Essay on Patriarchy in Hamlet

When looking at Hamlet through a feminist lens, Ophelia and Gertrude gain the spotlight. However, with the spotlight on them, they are shown to be dependent upon men and men’s affection, Gertrude needing the affection of Claudius, and Ophelia needing the affection of Hamlet. This shows the women in the play to be seen as weak minded and easily exploited. In the end, not only is Claudius the reason for Gertrude’s death, but Hamlet is the reason for Ophelia’s death. The men they are dependent on control Ophelia and Gertrude’s stories; yet, those men are what drive them to the grave.

In today’s world, women of all ages are given equal rights and freedom. In Shakespeare’s time, woman’s obligations were to follow the rules of the men and obey the men in their lives’. “Frailty, thy name is woman;” Hamlet implies the powerlessness of the two women characters in the play. In Hamlet, the roles of Gertrude and Ophelia are very important in that they are the only two female characters in the play. Gertrude, the Queen of Denmark and mother of Hamlet, and Ophelia, the lover of Hamlet, are characterized as controlled and lost in their lives because they are being used by the men throughout the play. Fundamentally, Shakespeare illustrates the nature of Gertrude and Ophelia as powerless victims by the women being subjects of men,

Shakespeare's drama Hamlet has become a central piece of literature of Western culture. It is the story of a prince named Hamlet, who lost his father. Soon after that he has to confront multiple obstacles and devises a series of situations to defend the new king's royalty. Furthermore, he had to prove that King Claudius, who was the prince's uncle, had killed Hamlet's father. This story has remained among the most popular and the most controversial plays around the world. It generates controversy for all the doubts that this play leaves with the readers. One of the most questioning situations in the play is the delay of Hamlet in avenging Claudius' for his father's death. As a reader this

In the play, “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, Hamlet struggles to restore honour and certainty in the kingdom. Hamlet’s father, the true King of Denmark was murdered by Claudius so that Claudius could become the king, this was seen as dishonorable as Claudius was the King’s brother, and the right to the throne was not his. Hamlet finds out about the murder and feels he must avenge his father to restore honour and certainty in the kingdom.

Claudius also seems like a respectable king because he mourns the death of King Hamlet and tells “[the] whole kingdom to be contracted in one brow of woe” (21). Although Claudius seems to be a good king who is deeply saddened by the death of the late King Hamlet, he is actually a horrible man who murdered King Hamlet in a way “most foul,...strange and unnatural” (57). He took his crown and acted as if his death was an accident. Claudius makes it difficult for Hamlet to uncover the truth behind his actions because he constantly acts like nothing is ever wrong. After many different plots against Claudius, Hamlet prevails and the real Claudius is exposed. Claudius played an important role in the play because he reinforced the motif Seems Versus Is and showed the reader that although people can come across as honest and respectable, deep down they can have an evil side.

As Claudius speaks to Hamlet about his depressed actions following the death off King Hamlet, Claudius tells him, “…your father lost a father, that father lost, lost his…” Carefully selected, these words showed Claudius’ responsibility in seeking comfort for Hamlet, while also trying to make it seem as if the death of King Hamlet was one to come, driving Hamlet’s curiosity about the death away from Claudius. Though he has shown to take on the responsibility off caring for Hamlet, it was purely out of Claudius’ self interest for these actions as he wanted to ensure Hamlet would not try to sneak around and find out the truth behind his father’s death. But as the play continues, Claudius’ suspicions continue to grow which causes him to attempt to ask for forgiveness before anything may happen to him.

Hamlet the story of the Prince of Denmark set in the 17th century who is torn from the loss of his father and vengeance of his father’s killer, Claudius, his uncle. From Hamlet’s need for vengeance lead to the creation of a new identity under a false pretense of his own insanity in order to reveal Claudius’s guilt for the act of murdering his brother in order to claim his right to the Danish Throne. While Hamlet in the pursuit for vengeance, Claudius on the other hand is set on making sure his title of King of Denmark is secure by ensuring Hamlet does not succeed in his plans by practicing the use of manipulation, spying, and dishonesty. The use of deception is created throughout the play on numerous occasions such as the staging of the

Through Shakespeare’s creation of an emotionally overwhelmed queen, Gertrude is unable to resist the conniving seduction of Claudius. Additionally, he suggests that the marriage is essential to the strength of the country; otherwise, Norway will be, “Holding a weak supposal of our worth/ Or thinking by our late dear brother’s death/ Our state to be disjoint and out of frame” (1.2. 18-20). Ultimately, Claudius states that the country’s mourning would establish a belief that Denmark is feeble; thus, the crowning of a new king is necessary to illustrate Danish strength and diminish Norway’s negative perceptions of national frailty. Moreover, Claudius gains Gertrude’s trust by manipulating her emotions through the illusion that he cares for her son, Hamlet. On multiple occasions in which Gertrude is present, Claudius expresses his concern regarding Hamlet’s abnormal behaviour and sentimentally reminds him that, "… with no less nobility of love/ Than that which dearest father bears his son/ Do I impart toward you” (1.2. 110-112). This is an example of Shakespeare’s illustration that women are naive and gullible. Furthermore, Claudius objectifies his wife by viewing her as a disposable item that one throws away when it is no longer usable. Regardless of his feelings toward Gertrude, minimal action is taken in order to save her life as Claudius nonchalantly neglects her by failing to stop her from drinking the poisoned wine. After Claudius tells Gertrude not to drink from the chalice merely once and without reason, he refrains from further efforts and simply watches her perish on the floor. Ironically, this is the sole scene in which Gertrude disobeys Claudius by making her choice independently; in turn, indirectly

While most criticisms focus on individual characters, a more insightful criticism of the true nature of Hamlet can be drawn simply by analyzing the key relationships in play. These relationships - especially those dealing with women or issues of femininity - allow a level of interpretation that examines not merely the events of the play, but the true underlying significance of gender both to

     Claudius’ lies are effective enough to persistently deceive to play’s antagonist, Hamlet. Despite Hamlet’s disgust with Claudius for marrying Gertrude, and his view of Claudius as “a king of shreds and patches” (III.iv.104), Hamlet suspicion of Claudius as a murderer is preliminarily nonexistent. The appearance of a spirit claiming to be Hamlet’s dead father first alerts Hamlet to the actions of “that incestuous, that adulterate beast, /With witchcraft of his with, with traitorous gifts” (I.v.42-3). And yet still, Hamlet remains hesitant to believe that Claudius was the murderer, searching for complementary evidence. The play that Hamlet enacts -- designed to “catch the conscience of the king” (II.ii.562) --succeeds in revealing Claudius’ guilt, but does not provoke instant action on Hamlet’s part. So effective is Claudius’ manipulation of the royal circle that he manages to almost permanently stay the revelation of his guilt, and if it weren’t for supernatural intervention against an injustice, he may never have been exposed.

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

The women of Shakespeare’s Hamlet are portrayed throughout the text as weak, easily controlled, and unfaithful. The similar theme of weakness is expressed by the women in the play. The ghost of King Hamlet describes his death as well as a plan for Hamlet to take revenge. In this plan, the ghost tells Hamlet to simply “leave [the Queen]... to those thorns… to prick and sting her” (I. v. 93-94). The deceased King implied that Gertrude could not possibly be strong enough to live with such a deep guilt and that Hamlet did not need to touch her.

Claudius is the new king of Denmark since murdered King Hamlet. Claudius is an interesting antagonist because he not totally an evil person. Naturally, Hamlet feels a strong hate for Claudius since he killed Hamlet’s father, but despite this Calsius still feels emotions like guilt and sadness such as in act three, scene two when Claudius gets up and leaves saying “Give me some light. Away!”. When the player king is poisoned the same way Claudius killed King Hamlet Claudius feels the grief of his sin and leaves showing how he does feel emotion. Claudius is also a intelligent, patient, man. When Claudius and Laertes are planning how to kill Hamlet Laertes wants to just stab him to death outright. Claudius has different plans saying “Will not

In the book of Hamlet, William Shakespeare introduces the character King Claudius in act one scene two. The character makes an impression of a powerful man who commands respect from every individual. Shakespeare portrays Claudius’ role as the most crucial and intriguing person. In the play, Claudius is the most mysterious, the most controversial and the most discussed character as many people look at him only to see a villain. As the play starts, Claudius is the King of Denmark, who has inherited Gertrude, and the uncle to prince Hamlet. As with the rest of supporting characters in the play, Claudius is underdeveloped to his complete potential (Mabillard,n.p). His major role that he plays in Hamlet is to spawn Hamlet’s anger and confusion

The stage is awash with the aftermath of a fateful battle. A lifeless king rests amid the corpses of his family and followers, slain for his sins. His nephew, Hamlet, has just taken the life of the man who stole King Hamlet’s crown and passes on with the confidence that he has just liberated his nation, Denmark, from an oppressive ruler. Unfortunately, what Hamlet fails to grasp is the amount of incalculable sacrifices that guided him to be able to tear away Claudius’ crown. In actuality, the lack of animosity in Claudius’ character as well as the sheer destruction that resulted from Hamlet’s journey to avenge his father acts as evidence to the poignant truth: Hamlet was responsible for his country’s decay and cannot be considered the