William Shakespeare 's ' Hamlet '

William Shakespeare was a great author, who was able to break the cast of a one-dimensional character. In his play, Hamlet, which was set in the middle ages of Denmark, he was able to represent all of the protagonist’s, Hamlet, human intricacies, creating a round character. Hamlet’s character is fascinating, due to him being complicated. He himself insists that he has many cognitive and logical characteristics in Act I, Scene II. We are shown this when he tells the Queen, “Seems, madam? Nay, it is. I know not “seems”. ‘Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suite of solemn black, Nor windy suspination of forced breath, No, nor the fruitful river in the bye, Nor the dejected havior of the visage, 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, But I have that within which passes show; These but the trappings and the suits of wee.” Although Hamlet is aware of his many different characteristics or qualities, he has difficulty understanding and accepting them. Throughout the entire play, Hamlet continually makes it clear to the reader that he has many intricacies. He also makes sure that his character is not reduced to a one-dimensional character that is predictable. Through Hamlet, Shakespeare is able to guide the reader into exploring all the intricacies of a human being, both good and bad.

Quintessentially speaking, revenge is a thing that many have sought in response to a tragic event unfolding. Typically, as a result, vengeance is contemplated upon by the victim as a means of retribution, a way of making things right and seeking justice on the behest of the victim, if the law will not grant justice through due process due to corrupt forces stemmed deep within it- corrupt seeds of a corrupt plant. Therefore, revenge become an apparent option for those willing to walk that path [of no return]. However, instances of revenge not being attained in the “clear cut” way it is ordinarily acquired have occurred from time to time throughout history. One of the most prominent examples of unconventional revenge attainment can be found within the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, entailing the revenge path walked by its eponymously named main character, Prince Hamlet. Specifically, his intentful delay in attaining his revenge against his uncle Claudius for his direct role in the death of his father, King Hamlet. This literary conundrum has dumbfounded literary critics for over 400 years and counting- due to the fact that a universally accepted consensus amongst them as well as the general public as to why Hamlet delayed his revenge has not yet been reached.

    William Shakespeare’s creation of the character of Hamlet within the tragedy of that name left open the question of whether the madness of the protagonist is entirely feigned or not. This essay will treat this aspect of the drama.

Hamlet is a complex story that uses many literary devices to help develop the characters in Hamlet. One dominant device is irony. The main plot of the story revolves around irony. Hamlet is a witty character and loves to use irony. Hamlet’s use of irony displays how he insults people, discovers useful information, and reveals his true character. The use of irony in this story helps to add depth to each character, which is why Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most complex stories.

Hamlet is one of the most iconic plays in the world because of its great technical, symbolical, and theatrical effect to the readers. Even now, it is adapted in movies and plays—whether professional or amateur—proving that William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is still a remarkable play. A majority of literary readers and critics are aware of its plot, which is focused on Prince Hamlet’s search for vengeance after the death of King Hamlet—and seeing his father’s ghost makes the notion of revenge deeper. However, Hamlet is never alone in his ideas of vengeance because there are characters that help and deject him throughout the plot—though only one of these “friends” is with Hamlet throughout his battle against his father’s murder; and that is Horatio.

Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, sacrifices his public image and pretends to have gone insane in public as a ruse to hide his ulterior motive of finding the best strategy for vengeance. Within the first Act, Hamlet discovers the truth about his father’s death and warns his exceptional friend and confidant, Horatio, that he will

In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, it is clearly evident Prince Hamlet is overcome with “madness” due to his father’s murder and other malicious actions taken against him. Throughout the play, there are many examples of how Hamlet displays his insanity due to certain situations he experiences and how he handles them. Hamlet shows his madness through the killing of Polonius, his treatment of Ophelia, his thoughts of suicide, and the treatment of his mother Gertrude.

Hamlet’s popular soliloquy which begins “To be, or not to be --,” shows the strong aspects of Hamlet’s state of mind. Within these lines there is hesitance, motivation, and suffering. Each of these characteristics can be seen in The Kite Runner portrayed in the character Amir. These characteristics are also portrayed in the character Matilda from Mister Pip. Though each of these characters, Hamlet, Amir, and Matilda, all have very different story lines, they are all relatable through the characteristics of hesitance, motivation, and suffering.

In the beginning of Hamlet, Hamlet tells Horatio, “I perchance hereafter shall think meet / to put an antic disposition on” (Act I, Scene V, lines 190-192). Hamlet decides to fake his insanity, but does his insanity become his reality throughout the play? Hamlet 's madness only manifests itself when he is in the presence of certain characters. When Hamlet is around Polonius, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, he behaves irrationally. When Hamlet is around Horatio, Bernardo, Francisco, The Players and the Gravediggers, he behaves rationally. His mood and attitude changes abruptly throughout the play leading one to believe that his madness became a

In the epic tragedy Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Prince Hamlet is trapped in a world of evil that is not his fault. Hamlet’s demeanor and attitude fluctuate over the course of the play. While Hamlet means well and is portrayed to be very sensitive and moral, at times he can appear to be overruled by the madness and darkness from the tragedy of his father 's murder. His dealings with his dad 's ghostly demise cause Hamlet to grow up quick. His family, his sweetheart, and his school companions all seem to betray him and to associate themselves with the people he is against. Hamlet makes various attempts to avenge his father 's death, yet each falls short since his arrangements are defaced by extreme human weaknesses. These weaknesses that Hamlet is an image of normal mankind and give him the room he needs to develop. His development can be seen in several interactions with Horatio.

Violence and evil played a huge role in Hamlet, which begins with his mother, Gertrude. At first glance, the Queen seems to be just another innocent bystander who expresses her grief at the loss of the King, but as the play develops, and Hamlet is filled in on the details of the Queen’s treachery, the depiction of Gertrude changes dramatically. Though Gertrude does not come out directly and kill the King of Denmark, her role in the death of the King of Denmark drives a huge wedge right between her pure innocence and her unequivocal betrayal. Hamlet believes at first that Claudius is the sole assassinator of his Father. Later, through the Ghost of the King of Denmark, Hamlet comes to understand the role of his own Mother in the treachery. In other words, her infidelity of marriage to the King is a direct consequence of her having fallen in love with Claudius, the King’s brother. Another aspect of Gertrude is that there is some doubt that when she begs of Hamlet in the Third Act to remember her as his Mother, whether she is acting the role of Mother or as an aid to Claudius. (Stone, 71) Recent studies question whether or not Gertrude is supposed to be understood as a Queen Mother or taking on the role of an androgynous character, which is neither male nor female. (Stone) Despite the vast amount of evidence stating that Gertrude was a co-conspirator to the death of the King, some modern scholars choose to paint a compassionate picture of Gertrude. (Smith, 194) They choose to

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”(Act 2, Scene 2, 239-251) Hamlet by William Shakespeare is one of the most famous plays written that conveys a multitude theme. But most predominant is the presence of Hamlet 's obsession with philosophy of life, throughout the play Hamlet philosophy reviles his point of view love, loyalty, the importance of family and friends and last the pain that comes with losing a loved one. That said his action throughout the play reflects his philosophical virtues which helped with the understanding of the character.

The play, Hamlet, takes place in the Renaissance era, and readers are exposed to the golden age of English writing as well as its featured complexities. Shakespeare’s work features young Hamlet’s life after his father’s passing. Hamlet shows that death is a hard occurrence to heal from. Hamlet reveals both the negative and positive events that arise because of it. Prince Hamlet does not alleviate from his father’s death like others do in the play. He even attempts to get revenge because his father’s ghost requests him to do so.

William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, seemingly a play about a depressed young Hamlet who comes to terms with life and strikes back at what is wrong around him with integrity and fervor, ends in what can be described as nothing less than a massacre of not only the royal family, including our supposed hero, Hamlet, but the fall of a once powerful nation. The question that becomes of this bloody sequence of events is how did it end this way? The answer is that perhaps our protagonist, Hamlet, is to blame. According to Tiffany Stern in Making Shakespeare from Stage to Page, it is the expectation of the singing angels after Hamlet’s death that never arrive that show that “perhaps this is an acknowledgement of the havoc Hamlet has wrought. Denmark…has been reduced to a client of Norway…largely as the result of Hamlet’s actions”. Throughout the play, one sees Hamlet as incapable of positive action, rash, and on the verge of madness.

William Shakespeare is a historic writer that is well known and wrote many plays in his lifetime. In most of his plays, if not all, he has incorporated hidden meanings and messages. The majority of his hidden meanings are controversial topics of his time period. In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the controversial topic that is throughout the play is religion and the afterlife. Afterlife plays a big role in Hamlet and is discussed throughout the play. Multiple authors have written on the topic of afterlife and religion in Shakespeare’s play, especially Hamlet. One author that has written on the topic is Paul Dean. In his paper, “The Afterlife of Hamlet”, he includes quotes from Stephen Greenblatt, Roy Battenhouse, William Empson, and many