Describe 3 of the deaths in Hamlet and show the ways in which Shakespeare causes the audience to experience horror, pity and fear.
Describe 3 of the deaths in Hamlet and show the ways in which Shakespeare causes the audience to experience horror, pity and fear. Hamlet is a revenge tragedy play, which was a very popular theme at the time Shakespeare was writing. Hamlet was written at the time Shakespeare was writing at his very best. Hamlet was written over 400 years ago and has outlived most other revenge plays but still continues to hold great appeal due to the effect it has on all those who see and hear it As Hamlet is self-titled we know Hamlet will die and this event will bring a close to the play. Because we know how the play will end Shakespeare entices the audience by keeping us on the edge about when, where, how and why it will happen. In this essay I have chosen to write about the death of Gertrude, Claudius and Hamlet. All three characters die in the last Act, Act 5. Hamlet is a play set in Denmark. His father at the start of the play has already been brutally murdered by his (Hamlet's) Uncle Claudius. - brother to the deceased king. The ghost of his father appears to him and reveals how Claudius so cunningly murdered him, and begs Hamlet to avenge his death. Hamlet is already furious with Claudius for marrying his mother within such a short time of his father's death. This causes him t wonder if his mother had had any part in his fathers murder also. Hamlet within him vows to obey the ghost
Hamlet's antic disposition of pretending to become crazy so that he can take revenge of his father's death was a bad plan. The situations in the play that prove that Hamlet's antic disposition
Hamlet's Antic Disposition Hamlet's antic disposition of pretending to become crazy so that he can take revenge of his father's death was a bad plan. The situations in the play that prove that Hamlet's antic disposition was a bad plan are the death of his friend Ophelia, his fighting with his mother, trying to fool the King and Polonius, his own downfall and finally his death. All this situations illustrate why Hamlet's antic disposition was a bad plan. Hamlet's antic disposition was the main reason why Ophelia committed suicide and why Hamlet fought with his mother. Hamlet believed that if he showed no more feelings for Ophelia and showed hatred and cruelty for his mother, people and particularly the King and Polonius would believe that he has truly gone crazy. He shows that he has no feelings for Ophelia when he says to her "You should not have believed me, for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not" (III ,i, 116-118). At the time of Ophelia's burial, Hamlet jumps in Ophelia's grave saying, "I loved Ophelia. For thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?"(V ,i, 245-247). This clearly indicates that Hamlet did love Ophelia and was only pretending as per his plan. Similarly, Hamlet's antic disposition towards his mother is illustrated by the quotation, "Soft, now to my
The first act is an element of the exposition, this play has 5 scenes and it is quite long but very dramatic. The first scene is very dramatic and dark.
Hamlet In the 17th century William Shakespeare published Hamlet, it is a very apprehensive and dark play. In this piece of coursework I will be writing about why the audiences still get pleasure from watching the first act of hamlet, and how Shakespeare makes it attention-grabbing and exciting. This play is about a young man called Hamlet, whose father, has been brutally murdered by his fathers brother Claudius, and Hamlet will get revenge, in any manner. Hamlet is such a superior play it still appeals to audiences today, because of the way Shakespeare has written it. There is a lot of excitement, tension, dark and it is very interesting and audiences want to watch on as soon as they see it. There is a lot of difference between a 17th century audience and a 21st century audience, first of all in Shakespeare's time they didn't have any sophisticated special effects well in this case this play doesn't need any because Shakespeare has used such strong and effective language, and in the manner the play is set out, it doesn't need any special effects. Secondly the play can be set out in any historical context. For example the revenge of tragedy. Thirdly, the impact, the precious and the exquisiteness of the plays language. The play stores some of the most truly memorable lines in the English language, and even the most preeminent ever lines written by anyone. These are,
Has history been unfair to Gertrude? Discuss with reference to critical interpretations you have read as well as stage and video performances you have seen - Make close reference to the text.
Has history been unfair to Gertrude? Discuss with reference to critical interpretations you have read as well as stage and video performances you have seen. Make close reference to the text. The question, "Has history been unfair to Gertrude," in Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' is a complex one. Numerous critics and directors have put forward many different interpretations, meaning that some must be unfair, or all would be correct. Althought minor, the character of Gertrude is essential to the plot. The reason for many of the events happening in the play can all be traced back to her actions. The kings death may have been due to Claudius' love for her. He admits his love and devotion by saying that she is: "My virtue and my plague." And confirms she is at least part of the reason for the murder: "those effects for which I did the murther/ My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen." All Hamlets actions are due to her, as he wants to acenge his father and her 'betrayal' of him. Although she is such an important character, she is not a dominant one. She appears in only 10 scenes. Gertrude never tells anyone to do anything and relies heavily on the other characters. She seldom appears without Claudius, unless he instructs her to do so, as in the closet scene. Ironically as Rebecca Smith appreciates: "She is easily led and she makes no decisions for herself, except, ironically,
Womens role in Hamlet
Women's Roles in Hamlet In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare, the author, creates female characters that occupy very different roles than in his other plays. In this play, Hamlet plays opposite two women who are used by the men around them in order to further their own interests. One woman is named Ophelia. In many of Shakespeare's other plays, he creates women that are very strong and play a very real role in the life of the protagonist. In Hamlet, however, Ophelia occupies a very different role-she exemplifies a pawn of the men around her. She is used not only by her father and his associate the King, but also by her supposed lover, Hamlet. This is a very different role for a woman in a Shakespearian play. Also, Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, also plays a very frivolous role in the novel. Hamlet continually criticizes her incestuous liaison with his uncle, her brother-in-law, and uses her connections with his uncle in order to further his plan to have revenge on his uncle. In other Shakespearian plays, the male characters usually have respect for the women that they are associated with; in Hamlet, however, Shakespeare chooses to instead portray women more realistically. At the time when this play was written, it was very common for women to be used merely as pawns for either their fathers, brothers, husbands, or lovers. This shows Shakespeare's deviation in this play from his
How do you respond to Shakespeare's presentation of the responsibilities and obligations placed on sons by fathers in the play as a whole?
How do you respond to Shakespeare's presentation of the responsibilities and obligations placed on sons by fathers in the play as a whole? The central feature in Shakespeare's Hamlet is of revenge, four revenge plots are evident throughout and have strong connections with father-son relationships. Perhaps some of the emphasis upon father's and sons is indebted to the fact that Shakespeare's own son, Hamnet, died in 1596 at the age of 11, approximately four years before Shakespeare wrote this play. The parallel between the name of Shakespeare's hero and that of his own son is too tempting to ignore. One possible hypothesis is that Shakespeare, while mourning his son's death, wrote a play that helped expiate his grief through an exploration of the relationships between four different sets of fathers and sons. Adding to the intrigue is the persistent rumour that Shakespeare the actor may have played the part of the Ghost in early productions of the play, which might explain why this morbid character has such an expansive dramatic role. Hamlet's grief over his father's gruesome death and his eventual meeting with Old Hamlet's ghost comprises only one of four important father-son relationships in the play. All of which relate to death and dying in some respect. The others include Polonius and Laertes, Old Fortinbras and Young Fortinbras, and Uncle Claudius as surrogate parent to
HAMLET IS A SELF-OBSESSED, MISERABLE TYPICAL TEENAGER TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT?
"HAMLET IS A SELF-OBSESSED, MISERABLE TYPICAL TEENAGER" - TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT? Throughout the course of the play, the character of Hamlet undergoes major upheaval, so a transition in his psyche is to be expected. One interpretation behind the reason for this transition is the one stated in the title (i.e. that he is a "self-obsessed, miserable typical teenager"); another may be that he is simply the victim of exceptional circumstances (namely his father's death and his mother's marriage to his uncle) - either way, it is clear that Hamlet is acting under severe emotional stress during the play. That Hamlet is a very obsessive young man is easy enough to tell - the list of things he obsesses about is extensive: the afterlife, his father's murder, his new misogynistic feelings, suicide and general worldly dissatisfaction, to list the main bulk of his obsessions. Some of his soliloquies (which are the passages where Shakespeare allows Hamlet to reveal his complete emotions to the audience) are testament to this obsession, especially concerning suicide ("O that this too too solid flesh would melt", "To be or not to be"). This self-obsession may be thought of as somewhat surprising when it is noted that Hamlet is meant to be heir to the Dane throne, as it portrays Hamlet as someone in a role of great social responsibility who only has the scope to think
How Does Shakespeare Examine The Themes Of Revenge in Hamlet.
How Does Shakespeare Examine The Themes Of Revenge in Hamlet The revenge tragedy established itself within Elizabethan theatre as a tremendously popular genre. The style of the play had gradually evolved from the works of Seneca, an ancient Roman playwright. Once translated these plays performed, steadily rose in popularity, with plays such as Middleton's 'The Changeling', Kids 'The Spanish Tragedy' and Tourneurs 'The Revenger's Tragedy' being most popular. The 'typical' revenge tragedy play has several important conventions within it, which are key to the genre. A five part structure of: Exposition, anticipation, confrontation, partial execution and completion, portray the central character - the revenger, discovering the deed he must avenge, wrestling with his conscience over the justification and validity of the act, then planning and eventually executing the act of revenge. Often Jacobean revenge tragedy often questioned the revengers' morality. How far does the task of revenge affect the revenger? How far does it taint the person? How can the audience be sure the protagonists' madness is not actually real? Is it possible that the conflicting morality suffered by him brings unto the revenger real madness and mental instability? The questions over morality are furthered by the death of the protagonist another generic feature. Elizabethans generally firmly believed in the
Compare and contrast the ways in which language expresses the feelings of anger and frustration felt, by Hamlet and Claudius.
Compare and contrast the ways in which language expresses the feelings of anger and frustration felt, by Hamlet and Claudius. Shakespeare uses very strong and powerful language in both of the speeches to express to the audience the strong feelings of anger and guilt felt by Hamlet and Claudius at this point in the play. The speeches are both commenced with a sorrowful expression, `O', I think this demonstrates their pain and grief about what they both feel is their fault. I think Claudius feels he perhaps shouldn't have murdered his brother, but is still trapped in indecisiveness and his thoughts conflict each other, through guilt about being a murderer, and where he would be and what he would not have if he hadn't taken action to try and lift his place in society. Hamlet feels he should have already taken action to avenge his father's murder, so feels guilty about his inert efforts and decisions. The `o's are then followed by degradation, Hamlet says `What a rogue and peasant slave am I', and Claudius says `My offence is rank it smells to heaven'. The way in which these lines are similar that they are both degradations, but they are in different in their nature. Hamlet degrades himself by calling himself the lowest most worthless criminal, whilst Claudius degrades the crime he has committed and says it's the worst crime he could have committed. Their
Why Did Hamlet Delay The Killing of Claudius?
Why Did Hamlet Delay The Killing of Claudius? Hamlet junior is the protagonist in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Throughout the play, Hamlet misses numerous opportunities in killing Claudius and he delays in avenging his father's death. This essay will examine Hamlet's personality and principles alongside strenuous positions which prevent him from carrying out the vital task. During the first stages of the play, Hamlet's father (Hamlet senior) appears in the form of a ghost and tells Hamlet the true way in which his death came about. The ghost explains that his death was caused by poison being poured into his ear by his brother, Claudius. Matters become worse as Hamlet's mother marries Claudius barely within a month of Hamlet senior's death. The ghost of Hamlet senior compels Hamlet to avenge his murder by killing Claudius. Initially, Hamlet has the intention to act upon his father's word and avenge his death. This is shown in the play as Hamlet says "Haste me to know't that I with wings as swift may sweep to my revenge." However soon enough Hamlet misses vital opportunities to take the life of Claudius as he is faced with his morals and conscience. Hamlet begins to doubt whether the ghost was bona fide and becomes unsure of the circumstances. Part of Hamlet's delay is caught up in determining the authenticity of the Ghost before acting, he says "The spirit I have seen may be a
