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Recommended: Emotion in hamlet
The play begins with Hamlet seemingly mourning more for his mother’s premature wedding than for his father’s passing. His mother’s lack of faith to his father’s memory upsets him greatly, leading him into a state of disenchantment towards all women. His exclamation “frailty, thy name is woman” mirrors this sentiment (Hamlet 1.2).
Hamlet acts upon this sentiment when Ophelia confronts him in the lobby of the castle. In this anger fuelled rant, Hamlet expresses his disenchantment with marriage. He first denies that he ever loved her, in saying “I did love you once,” to which she responds, “indeed my lord, you made me believe so,” which he denies in saying, “you should not have believed me, I loved you not!” (Hamlet 3.1). Despite this, he reveals his very human desire to love and be loved as he exclaims in several iterations that she should not marry.
His desire that she not marry is a reflection of his love for her, albeit in a twisted and unorthodox manner. The essence of this desire is that he
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Hamlet finds Claudius kneeling at the altar of a chapel, overcome with guilt. Claudius had not yet noticed Hamlet, thus making him an easy target. Hamlet draws his sword with the intent to avenge his father, but he falters. He sheathes his sword after a short delay, deciding not to kill Claudius while he is in prayer, as he would thus ascend into Heaven instead of descending into Hell. But Hamlet’s decision to forego revenge seems as if a façade for his indecision. Hamlet’s strong moral compass conflicts with his desire to avenge his father, and thus presents the audience with the question: would it be the right course of action to kill a killer? The immediate reaction is to say yes. But as the question is given more thought, the answer becomes clouded by layers of complication and doubt. Would avenging murder with murder not make Hamlet the same as
Hamlet is one of the most controversial characters from all of the Shakespeare’s play. His character is strong and complicated, but his jealousy is what conduces him to hate women. He sees them as weak, frail, and untrustworthy. He treats Ophelia, the women he loves, unfair and with cruelty. Similarly, he blames his mother for marrying her dead husband’s brother, who is now the King of Denmark. Hamlet’s treatment for women stems from his mother’s impulsive marriage to his uncle who he hates and Ophelia choosing her father’s advice over him.
The life of Hamlet is without a doubt very interesting, he suffers from unfortunate events in his time that are often major blows to his ego. His father dies while he’s away at college, Hamlet is next in line to be king until his “uncle-father” steals it from him; but it is to be known his “uncle-father” would not have stolen it if his “aunt-mother” hadn’t allowed it. It’s very apparent from the beginning of the play that he is very well obsessed with his mother and her doings. He harasses, humiliates, and abuses her because she has done such an unforgivable act by marrying Claudius. His thoughts and feelings towards his mother are very strong and well known, he even describes the odd pair as “little more than kin and less than kind.” That’s not all with Hamlet; his mother remarrying is just the tip of the iceberg so deeply rooted in the ocean of his emotions. His relationship with Ophelia is twisted, Hamlet goes through episodes of
In the beginning of Hamlet, the Prince behaves as any normal person would following the death of a loved one. Not only is this a loved one, but an extra special someone; it is his loving father whom he adored. Hamlet is grief stricken, depressed, and even angry that his mother remarried so soon after his father’s death. Having witnessed how his father had treated his mother with great love and respect, Hamlet cannot understand how his mother could shorten the grieving period so greatly to marry someone like Uncle Claudius. He is incapable of rationalizing her deeds and he is obsessed by her actions.
In this part of the story Hamlet is very upset with his mother. His mom has just gotten married to his uncle 2 months after his father's death. In the speech he is talking about losing faith in woman especially his mother.
In the prayer scene, Hamlet misses his best opportunity to kill Claudius and avenge his father’s death. With no guards around, Claudius is alone and he is unaware that Hamlet is lurking in the shadows. The scene is set for Hamlet to take vengeance for his father’s unsettled spirit. However, Hamlet does not kill him, because Claudius is repenting for his sins, allowing him to go to heaven when he is to die. As one’s religion often dictated the afterlife of one’s soul, King Hamlet is doomed to an eternity in purgatory. Hamlet does not feel it is fair for Claudius to go to heaven, while his father is at unrest, so he decides instead to kill Claudius while he is doing something sinful. This is ironic because Claudius says he is not really praying; he is just going through the ...
In the play, Hamlet is described as an intelligent, emotional, and grief-stricken protagonist but he is consumed by his own thoughts which make him a highly-indecisive individual; Hamlet’s inability to act on his father’s murder, his mother’s hasty remarriage, and his uncle assuming of the throne are all evidence that Hamlet does not know what is going on in his own life. Perhaps Hamlet wants to place the blame on someone else after he wreaks vengeance on King Claudius, or capture the attention of certain characters so that he may find out exactly what has gone “rotten in Denmark” (Act 1, Scene 5, Line 90). Throughout the play Hamlet is deeply hurt by his mother’s decision to remarry his uncle. As Hamlet says, “Frailty thy name is woman”, her actions cause Hamlet to curse women all together (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 146).
Hamlet’s sanity began to deteriorate when learned that his father’s death was not an accident, but rather a foul deed committed by the newly crowned King of Denmark. “If thou didst ever thy dear father love – Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” [Act I, v l .23-25]. As a mysterious ghost appeared in the terrace, Hamlet learned of a murderer that would prove his fealty towards his father. As he contemplated the appalling news recently brought to his attention, the control Hamlet had over his actions was questioned. “O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain! My tables meet it is I set it down, That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain. At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark,” [Act I, v l. 106-109]. Hamlet’s hatred toward his father’s killer caused him to relate the tribulations between murder and the aspects of Denmark as a country together. As with most of the conflicts Hamlet faced, his lack of ability to avenge his father’s death, furthered the deterioration of his life and surroundings.
Hamlet’s disillusionment with the women in his life, come from confusion as to where they’re allegiance lies. Firstly, Ophelia abruptly ends her relationship with Hamlet, simply because Polonius states that “[he] would not have you give words to Lord Hamlet”. Ophelia obeys her father by denying “his [Hamlet’s] access to me”, proving that her loyalty lies with her father. In addition to this, Ophelia outwardly lies to Hamlet during Polonius’ trap, stating that her father is “at home”. Hamlet’s reservations towards women can be seen when he says to Ophelia “if thou dost marry…marry...
“If you seek revenge, dig two graves.” This ancient Chinese proverb explains the mood in Hamlet, a play, written by Shakespeare. The theme of revenge is seen throughout the play as each character extracts one form or another of revenge from a person who has wronged them. In the play the characters Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras all desire revenge for a lost father; however, their motivations for murder differ. Hamlet is unlike the other two characters in the way that he uses reason and logic before he acts and decides to kill his uncle, Claudius, because he is aware of the consequences.
Throughout Hamlet, each character’s course of revenge surrounds them with corruption, obsession, and fatality. Shakespeare shows that revenge proves to be extremely problematic. Revenge causes corruption by changing an individual’s persona and nature. Obsession to revenge brings forth difficulties such as destroyed relationships. Finally, revenge can be the foundation to the ultimate sacrifice of fatality. Hamlet goes to show that revenge is never the correct route to follow, and it is always the route with a dead
Making decisions is a hard task as any hesitation as well as a lack of commitment can result in unsuccess and disappointing results. In Shakespearean plays, the hero consistently played a major part of the tragedy in which he/she has fallen to their demise. In Hamlet, the protagonist Hamlet is on a mission to seek revenge for his father, King Hamlet and kill his brother King Claudius. Hamlet has displayed his desire for vengeance numerous times throughout the play but it is his uncertainty in his decisions that delays his plan of revenge, which in turn, also contributes to his own death. Revenge also plays a key role in the death of Hamlet as he struggles to simultaneously seek vengeance while satisfying his morals. Hamlet’s indecisiveness
Revenge is a recurring theme in Hamlet. Although Hamlet wants to avenge his father’s death, he is afraid of what would result from this. In the play Hamlet, Hamlet’s unwillingness to revenge appears throughout the text; Shakespeare exhibits this through Hamlet’s realization that revenge is not the right option, Hamlet‘s realization that revenge is the same as the crime which was already committed, and his understanding that to revenge is to become a “beast” and to not revenge is as well (Kastan 1).
This play is about the troubles encountered by young prince Hamlet as he tries to seek revenge for his father?s murder. Hamlet discovers the murder of his father, as well as the adultery and incest committed by his mother and uncle. This results with Hamlet retaining a very embittered and cynical outlook on life. "Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His cannon 'gainst self-slaughter -- how weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world." (1.2.131-134). Throughout the play, Hamlet teaches the audience the depths of his depression through soliloquies. Hamlet not only regards the world with pessimism, but he also has suicidal feelings. Hamlet displays thoughts of self that questions the worth of living. The foremost cause for his exasperation and aggravation is the fact that his mother and his uncle, Claudius immediately got married right after his father?s death. His mother's actions seem to be what repulses Hamlet most as he yells, "frailty thy name is woman!" (1.2.146). Hamlet has developed a burning hate towards his mother and women in general. It is this fuming mind-set that is responsible for his terrible treatment towards dear, innocent Ophelia in Act 3.
'Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder,' says the ghost of Hamlet. The fact that his own uncle could kill his father leaves Hamlet dumbfounded and confused. Although Hamlet knows something is wrong in Denmark, he begins to question everything that the ghost has told him. When something is needed to be done, Hamlet is to busy thinking about his problems. An example of this is when Hamlet has his knife over the head of Claudius, and is prepared to murder him. He talks himself out of it. Instead, Hamlet writes a play in which the actors play out the same story that the ghost told Hamlet. This is when his tragic flaw, his hesitance to act, actually comes into play. His plan is to study Claudius's reaction to the play to determine his guilt. However, after Hamlet decides his uncle is guilty, he still does nothing. This would have been a great time to confront Claudius, but Hamlet seems more interested in taking credit for what he did instead of seeking revenge. By putting on that play Hamlet has plenty enough evidence to show Claudius was guilty, therefore he should have carried out his revenge as soon as possible, but again, his thoughts take over. This should have been the final piece of action for Hamlet to avenge his father?s death. Hamlet should have then stabbed Claudius the moment he knew he was guilty. This would...
In the tragedy of Hamlet Shakespeare does not concern himself with the question whether blood-revenge is justified or not; it is raised only once and very late by the protagonist (v,ii,63-70) and never seriously considered. The dramatic and psychological situation rather than the moral issue is what seems to have attracted Shakespeare, and he chose to develop it, in spite of the hard-to-digest and at times a little obscure, elements it might involve [. . .] . (118-19)