned the importance of Shakespeare, the more I realized its benefits being taught in today’s society. Shakespeare's plays challenges students with difficult language and style, show a great connection to the knowledge of human behavior and offer a deep understanding into our society.

“To read Shakespeare or not to read Shakespeare, that is the question (Mack).” Many students have asked this question for a century, and they hear the same answer every time. “He is the greatest playwright of all times,” is the first and top argument, and for good reason. His legacy is everywhere. He is quoted for almost everything and is even in our subconscious vocabulary. His ideas and themes are can be seen hidden in many movies, books, songs, art, and all kinds of works of literacy. He is inside every high school, and any students that can read, have seen at least one sentence of his works once. For years, it has been debated if Shakespeare should be taught in high school, but there is something about this 16th century writer that intrigues us and leads us to teach him to the next generations for there can be a lot of benefits from reading him. Through resent studies, it has been found that reading Shakespeare can raise brain activities and excite it about new ways to use words, also, understanding Shakespeare

For as long as Shakespeare has been taught in English classrooms, talk of whether or not this curriculum is truly necessary or educational in any way has constantly been brought up. The typical complaint from the majority of students is that it is extremely strenuous to even begin to try and understand what Shakespeare is saying. Or the usual protest that it is so boring and pointless. Perhaps they are just overwhelmed when they stumble upon Shakespeare’s use of Old English or his sonnets that have deeply embedded messages about love. Whether you agree or not, learning about Shakespeare is an amazing way of presenting to students an unfamiliar form of English used to construct scenarios that would otherwise be found as cruelly embarrassing if it weren’t for Shakespeare bringing them to light in his works of art.

Shakespeare the greatest writer in history ,everything he wrote got admitted by a large group of people until now we still read and appreciate his writings but in recent years people have disagreed over students reading Shakespeare in high schools they see that his plays has a really high level of complexity ,In addition that his writings are all written in modern English language which we don’t use in everyday life ,not only that it is because his writings are too detailed for a basic core English class People think also on the long term when these students get their jobs ,they won’t lose their jobs because they didn’t have high level of literacy. On the other hand, people think that Shakespeare should be taught because his writings open a window to show students how he has lived in that era.

From the beginning of the passage, the character questions his worth. Hamlet analyzes his situation when he points out, “What is a man, if his chief good and market of his time be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more.” (Evans 109). Due to his weak resolve, the character seems to feel ashamed of himself; he does not feel like a man.

Why Should High School Students Read Shakespeare It’s difficult to understand why students have to learn Shakespeare in high school, and what is so important about it. The answer that responses this question the most successfully is that teaching Shakespeare and his play is just a challenging reading comprehension with questions that make people think. There are three major reasons why students should learn Shakespeare and even bother with it in school.

As he contemplates, his self-hate induces self-realization which causes a change from inaction to action, from apathetic to passionate pursuit of achieving his goals. At this point in the play, “all occasions” prompt Hamlet to revenge which cause him to realize that he has been very listless and hesitant to carry out his plans to avenge his father’s murder. He ponders what a human being is “if his chief good and market of his time be but to sleep and feed?” (IV.iv.?). He concludes that a man who does not have purpose beyond mere existence is “a beast, no more” (Iv.iv.?) as he is wasting his God-given capacities that aren’t meant to remain “unused” (IV.iv.). By stating this, Hamlet realizes the ‘beast’ is a direct reflection of himself as, with a "father kill'd [and] a mother stain'd” (Iv.iv), he has many reasons to avenge his father’s murder, however, he has yet “to’d it” as a result "of thinking too precisely on th' event" (Iv.iv). Along with comparing himself to a ‘beast,’ he compares himself to Fortinbras, the "delicate and tender prince” (Iv.iv), as he sets an example of how Hamlet should be acting. Unlike Hamlet, the Prince has the “divine ambition” to face "fortune, death, and danger” for something as trivial as “an eggshell” (Iv.iv) as he resorts immediately to action when his honour is at stake. Witnessing his strong ambition causes

Hamlet's last soliloquy is crucial for understanding his character development. Hamlet finally stops his solemn contemplation for the immoral act of murdering for revenge, and becomes resolute in accepting it as his necessary duty. After coming across Fortinbras on his way to England, Hamlet witnesses him leading his army towards Poland for a worthless piece of land. The willingness of Fortinbras to protect his honor spurs Hamlet once again towards taking revenge on Claudius. Hamlet questions why he has delayed his actions, and it is clear that Hamlet is frustrated with himself, in which he berates himself for his cowardice. “What is a man if his chief good and market of his time be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more.” Through the use of metaphor, Hamlet compares himself to a man with unused “capability and god-like reason” to a “beast” who is not gifted like other humans.