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King Hamlet By William Shakespeare

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The present and the future are but the slave to memory.
When reading any article, novel or play, readers are always looking for different themes in the literature, sometimes even unknowingly. By the end of the reading, there is typically one standout theme greatly representing the plot and the characters. Readers must understand the deeper meaning of the writing and discover which theme in their opinion impacted the play the most. Furthermore, it is very important that the author often leaves much of the story open to interpretation. Shakespeare was particularly fond of allowing his audience and his readers the freedom to interpret the deeper meaning of his work. Of the many themes in the play “Hamlet”, the concept of memory is the most …show more content…

However this time only Gertrude is unable to see the ghost. Gertrude’s faded memory of her late husband resulted in her inability to see the ghost. Gertrude did everything in her power to forget the memory of King Hamlet; she remarried after his funeral as soon as possible. Also, unlike Hamlet, Gertrude has a very realistic view on life, “Thou know’s ‘tis common; all that lives must die”(1.2.75). Gertrude’s realistic view caused her to move on much more quickly than Hamlet. Likewise, her husband, King Claudius, was still facing an internal guilt for murdering his own brother. This guilt caused King Claudius to do everything in his power to forget his brother. Additionally, Gertrude was always very easily influenced by men. On top of remarrying to Claudius very quickly, she also agreed to help Hamlet cover up his madness from Claudius in Act 3 Scene 3, shortly afterward she hastily told Claudius about Hamlet killing Polonius despite promising to keep that a secret. Due to Gertrude being so easily influenced, Claudius could easily manipulate her into forgetting about King Hamlet. Lastly, Hamlet sees the ghost the first time while he is depressed, and constantly reminisces about his father. In Act 2, Scene 2 Hamlet questions the ghost’s honesty, claiming that perhaps it “May be a devil”(2.2.565). Hamlet will be unable to see the ghost again until he is certain that the ghost is honest, when King Claudius shows his guilt during the

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