To what extent is spirituality woven into the fabric of Shakespeare’s tragic drama Hamlet? This essay proposes to answer that question.
David Bevington, in the Introduction of Twentieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet, finds a very obvious spiritual dimension to the drama:
According to popular Elizabethan belief, both Catholic and Protestant, spirits from the dead could indeed “assume a pleasing shape,” in order to abuse a person in Hamlet’s vulnerable frame of mind and so lead him to damnation.[. . .] Hamlet must face the ghost once again to explain why he “lets go by Th’ important acting of your dread command”; yet his purpose in confronting Gertrude with her weakness is the laudable one of returning her to at least an outward custom of virtue.[. . .] Hamlet has always believed that heavenly justice will prevail among men: “Foul deeds will rise, Though all the earth o’erwhelm them, to men’s eyes” (6).
The spiritual aspect of the play is made apparent in the second scene when Hamlet wears black to the courtly celebration in the room of state in the castle of Elsinore. His motves for this are spiritual in nature. The first soliloquy, or “act of talking to oneself, whether silently or aloud” (Abrams 289), occurs when the hero is left alone after the royal social gathering. He is dejected by the “o’erhasty marriage” of his mother to his uncle less than two months after the funeral of Hamlet’s father (Gordon 128). His first soliloquy emphasizes two religious/moral themes: the corruption of the world at large, and the frailty of women – an obvious reference to his mother’s hasty and incestuous marriage:
O, that this too too solid flesh would melt
Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!
Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!
How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable,
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on't! ah fie! 'tis an unweeded garden,
That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely. That it should come to this!
But two months dead: nay, not so much, not two:
So excellent a king; that was, to this,
Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly.
After demolishing the theories of other critics, Bradley concluded that the essence of Hamlet’s character is contained in a three-fold analysis of it. First, that rather than being melancholy by temperament, in the usual sense of “profoundly sad,” he is a person of unusual nervous instability, one liable to extreme and profound alterations of mood, a potential manic-depressive type. Romantic, we might say. Second, this Hamlet is also a person of “exquisite moral sensibility, “ hypersensitive to goodness, a m...
There has been a lot of statistics that have been recorded on the topic of police pursuits. In the 1998 Pennsylvania Police Pursuit Report, there were a total of 1,900 pursuits. The pursuits have raised from 1, 880 chases in 1997 to twenty more in 1998. Most of the pursuits did not end up in any type of collision. There was also a very small injury rate that was shown in...
Manning, John. "Symbola and Emblemata in Hamlet." New Essays on Hamlet. Ed. Mark Thornton Burnett and John Manning. New York: AMS Press, 1994. 11-18.
However, these people were increasingly subjected to brutal wars and increased displacement from their traditional lands following the westward expansion throughout the continent that was brought by the concept of Manifest Destiny. This trend contributed to death of the Enlightenment concepts of the equality of man. Consequently, by 1830, Native Americans were generally considered and accepted as racially inferior to other Americans and were not treated as equals. This contributed to the development of public policies toward Native Americans that were ethnocentric since the design of these policies focused on exterminating this population and capturing their land. In situations where Native American groups were not exterminated, there were initiatives to destroy their culture including religion and
The three forms of social learning theory are differential association theory, differential reinforcement theory, and neutralization theory. Differential association theory states that behavior of criminality is learned by association with criminal values, patterns, and attitudes. It does not explain how one individual can be exposed and learn these patterns, but does not get influenced by them. Differential reinforcement theory also explains that crime is learned, but combines the points of differential association theory and learning behavior psychologically. It combines theories included in trait theory, which deals with the psychological aspect, and reward and punishment, and the concepts of differential association theory. Neutralization theory is also a learning theory. Subterranean culture and the individuals that follow values within are not always consistent. The theory suggests that criminals slip in between criminality and regular society, and their actions can even lead to the defense of law-abiding
HIN is brought to just about every major city in the United States so that no one is left out. It’s a great chance for every one of all ages to get out and have some fun. As long as there is a passion for cars in their hearts it will be the most fun they have all year. Since there is so many people there from all over its amazing how different people are; social class, wealth, race, or gender doesn’t affect how people look at each other here, it is all about the cars. NOTHING else all year will give anyone a better chance to bond with dad than to spend a weekend with cars and just hang out. Most people go in large groups ranging anywhere from five friends all the way up to a hundred car crazed maniacs. It is very easy to find someone to go with, so nobody has an excuse not to go!
The duo quickly discovers that Sir Henry Baskerville is being followed in London by a mysterious bearded stranger, and they speculate as to whether the mystery man is a friend or an enemy. Holmes, however, says he is too busy in London to accompany Mortimer and Sir Henry to Devonshire to investigate the bottom of the case, so he sends Dr. Watson to be his eyes and ears, asking him to report back regularly.
Over the period of around 100 days, with the death toll ranging somewhere between 800,000 to 1,100,000 the Rwandan genocide has become infamous for the high numbers of dead in such a short amount of time, and for the inadequate response of the UN an...
Manning, John. "Symbola and Emblemata in Hamlet." New Essays on Hamlet. Ed. Mark Thornton Burnett and John Manning. New York: AMS Press, 1994. 11-18.
As Sherlock examines the estate, he could not help but notice particularly strange features throughout the building. One being a fake bell rope that hung down a ventilator and Helen’s bed being clamped on the floor. Dr. Roylott had forced Helen to sleep in Julia’s room because of construction work done on the estate and considering they never had to do modifications on the house, it had seemed suspicious. In the estate, there were many exotic animals from India such as cheetahs, baboons, and snakes. As Sherlock observed Dr. Roylott’s room he saw a worn out chair that was seemed as if it was out of place. Before Sherlock could leave, he was threatened by Dr. Roylott to not interfere with his life. However, Sherlock remained composed and was undismayed by Dr. Roylott’s threat. These events reveal that Sherlock is observant and clever. Dr. Roylott was the complete opposite since he was aggressive and intimidating. Sherlock and Watson arrange a plan to sneak into Helen’s room at night and she would discreetly stay awake as they would catch the killer and as night sets in their plan would go to action. When the time of their plan had come, the mood shifts from serious to petrifying while the tone shifts from anxious to
In Hamlet’s speech, Shakespeare’s efforts to target his Elizabethan audience develop the theme of the frailty of man. Shakespeare conveys this underlying theme of the play by subt...
Mack, Maynard. "The World of Hamlet." Yale Review. vol. 41 (1952) p. 502-23. Rpt. in Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is arguably one of the best plays known to English literature. It presents the protagonist, Hamlet, and his increasingly complex path through self discovery. His character is of an abnormally complex nature, the likes of which not often found in plays, and many different theses have been put forward about Hamlet's dynamic disposition. One such thesis is that Hamlet is a young man with an identity crisis living in a world of conflicting values.
In the novel, Sherlock Holmes The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are given a case that is paranormal. They decide to split up and Dr. Watson is given the task to stay by Sir Henry’s side while looking for clues. They cross paths against and Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson meet to discuss this case as a murder. They find major clues against Mr. Stapleton leading to his death. The novel explores the theme of not being ruled by fear through characters dealing with the apparent supernatural myth coming to life.
Gunnar Bokland in “Judgment in Hamlet” explains Shakespeare’s attraction to the psychological dimension of the drama: