Turning Points In Hamlet

John Dover Wilson writes, “The first act is a little play in itself, and the Ghost the hero of it; 550 out of 850 lines are concerned with him…The Ghost is the linchpin of Hamlet; remove it and the play falls to pieces.” Consider what part the Ghost plays in Act I in the construction of the plot (i.e. what is his purpose and contribution?):

Losing a loved one can take a harsh hit on one’s frame of mind. In the Shakespearian play Hamlet, the death of Hamlets father caused many problems, all of which eventually lead up to the tragic death of Hamlet. Each event that happens in the play is impacted by reason, fate and emotion. The events throughout the play that lead to hamlets downfall are determined by the roles of reason, fate and emotion. These three roles are key factors of the play.

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.

murder in a rash mood. It is not seen by Gertrude. It tries to urge

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.

She means a lot to him, but now she has rejected him (by returning his

One single moment or event during the course of an individual’s life can effectively alter their priorities and transform their identity drastically. In The play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare introduces the readers to the protagonist Hamlet who is draped in anger and emotions and has a new-found mission in life. Initially, Hamlet is portrayed as an individual in mourning over his father's death and his mother's haste in remarrying to her brother-in-law and Hamlet's uncle, Claudius. However, Hamlet’s character and personality were drastically altered after meeting the Ghost and

Throughout the Shakespearian play, Hamlet, the main character is given the overwhelming responsibility of avenging his father’s "foul and most unnatural murder" (I.iv.36). Such a burden can slowly drive a man off the deep end psychologically. Because of this, Hamlet’s disposition is extremely inconsistent and erratic throughout the play. At times he shows signs of uncontrollable insanity. Whenever he interacts with the characters he is wild, crazy, and plays a fool. At other times, he exemplifies intelligence and method in his madness. In instances when he is alone or with Horatio, he is civilized and sane. Hamlet goes through different stages of insanity throughout the story, but his neurotic and skeptical personality amplifies his

Throughout Hamlet, written by Shakespeare, Hamlet’s emotions, actions, and thoughts cause much trouble during the play. Hamlet encounters stages of sarcasm, inanity, suicidal tendencies/self-deprecation, and procreation/indecision which develop not only his personality but the play itself. Hamlet uses sarcasm to express his emotions, pretends to be insane (ultimately leading him to become truly insane), self-deprecates throughout the play due to family events, and procrastinates because he is indecisive. Hamlet encounters many life-altering events throughout the play such as his uncle poisoning his father and quickly remarrying Hamlet’s mother, to accidentally killing Polonius thinking it was Claudius, all the way to debating upon: his own

With Hamlet’s tragic flaw being his inability to act, he is plagued throughout the play by his immense intelligence and philosophical nature, which causes him to overanalyze each situation, rendering him unable to carry out any action in response. This is evident in the play by the frequent delay of acting out his father’s revenge due to the uncertainty of the evidence pertaining to his uncle’s crime. Hamlet’s inability to act creates a discourse between hamlet and his consciousness, generating an abundance of stress, which causes him to become increasingly frustrated as the play progresses. This frustration leads to him at moments in the play to behave in a rash and impulsive way or acting in an inappropriate manner, contradicting his methodical and reserved disposition. It is the consequences of these “inappropriate” actions that resurfaces at the plays end, to haunt the character, as Hamlet’s inability to act while using his renowned logic and intelligence ultimately leads to his eventual demise at the plays conclusion, due to his inability to act both “effectively” and “appropriately” in critical situations.

There are three possible turning points in Hamlet: the players’ scene when Claudius’ guilt concerning the murder of King Hamlet is confirmed; the prayer scene when Hamlet forgoes the opportunity to kill Claudius; and the closet scene where Hamlet first takes action, but kills Polonius inadvertently. In the players’ scene, the ghost’s story is proved to be true, allowing Hamlet to avenge his father’s murder. In the prayer scene, Hamlet misses a perfect opportunity to kill Claudius, giving Claudius time to act against Hamlet. In the closet scene, Hamlet’s actions give Claudius the impression that he poses as a major threat to his continued succession on the throne. The death of Polonius also triggers a series of repercussions by altering

Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, begins with the appearance of a ghost, an apparition, possibly a hallucination. Thus, from the beginning, Shakespeare presents the air of uncertainty, of the unnatural, which drives the action of the play and develops in the protagonist as a struggle to clarify what only seems to be absolute and what is actually reality. Hamlet's mind, therefore, becomes the central force of the play, choosing the direction of the conflict by his decisions regarding his revenge and defining the outcome.

on,"(Act 1 Scene 5, Hamlet) Act I scene 5 is an introduction to Hamlets sanity. When Hamlet encounters the ghost important details about his father death are revealed, the audience finds out who killed

Even though Hamlet seems ardent in his intentions of avenging his father’s death during his encounter with the Ghost, by the second act, Hamlet begins to doubt that the ghost was actually his father. While giving his soliloquy after he has seen

In literature, the climax is a part of the structure of a plot. It is a turning point in the story; the climax is a decisive moment that changes things. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the climax occurs when Hamlet confronts his mother, Gertrude, and stabs Polonius through the tapestries in Act III, scene IV. At this point, Hamlet brings himself into unavoidable conflict with King Claudius.