The Maturity Of Action In Shakespeare's Hamlet

There is a distinct division of opinion among the other characters of the play about Hamlet's sanity and the split is along gender lines. Ophelia and Gertrude both state that Hamlet has gone mad, but the major male characters, on the other hand, like Polonius think that there is "method" in Hamlet's "madness," that his insanity is a surface mask to shield him as he plans the darker purpose of revenge. Since Hamlet is disturbed by the sudden death of his father and his mother's marriage to his uncle, King Claudius, the abnormality of his behavior to some extent is also understandable. Hamlet is naturally withdrawn, dark, and passive in the wake of those traumatic events. He also shows this when he constantly releases his anger with lines like "How (weary), stale, flat, and unprofitable seems to me all the uses of this world!" His self-exile and his self-reproach are essentially normal reactions to a series of events that he must avenge at his dead father's command but without further direction against a powerful chain of power within the guilty King.

Richardson?s Hamlet is not as much preoccupied with sexuality than Olivier?s- or the Zeffirelli?s Hamlet. The relationship between Gertrude and Hamlet in this film seems more impersonal than the others. The viewer experience much more hate from Hamlet towards Gertrude in this film that explains why Richardson left out a lot of the dialogue at the end of the scene, because he wanted the focus to be more on the beginning of the scene where Hamlet?s words are much harsher towards Gertrude, than at the end of it. At the end of the scene Hamlet accentuates the words: ?I must be cruel to be kind? that demonstrate the point. The bed is not very prominent in Richardson?s version of Hamlet that indicates that he did not want the viewer to focus on the on the sexual connotation that goes with the bed. It is true on the other hand that Gertrude and Hamlet lied on the bed at the end of the scene, but the viewer gets the feeling that it was more an indicator of the intimacy that goes with a normal mother- and son relationship than an Oedipus Complex- case. Hamlet cried like a little boy that lost his father and not like a lover that lost his mistress. When you compare the lighting of the closet scene from the Richardson version with the Zeffirelli, it

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the main protagonist, Hamlet experiences a series of events that dramatically change his character. When the audience first meets Hamlet, he is dressed in all black he is portrayed as a sulky, depressed prince. Through the course of the play however, it is revealed that Hamlet as a character has more than one side to him – he is brooding as he is impulsive, and he is vengeful as his is indecisive. The audience sees Hamlet struggling with the death of his father, and the emotional toll of knowing the truth but being unable to exact revenge. This is what essentially changes Hamlet. Because of the constant back and forth of having to act like nothing is wrong and having to suppress his rage towards King Claudius,

The speech of Hamlet “O that this too sullied flesh would melt, … But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.” (1.2.129-159) is where we can see Hamlet’s sadness towards his mother, Gertrude and his uncle Claudius and feels disappointed about their decision of getting married. Hamlet is seen to be too upset after his father’s death. It’s not even a month has passed and he gets to hear another news about his mother Gertrude and uncle, Claudius getting married. In the beginning of Act 1 Scene 2, King Claudius gives a speech to his courtiers, telling them about his recent marriage to Gertrude, mother of Hamlet and his brother’s widow. Claudius says that he mourns his brother but has chosen to balance Denmark’s mourning with delight of his marriage. He also mentions in his speech that young Fortinbras has written to him, rashly demanding the surrender of the lands King Hamlet won from Fortinbras’s father, and dispatches Cornelius and Voltimand with a message for the King of Norway, Fortinbras’s elderly uncle.

A lot of people would see insanity and corruption to play the most important role in Hamlet. However, other people may argue that the main theme in Hamlet is Shakespeare’s use of actors and acting and the way it is used as framework on which insanity and corruption are built. Shakespeare demonstrates the theme of actors and acting in his characters, the illusion that the individuals assume and the introduction of the ‘play within a play’. This connection allows certain characters to wield the actions and thoughts of others.

Both Gertrude and Ophelia’s sexualities are seen as detrimental things by the various men in the play, with Hamlet especially focusing on this. For Hamlet, the women in his life are seemingly put on pedestals, and the worst thing they could be are sexually impure. Hamlet begins losing his sanity when Ophelia is kept from him, and when she tries to talk to him, he denounces her crudely and insults her sexuality (“Get thee to a nunnery!” (3.1 135)). After this instance, for Hamlet Ophelia represents “merely a spectre of his psychic fears. This spectre of the dishonest woman figures, in his neurotic projections, as a duplicitous whore.”(Dane, 410). This is another contributing factor to his downfall. Hamlet’s obsession with Gertrude sleeping with Claudius is also a major conflict for him. After the Ghost implores him not to harm his mother, Hamlet internally still blames her for her ‘incestuous act’ with Claudius, saying “O most pernicious woman! O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!” (1.5 106-107). Hamlet’s disgust with his mother is a recurring theme throughout the play, and it all stems back to the fact that women, to Hamlet, must be kept pure. Since Hamlet is an idealist, he cannot deal with his ‘perfect’ mother “in the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, stew’d in corruption, honeying and making love over the nasty sty” (3.4 92-95). Dealing with this internally, Hamlet becomes more erratic and physically acts out against his mother. Hamlet’s obsession and subsequent rage with his mother’s sexuality also directly affected him in the sense that he, in a fit of passion, killed Polonius who was spying on them. Ophelia went insane after finding out, and Claudius was thus able to convince Laertes to kill Hamlet. This physically led to his ultimate downfall - his

truth about his father’s recent quietus. Hamlet’s uncle ,Claudius, marries his mother the queen, and therefore, takes the throne. In Act 1 (scene 5), Hamlet is told by the apparition of his dead father that it was his uncle, who murdered him. The theme that remains consistent throughout this tribulation is appearance versus reality. The characters introduced throughout the play, appear to be caring and honest, but in reality are nothing but evil. They deceitfully hide behind two-faced mask of integrity. Four main unfaithful characters which are found to be disguised as right-minded are Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and the freshly thrown taking King, Claudius. The

Hamlet’s character drastically develops over the first four acts of Hamlet, and his character development is most evident through the soliloquys he delivers throughout the play. The most character development can be seen from the first soliloquy, to the second, the third, the sixth, and the seventh and final soliloquy. Hamlet’s inner conflict with his thoughts and his actions are well analyzed in his soliloquys, as well as his struggles with life and death, and his very own existence. He begins the play wondering what purpose he has in life now that his father is dead and his mother has remarried to his uncle. After finding out foul play was involved in his father’s death, he is motivated by revenge. Finally, he wonders how he can enact his revenge while continuously overthinking and overanalyzing his actions.

1. How much time has passed between Act I and Act II. How do you know?

Hamlet’s sexual deviancy is a defining characteristic of Hamlet, and is an often talked about topic when discussing the play. Hamlet is engrossed in people’s sex lives, whether it is his mother, Gertrude, or his ex-girlfriend, Ophelia. Hamlet’s general distrust and disgust with women makes him a misogynist. Hamlet seems mad that his mother, Gertrude, moved on so quickly to Claudius seeing as it had only been two months since her first husband, Hamlet Sr. died. This seems like a logical response, however Hamlet keeps bringing it up. So much so, that his father’s ghost even says "Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive / Against thy mother aught: leave her to heaven." (1.5.9) Hamlet shows sign of jealousy toward Claudius as if he is the one who wants to be with his mother, because of this Hamlet

“O, that this too too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew, Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God, God, How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world!” (Act 1 Scene 1, Hamlet) Hamlet’s idea of role-playing was truly important to Hamlet in the play, because it was his way of conducing revenge, for his father’s death. Hamlet acted deranging and irrational throughout the whole play, to cover up his capacity of killing Claudius, who was the killer of his father, King Hamlet. Hamlet’s actions of insaneness, led him to committing many mishaps in the play that completely disarranged his objective of obtaining revenge against Claudius. However, due to Hamlet’s exploitation in role-playing in the play, it precipitated him into temporizing and delaying his ability to obtain his revenge, which effected many characters along the way. Characters like Polonius, Ophelia, Laertes, Gertrude, and Claudius suffered dramatically throughout the whole play, because of Hamlet.

Texts become valued over time when they explore challenging and enduring ideas relevant to humanity. Hamlet (1603), a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, examines many important themes throughout the story of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, who seeks revenge for his father’s murder at the hands of his uncle, Claudius. The theme of action and inaction within the play highlights the need for balance within the human mind. The innate human pursuit of knowledge is personified by the theme of death. Finally, the use of archetypal characters causes the reader to empathise with them, allowing a greater emotional connection to the story.

Hamlet’s emotions are comparable to a stereotypical modern day teenager. He can be very lively and content at times, but also gloomy and ominous. After hearing that his mother is marrying his uncle only weeks after his father unexpectedly dies, Hamlet becomes overwhelmed and considers suicide: “O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt,” (Shakespeare 1.2.133). He is restless with the idea that his uncle is now sleeping with his mother. He loves his mother and does not have intentions of hurting her saying, “I will speak daggers to her, but use none.” (3.2.429), yet he assaults her when given a chance in her chamber. Similarly, Hamlet loves Ophelia so that “Forty thousand brothers Could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum.” (5.1.285-287), but he physically and verbally abuses her on many accounts. Hamlet cannot come to a compromise with his emotions towards Gertrude and Ophelia, thus expressing feelings that are bipolar. In the end, Hamlet spends time coping with his feelings of love and enmity, when he should be worrying about Claudius.

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

From the beginning of the play, Hamlet is labelled as a heavy hearted and unhappy man. This is seen as “Hamlet’s Transformation” as the King called it. He has not always been like this. In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Prince Hamlet experiences many dilemmas that lead him to revenge and his transformation form good to evil. Shakespeare displays that revenge leads to insanity. Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, Hamlet’s uncle also known as his step-father, Claudius, and Hamlet’s dead father, King Hamlet, all drive Hamlet to lose his mind and become insane. This change in Hamlet is brought to him by devastating and life changing events that have recently happened, and did not only cause a mental reaction, but specifically a moral reaction.