Hamlet
Analysis of "Black Hamlet: Battening on the Moor" by Patricia Parker
In the journal article "Black Hamlet: Battening on the Moor" (2003) in Shakespeare Studies, author Patricia Parker centered on 'blackness' as one of the emergent symbolisms in illiam Shakespeare's play "Hamlet." Parker used blackness as the symbolical representation of important themes that were underscored in the play. Synonymously associating blackness with impurity, malice, death, deviltry, vengeance, and melancholy, the analysis showed how blackness as both a symbol and a concept led to the creation of conflict among the characters in the play, specifically that of Hamlet, Old Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, and even Ophelia. Moreover, Parker illustrates how, through the persistence of blackness and its associated themes, "Hamlet" can be truly considered a tragedy.
This paper looks into the use of blackness and themes associated with it as the catalysts that led to tragic end of the characters in "Hamlet." Centering…...
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Work cited
Parker, P. (2003). "Black Hamlet: Battening on the Moor." Shakespeare Studies, Vol. 31.
He questions whether he should try to clear the court of corruption or just give up and end his life now. It is this emotional doubt that drives Hamlet to act deranged at times, but he overcomes it, and almost manages to answer the difficult questions posed in his life. In Act V, when calm returns, Hamlet repents his behavior (V, ii, 75-78) (Lidz, 164).
In Lidz's book Freud is quoted as saying "that if anyone holds and expresses to others an opinion of himself such as this [Hamlet's "Use every man after his desert, and who shall escape whipping?"], he is ill, whether he is speaking the truth whether he is being more or less unfair to himself." Though Hamlet has proved his intellectual stability, he is quite obviously emotionally "ill."
This emotional illness and uncertainty is why Hamlet procrastinates in the killing of Claudius. On his way to see…...
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Works Cited
Babcock, Weston. A Tragedy of Errors. Purdue Research Foundation 1961.
Charlton, Lewis. The Genesis of Hamlet. Kenniket Press, Port Washington, NY 1907.
Elliot, T.S. "Hamlet and His Problems." Sacred Woods. 1920.
Leavenworth, Russel E. Interpreting Hamlet: Materials for analysis Chandler Publishing CO, San Francisco 1960.
Hamlet is by far one of Shakespeare's more enigmatic characters. e understand from the beginning of the play with Horatio and Marcellus that they think very highly of Hamlet as they decide to tell him first about the ghostly vision they saw whom they believe to be his father. However, when we meet Hamlet, we are confused. Is he depressed -- or is he simply cruel (Davies 30)? Or is Hamlet, a man who is overly sensitive, deeply melancholy, and armed with a reflective mind, simply mad? It is this dichotomy of characteristics that always leave us guessing about Hamlet's psychological state. Hamlet himself does not deny this. In fact, he says to his mother, the queen, that there is much more to him than people see.
'Seems', madam -- nay it is, I know not 'seems'.
'Tis not alone my inky cloak, cold mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor the windy…...
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Works Cited
Davies, Michael. Hamlet Character Studies (Continuum Character Studies). Continuum, 2008.
Paris, Bernard J. Bargains with Fate: Psychological Crises and Conflicts in Shakespeare and His
Plays. Transaction Publishers, 2009. Print.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet (Arden Shakespeare: Third Series). Arden Shakespeare; 3rd
..render up myself...Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night...And for the day confined to fast in fires, / Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature/Are burnt and purged away." (I.5). At first, Hamlet believes the ghost is from Purgatory because of the vividness of these images. Then Hamlet constructs a test for the ghost as he worries: "the devil hath power/to assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps/Out of my weakness and my melancholy, / as he is very potent with such spirits" (2.2). In short, Hamlet begins to doubt the doctrine because the ghost ostensibly from Purgatory has asked him to commit a murder, to kill a king.
Hamlet seldom displays a consistent attitude to Purgatory in the play. In his most famous soliloquy, Hamlet says that death is a place from which "no traveler returns" indicating he doubts the ghost (III.1). Hamlet wrestles with…...
Bradley describes this by saying that "Othello's nature is all of one piece... Love, if he loves, must be to him the heaven where either he must leave or bear no life. If such a passion as jealousy seizes him, it will swell into a well-night incontrollable flood" (Bradley 188). This shows how Othello goes to the extremes, especially relating to his emotions. Bradley also says that "He is quite free from introspection, and is not given to reflection. Emotion excites his imagination, but it confuses and dulls his intellect" (Bradley 188). This shows that like Hamlet, Othello is not able to consider the source of his emotions. This occurs as a natural part of Othello's character, while for Hamlet it is specifically linked to the particular situation and the particular emotion. However, the end result is the same with both characters unable to consider their emotions and rationalize…...
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Works Cited
Bradley, A.C. Shakespearean Tragedy. New York: Penguin, 1991.
Eliot, T.S. "Hamlet and his Problems." The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism. 1922. Bartelby.com. Retrieved October 29, 2005. URL: http://www.bartleby.com/200/sw9.html
She...handles Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with skill and diplomacy...has the accent of command with her son...witty and perceptive about Polonius...she is not stupid at her job: there she gives out and reserves herself in good proportion." (Pennington 160) Gertrude's performance in the court shows Branagh makes a commitment as a director to giving the female characters of the play individualistic integrity beyond their ability to mirror different Oedipal aspects of the central protagonist's development. "There isn't an iota of sexual energy or tension in Hamlet's confrontation with his mother," unlike Oliver's version, where a bed is featured in the confrontation scene between Hamlet and his mother in Act IV, Scene 3. (Rosenberg, 1996) Julie Christie's Gertrude is morally conflicted about what she has done, and increasingly aware that she might have married a murderer after the confrontation of the closet scene. But Oliver's Gertrude is simply infatuated with her son.…...
The film may skip scenes like this, and others, to tell the story more quickly, and arguably more dramatically. This may also be because films are expensive to make, so every omitted scene saves money. Polonius has more scenes in the play than the film. In the play, he is a key character, second only to Hamlet, Gertrude, and Claudius. In the film, he almost seems like a minor character.
The relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia is shown more in the film, possibly because the filmmaker wants to emphasize their romance. In the film, Ophelia and Hamlet are often alone together. In the play they are usually with others: In Act II, again, scenes from the play are shortened or omitted from the film. Scene I of Act II, has an exchange between Polonius and Reynaldo (1-72) then on- between Polonius and Ophelia (74-120). In the film we only see…...
Hamlet Comparison
Hamlet is arguably illiam Shakespeare's most famous of his many still existing plays. Even people who have not read the play know the basic plot of the story. Prince Hamlet of Denmark is in mourning over the death of his father who, as it turns out has been murdered by his uncle so that Claudius can take over the throne and marry the queen, his brothers' widow. Hamlet decides to act crazy in order to determine if his Uncle Claudius is indeed guilty of the act. Over the course of the story, people die and the play's climax is the final duel between Hamlet and young Laertes where both men die as well as King Claudius and Queen Gertrude. There are countless film versions of the play which represent the attitudes and artistic styles of the filmmakers who created them. One of the earlier film versions created by Laurence…...
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Works Cited:
Hamlet. Dir. Franco Zeffirelli. Perf. Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. Nelson Entertainment, 1990.
DVD.
Hamlet. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. Screenplay by Kenneth Branagh. Prod. David Barron. Perf.
Kenneth Branagh and Derek Jacobi. Castle Rock Entertainment, 1996. DVD.
Hamlet act3 sene3 Machiavelli chapter 7-15-25-26 Lens Machiavelli concept Hamlet Intro - text author, content, method Paragraph1- Machiavelli concept explain applied hamlet compare Hamlet act3 sene3 Machiavelli chapter 7-15-25-26 work enables misunderstand play's ending significant relevant divergence hamlet Machiavelli Second essay compare Hamlet act 4.
First essay
Unlike Prince Hamlet, who is a man who is concerned with the morality of kingship as well as is an aggrieved son avenging his father, King Claudius of Shakespeare's Hamlet is primarily concerned with holding onto his power. Claudius does have some moral qualms about his actions, but not enough to repent. This is seen when Claudius tries to pray for forgiveness but is unable to do so: "O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven" (3.3). However, the political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli would diagnose Claudius' problem as being insufficiently ruthless up to this point in his dealings with his nephew. Claudius is…...
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Works Cited
Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince. Written c. 1505, published 1515. Translated by W.K.
Hamlet" by William Shakespeare
The play "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare has a story that revolves around the main themes of revenge and search for the truth. Shakespeare's male characters, in particular, are portrayed somewhat villainously because of the element of revenge inherent in each character's motivations in the play. Among the male characters in the play, the characters of Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras emerge as the most remarkable among the numerous character in Shakespeare's piece. Many characteristics are shared among these three primary male characters. The first characteristic is that they possess the vitality of their youth, and the second one is that all of them face the world in an idealistic and somewhat naive perspective. Their being young, naive, and idealistic are the main reasons why, throughout the play, they have resorted to radical actions and behavior that will cause either their victory or downfall.
Ghost of Hamlet and the Sanctity of Death
The play Hamlet occupies such an important and fascinating place in public consciousness and in all of world literature for good reason: it explores some of the most eternal themes that the human condition has ever encountered. The themes presented throughout Hamlet tough upon some of the most timeless issues the human race has ever encountered -- these are themes like love and honor, along with death and eternality, obligation and duty, and most of all, vengeance. While the major characters of the play often visibly struggle with these themes, the minor characters of the play work towards the plays resolution, also not only moving the plot forward, but shedding light on issues that also must be given a longer look. The ghost of King Hamlet functions precisely in this regard and works to remind the spectator and the reader of the…...
Shakespeare's Hamlet and Herman Hesse's Siddhartha meet the words Eliot's "Little Gidding"
One of T.S. Eliot's most famous poetic protagonists, that of J. Alfred Prufrock, may lament that he is not Prince Hamlet, only a fool like Yorick or Polonius of the tragedy that bears the prince's name. But a closer examination of Shakespeare's play highlights the fact that the noble Prince Hamlet, is not really so noble at all, but begins the play in a state of adolescent moodiness, mourning his dead father, even though in the words of his uncle Claudius "your father lost a father, and your father lost his." Hamlet begins the play, not a young anointed king-to-be but a man angered at the limited, fleshy nature of human existence as well as the dissatisfactory reconstruction of his own family.
Hamlet sees falseness wherever he goes. He sees his mother whom once followed like "Niobe, all tears" his…...
Of course, the last thing on Hamlet's mind would be marriage since he is wrestling with the tragedy of his father's death and his mother's betrayal. In light of all of these facts it is very unlikely that Polonius would be wrong, and it seems that his observations and expectations of his daughter are quite astute.
On the opposite end of Ophelia's situation is Hamlet, who is very much the Id. Hamlet himself is extremely emotional and impulsive, allowing his Id to overcome him in many situations. He wrestles with his own conscious, and as a character, he is truly one of the most fully developed, showing evidence of the inner conflict that Freud set out to illustrate with his components of personality. However, when it comes to his relationship with Ophelia, he is very much her Id. Though she has convinced herself that Hamlet loved her, he himself states…...
Shakespeare's Hamlet and Herman Hesse's Siddhartha meet the words Eliot's "Little Gidding"
We shall not cease from exploration/And the end of all our exploring/Will be to arrive where we started/And know the place for the first time," writes T.S. Eliot in his Fourth Quatrain entitled "Little Gidding." In the tragedy that bears his name Prince Hamlet begins and ends in the same place, namely the court of his late father and the living King Claudius. He also begins and ends in the play in the hall of the court in a state of alienation from the rest of the court. However, while at the beginning of the play this alienation takes the form of a state of adolescent moodiness and mourning for his dead father at the end of the play Hamlet has a more reasoned and larger philosophical understanding of how his own family tragedy has a resonance with the…...
illiam Shakespear - Hamlet
Hamlet's responsibility for crimes occurring in "The tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark"
"The tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" is one of illiam Shakespeare's greatest works and an inspiration for the world for the last four centuries. The play generates much controversy as audiences are encouraged to get actively involved in interpreting it as a consequence of the multitude of emotions it contains. Considering ideas like blame or responsibility in this play can be a very intriguing act, taking into account the ease with which one can falsely attribute them to a character. hile the easiest thing to do is to believe that Hamlet is to blame for much of the suffering that occurs across the tragedy's duration, the reality is that the play is too complex for that, with the Prince actually being a victim -- he was unable to understand the situation he was in…...
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