The Role of Family and Relatives in Shakespeare’s Hamlet Family plays a significant role in an individual’s life. It is through the family that children first learn to socialize with others. Through this socialization, the children’s self-worth, behavior, attitude and values are shaped. De Massis, Sharma, Chua, Chrisman and Elgar believe that family members who have close interaction may face challenges arising from said closeness (20). Despite these challenges, most family members are able to overcome them and become each other’s strength. On the other hand, there are also parents who do not have a good relationship with their children. The perfect example of this instance is The Tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare. In line with this …show more content…
Although there is a little information given in Hamlet about the relationship and bond of these two, the amount of respect that Hamlet gives his deceased father indicates the kind of relationship that they have. Hamlet admires his father so much, as he compares him to “Hyperion.” Despite this admiration, Hamlet himself feels less significant. In the play, it is noteworthy that the ghost of King Hamlet uses his son to serve his own purpose. This is not surprising for a king who has been recently murdered and considering that he now suffers in purgatory. While it is true that Hamlet's five-act delay in killing Claudius may mean that he doubts his father's wisdom, the delay actually signifies Hamlet's struggles knowing that killing a human being is immoral. King Hamlet is a good father to his son. This is evidenced with how Hamlet constantly references his father to the Greek and Roman mythological characters. While conversing with his mother, Hamlet refers him to “Hyperion's curls; the front of Jove himself; / An eye like Mars, to threaten and command; / A station like the herald Mercury / New-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill” (Bosak 67). This is in contrast to “a mildew'd ear, / Blasting his wholesome brother” as a comparison to his uncle, Claudius (Bosak 87). Although Hamlet's perception about his father improved upon King Hamlet's death, it is evident that the two have had a good relationship with each
At first Hamlet is weary to kill Claudius, but he soon realizes that in order for his father to be avenged he needs to kill Claudius. “Let not the royal bed of Denmark be/ A couch for luxury and damned incest/ But howsomever thou pursues this act” (Shakespeare I.v.82-84). In this scene Hamlet is talking to his father’s ghost, he does not know whether he should trust the ghost or not because it could be representing the devil. After Hamlet sees the ghost, he is fearful that the ghost is not his father, because he has a stable relationship with his father we is willing to try. “They (boys without a father figure) call attention to their pain, getting into trouble, getting hurt, doing things that are bad for them, as if they are calling for a father to come take them in hand and straighten them out or at least tell them how a grown men would handle the pain” (Pittman). Family therapist, Frank Pittman proposes that kids who do not have fathers present in their life tend to get out of control. When Hamlet no longer has a father, he starts to act crazy, he is very rude to Ophelia and his mother, he starts to talk to himself, and have suicidal thoughts. Many emotional problems come into play when a stepfather does not have a relationship with his stepson. “That it should come to thus:/ But two months dead-nay, not so much, not two-/ So excellent a king, that was to this/ Hyperion to a satyr” (Shakespeare I.ii.137-141). Hamlet describes his father as a Hyperion, which is the ancient Greek sun god, Hamlet had a sound relationship with is deceased father, but now that he is gone Hamlet has to deal with his stepfather Claudius; who Hamlet calls a Satyr, which is a mythological creature, associated with drunken lust. Hamlet has an unsteady relationship with his stepfather, he
Throughout the play Hamlet is in constant conflict with himself. An appearance of a ghost claiming to be his father, “I am thy father’s spirit”(I.v.14) aggravates his grief, nearly causing him to commit suicide and leaving him deeply disgusted and angered. Upon speaking with his ghost-father, Hamlet learns that his uncle-stepfather killed Hamlet the King. “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown”(I.v.45-46) Hamlet is beside himself and becomes obsessed with plotting and planning revenge for the death of his father.
A feud within yourself is sometimes worse than having a conflict with another person. Not like debating on rather a dress makes you look fat or not; more like if you should follow your heart or to be obedient to your family. Now, outside looking in you may think this is an easy decision to make but to a delicate, fragile, and beautiful young lady it is not. To be more specific this beauty goes by the name Ophelia, she plays as the lover of Hamlet in the outstanding playwright Hamlet. Ophelia is portrayed as an easily swayed young lady who cannot choose between love and life due to hamlets “mad” act. A love so divine that it leads to a family torn apart and her life being the consequence of it all.
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet revolves around Hamlet’s quest to avenge his father’s murder. Claudius’ first speech as King at the beginning of Scene 2, Act 1 introduces the themes of hierarchy, incest and appearance versus reality and plays the crucial role of revealing Claudius’ character as part of the exposition. The audience is left skeptical after Horatio’s questioning of King Hamlet’s ghost in the first scene of the play. By placing Claudius’ pompous speech immediately after the frightening appearance of Hamlet’s ghost, Shakespeare contrasts the mournful atmosphere in Denmark to the fanfare at the palace and makes a statement about Claudius’ hypocrisy. Through diction, doubling and figurative language, Shakespeare reveals Claudius to be a self centered, hypocritical, manipulative and commanding politician.
Hamlet, a young prince preparing to become King of Denmark, cannot understand or cope with the catastrophes in his life. After his father dies, Hamlet is filled with confusion. However, when his father's ghost appears, the ghost explains that his brother, Hamlet's Uncle Claudius, murdered him. In awe of the supposed truth, Hamlet decides he must seek revenge and kill his uncle. This becomes his goal and sole purpose in life. However, it is more awkward for Hamlet because his uncle has now become his stepfather. He is in shock by his mother's hurried remarriage and is very confused and hurt by these circumstances. Along with these familial dysfunctions, Hamlet's love life is diminishing. It is an "emotional overload" for Hamlet (Fallon 40). The encounter with the ghost also understandably causes Hamlet great distress. From then on, his behavior is extremely out of context (Fallon 39). In Hamlet's first scene of the play, he does not like his mother's remarriage and even mentions his loss of interest in l...
The loss of a parent can have a traumatic effect on one. It can lead he or she to a place of sadness, darkness and depression. In Shakespeare's revenge tragedy "Hamlet", the passing of the King stirs up the same emotions in the prince Hamlet. Although, it would be the starting point of his journey filled with deceptions, murders and conspiracy. After a visit from his dead father as a ghost, and the revelation of his uncle's betrayal, Hamlet embarks on a path to avenge the death of his father (Shakespeare). In the midst of all the lies and deceptions, before his ultimate downfall Hamlet achieves his goal of avenging the death of his father by killing Claudius, while liberating Denmark from a deceitful ruler; his uncle Claudius.
His first words in the play is an aside saying "A little more than kin and less than kind" (Shakespeare. 1.2.64-65). Hamlet is already distrustful of those around him, shown in the way Shakespeare uses an aside. This displays a lack of trust and ability to speak his mind out loud. Due to the death of his father and the quick and untimely coronation of Claudius as the new king, Hamlet becomes hostile and distrustful of the people around him as people tell him to move forward and accept his father 's death, just as they have. While he believes his sorrow and mourning is genuine, Hamlet discloses to his mother that the other 's mourning is fake and only "seems"(1.2.83) real. Hamlet believes that their loyalty is fickle and unreliable, there by isolating himself and relying on his inner circle of friends and family to deal with his loss and to loss that support, would leave Hamlet
At this instant in the play, the audience perceives Hamlet in his most dismal hour. Although Hamlet often times refers back to the question of why he was chosen to lead this life, Hamlet, wishing to vanish from existence, never brings himself to such rashness. Although the depth of his misery is patently agonizing, Hamlet’s sorrow associated with the loss of his father may not be as deep-seated as Shakespeare initially depicts it to be. On numerous occasions, Shakespeare portrays Hamlet in a state of self-loathing in respect to the task his father’s spirit assigned to him. Although Hamlet is inarguably still grieving the loss of his father, a considerable portion of his grief then stems from his own reluctance to act. Although, undeniably, the centralization of his actions are around the vengeance of his father’s death, through the murder of Claudius, Hamlet’s hesitancy to act furthermore portrays his grief within himself. Despite being given numerous opportunities to execute his sole task,
As illustrated through his speeches and soliloquies Hamlet has the mind of a true thinker. Reinacting the death of his father in front of Claudius was in itself a wonderful idea. Although he may have conceived shcemes such as this, his mind was holding him back at the same time. His need to analyze and prove everythin certain drew his time of action farther and farther away. Hamlet continuously doubted himself and whether or not the action that he wanted to take was justifiable. The visit that Hamlet recieves from his dead father makes the reader think that it is Hamlet's time to go and seek revenge. This is notthe case. Hamlet does seem eager to try and take the life of Claudius in the name of his father, but before he can do so he has a notion, what if that was not my father, but an evil apparition sending me on the wrong path? This shows that even with substantial evidence of Claudius' deeds, Hamlet's mind is not content.
In my readings of Hamlet, sexism was a immense element in the story. It is not fairly unambiguous where the incest comes in and who is involved, but the unorthodox relationships that have taken place shows how things were during the Elizabethan Age, or were they? My goal in this paper is to research the gender roles between the males and females in the story and to prove how women were treated during these times, and to determine who was involved in incest and sexism. The characters in focus will be Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, and son of the deceased King Hamlet; Polonius, counselor to Claudius; Laertes, Polonius’ son who has returned home due to King Hamlet’s death; Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother and Queen of Denmark; and Ophelia, daughter of Polonius and the sister of Laertes, also Hamlet’s girlfriend.
Both Claudius and Hamlet are similar in many ways. They both have trouble taking action and are very indecisive. This can be seen when Claudius wants to pray and repent for his sins but has trouble praying because he does not want to give up everything that he has gained from that sin. He refuses to let everyone know that it was in fact him that killed the king and deal with the consequences that would follow, like him losing the power and respect he gained from being king. This indecisiveness can also be seen in Hamlet when he has trouble deciding whether to avenge his father’s death or if Claudius even killed his father. Even though the ghost of his father came to him and told Hamlet that Claudius poisoned him to take his position as king, Hamlet has trouble acting
Incest and Sexism What role incest and sexism play in Shakespeare ’s play Hamlet? This complex play exhibits themes such as incest, sexism, death, revenge, and love. The two that we will be focusing on are incest and sexism.
The relationship between Hamlet and Claudius is problematic, largely due to the fact that they both wish death upon the other. For instance, they view each other as a threat, which is a foreboding sign within a royal family. When Hamlet learns that his father was murdered by his own uncle - Claudius, Hamlet vows to avenge his father’s death by killing Claudius when he is told, “But know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown” (1.5.38-40). In other words, the ghost of Old King Hamlet informs Hamlet that Claudius has murdered him. He compares Claudius to a serpent, a large deadly
Claudius is seen in Hamlets eyes as a horrible person because he convicted murder and incest. Claudius had killed the king of Denmark, Old Hamlet, to obtain the position of the throne. He had been jealous of Old Hamlet’s wife Gertrude and wanted to marry her for her power. Although, such an act would be called incest and considered unnatural he did not care, all he had cared about was the power that he would be stealing from Hamlet and Old Hamlet, Gertrude’s son and husband (R). When Hamlet had talked to his f...
Claudius killed Hamlet’s dad and then married his mom to become the leader of Denmark. Later in the play, Hamlet sees his dad’s ghost and is informed of the horrific act committed by his uncle. Hamlets’ dad’s ghost says, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (I. V. 25). Hamlets’ dad says this to Hamlet so that his uncle could get retribution for his actions. Hamlet has many opportunities to kill Claudius, but is unable because of the wrong timing.