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Reality Vs. Unreality In William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Decent Essays

Hamlet tells the story of a son seeking revenge for the murder of his father, the king of Denmark. Hamlet’s uncle poisoned the king so he could control the kingdom, ironic since Hamlet’s father did the same to the father of Fortinbras, the Norwegian prince. Several themes can be traced throughout the play. Two prominent themes include the constant reinforcing of male dominance, and the question of reality vs. unreality. Women are powerless within the play because they are seen as inferior; they depend upon the help of men to clear any existing conflicts or raise them to positions of power. From the beginning of the play to the end there is heavy contrast between the concepts of reality and imagination. Not only do we encounter Hamlet’s father’s ghost multiple times, but characters continuously hide their true emotions in favor of staying secretive. Both themes influence and shape the overall meaning of the work; the path of revenge is useless resulting in death, madness, emptiness, or all of the above.

The uncle commits a foul deed by killing his brother, and he acknowledges this when he is alone. “O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upon’t, A brother’s murder.” (3.3.36-38) When speaking to those around him the king is upset about his brother’s death because he has passed, but in reality he is distressed because he killed him. If Hamlet had not enacted his revenge his uncle would have slowly descended into madness after being unable

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