Essay about The Irony in Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Regardless of a person’s age or literary preference it is undeniable that William Shakespeare had a flair for composing dramatic tragedies. Tragedy is a powerful underlining theme which portrays the qualities of the human capacity. In one of Shakespeare’s most brilliant plays, Hamlet, tragedy is portrayed through the protagonist’s constant contemplation of suicide. Shakespeare often alludes to powerful images of death by using pathos and bereavement in life to be inconsequential. In the play, Hamlet, William Shakespeare produces a tragedy which illustrates the suggestion of suicide and the imagery of death as solutions to problems through Ophelia’s demise, the minor characters reflection upon death, and most importantly the protagonist

     "I will be brief.  Your noble son is mad," states Polonius (II, ii, 91) .  Ophelia exclaims, "O what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!" (III, i, 153).  "Alas, he's mad," concludes Gertrude (III, iv, 106). Claudius even instructs Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to escort Hamlet to England because "it [is not] safe with us/To let his madness range" (III, iii, 1-2).  Essentially, each supporting character questions Hamlet's sanity, and most conclude he is indeed mad.

The irony found in the characterization of the antagonist is balanced by an equal irony in the presentation of the protagonist. Hamlet is present at the court gathering -- dressed in black, the color of mourning, for his deceased father. He is not a man of the world, but rather demurring and thoughtful and by himself. His first words say that Claudius is "A little more than kin and less than kind," indicating a dissimilarity in values

Hamlet by Shakespeare is a very wonderfully written book that contains so many literary elements and motifs throughout it that it is still one of the most debated and talked about pieces of literature ever written. It begins with a very mysterious opening that sets the pace for the rest of the book. The old king of Denmark has died and he has returned as a ghost to inform his son, who is also named Hamlet, of the terrible misfortune that has befallen him and left Denmark in a political and emotional turmoil. He has come to inform the young Hamlet that his uncle Claudius murdered the old king in order to gain access to the throne by remarrying the widowed queen a mere two months after he has passed. The timing is very important because it

1)Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy, “Hamlet,” critiques the society of Denmark using powerful mononlogues and dramatic action. On the other hand, Wilde’s comic drama pokes fun at the high morality of Victorian Society. One serious theme that I noticed in “The Importance of being Ernest” was the consistent act of deception throughout the entire play. However this lack of honesty was not lonesome for insightful comedy and a visible foreshadowing of upcoming events accompanied it. Meaning that the play was cleverly written with humor and provided us with an obvious chain of facts that would lead up to us unraveling the end of the play. This play critiques the need to lie or exaggerate the truth, in order to “fit in”

Analysis of William Shakespeare's Hamlet The entire world, be it in the past, present or future, is entirely

(2.2)” Hamlet will have the players act out the death of his father and if Claudius reacts Hamlet will know the ghost was right. Due to his awakening in his

of appetite’ as if the more she was with him the more she wanted him.

“To be or not to be” (3.1.64)—not whether to live or to die, but the use of “to be” is an important question. Shakespeare uses the simple infinitive of “to be”, in the opening of the most famous soliloquy in Hamlet, or perhaps all of Shakespeare, as opposed to the more complex phrase, “to live or to die”. Before Hamlet, the speaker of this soliloquy, analyzes all of mankind’s reasoning behind the subject of life, something both painful and long, and death, something both inevitable and muddied in mystery, he uses the simplest and shortest of infinitives. Seemingly, a simple phrase cannot give justice to some of the more complex and mysterious questions human nature asks; finding answers to why humans suffer through life when they

How does the use of comic relief best contrast the tragedy of Hamlet? In great works of literature a comic relief is used as contrast to a serious scene to intensify the overall tragic nature of the play or to relieve tension. As illustrated in Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, intense scenes are joined with character’s banter and vacuous actions as to add a comic relief. In Hamlet, Polonius acts as a comic relief by his dull and windy personality, Hamlet uses his intelligence and his negativity toward the king and queen to create humor, while on the other hand Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are a comic relief by their senseless actions and naïve natures. Polonius, Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are all used as a comic relief to

William Shakespeare is seen to many as one of the great writers in history. More specifically, the characters in his plays are reviewed and criticized and have been so for nearly four centuries. The character that many have revered Shakespeare for is perhaps the greatest such character ever in literature, Hamlet from Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The commentary and response to this legend of literature is of wide array and opinion, though most, such as Pennington, believe him to be a truly magnificent character: "Hamlet is perhaps the cleverest hero ever written, the subject of the first European tragedy, a form of genius. A type Shakespeare despaired of writing thereafter, having perceived that the heroes of

Shakespeare is most commonly known for his poetry and playwrights. He is globally regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. Plays such as Macbeth, Romero and Juliet, and King Lear were some of his most successful tragedies. What made them so famous was the use of creating the main character to be tragic heroes. They were characters who were destined for suffering and defeat. The reason for their down falls was their defects that lead them to their downfall. He reveals his characters to be ultimimatly human and reveals a sense of potential heroism in everyone. By addressing his message that no one is perfect, he creates a connection with his audience. This creates a plot twist to society’s definition of a happy ending therefore making Shakespeare such a unique writer.

The tragedy of Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare is one of the best tragedies ever written. The term hamartia, coined by the philosopher Aristotle in his writing Poetics, can be defined as “tragic flow,” "to miss the mark" “leading to a mistake” (American Heritage Dictionary). Aristotle points out that: tragedy is an imitation not only of a complete action, but of events inspiring fear or pity as well as the tragic hero must not be an utter villain or a perfect man, but he must be, then: the character between these two extremes, that of a man who is not eminently good and just, - yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty. (Aristotle, 17). In the plays entirety, tragedy strikes each main character from the opening scene to curtain, each event can be seen as a stepping stone to the emotional “build-up” of Hamlet leading to his “mental and emotional” downfall, ultimately leading to the catharsis or cleansing of emotions- for the audience to sympathize with the main character (American Heritage Dictionary).

“Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder”{1.5.31}. This task from the ghost of Hamlet’s father becomes Hamlet’s main struggle throughout the course of the play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare. This play takes place mostly in the royal castle of Denmark in the late middle ages. The play follows Hamlet in his quest to determine the truthfulness of the ghost and to avenge the death of his father. In the play, major characters include Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Laertes, Polonius, and Ophelia. Claudius is the King of Denmark and the ghosts brother and murderer. Gertrude is the Queen of Denmark and was married to the ghost but is now married to Claudius. Laertes is the son of Polonius and is very

What, by definition, is a tragic hero? Is this someone who saves a city in calamity? Or perhaps a character we see in hero films? A "tragic hero" is a term coined by the great philosopher, Aristotle. He describes it as a literary device used to define a character who has poor judgment and someone who has experienced personal downfalls that inevitably leads to his/her destruction. I would argue that the main character in this play (in other words, Hamlet) is an example of such a character. His thoughts and actions are controlled by those of his father's’s last words; “foul and most unnatural murder”. Hamlet's final goal was to avenge his father's death, and with that path came many incidents where his actions had greatly affected himself and others around him, for example; while Hamlet was his mother's chamber, he heard a sudden noise that makes him stab the curtain, then to reveal, Polonius was behind the curtain. After many instances, Hamlet's decisions and actions led to his tragic fatal ending.