'Frailty Thy Name is Woman' How does Shakespeare present women and sex in Hamlet?
'Frailty, thy name is woman.' How does Shakespeare present women and sex in 'Hamlet'? At the beginning of Hamlet, Hamlet is reprimanded by Claudius because of grieving for his father, King Hamlet. Claudius calls Hamlet unmanly 'Of impious stubbornness, 'tis unmanly grief.' Claudius' use of the word 'Unmanly' suggests Hamlet is frail like a woman, this shows in Hamlet not just women are weak in this play but men also display forms of frailty. Claudius' use of the word 'unmanly' surely suggests Hamlet is feminine, and if Hamlet is feminine surely as a man, that also makes him weak. The phrase 'Frailty, thy name is woman,' appears in Hamlet's first soliloquy. Here Hamlet condemns Gertrude, his mother, for having a swift remarriage to his uncle, Claudius. In 'Hamlet' Shakespeare presents women as the weaker sex, used for the purpose of men's satisfaction sexually. For a woman to consider, or commit a sexual deed, it is seen as corruption. Today, a modern audience may see Hamlet's, Polonius' and Laertes' actions toward Gertrude and Ophelia as a form of sexual abuse. Women were the victims of a Patriarchal society, corrupted by sex and hated by misogynistic men. Patriarchy describes a social structure where the behaviour and ideas of men and boys are overriding over those of women and girls. This situation of male authority is reflected in correlative unfairness throughout the
The Indecision of Hamlet
The Indecision of Hamlet For Hamlet nothing is simple, everything raises questions. His dilemma is not about what decisions he should take but rather whether he will be able to make any decisions at all. According to some interpretations, Hamlet makes no decisions and instead projects the image of an indecisive, inactive and passive individual, a romantic incapable of action who is sniveling and pathetic; he is nothing but a compulsive talker taking pleasure in his own words. Jean-Louis Barrault said of him that he is 'the hero of unparalleled hesitation'. He astonishes us with soliloquies of unequalled beauty, his emotions are of stunning force, but he does not evolve beyond them. This is why T.S. Eliot regarded Hamlet as a failure and said that it presented a character 'dominated by an emotion which is inexpressible because it exceeds the events that occur'. Why so much emotion and so little action? That is his nature, say some critics: this is what he is, the absolute opposite of Macbeth. Others see him as stunted by an Oedipus complex which has turned him into a belated adolescent, somewhat mad, mired in sterile existentialist ponderings (this alone would disqualify him as king!). Others still see him as suffering from an overdose of chastity. Others go further: is he not simply a puritan or a homosexual? A drunkard, even? Could he be the unfortunate hero, the
Hamlet fascinates many readers and the first thing to point out about him is that he is mysterious. Shakespeare's work demonstrates Hamlet's dilemma as the role of revenger showing a man of thought forced to be a man of action. Hamlet is extremely phil...
Hamlet fascinates many readers and the first thing to point out about him is that he is mysterious. Shakespeare's work demonstrates Hamlet's dilemma as the role of revenger showing a man of thought forced to be a man of action. Hamlet is extremely philosophical and introspective. He is particularly drawn to difficult questions or questions that cannot be answered with any certainty. Faced with evidence that his uncle murdered his father, Hamlet becomes obsessed with proving his uncle's guilt before trying to act. He is equally overwhelmed with questions about the afterlife, about the wisdom of suicide, and about what happens to bodies after they die. However, even though he is thoughtful to the point of obsession, Hamlet also behaves rashly and impulsively. When he does act, it is with surprising as when he stabs Polonius through a curtain without even checking to see who he is. He seems to step very easily into the role of a madman, behaving erratically and upsetting the other characters with his wild speech and pointed innuendos. It is also important to note that Hamlet is extremely depressed and unhappy with the state of affairs in Denmark and in his own family. At a number of points in the play, he contemplates his own death and even the option of suicide. Hamlet is a man of thought' forced to become a 'man of action' because right from the start of the play, he is
Hamlet causes the deaths of many people by the end of Act 5. To what extent does Shakespeare cause us to have sympathy for his Tragic Hero?
Hamlet causes the deaths of many people by the end of Act 5. To what extent does Shakespeare cause us to have sympathy for his Tragic Hero? Shakespeare causes us to have sympathy for his tragic hero Hamlet; because of the moral dilemmas he is situated in. The murder of King Hamlet, Hamlets father who was killed by Claudius is one of his situations. Claudius, the brother of king Hamlet then married his wife we are also aware he only killed him for the throne. Therefore Hamlet has to seek revenge for his uncle. But there are parts of the play where we have no sympathy for Hamlet whatsoever. For example when he kills the innocent Polonius, thinking it was Claudius and he also kills a few more people within the play. Also throughout the story Hamlet is stuck in many religious and moral dilemmas. We have sympathy for Hamlet when, unlike Denmark, he has religious convictions. This is proven due to the fact of Denmark being a corrupt country. This again is proven by the Danish people working on a Sunday, which is considered a rest day in the Christian Bible, and as Denmark is a Christian country, they should not be working. This contrasts to Hamlet who is portrayed as a holy man. It was said "something rotten in this state of Denmark". The word rotten is a metaphor for the monarchy. We see that the King Claudius is the one who is rotten after murdering his brother, King
In the play Hamlet by Shakespeare, what is the dramatic significance of act III scene IV?
ARUN S DSOUZA SR 4 C ST MARY'S CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH COURSEWORK - PRE 1914 PROSE 23RD APRIL 2003 Q. IN THE PLAY "HAMLET" BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, WHAT IS THE DRAMATIC SIGNIFICANE OF ACT III SCENE IV? Hamlet is known to be the most popular play written by Shakespeare. It is also, by a significant margin, the longest of Shakespeare's plays. It has been translated to many languages and has become the subject of excited and critical debate more than any other work of literature. The play was written around 1602 or 1603 at a period of time when Elizabethan London was a melting pot of unprecedented intellectual and artistic ferment. In Elizabethan England the conviction that retaliation for murder was solely the prerogative of the state and its legal institutions clashed with an irrational but powerful feeling that private individuals cannot be blamed for taking vengeance into their own hands, for ensuring that the punishment truly answers the crime. This response, arguably always lateen in criminal cases, was likely to become especially forceful when, as sometimes happens, the law proved impotent or else too corrupt to pass sentence. As Bacon conceded, 'the most tolerable sort of revenge is for those wrongs which there is no law to punish; else a man's enemy is still before hand, and it is two for one'. Reasoning of this kind presumably gave the 1584 Bond of
Hamlet - Character study of Ophelia.
2nd Draft In the play written by William Shakespeare, "Hamlet", Ophelia is seen to be a very interesting and intriguing character. Shakespeare has written Ophelia in a way that leaves the audience puzzled as to her true character. Many critics have placed Ophelia's character at completely contrasting ends of a continuum some people believe that Ophelia is not the innocent young girl others believe she is. Some people believe Ophelia to be a wanton, sexually knowledgeable young woman, while others believe that she is harmless and pious. This is due to the manner that Shakespeare has written Ophelia's character, it means that Ophelia's language and actions can be interpreted in many different factions. This can be shown by the way in which Ophelia reacts in different circumstances, while some believe that it shows that she is sexually knowledgeable others believe it shows a lack of knowledge and even slight embarrassment. I believe that Ophelia was written by Shakespeare to be an innocent young woman that is corrupted by the events occurring around her. I believe that Hamlet treats Ophelia brutally and that her innocence and shy character during these events lead to her depression and her end. Ophelia occurs in the play as the daughter to the king's councillor and the true love interest of Hamlet. Ophelia is written by Shakespeare to be an innocent bystander to the events
“A problem facing any production of Hamlet is how to interpret his madness”. Do you agree?
Iain Lill "A problem facing any production of Hamlet is how to interpret his madness" Do you agree? Hamlet is a play that has been written without strict guidelines as to how to interpret the actions of characters on stage. This leaves a lot to the director or producers personal preference, as has been revealed in many modern productions of Hamlet. The earliest performances of Hamlet took the play very much at face value, especially Burbage in the early 1600s. This was a traditional view of Hamlet, where he fakes his madness after his encounter with the ghost, but is still in full control of himself. Another interpretation of the madness is that Hamlet himself goes mad after the death of his father and the ghost never exists. This view contradicts Shakespeare's own text, but has been used by Mark Rylance in the late 20th century. Shakespeare wrote the play for the entertainment of large crowds, and deep psychological forces, such as the possible schizophrenia of Hamlet if the ghost did not exist, would not be suitable for this type of production. Another 20th Century interpretation is that by Richard Eyre, where Hamlet is possessed by the ghost, and this causes his madness. The traditional interpretation of Hamlet has been used in the earliest performances such as Burbage, right up to contemporary productions, notably Lawrence Olivier and Zefirelli. However these two
While not a major protagonist or agent in the play, Ophelia is nonetheless a key figure in 'Hamlet'
While not a major protagonist or agent in the play, Ophelia is nonetheless a key figure in 'Hamlet' Although Ophelia is not a main character in the revenge tragedy 'Hamlet' her dramatic purpose is vital to the play. It emphasizes the poisoned body politic and its affects on the innocent. The role of women in the sixteenth century is to be obedient and dutiful, the only way to accomplish this was to be passive. Women in the sixteenth century were meant to be obedient to their fathers, for they were their property until such a time came when she was married, it would then be her husband to whom her duties lied. Denmark is in a state of chaos shown by the opening death of the true King Hamlet who was murdered by his own brother Claudius, Claudius then seduced his brothers wife and took over the thrown of Denmark. Due to this chaos innocence, loyalties and love are corrupted and all that was good and dutiful falls into darkness under the ruling of evil. Ophelia is a women of the court her duty is to her father Polonius, and her brother Laertes. It is her fathers intentions to marry Ophelia off to a suitable and profitable match. We first meet Ophelia whilst she is saying farewell to her active brother, Laertes, who is going with friends to university leaving Ophelia with only her father to tend to her needs. Unlike her brother, Ophelia is passive, a dutiful daughter and
Hamlet - negative criticism, quotes from famous writers.
NEGATIVE CRITICISM ON HAMLET Voltaire (1752) Dr. Johnson's Criticism 1756 (partially negative) Eliot "Hamlet and His Problems," (1919) "the play is most certainly an artistic failure." [...] "Hamlet (the man) is dominated by an emotion which is inexpressible, because it is in excess of the facts as they appear. . . . We should have to understand things which Shakespeare did not understand himself." Hamlet's Character Viewed As Evil "in which Hamlet, represented as a virtuous character, is not content with taking blood for blood, but contrives damnation for the man that he would punish, is too horrible to be read or to be uttered." G. Wilson Knight The Wheel of Fire (1930) "Hamlet is inhuman. He has seen through humanity. And this inhuman cynicism, however justifiable in this case, on the plane of causality and individual responsibility, is a deadly and venomous thing. Instinctively the creatures of earth - Laertes, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, league themselves with Claudius: they are of his kind. . . . But Hamlet is not of flesh and blood, he is a spirit of penetrating intellect and cynicism and misery, without faith in himself or any one else, murdering his love of Ophelia, on the brink of insanity, taking delight in cruelty, torturing Claudius, wringing his mother's heart, a poison in the midst of the healthy bustle of the court. He is a
Describe in detail, Hamlet's state of
Describe in detail, Hamlet's state of mind as expressed in his first soliloquy and the reasons for it. From Hamlet's first soliloquy in act I scene II, it is clear to the audience that he is not in a clear, rational, or healthy state of mind: speaking of his desire for suicide. He describes his body as "sullied"- tainted and dirty, wishing for it to "melt" or dissolve into nothingness. So pessimistic and cynical is hamlets worldview at this time, that he describes the world as "flat and unprofitable...things rank and gross in nature possess it merely" In Hamlet's state of mind he cannot see good in anything of the world, his despair has caused him to doubt that there is any goodness or innocence left in the world for him to benefit from. Hamlet refers to the world in a metaphor as "an un-weeded garden", directing the audience to the cause of his depression. Perhaps he is indicating that like a garden, that which should be beautiful and natural has become confused and perverted. This is perhaps referring to his mother's "incestuous" marriage to his uncle: marriage should be a beautiful, natural pure thing, but it is now perverted by incest. Hamlet concludes at the end of his soliloquy that just like an un-weeded garden "it is not, nor it cannot come to good." This implies to the audience that action must soon take place to combat the growth of these "incestuous" weeds,
