The Influence Of Culture In Hamlet

‘Texts became valued over time when they explore challenging and enduring ideas relevant to humanity - To what extend does Hamlet reflect this statement?

The English Play writer, William Shakespeare had written many well-known pieces of work including Hamlet. Hamlet is known to be one of his most popular works. Hamlet was written in the late 16th Century about the Prince of Denmark. The original title of the work was The Tragedy of Hamlet, now it is referred to as just Hamlet. In Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses the mental state of his characters to prove that not all characters in books have to be one dimensional. Shakespeare’s writing shows that humans are complex, and can have different mental states. Characters throughout the story such as, Hamlet, Gertrude, and Ophelia show their not so stable mental state. First we will analyze Hamlet and talk about Ernest Jones’ Psycho-analytic study of Hamlet. Then we will talk about Ophelia and how the events that happened leading up to her death or suicide played a role into her mental state. Finally we will analyze Gertrude, the Queen’s role in Hamlet, and how she is a mentally weak woman and relies on the men in her life.

Throughout history, class distributions have constantly been a serious issue. Many compositions today display social disparity; however, to recognize it, one needs to look through the proper lens. Literary critical lenses help to understand a work from a different angle which leads to a further interpretation of the composition. There are many lenses and aspects in literature, and one of them is the Marxist Theory. Also known as the Conflict Theory, this idea asserts that class struggle is a powerful divider in society. Although it is a social idea, this concept also relates to literature. In his play Hamlet, William Shakespeare demonstrates class struggles. Looking at this composition through the lens of the Marxist Theory, one uncovers that the dominant ones suppress and exploits the others seeking to display their superiority.

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.

During Bohannan’s visit, she was threatened by the headman that they would stop telling her stories if she didn’t tell one of her own. By doing what he asked, she was gaining rapport with the Tiv elders and had the opportunity to research her hypothesis regarding the story of “Hamlet”. In the beginning, she told the story with confidence knowing for sure that, “Hamlet had one possible interpretation, and that one universally obvious” (Bohannan 2012: 34). Cultural differences created a lot of confusion as she told the story and was challenged by the Tiv elders regarding the “true” interpretation of Hamlet. She mentally collected emic data and occasionally jotted a few things down in her notepad. By the end of the story, Bohannan realized her hypothesis was

For any play to be a successful the audience must be able to feel a connection with it, they must feel like they are not just an audience, but perhaps characters in the play itself. One way of making connections between the audience and the play is through speeches that target the audience. In the Play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, there are many examples of this technique of targeting the audience. One example that is very effect in doing this if found in a speech given by Hamlet in act IV, Scene 4. This speech makes many connections with the audience of the Elizabethan era, relating to their social, cultural, and economic values and perspectives. By touching on these topics the speech given by

During the early 1600s, a time of unrest and uncertainty spread through most of the world specifically in Europe as it began to see a gradual insurgency of leadership as new monarchs rose to great power as the existent ones faded. The legitimacy to how some new rulers gained their prestigious power came into question as tales of treason especially within families spread rapidly. William Shakespeare, having grown up near this time period was influenced by his surroundings and similar works such as histoires Tragiques, that inspired his work Hamlet. Although there are various views and opinions surrounding Hamlet as a whole, it is a great tragedy which centers itself on one’s own uncertainty and depicts seeking revenge as a major theme. These main topics are further discussed in the works or Kiernan Ryan and the British Library in “Hamlet and Revenge”, as well as “Hamlet in Purgatory” by Stephen Greenblatt. The main character, Hamlet however is both the protagonist and the tragic hero as the story unfolds. Hamlet is torn between his own conscience as expresses in his ongoing soliloquies and in doing what he believes is right opposed to seeking revenge, which leads him to being indecisive on his actions taken due to influence caused by those around him.

Hamlet experiences a tremendous amount of internal conflict throughout the play. He is constantly debating whether or not he should face his troubles. This sense of uncertainty comes from a lack of self confidence,

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a work of art so prolific that many consider it as one of the best tragedies ever written in the history of literature, in which ideas and motifs of sickness and decay embed the entire plot of the story. Each unique character then conveys these ideas by the way they converse with other characters, their actions, and their use of figurative language. These create a unominous tone that is carried throughout the story, which helps the audience in fully grasping Hamlet’s truest emotions. These also help the reader know each character as well as to understand the how the figurative elements of the play translate to real life circumstances. From the start of the play, Shakespeare establishes a tone of uncertainty and

This essay will examines the similarities between two novels, “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley and “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare. These two novels share many similarities between each other but this comparison will focus on the parallel of characters. There are many elements of Shakespeare in “Brave New World” but most identifiable is the resemblance of characters. Throughout both stories the resemblance in in both books. It is apparent that both “Hamlet” and “Brave New World” share unique protagonists and supporting characters with corresponding traits.

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the most produced plays of all time. Written during the height of Shakespeare’s fame—1600—Hamlet has been read, produced, and researched by more individuals now than during Shakespeare’s own lifetime. It is has very few stage directions, because Shakespeare served as the director, even though no such official position existed at the time. Throughout its over 400 years of production history, Hamlet has seen several changes. Several textual cuts have been made, in addition to the liberties taken through each production. In recent years, Hamlet has seen character changes, plot changes, gender role reversals, alternate endings, time period shifts, and thematic alternations, to

To begin, Hamlets speech effectively targets its audience by allowing them to make connections as well as relate to Hamlet. William Shakespeare connects the audience’s economic values to Hamlet’s speech at the mention of war. Just before

William Shakespeare pessimistically argues in his tragic play, Hamlet, that humans’ evil predisposition towards disingenuity leads to the degeneration of the individual due to the severance of relationships and the demise of self-respect. According to Shakespeare, human nature is such that humans misdirect, scheme against, or outright lie to others to further self-serving ends that ultimately do more harm than good. Throughout the play, Shakespeare employs contrasts and metaphors to demonstrate how dishonesty destroys trust and results in the demise of vital human connections with both family and friends. When individuals use deception to satisfy selfish desires, Shakespeare argues that this results in the death of an individual’s peace of mind. He uses personification of the soul and condemning diction to depict how duplicitous practices result in oppressive guilt.

which take place in the play do not always provide Hamlet with a possible clear

Often, pieces of literature have been analyzed and made into a motion picture in the hopes of further developing the themes presented in the work. Though the Shakespearian play, Hamlet, has been interpreted and converted into a film numerous times by different directors, Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation particularly captured the essence of Hamlet and helped the audience truly understand the events that transpired in Act Three Scene Two of Hamlet. It is in this act, Hamlet plan to reveal King Claudius’ treachery is played out. Hamlet exposes the king through adding an extra sixteen lines to the play which depicts him killing Hamlet’s father. With the directions Hamlet gave to the actors, Hamlet is able to make the audience recognize the king’s