Hamlet Allusions

On William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, after the assassination of his father, Hamlet thinks he is living in a world full of corruption and deceit, where everything is falling apart and everyone is against him. An imminent, exaggerated, and passionate love for his mother is his main feature. Although others argue that Hamlet’s obsession to murder Claudius is strictly to claim revenge for his father’s death, it is Hamlet’s obsessive desire to possess his mother in an unhealthy and, perhaps incestuous, relationship. Hamlet also appears jealous of Claudius, his father-uncle, jealous of him for having Gertrude and for owning the crown. He lives a love-hate relationship with his mother. He is full of anger towards her, but at the same time he

(1) Hamlet’s feelings can no longer be helped back. He wants to be with his mother. Two of the Queen’s character traits that cause Hamlet to have these feelings would be her sensual nature and her fondness so her son. Hamlet misinterpreted Gertrude’s love for him as a sexual desire, instead of the maternal love that she has for him. Even though Hamlet felt what his mother was doing with Claudius as wrong, he still had considerable respect for her.

Iterative use of vivid and detailed imagery in a piece of literature is often a way of expressing a theme or concept in a literary work. This is the case in William Shakespeare"'"s Hamlet, a revenge tragedy that continually depicts the vibrant metaphors of manifesting corruption and festering disease in order to auger the impending calamities in the state of Denmark. Throughout Shakespeare"'"s play, there are successive images of deterioration, decay and death. These images are skilfully accomplished through the use of metaphors of rotting and dead gardens. Shakespeare wonderfully creates these metaphors that add great dimension to the play of Hamlet.

In the soliloquy it is shown that while Hamlet does not like his uncle he blames his mother for all that has happened especially her weak disposition that caused her to marry Claudius as seen in the line “frailty thy name is women”. In the line Hamlet generalizes all women showing his instability as he does not understand the difference between his mother’s actions and all women. His anger towards his mother is also shown in his comparison of her being “like Niobe all tears” because like the mythological figure Niobe she also mourned however Niobe was turned to stone and kept weaping which suggests that he considers her to be hypocritical because while she cried and mourned she remarried only a month after her husband died. This idea is also shown in the line “a beast would have mourned longer” showing that because of her betrayal he considers her to be an unfeeling animal. Hamlet’s anger builds throughout the soliloquy until he comes to the realization that he cannot reveal his true thoughts to anyone “but break my heart for I must hold my tongue.”

In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the main character is angry and expressed his anger through the medium of allusion. An allusion refers to a mythological person, place, or thing. Many things around the city of Denmark are changing for the worse. Hamlet is angry with his mother because he fills betrayed that she would merry another man after two months of his father’s death. The allusion Hamlet expresses those feeling is when he said, “With which she followed my poor father’s body, / Like Niobe, all tears. Why she ever she –” (1.2.148-149). Hamlet is comparing his mother to Niobe. Niobe is a woman who turned into a stone and weeps for her fourteen children, which Hamlet’s mother only cries for his father for only two months. Hamlet’s expression of his mother shows the reader that she is a gold digger and was not truly in love otherwise she would have grief longer. Furthermore, these lines can only mean that he was the only person who truly care and loved the ex-king of Denmark. Meanwhile the others had already forgotten about him. All in all, Hamlet though that maybe his mother would be more impacted by the death of the King, but instead traded him up for his Uncle. Moreover, Hamlet was in denial that his Uncle was going to be the king and his new father. For him, the only true king was his father and no more. As he said, “So excellent a king, that was to his / Hyperion to a satyr” (1.2.139-140). Shakespeare used this

With the overall powerful and God like perspective of his father, Hamlet develops the idealistic understanding that a king should to be loyal and morally in the right. “ so excellent a king: that was, to this Hyperion to a satyr, so loving to my mother.. of impious stubbornness tis unmanly grief.” ( Ham, 1:2:60) “O most wicked speed, to post/ With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!/ It is not nor it cannot come to good/ But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue” Comment1: Thereby, Hamlet represents his innocence and overall admiring his behaviour by comparing his father to the gods, saying that his father was like the “ Hyperion” the sun god, the symbolizes is god like he admired his father as a young child would admire any parents, not looking at their faults or his mistakes, being oblivious to the situations that he went through. Hamlet truly projects his young innocent nature by only seeing the good in people, but in this case only seeing the good in this father stating that he was a pure “ excellent king” further process that he only choose to see or appear his father in one point of view. As for Claudius also stating that Hamlet is also just but a child as he is handling the grief as child like and how he should be more manly in how he handles the situation. Hamlet’s admiration for his father is clear. Hamlet believes that he is irreplaceable. Ironic comment because he will meet his father again.

Allowing one to see a comparison through a reference to something well-known rather than a few descriptive words can strengthen one’s understanding of the comparison to a great extent. These references, or allusions, can incorporate an understanding that goes beyond what one work can obtain. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, multiple allusions are used throughout the play to compare the characters and extend the meanings or emotions behind actions. The texts most borrowed from throughout the play are those of Greek mythology. Greek mythology contains an extensive amount of stories that contain dramatic emotions and actions that allow Shakespeare to make strong comparisons to throughout Hamlet. Therefore, by incorporating Greek mythology into Hamlet, one is able to better understand the extent to which comparisons and emotions are made.

Shakespeare’s use of literary devices supports the development of central ideas throughout the play Hamlet, literary devices such as foil, metaphor and repetition. The use of these literary devices further develops the central ideas of action vs. inaction and revenge.

Hamlet also manages to both degrade himself and his uncle in another comparison, saying his uncle was “no more like my father / Than I to Hercules” (1.2.152-3). Though such strong comparisons to romanticized and mythical figures could are partially simple hyperbole, they also underscore some of the insecurity in Hamlet’s character. The value in recognizing this comes as Hamlet descends into his madness, whether real or imaginary, where the reader can see that, even before Hamlet deliberately decides to appear to be “mad” he has certain issues and insecurities with his own feelings. Even more significantly, this passage begins to elaborate on Hamlet’s relationship with his mother. Gertrude represents an interesting dilemma for the deconstructionist critic, as she does not create or involve herself in many conflicts or oppositions. She manages to significantly affect the plot and the subtext of the play while seeming almost insignificant as a character at first glance through the deconstructionist lens. She does not overtly affect events, and often plays the victim of circumstance. This very insignificance creates an issue for Hamlet, who is clearly quite disgusted with her behavior. He vehemently disapproves of the speed of her marriage to Claudius, saying that “a beast, that wants discourse of reason, / Would have mourned longer” (1.2.150-1), but can find no other strong criticism of her other than how fast she remarried. This strikes at the

Queen Gertrude is the mother to Hamlet, widow to the late King, and new wife to King Claudius as shown within the first act of Hamlet. Following her marriage to King Claudius, her relationship with her son Hamlet becomes strained. Queen Gertrude symbolizes much of what is considered to be a negative aspect of womanhood. To Hamlet, Queen Gertrude is a failure of a woman. Through his dialogue, it is presented that Hamlet desires a woman and mother to be concerned for her family and place tradition above all else. When Hamlet’s mother makes a decision outside of that realm and marries King Claudius, Hamlet strives to berate her for her choices. Through

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is one of the most famous tragedies William Shakespeare has ever written. Found throughout Shakespeare’s tragedy are many religious references. According to Peter Milward, the author of Shakespeare's Christianity: The Protestant and Catholic Poetics of Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and Hamlet, “From a purely religious point of view, which is more than just biblical, Hamlet is rich in homiletic material of all kinds, reflecting almost every aspect of the religious situation in a deeply religious age” (Milward 9). These pieces of religious literature are crucial to the plot of Hamlet. The religious elements found in this tragedy provide the plot, allusions, and foreshadowing.

Allusions can be found in nearly every work of literature and art due to the influence they have in creating a universal understanding. Biblical and mythological references are the most common allusions because they are regarded as primary sources for the basis of human reason. William Shakespeare alludes to both religion and mythology in Hamlet in order to emphasize the importance and failure of religion and to reveal the nature and psychological complexes of characters.

As Hamlet instructs the actors he tells them, “I would whip a guy for making a tyrant sound too tyrannical” (sparksnotes). The actors are to perform the play Mousetrap so that Hamlet can tell if Claudius is responsible for the death of King Hamlet.

Through Hamlet’s soliloquies, he insults his mother more than he praises her. As it is found in his first soliloquy, “Frailty, thy name is woman!” (1.2.146). He calls her weak because he believes that she has married too soon, showing that she may have also been attracted to Claudius before his father’s death. Hamlet is also ashamed of his mother, not only for marrying too soon, but for not being loyal to one man and husband

One loses many opportunities every time they hesitate to act. Whether it be unintentional or not, it all depends on the subject in question. In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark, the character Hamlet shows qualities that are evident in his soliloquies. Since the beginning, Hamlet is unable to control his emotions towards Gertrude and Ophelia. He tends to overthink, generating doubt around life and death. Though impossible and inconvenient at times, Hamlet strives for an idealistic approach, such as justification for killing Claudius. Hamlet’s complex personality and unpredictable nature delay the commitment he makes to avenge his father.