Henrik : The Light Of An Old Man 's Biography

Day 48 – Today my friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were welcomed into the castle. I was extremely happy to see them, as I had missed them dearly. The whole time we spent together though, they were trying to pry information out of me, and trying to get me to open up. I feel as if they were hired by Claudius or Polonius to try to find a reason for my madness. If my assumptions are correct, my have madness has captured the attention of Claudius, and many others which was my intention. Also, a group of actors arrived at the castle today. I approached them in hopes of them helping to put on a play I am writing. This play is going to be a similar reenactment of my father’s death. I will have a man act as Claudius, and another as my father, and have Claudius’ character murder my father. From this I am hoping to get a reaction out of Claudius as he watches this play. It will give me a chance to hopefully prove that Claudius is guilty of murdering my father. After talking to the group of actors, they all agreed to act in my play, which was music to my ears. Tomorrow I will write the script.

Dearest friends, family and the people of Denmark. We gather here today to mourn the loss of the noble prince, loyal son and true friend, Prince Hamlet. But we are not here only to mourn, but to reminisce the times we have spent with him, both the good and the bad and to remember him as the person he was. Prince Hamlet did not live a very fortunate, on the contrary his final weeks were filled with a tragedy none of us should have to bear, but he lived his life to the full and I am sure that he has, in some way touched the lives of all of us here today.

However, one of the things that made him a lunatic was how he acted in front of tons of people. As spoken before, his world has turned on him because of everything happening in his life. His dad has been brutally murdered and his uncle known as the malicious Claudius who married his unhappy mother became the king of Denmark. Later on he encounters a ghost who tells him who he is and how he died sadly. The story about how the eerie ghost died was about the superior king sleeping by a beautiful garden and suddenly a vicious snake poisoned him. Furthermore, it was the evil man who wears the bright crown and rules Denmark. After he found out that the creepy ghost was his mighty father, he wanted to avenge his dad. Due to this, he had to murder his cruel uncle because he was the person who killed his innocent father.

In the novel “Voices in Time”, the author Hugh Mclennan primarily focuses on the ways in which two characters, Timothy Wellfleet and Conrad Dehmel, deal with their loved ones and extremely perplexing situations. Furthermore Mclennan, explores how both characters contain a number of similar traits yet are abundantly different. This is demonstrated through Timothy and Conrad’s congruous childhoods as well as their contrasting ways of handling important relationships in times of apprehensiveness.

“I became frustrated with living in fear. I felt as if I was always waiting for death to come to me, so I decided to go somewhere where there was at least some peace.” (46)

“To be, or not to be, that is the question,” (3.1.64). This famous line in William Shakespeare's Hamlet perfectly encapsulates Hamlet’s internal struggle throughout the play. Hamlet tells the story of the young prince of Denmark and his desire for revenge on the uncle, Claudius, who murdered his father. As is the case in many works of literature, Hamlet changes greatly throughout the play. However, because of his attempts to act insane, it can be difficult to precisely map the changes in Hamlet’s character. By carefully investigating his seven soliloquies, where he is alone and has no need to “put on an antic disposition,” one can understand and interpret how Hamlet’s character develops throughout the play.

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.

When Agnes is working at Geitaskard, she celebrates the end of the harvest with the other servants by gathering in the shed and “telling stories…until it was time to sleep”. In the Jonsson family, story telling becomes significant when Agnes and Toti arrive. Agnes informs Toti of numerous key events in her past, he often asks Agnes to elaborate or continue sharing by prompting her with questions like “What happened?”. Margret, Steina and Lauga eavesdrops as they are intrigued by the confessions and stories of a murderess. In a conserved, “dark” and “lonely” country, Toti and members of the Jonsson family listen intently to Agnes’s story, as it is a rare event to have a “prisoner” in your house. Within a community, stories are also easily twisted and taken out of context by others. Often the truth is eliminated and the stories turn into rumors. The small community in Northern Iceland develops numerous rumors about Natan and Agnes. Even though they provide others with in accurate information and a preconceived perception of others, people like Roselin find enjoyment in spreading them. After hearing about the arrival of a criminal in Kornsa, Roslin “insisted” on making an arrival at the Jonsson’s household to verify the “few rumors” she has heard. It’s clear Roslin finds amusement in hearing and spreading rumors as “her fate face broke

The narrative structure of the story is fairly straightforward. The narrator is recounting an experience that happened to him at some point in the past. Along with the simple flow of the story, reflective details, and occasional scene, there are some significant techniques that Hansen uses to flesh out and add credibility to his story.

Hamlet, one of Shakespeare’s tragic plays, portrays the story of a young man’s quest to avenge his murdered father and his quest to find his true identity. In his soliloquies, Prince Hamlet reveals to the readers his personal perceptions of the events that take place in his homeland, Denmark, and of which are either indirectly or directly tied to his father’s murder. Many critics and scholars agree that while Hamlet’s soliloquies reveal the search of his identity and true character, his soliloquies universally illustrate man’s search for his true identity.

. . . Often, awaking suddenly at midnight, he shrank from the bosom of Faith, and at morning or eventide, when the family knelt down at prayer, he scowled, and muttered to himself, and gazed sternly at his wife, and turned away. And when he had lived long, and was borne to his grave, a hoary corpse, followed by Faith, an aged woman, and children and grandchildren, a goodly procession, besides neighbors, not a few, they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone; for his dying

Prince Hamlet, a university student, is an extremely philosophical and thoughtful character. When his father the King of Denmark dies, Hamlet returns home only to be presented with evidence that suggests his uncle Claudius may have been responsible for his father’s murder. In the initial acts of the tragedy, Hamlet seeks to prove his uncle’s guilt and contemplates all of his actions and

In spite of forty-one years and forty-three days, Henrik presents himself in front of Konrad as if he was expecting Konrad’s return. Henrik could not have faced Konrad with such confidence, without trusting Konrad wholeheartedly. Assurance of Konrad’s return is what motivated and inspired Henrik to wait for forty-one years and forth-three days in his lonely castle. As well as Konrad’s return, solid trust between Henrik and Konrad can be identified during the moment of truth. Even though Henrik knows everything regarding Konrad’s attempt of murdering him and being unfaithful with Krisztina, he desperately holds onto the faith which he has on Konrad. His calm and organized emotions and words can be described in the following passage:

With Hamlet’s return to Denmark he is made aware of his father’s death, Old King Hamlet. His reaction to his father’s death is

I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire; it's rather excrutiating-ly apt that you will use it to gain the reducto absurdum of all human experience which can fit your individual needs no better than it fitted his or his father's.  I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breath trying to conquer it.  Because no battle is ever won he said.  They are not even fought.  The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools.