Katsuki Clevenger
Mrs. Pietrzak
English 11
16 October 2014
The Mystery of Death
William Shakespeare, the writer of Hamlet and many other well known plays, begins quickly define the weight of his death. Revealing so much of the story in such a sort but clever way using symbolisms, imagery, and more . The rest of the soliloquy gives us much information on the play, and readers find themselves looking back at it periodically. Just this one Soliloquy expresses the developed thought of Hamlet very well: the mystery of death. his story with the most important speech. “Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother’s hand Of life, of crown, of queen at once dispatched.” (1.5.81-82) stated by the Ghost using a hyperbole to Using an art gallery full of literary element to help open up the story, such as metaphors to define his feelings. Even though the speech is made by the Ghost, the soliloquy is a good support to Hamlet’s cause and actions. Shakespeare involves this often repeated speech in the beginning of the book, so the audience can see the play unfold from a certain perspective. The crowd gets to first hand understand the core of the story fully, and gets to watch the characters slowly come to knowledge of the murder of King Hamlet. Shakespeare does this by trapping Hamlet in a corner, by giving him no proof or evidence, just knowledge. Creating an environment where Hamlet knows of the murder but must bite his tongue as he has no proof to condemn Claudius. The Ghost’s soliloquy
Hamlet exhibits his insecurity toward death when he lingers on the phrase ' no traveler returns' from death. He is afraid of leaving his earthly life, showing his indecision towards what lies in the afterlife. This indecision carries over into his actions when trying to go through with Claudius' murder. Hesitant to kill Claudius, Hamlets settles on making sure the ghost was correct in his accusation. By employing the players to dramatize the murder of King Hamlet Sr., Hamlet hides behind the façade of the play in order to accuse Claudius. By using the players as his medium for accusation, Hamlet again shows how timid he is to approach the subject of death and confront it face to face. It is seen by Claudius that Hamlet's 'madness' is a direct threat to his security, and Hamlet is shipped off to England. While traveling to his execution, Hamlet again slips out of deaths way before having to directly challenge it. Prior to Hamlet's 'kidnapping', he changes the letter to have it be his escorts execution. This is only appropriate, since Hamlet never is present to see their reaction to facing death, or is there is witness the ending of their lives. Again, Hamlet is able to allude death, by escaping the ship set sail for his execution.
Hamlet has had to cope with a lot of different things way to fast. In the beginning of the play he sees the ghost of his dead father and is actually able to have a conversation with him. After his father was murdered everyone thought it was an accident but Hamlet knew the truth because the ghost told him it was
murder in a rash mood. It is not seen by Gertrude. It tries to urge
In the play Hamlet, death takes a major part in every scenario. It begins with the death of King Hamlet. King Hamlet was killed by Claudius. The irony of this was that Claudius is the brother of King Hamlet. Once he is killed, Claudius inherits the throne then marries King Hamlet’s wife, Queen Gertrude; which is Claudius’s sister in-law. One night as the guard men are standing outside of the castle, a ghost appears. The ghost speaks to the son of Gertrude and King Hamlet whom is Prince Hamlet and says that the ghost is his father’s spirit and he shall seek revenge on Claudius for marrying his mother and taking over the throne.
In the play by William Shakespeare, the ghost of King Hamlet approaches his mourning and depressed son, Hamlet, who is still affected by his death. The ghost explains to Hamlet how he died and demands that Hamlet avenge his death. Note how the ghost approaches Hamlet when he’s the weakest and still mourning to persuade and manipulate him into taking revenge for him. In Act one Scene 5 the ghost states, “If thou didst ever thy dear father love-/ Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” The way King Hamlet words his request is more as a challenge; in which Hamlet’s love for his dead father can only be proven by carrying out whatever his father wishes. The ghost influences most Hamlet’s behavior, which not only affects the plot, but also the relationships with other characters. The ghost influences the relationship between Hamlet and his mother, Gertrude. He becomes angry at Gertrude because of her fast marriage with his uncle Claudius. Through the use of innuendos, antic disposition, and metamorphic plays, Hamlet makes it his duty to get King Claudius back for killing his father. Hamlet agreed to avenge his father without second thought. As the play advances, Hamlet begins to doubt the apparition. In act 3 Hamlet begins to have second thoughts and states, “The spirit that I have seen/ May be a devil…” This shows Hamlet’s inner conflict between listening to his father and avenging his death or following his ethics. To be sure that Claudius
The beginning of the play sets the stage for everything to unfold. Hamlet is weak in the mind due to his father’s unnatural death. In Act 1, Hamlet speaks to the Ghost and learns how his father died. Without Hamlet interaction with the Ghost, he would not have created a desire for revenging his father’s death. Now knowing that Claudius killed his father in order to take his place as king, it only makes sense that Hamlet desires the truth to be revealed as to what happened to his father.
One major theme within the play is the pervasiveness of death; death is everywhere within hamlet’s life and is a driving factor of the plot. This theme can be found in many parts of the play; for example, in Act 5 scene 2 of the play hamlet sends two players to their death in England (Shakespeare 1181). This shows how death is a mundane occurrence in hamlets time, this is shown in how hamlet shows almost no remorse for his actions and the subject is quickly overlooked. Within the soliloquy “To be, or not to be” hamlet comments on this theme and shows the audience his own ideas on the subject. One of his ideas is stated as “to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep (Shakespeare 1127).” In this line hamlet relates death to a peaceful sleep; by connecting the two terms hamlet conveys a certain familiarity in death as in sleep. Maybe in reducing death to nothing more than a sleep, hamlet is stating that dying is as simple
In Hamlet, William Shakespeare presents the main character Hamlet as a man who is fixated on death. Shakespeare uses this obsession to explore both Hamlet's desire for revenge and his need for assurance. In the process, Shakespeare directs Hamlet to reflect on basic principles such as justice and truth by offering many examples of Hamlet's compulsive behavior; as thoughts of death are never far from his mind. It is apparent that Hamlet is haunted by his father's death. When Hamlet encounters the ghost of his father, their conversation raises all kinds of unthinkable questions, for example murder by a brother, unfaithful mother, that triggers Hamlet's obsession. He feels compelled to determine the reliability
William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet relays Hamlet’s quest to avenge the murder of his father, the king of Denmark. The late King Hamlet was murdered by his brother, Claudius, who took the throne and Hamlet’s mother Gertrude for himself. Hamlet is beseeched by the ghost of his father to take vengeance upon Claudius; while he swears to do so, the prince inexplicably delays killing Claudius for months on end. Hamlet’s feeble attempt to first confirm his uncle’s guilt with a play that recounts the murder and his botched excuses for not killing Claudius when the opportunity arises serve as testimony to Hamlet’s true self. Hamlet is riddled with doubt towards the validity of the ghost and his own ability to carry out the act necessary to
If his father, who was a great man, can be forgotten so quickly upon his death, then to Hamlet life seems rather pointless. In Hamlet’s soliloquy in act one scene two where he first contemplates suicide, Shakespeare begins his discourse with death. The notion of suicide is a major philosophical question – perhaps the greatest, as it argues between religious issues; “that the Everlasting had not fix'd his canon ‘gainst self-slaughter”, the boundaries between life and death, expressed through the boundaries between the physical and nonphysical, that he wishes that this “too solid flesh would melt”, but most significantly the point of life and the point of death, where all the “uses of this world” seem “weary, stale, flat and unprofitable”. There is an importance placed on death rites in this soliloquy, that Gertrude “followed my poor father’s body ” evoking imagery of a funerary procession, but Hamlet still feels that this was not enough, he feels especially that it was a deceit- that her tears were
Shakespeare expresses the theme of morality through the ghost of King Duncan, Laertes and Hamlet. Hamlet encounters the ghost where they speak of what truly happened during King Hamlet's death. As they speak to each other the ghost says, "A serpent stung me-so the whole ear of Denmark/is by a forged process of my death/ rankly abus'd- but know, thou noble youth,/ the serpent that did sting thy father's life/now wears his crown"(I,v, 35-40). The ghost of King Hamlet explains how there are false rumours about the way he died and informs Hamlet that he should not believe in them. He later clarifies that Claudius is the man who murdered him. Claudius’ act of betrayal presents his lack of morality which continues to show throughout the play. After this encounter, audiences feel a sense of revenge, lack of ethics and honesty amongst the characters. Moreover, as Hamlet and Laertes are in a fencing match, Laertes cheats as his sword is sharpened and coated with poison in order kill Hamlet. As both individuals fence, Laertes tells himself, “And yet it is almost against my conscience.”(V, ii,292). Laertes feels guilty for what he is about to do even though Hamlet was the cause of Polonius and Ophelia’s death. In spite of the fact that Laertes is willing to give up anything to kill the man who murdered his father and sister, he faces Hamlet in a fencing match, which makes him think back on his morality. Furthermore, the audience sees morality once again when Hamlet is telling Gertrude about how awful of a person she is for quickly moving on to a new king after king Hamlet's death. Hamlet is deeply hurt by Gertrude's affection towards the new king and says, "Nay, but to live in the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, stew'd in corruption,
William Shakespeare uses the literary technique of the soliloquy to allow the audience to see deeper into his characters’ thoughts in his play, Hamlet. This technique helps to reveal Hamlet’s true character, expressing emotions that the audience cannot see through his interactions with other characters. Through Hamlet’s soliloquies, one may notice that his reluctance to take actions that involve death can be attributed to his fear of the unknown and his uncertainty in regards to afterlife.
Hamlet was shocked to hear of his fathers death and even more shocked when the ghost of King Hamlet told the truth of his murder at the hands of Claudius. Hamlet was enraged and swore to his father he would avenge his death, “Haste me to know’t, that I, with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge.” The play could have been over and done soon after this but, through overthinking Hamlet manages to draw the revenge out for quite some time. A portion of Hamlets idleness is before he is actually certain of Claudius’ guilt. Even though the ghost has told him of the murder Hamlet is wary and wants to make sure the ghost isn’t the devil in
"Hamlet", written by William Shakespeare in the seventeenth century, is a tragedy of great proportion and great debate. When the play begins, Hamlet is moping around at home. His father recently died, his mother sinfully married her brother-in-law, and he was cheated out of the throne by his ambitious uncle. He is angry and bitter, and after initial skepticism, is more than willing to accept the ghost who seems to resemble his deceased father. The specter, who claims to have been murdered by Claudius, calls upon Hamlet to avenge his death. Hamlet's current state of mind, the ghost's request for revenge, and the ghost's appeal to Hamlet for mercy toward his mother, all put
With the appearance of the ghost the reader is, whether they realize it or not, being challenged to take a position on Hamlet's state of mind. At first the reader may take it at face value assuming that a ghost is a ghost and should be accepted as such. But after a deeper look using the psychoanalytic perspective of critical evaluation, it becomes believable that the ghost is just a trick of Hamlet's mind used to justify his urges to avenge his father's death, a sort of madness. It is hard to decide what to think about Shakespeare's introduction of the ghost because of the two different ways he portrays it.