Hamlet Journal Assignments

After analyzing these thoughts, they produce doubt like: if the ghost is coming from purgatory, why would the ghost commit another sin inciting his son to do something wrong? This will generates more punishment to the ghost, making him to have more chances to go hell. As this doubt came to my attention, it came to Hamlet's reflection too. Therefore this doubt causes Hamlet to delay in taking action since he needs more evidence to prove the ghost's words.

One of the best known pieces of literature throughout the world, Hamlet is also granted a position of excellence as a work of art. One of the elements which makes this play one of such prestige is the manner in which the story unfolds. Throughout time, Shakespeare has been renowned for writing excellent superlative opening scenes for his plays. By reviewing Act 1, Scene 1 of Hamlet, the reader is able to establish a clear understanding of events to come. This scene effectively sets a strong mood for the events to come, gives important background information, and introduces the main characters. With the use of this information, it is simple to see how Shakespeare manages to create stories with such everlasting appeal.

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark has been performed thousands of times since it was “written in 1599–1601 and published in a quarto edition in 1603” (Britannica.com). It’s popularity stems from its themes that translate across time. These themes, are seen to be relatable even to this day with the ever growing audience. Readers and viewers are able to find similarities between the current state and or even relate to one of the characters or events taking place over the course of Shakespeare’s five act masterpiece. Shakespeare's, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark remains a viable text for contemporary readers in that it functions as a mirror.

Hamlet decides to get more information / prove what the ghost was saying before doing

By using this echo language, it is safe to assume that these are things that Hamlet would want to hear, so this is what he ends up hearing. For example, Hamlet considers the marriage of his mother and uncle to be “dexterity to incestuous sheets” (1 2 11), after this monologue the ghost says something that sounds very similar to this statement - “Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast,” (1 5 24). This is the sort of statement that Hamlet would want his father to say - he would want his father to agree in his opinion of the marriage. In the monologue of Hamlet, is it clear that Hamlet sees the entire event as “an unweeded garden / That grows to seed” (1 2 11) and in the conversation the ghost says “and duller shouldst thou be than fat weed / that roots itself in ease on Lethe warf.” (1 5 24) It is the same metaphor of a garden, the same analogy, and almost the same sentence. It is exactly what Hamlet would want to

During the early 1600s, a time of unrest and uncertainty spread through most of the world specifically in Europe as it began to see a gradual insurgency of leadership as new monarchs rose to great power as the existent ones faded. The legitimacy to how some new rulers gained their prestigious power came into question as tales of treason especially within families spread rapidly. William Shakespeare, having grown up near this time period was influenced by his surroundings and similar works such as histoires Tragiques, that inspired his work Hamlet. Although there are various views and opinions surrounding Hamlet as a whole, it is a great tragedy which centers itself on one’s own uncertainty and depicts seeking revenge as a major theme. These main topics are further discussed in the works or Kiernan Ryan and the British Library in “Hamlet and Revenge”, as well as “Hamlet in Purgatory” by Stephen Greenblatt. The main character, Hamlet however is both the protagonist and the tragic hero as the story unfolds. Hamlet is torn between his own conscience as expresses in his ongoing soliloquies and in doing what he believes is right opposed to seeking revenge, which leads him to being indecisive on his actions taken due to influence caused by those around him.

In this revenge tragedy, which is a play in which the plot typically centers on a spectacular attempt to avenge the murder of a family member, Hamlet’s call to adventure is when the ghost, whom he believes to be the ghost of his recently deceased father, beseeches Hamlet that he avenge his death (Charters and Charters 1251). At first looking at the ghost, he questions the authority of him and contemplates that the apparition is just the devil tempting him:

Hamlet is given three commands by the Ghost (his father) which are to revenge him, not to taint his mind while doing so and to leave his mother to heaven alone. What is clear is that Hamlet didn’t entirely trust the Ghost because he could have been a ‘spirit of health’ or a ‘goblin damned’ (I, iv, 40) and embarks on a plan to see if he is telling the truth about Claudius poisoning his father, the late king. He is guilty and Hamlet must now do what the Ghost of his father wishes but it becomes complicated throughout act 2 and 3.

Hamlet’s story lives on with honor while those who possessed an insincere character died with disgrace. The moral journey that Hamlet embarks upon proves that the ambitions of a petty person are to be looked down upon in light of the

Harold Bloom in the Introduction to Modern Critical Interpretations: Hamlet has much to say about Horatio:

While debating whether or not the ghost is “good” or “evil” Hamlet creates a plan that will prove to him whether or not the Ghost is true in its revelation. Due to the arrival of the players to the castle, Hamlet realizes that “The play’s the thing/ wherein [he’ll] catch the conscience of the king” (II.ii.632-633). Hamlet’s plan is to “have [the] players play something like the murder of [his] father before [his] uncle” and then to closely observe Claudius’ reactions along with Horatio

The story opens in the cold and dark of a winter night in Denmark, while the guard is being changed on the battlements of the royal castle of Elsinore. For two nights in succession, just as the bell strikes the hour of one, a ghost has appeared on the battlements, a figure dressed in complete armor and with a face like that of the dead king of Denmark, Hamlet’s father. A young man named Horatio, who is a school friend of Hamlet, has been told of the apparition and cannot believe it, and one of the officers has brought him there in the night so that he can see it for himself.

Even though Hamlet seems ardent in his intentions of avenging his father’s death during his encounter with the Ghost, by the second act, Hamlet begins to doubt that the ghost was actually his father. While giving his soliloquy after he has seen

At least six or seven years pass after the writing of Midsummer Night’s Dream before we find Shakespeare engaged on Hamlet, the second of the great plays with an important Supernatural element, and, in the opinion of many, the greatest tragedy ever penned. What a profound change has come over his attitude towards the Unseen! No longer does he handle it in . . . [a] cheerful,

“Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder,'; demands the ghost in (Act I, Scene 5, line 23). The fact that his own uncle could kill his father leaves Hamlet crazy and confused. Although Hamlet knows something is wrong in Denmark, he begins to question everything that the ghost has told him. When something is needed to be done, Hamlet is to busy thinking about his