Theme Of Obedience In Hamlet

Loyalty is a significant theme in ‘Hamlet’ because Hamlet himself judges people by their loyalty or disloyalty-his mother, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Horatio and he acts accordingly. The significance of the betrayal theme is that many of the major events in the play result from the betrayal of one character by another.

Claudius insists, "But you must know your father lost a father;/…But to persever/In obstinate condolement is a course/Of impious stubbornness. 'Tis unmanly grief." (1.2.93-98). The late King's death is simplified to being part of a natural process, which Hamlet is denying, and push Hamlet to be seen as the abnormal member of the court in a time of 'celebration'. Claudius furthermore asserts that Hamlet cannot return to school, worsening the situation as Hamlet is prohibited from distancing himself from a source of his angst. Hamlet's uncle betrays Hamlet by denying him the opportunity to deal with his grief on his own terms, while belittling Hamlet's emotions and prohibiting him from leaving a toxic environment. Hamlet's mother betrays him as she denies him any public support during his uncle's reprimand. His mother argues, "Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off,/…Seek for thy noble father in the dust./Thou know'st 'tis common; all that lives must die," (1.2.70-74). This argument only serves to compel Hamlet to believe that

Hamlet being royal family has a status to uphold to fit into his place in society, he must be respectful to the king and queen and be aware of his actions. In the society of Hamlet it was against society to marry a kin like his uncle and mother did, it was unnatural. However poor Hamlet, “but break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue”, society won’t allow for him to publicly dismay the marriage as it is one of highest rank. The king and queen, and you wouldn’t talk bad about them. Societies laws were unwritten but

Hamlet treats his mother with the utmost disrespect to get her to learn that what she did was wrong and in act 3 scene 4 hamlet says “Such an act that blurs the grace and blush of modesty, calls virtue

In order to remain relevant, one must remain important, or have some connection to the topic at hand, and must produce products or ideas that others can relate to universally. Shakespeare is someone who, like others, has developed themes and ideas that are timeless, as well as exposed eternal truths about the human condition that is relatable. In The Lion King and Shakespeare’s Hamlet, both writers use main characters that must make a tough decision. Within Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, and Shakespeare’s King Henry V, each writer describes a leader having to encourage soldiers who seem to been hesitant and scared when fighting in war. Shakespeare’s references to contemplation and motivation within his plays have

With kindness, he says,“Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet, to give these honoring duties to your father” (1.3. 89 ). Also, when Hamlet killed Polonius, Claudius continues the illusion of caring for Hamlet when he says, “Hamlet, this deed, for thine especial safety must send thee hence” (4.3.43-45). However, the real reason for sending him to England is his plan to kill Hamlet. Claudius writes a note saying, “The present death of Hamlet, do it, England” (4.3.71) meaning, he is ordering the King of England to kill

Hamlet is quite duplicitous, especially around his mother, Queen Gertrude, and his now step-father/uncle Claudius. Currently Hamlet Sr. has died two months prior to where Shakespeare has taken us into Hamlet's life. Hamlet, a young boy, appears to his mother as if he is still grieving his father’s death, “Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, / That can denote me truly. These indeed “seem,” / For they are actions that a man might play.

Hamlet shows impoliteness to his mother throughout the play. Hamlet’s anger towards his mother becomes so great that he hurts her physically. In fact, she felt so unsafe around him and yelled for help! Even though Hamlet wins his mother’s trust, in reality, his verbal

It seems that it is human nature to want to please others, but compromising ones values in order to do so can result in people getting hurt emotionally or physically. In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the desire to please those in authority overweighs the judgment of many characters. These characters are more interested in pleasing those in power than doing what is in their best interest. This is seen in Polonious' eager attempt to use Ophelia, in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's being coerced into spying on a good friend, and finally in Laertes' all too easy manipulation by Claudius to take revenge on his fathers' death. In all these instances, the characters put their

In hamlet one of the lesser emphasized subjects in Hamlet is the aspect of following the rules as well as contrasting rules such as personal, legal, and those given by society. In Hamlet, such as our society and any other for that matter, there are set guidelines and laws set for how people are supposed to act and react to things as well as one another. This is evident in the many rules set by the authority figures, as well as each character themselves. One way to show this would be to look at characters like Hamlet and Claudius, or Hamlet and his mother; Hamlet has very strict beliefs on how the death of his father should be handled according to customs, Claudius and Gertrude, on the other hand, have married not a month after the King’s demise

It is easy to view the characters in Hamlet as being completely helpless to the external forces that control their lives. This idea is pointed out by Michael Shelden in his article, “The Imagery of Constraint in Hamlet,” which uses Maurice Charney’s book to further assert that all characters do not have control over their destiny, supported with the use of traps in the play. However, both Charney and Shelden fail to represent that power structure plays a large role in destiny and they push all characters into the same powerless category. Shelden neglects to recognize Claudius has more freedom compared to any of the other characters because of his power. Within the play, Claudius is able to reach his ultimate goals before the play even begins by marrying the queen and obtaining the position as king. He continues to prove his freedom as the controller of the traps in the play and has the power to control the characters’ freedom with the use of these traps. Even as Hamlet attempts to trap him, Claudius is able to escape both times, showing the control he has over his freedom. When focusing on the power structure of the characters, Shelden’s assertion fails to recognize that although the characters in Hamlet are controlled, Claudius is the only character that has power over his freedom and that of other characters.

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic story of loss and betrayal within the royal family of Denmark. The entire story is a downward spiral that results in the death of Hamlet his family and closest friends along with the possible fall of Denmark itself. The conflict of the play stems from feuds between the main characters that escalate to more and more extremes as the plot continues. The characters most heavily impacted by the conflict of the play are King Claudius, Ophelia, and, of course, Hamlet, himself. These characters face both conflicts from within themselves and from the outside world. Each of these conflicts, however can be traced back to the selfishness of each of the characters and the absolute narcissism, they show and the disregard for how their decisions impact others. Hamlet contains inward and outward struggles for all of the characters involved in the main plot of the story; throughout the play Claudius, Hamlet, and Ophelia all undergo a torment of both extraneous and internal nature primarily relating to their own selfishness and greed that greatly influences the outcome of the play.

From this alone it can be inferred that Hamlet believes in paying proper respect to the dead. This disgust he has with him mother carries on throughout the play, and it reaches its climax in the scene where Hamlet confronts his mother and ends up killing Polonius by mistake. Even as he prepares to drag Polonius offstage he still cares so deeply about his mother's fidelity as to remind her, "Not this by no means that I bid you do: / Let the bloat king tempt you again to bed," (III.iv.203-204). Hamlet cares deeply for fidelity and honoring the dead, and this trait of his was presented as early as his first

After being questioned by his mother, Queen Gertrude, for his downcast behavior, Hamlet tried to articulate his own woes; a feeling that he is unable to display properly. King Claudius, however, instead of trying to understand his nephew’s distress insisted Hamlet to “Throw to earth this unprevailing woe and think of us as of a father; for let the world take note, you are the most immediate to our throne, and with no less nobility of love that that which dearest father bears his son do I impart toward you” (Shakespeare 245). Uncaringly disregarding his nephew’s mourning for his father, King Claudius criticized Hamlet on his moping, insisting that his actions were weak and unfit for someone who’s going to inherit the throne. He wants Hamlet to retire from his own feelings and move on forward to the present while instructing Hamlet to consider him as his new father and take account that he’s only doing this out of love. King Claudius is using a force of control over Hamlet’s life, failing to take account of his nephew’s opinion, only for the benefit of himself since now he is in the position as king and as a father. He wants to make sure Hamlet is abiding to his

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, morality is a major theme throughout the play. Hamlet is less morally corrupted characters in the play. It is clear through his thoughts that morality is often a factor his his actions, or lack of action. His behaviour not only revolves around his morality, but also the morals of characters around him. These characters have great influence over his eventual decisions, and his reactions are essential to the play.