Strengths And Weaknesses In Hamlet

When looking at Hamlet, one could say that William Shakespeare put the play together as a very cathartic tragedy. The emotional result of dealing with so many deaths brings on a plethora of emotions which are not usually felt in a typical play. Hamlet begins not with the normal prosperity and good fortune as do most tragedies, but with a more stifling and depressing sort of mood (Tekany 115). However, something else could be said about this play as well. The play centers on Hamlet and his existential characteristics, such as angst, isolation and his confrontations with nothingness. The exhibition of these characteristics proves Hamlet to be an existential character.

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the main character continually delays acting out his duty of avenging his father's murder. This essay will discuss how Hamlet's nature and morals (which are intensified by difficult events) prevent him from carrying out the task.

Complete desolation, agony and laughter are only some of the emotions brought to the reader’s attention whilst reading William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Born in 1564, the world’s most famous playwright has written many renowned pieces of theatre, with Hamlet arguably being the most celebrated. The drama follows the sufferings of a young prince by the name of Hamlet. His father, the king, has just died, and his uncle, Claudius, has taken the throne and married Hamlet’s mother and father’s widow, Gertrude, just a few days after the funeral of the previous king. Hamlet detests Claudius and describes him as a goat-man, not even a human. By examining several passages from throughout the play, one can conclude that Claudius’ character clarifies Hamlet’s

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

The soliloquy spoken by Hamlet in Act IV, scene IV illustrates a remarkable shift in Hamlet's personality. Up until this point, Hamlet has been an extremely indecisive and submissive character. In Act II, Hamlet decides that "the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king". However, at the play’s conclusion and Claudius' admission of guilt, Hamlet is still uncertain and cannot decide what action to take against his uncle. When Hamlet comes across Claudius while he is praying, Hamlet lets him live because he rethinks his plot for revenge and decides that it is best to postpone it until a more propitious time presents itself. Hamlet continues to demonstrate submissiveness and inaction when he obeys his father’s murderer’s instructions to go to England in Act IV. After Hamlet has embarked on his journey, away from Denmark, he finds Fortinbras leading a large army to acquire a small piece of land. His soldiers do not care for or fight for wealth, but to bring honor to their respective countries. Hamlet has an epiphany. He realizes that he has been extraordinarily passive and hesitant due to his excessive analysis of revenge and lays out a plan of action. He resolves that his behavior thus far has only led to cowardice.

In this paper I will be analyzing and discussing how these four soliloquies reflect changes in Hamlet’s mental state; his

Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the most universally known plays of all time. Primarily, it is known for its strong themes, and its revolutionary storyline, containing subjects never frequently, or openly discussed before in plays of this kind, such as our conscience, spirit, and inner strength.

The conflict between Hamlet’s action and his inaction shows his inner conflict and desperation. Hamlet refrains from killing the King (Claudius) while at prayer, showing Hamlet’s strength and resolve. In contrast, the killing of Polonius ensures Ophelia’s destruction which creates more pity for Hamlet seeing as he loved Ophelia and did not intentionally harm Polonius. He is able to evade all of Claudius’ plans, but in a sense he also kills Gertrude by telling her the truth of his father’s death, creating even more pity for Hamlet. Hamlet is sure that gaining revenge for his father’s murder will only end in death, so he questions what happens after death in his famous soliloquy, “To be, or not to be, that is the question” (III.i.57). Here, Hamlet questions whether or not he should continue to suffer in life, or to leap into the unknown of death. He has felt so much pain and suffering that he is not sure if he wants to stay alive. All of these events combined produce a very tragic character who is conflicted and is not quite sure what to do. His inaction shows that he cannot come to a firm conclusion about his future, causing him to wait before taking his revenge against Claudius. These actions and inner turmoil therefore create an emotional stimuli within the audience (the effect of an archetype) which causes the audience to feel pity for Hamlet and therefore feel that he is in fact a tragic hero, searching simply for revenge but finding much more along the

Hamlet is not only considered Shakespeare’s greatest works, but also arguably the greatest work in all of English literature. Hamlet is brimming with universal themes concerning women’s sexuality, death of loved ones, and the yearn for revenge, all of which are as relevant to twenty-first century readers as they were with sixteenth-century readers. Ambiguity also plays an important role in the success of Hamlet. Readers are left to make their own decisions on certain matters, which allows them to mold Hamlet and its meaning into their own interpretations. The multitude of interpretations of Hamlet also sparks debates among readers, which hinders the story’s irrelevance.

Brian McClinton, a well studies Shakespearean conspiracist, and author of the article Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Suggest that Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in order to better express his views on politics and society during the Elizabethan Era. McClinton develops his theory by giving specific examples from the play as to how Hamlet connects to the Elizabethan Era. McClinton's purpose for this article is to give Hamlet readers a different perspective and give reasons as to why Hamlet was structured the way it is. This Article is written for those who want a better background of hamlet and why Shakespeare wrote it the way he did.

Throughout Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet demonstrates his wit and coolness under pressure, whether this be in high stress or comical situations. Very rarely does he ever allow the audience -- or other characters -- to see his genuine turmoil. For these reasons, the “Rogue and Peasant Slave” soliloquy at the end of Act 2 Scene 2 really stands out and updates the audience on Hamlet’s suffering. However, this could not be accomplished without Shakespeare’s masterful writing techniques of shifting tone through diction and subject. Through such, the audience can truly take into full consideration Hamlet’s inner suffering, his self hatred, and how he plans to resolve his issues through “vengeance!” (2.2.610).

The Elizabethan play “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” is among one of the most popular books written by William Shakespeare. The drama presents to the readers the large number of problems concerning the human nature and the society. In the drama, Shakespeare manages to depict the thoughts and ideas of a Danish prince who lost his father and wants a revenge for the murder. However, his indecisive nature makes him postpone the revenge as he has doubts whether the uncle was the killer. Even the innocent and naive Ophelia appears involved in the intrigues and Hamlet is all alone against the spoiled environment.

This essay will discuss several literary criticisms of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. After skimming through several articles, I ended up with four peer-reviewed journal articles, each a different critical perspectives of the play: feminist, psychoanalytical/freudian, moral, and new historicism. My previous studies of Hamlet, as well as my rereading of the play this semester, has collectively given me a general knowledge of the text. My familiarity of the play made it easier for me to decipher the academic journals and see the connections each critic made with the play.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare is one play that has intrigued people for over four hundred years. There have been as many productions as there have been days since the original play 1596-1603. Each production has been different from the next one, no matter where performed or by whom. One film reproduction of Hamlet released in the year 2000, was directed by and stared Etahan Hawke as Hamlet and Julia Styles as Ophelia. This essay will refer to this film as Hamlet 2000 and the original play as Hamlet or text. To compare the text to the film Hamlet 2000 will be divided into three groups, language, setting / plot line and lastly the characters. All though the speech is taken only from the text, the film Hamlet 2000 is vastly different,

    Within the Shakespearean tragic drama Hamlet there are a number of themes. Literary critics find it difficult to agree on the ranking of the themes. This essay will present the themes as they are illustrated in the play – and let the reader prioritize them.