Hamlet Compared with Lady Lazarus Essay examples

Hamlet is strongly held by archetypes that can be revealed throughout the play. Death, itself, is a very strong archetype in the story exploring the social beliefs in that era; superstitions and societies loyalty to religion. Throughout the play, Hamlet experiences his main trifles over the concept of death. Reviewing the murder of his father and the task given to him to kill his uncle, Hamlet becomes fascinated with the idea of existence and afterlife.As a whole, Hamlet is primarily concerned with exploring the individual's relationship with death in which our fear of death comes from the notion that there must be something else, eliminating the fact that we can't ever know for sure if there is. This idea is explored in Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” soliloquy, which questions the righteousness of life over death in moral terms. When Hamlet utters the pained question, “to be, or not to be: that is the question / Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles” (Act 3, Scene 1 59-61) there is little doubt that he is thinking of death. Although he attempts to pose such a question in a rational and logical way, he is still left without an answer of whether the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” can be eliminated since life after death seems so uncertain. All of this mirrors aspects of human nature as man has always questioned the meaning of life and the events that occur after. Theoretically, one will never understand the full nature of our

Images of disease dominate Shakespeare's Hamlet as well as Sophocles play, Oedipus the King, Both Hamlet and Oedipus face many problems with death. Hamlet is seeking out the killer of his father as well as Oedipus. They feel that justice hasn't been served properly and they must seek out the killer of their fathers' in order for justice to be served. In both Hamlet and Oedipus the King, there is mass turmoil amongst family relationships, the inner problems they face, and the lack of free will they had.

In real life Shakespeare has a tragic event occur, the death of his son, Hamnet. His way of mourning and dealing with death was to write the tragedy, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Shakespeare uses Hamlet as a mirror to express his overwhelming despair. As said by an article written by Peter Bray, “ It is suggested that in creating Hamlet, Shakespeare must have drawn upon some profound personal experiences.” (Bray) Through Hamlet’s pain Shakespeare mirrors his own feelings of being lost and depressed. Within the play there is a common theme, the mourning of death and how it varies from man to man. Young Hamlet locks himself away and contemplates suicide saying. “To be or not to be”(3.1.57). He ponders whether given his current life situation it is better to exist or to not have existed at all. Another message Shakespeare wishes to get across is that proper mourning takes a substantial amount of time, this is something Claudius and his mother do not understand. In a scene with Claudius and Hamlet they say, “ How is it that the clouds still hang on you? / Not so, my lord. I am too much i' the sun.”(1.2.66-67). Claudius wonders why Hamlet has not moved on yet, but based on the reader’s knowledge how would the king know what it is like to lose someone he’s lost? He does not understand the struggle of overcoming death and the amount of time it takes. This arguably could be an insight into the real life of

Hamlet’s response to death reflects aspects of human nature today. People, then and now, want answers when they lose someone close to them; they want to know what happened to them and why they lost them in the first place. Depending on the loss, the mysteries surrounding a death can vary. This loss of a loved one can be sudden, like in Hamlet’s case, or unexpected, like in Ophelia and Laertes’ case, but the need for answers and justice remains. Moving forward, other aspects of human nature are revealed through looking at Ophelia and Laertes’ responses to death.

“There’s another. Why may not that be the/ skull of a lawyer? “ (5.1-100-101). He ponders between the physical characteristics and personalities of human life. He essentially thinks who he will be after he dies. After death, one essentially becomes nothing but dust, like the biblical saying, “from ashes to ashes, and dust to dust”. “To what base uses we may return, Horatio!” (5.1.209). Hamlet is often wondering about death, speaking about it, and thinking of the gory images of death. Thinking of it in such a matter, he appears sick. He refers to dead bodies being put in to everyday items.

She handed out sticks and bones claiming that they were flowers. This strikes the audience with Aristotle’s concept of catharsis because it creates pity in the audience. Pitty for Ophelia and pity for the characters that interact with Ophelia, especially her brother Laertes because he had also just lost his father and was greeted with his insane sister. David Tennant’s Hamlet struck me as tragically powerful when Hamlet talks with his ghost father. In this version, this scene is the turning point for Hamlet’s sanity. This is when the audience experiences Aristotle’s concept of catharsis because they feel pity for Hamlet because he discovers how his father died, and fear because the audience can feel Hamlet’s fear towards his uncle in this scene. Both of these scenes show that no matter how Hamlet is interpreted, Aristotle’s tragic components will always be emphasized even if it is in different

Hamlet and Twelfth Night could both be compared through instances of body imagery, critical thought and social integration.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a work of immense depth in character development, most notably the personal, moral and psychological battles

“Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (I.V.31). In Shakespeare's play titled Hamlet, Lies, deception, and foul play are all encompassed into an iconic tale of revenge. The tragedy takes place in Denmark, following the death of Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet. Shortly after his death, King Hamlet’s brother Claudius marries, the Queen, who is prince Hamlet’s mother. The ghost of the dead king later shows himself to Hamlet in order to reveal that he was actually murdered by his own brother Claudius. After the ghost instructs Hamlet to avenge his death, he composes a plan involving false insanity, to discover whether Claudius really did kill his father and how to avenge his father's death. In comparing the original Hamlet play, to movie

Shakespeare uses metaphor and tone to stress the development of mental illness in the character Hamlet throughout “Hamlet”. Mental illness is defined as a condition that affect mood, thinking, or behavior; furthermore, Hamlet presents himself as a character affected by mental illness. Hamlet, in his first lines, describes his pain and suffering, simulating signs of depression, a form of mental illness. Early in his introduction, Hamlet describes his feelings regarding the death of his father King Hamlet, and sudden marriage of his mother Gertrude to his uncle Claudius. Gertrude asks Hamlet to stop his mourning, and Hamlet responds by saying “I know not seems tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black nor windy suspiration of forced breath” (I, ii, 76-79). Shakespeare uses words like “black” and “inky cloak”, to develop a dark and solemn tone; furthermore, this tone allows the character of Hamlet to develop a dark and depressed attitude which reflects his internal depression. Shakespeare also uses metaphors to develop the idea of Hamlet’s depression. Hamlet conveys multiple symptoms of depression, like thoughts of suicide. Hamlet often debates about his death and what the effects his death would bring. Hamlet also debates life after death and questions religion. Hamlet describes death as “ this too too sallied flesh would melt, thaw and resolve itself into dew” (I, ii, 129-130). Shakespeare compares flesh melting to the resolving of dew; this comparison reflects Hamlet’s thoughts on death. Hamlet believes that after death, life fades away into nothingness. Hamlet’s constant thoughts of death and life after

In the soliloquy “To be, or not to be: that is the question” spoken by Hamlet, he discusses his views on death (III.i.56). In this scene he is contemplating his thoughts on suicide, death, life, and the afterlife as he awaits his meeting with Claudius. He reflects on whether the afterlife will have the same problems as his current life. He also shares his thoughts on death in another scene where he is a graveyard. Hamlet basically says you die and become food for the worms and then you are nothing in these lines “Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returned into dust; the dust is earth; of earth we make loam” (5.i.209-211). He gives so many details on life and death, yet he is the one causing so many of the deaths that occur within the play. If it were not for him seeking revenge for his father’s death then so many of the events that

In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, it’s clear that the title character, Hamlet, has a relationship with death, that relationship is often misunderstood. Some see him merely as an agent of death, and others believe he retains a lust for it throughout the entire play, inspired by the tragedy he’s experienced. While these interpretations are partially true, they don’t hold true throughout the play. Hamlet has a disdain for the world which makes him desire nothing but to fade away in the beginning of the play, but he develops a respect for fate and the unknown aspects of the afterlife. This respect eventually manifests itself in an attitude of indifference towards death.

One of the most common fears is that of death. This fear does not often stem from the process itself, but rather the question of what occurs after. Do we begin living another life? Will that life be better or worse than the one we previously led? These questions are filled with uncertainty, and the impossibility of answering them produces distress. In Hamlet, Hamlet struggles with the challenge of answering such questions himself when he laments, “To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there’s the rub / For in that sleep of death what dreams may come / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, / Must give us pause. There’s the respect / That makes calamity of so long life” (3.1.66-70). Within Shakespeare’s tragedy, the text signifies the fear of the unknown by exploring Hamlet’s uneasy contemplation of life after death.

Now that the pressure has been lifted, Hamlet has the opportunity to ponder death, something that has demanded his attention since his father's demise. In the famous soliloquy Hamlet attempts to discard the appearance of death to dissect the survival instinct of human beings. Why, when death appears to be the desired escape from "a sea of troubles," do human beings refuse to succumb? (III.1 ln 59) Hamlet quickly grasps the inherent fear of the unknown present in the human psyche. This display of insightquickly disappears once Hamlet again faces emotional pressure. He somewhat maintains his ability to separate reality and appearance, but his intense passions stunt his efforts to remain on a direct course to his goals.

To die, to sleep--/ To sleep,” (lines 5-10). This portion of the soliloquy expresses that Hamlet views death as something full of pleasure, especially with Shakespeare’s use in the word “consummation,” which means to complete, or sex, thus proving Hamlet’s opposition to life because he welcomes death with a pleasurable imagery. Shakespeare’s use of repetition of “to die, to sleep,” throughout this soliloquy expresses Hamlets want for death. “To say we end/ The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks/ That flesh is heir to,” truly depicts the emphasis that Hamlet has on the finality of death and it shows that he wanted it, but it can also convey confusion in Hamlet since he expresses this finality with this descriptive physical imagery. “For who would bear the whips and scorns of time.” (Line 15.) This is a question to mankind that Hamlet asks, but it also conveys his state of mind perfectly because the imagery articulates the pain and torture Hamlet’s character is dealing with since he views life in that way. The beginning of madness, which is another theme in Hamlet, can be represented with this soliloquy due to these feelings that Shakespeare conveys Hamlet of having towards death.