“What makes a character a monster”? An individual in a text could be considered a monster based on their actions. A “monster” would be considered a character who has committed cruel behaviors and actions, as well as demanding others to commit cruel actions for pleasure. Since monsters commit these type of actions, they tend to have specific personality traits and characteristics. A “monster” may possess characteristics such as cruelty, evilness, selfless, and inhumanity. This individual’s personality is typically filled with ugliness. Often times, a monster would also be considered the antagonist of the story. During this semester, we were instructed to read a number of texts which included Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and …show more content…
Elegy. In the play Hamlet, King Claudius would be the monster and antagonist of the story. This monster committed cruel action such as murdering his brother and then beginning to plan another murder. King Claudius is also the monster in the movie Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. The poem, Elegy written by Rachel Eliza Griffiths describes characteristics of what it means to be a monster. Each text had a character that would fit into the category of an antagonist and monster. A character would be considered a monster if they possess harmful behaviors to others and demands other individuals to do the same for their owne pleasure. One may be considered a monster based on harmful actions, such as murdering somebody for their own pleasure such as King Claudius in the play Hamlet. After reading the story of Hamlet, it is obvious that Claudius would be the antagonists and monster of the play.
Claudius’ would be considered the stereotypical monster because of his harmful and cruel actions. The city of Thebes was originally ruled by King Hamlet however, One day, King Hamlet’s brother Claudius decided to murder his brother by poisoning him and then thought he could take the throne. The city of Thebes and King Hamlet’s son young Hamlet were not aware he was murdered. One day, young Hamlet was informed by the guards that there is a ghost who keeps appearing that looks like his father. This prompts young Hamlet to stay one night with the guards to attempt to speak to his father’s ghost. When he finally does get the chance to speak to the ghost, the ghost wants to explain what really happened to his father. “But know, thou noble youth,/ The serpent that did sting thy father’s life/ Now wears his crown”, the ghost explained to Hamlet (I, V 38-40). The ghost revealed that Claudius murdered him by poisoning him when he was sleeping. By the ghost explaining what really happened to his father, helped defined what types of individual he is. After, Claudius killed his brother and married his brother’s wife, he instructed Hamlet to look at him as his father. However, Claudius is attempting to plan Hamlet’s murder by instructing Laertes to sword duel against Hamlet. After Claudius received a note from Hamlet asking for permission to return to Thebes, Claudius …show more content…
discusses a plan to harm Hamlet with Laertes. Claudius convinces Laertes to harm Hamlet and Laertes replies with “I’ll touch my point/ With this contagion, that if I gall him slightly/ It may be death” (IV, vii 143-15). Laertes decides he will be stab Hamlet with a sword that will kill him due to poison. All of Claudius’ actions are cruel and deceitful, this makes him a monster. Claudius has strong personality traits and characteristics that make him a monster in the play Hamlet, but also in the movie Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. In the movie Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead the antagonist and monster is the same as in Hamlet.
The antagonist in both of these is Claudius. The reason that Claudius is the antagonist in both of the stories is because of his cruel actions. The cruel actions that Claudius has is a plan to murder his brother, King Claudius and take the throne. A quote from the movie explaining this is “We take Hamlet to the English king, it depending on when we get there who he is, and we hand over the letter” (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead). It is not obvious to exactly what this quote means but when connected with the outcome of Hamlet, the reader has a better understanding of what exactly this quote means. This quote makes the connection between Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Hamlet. The connection is that it is uncertain yet to Rosencrantz if Claudius has yet to have killed King Hamlet. Rosencrantz knows of the plan by Claudius to kill King Hamlet but does not know when he plans on taking this action. The reason for Claudius to kill King Hamlet is to take over power of Thebes. Claudius does it in this way because he does not want to wait for the power to be handed over to him. Claudius is only focused on committing evil actions to give him joy. This is exactly what the action of planning to kill King Hamlet is. Claudius strives for power of Thebes through actions of cruelty. In both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, it is true that Claudius
commits actions of evilness of planning to and actually killing King Hamlet because he was not given the throne when it was his turn to rule Thebes. Elegy can explain why these actions prove that Claudius is both, the antagonist and a monster. The poem Elegy is a powerful poem written by Rachel Eliza Griffiths. Elegy is a poem about explaining what it means to be a monster. Elegy is a poem that has close ties to Claudius and how it is often said that Claudius is a character that is created by being violent and being selfless. A quote that relates to both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is, “their blue-eyed grandson with his bleeding heart” (Elegy). This relates to Claudius in many different ways. This quote seems so simple however when this quote is looked at closely, there is much more to this quote than the eye sees. Without close reading this quote can be taken to mean that the grandson is dying on the inside or has a bad wound that has resulted in him bleeding excessively. These two ways to look at this quote is not related to Claudius at all. However, the close readings of this quote have many connections to the actions Claudius has taken to be classified as the antagonist or also known as the monster of both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. One of the close readings is that the grandson is evil on the inside. This means that the grandson will act in ways that make people see him as evil. This relates to Claudius because Claudius acted in an evil way by trying to forcefully take over Thebes by killing King Thebes. Claudius could have done this in a better way by waiting until it was him time to rule however he didn’t. Another close reading of this quote is that the grandson is filled with an evil side. Often times blood is related to violence. In today’s world, more often than not, violence is associated with blood. This is the reason why this close reading can take place. This close reading also relates to Claudius because he poisoned King Hamlet to kill him. Killing is a form of violence. The last close reading that relates to Claudius is that the grandson has a liking of acting in a way that makes him happy but this happiness to others is seen by violence. This is exactly how Claudius acted when he killed King Hamlet. Overall, Claudius is closely related to Elegy. A character can be portrayed as a monster and a antagonist if the individual commits cruel behaviors. These individuals typically have specific personality traits such as cruelty, evilness, and inhumanity. In the stories Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Claudius is the antagonist and monster based on his cruel actions. He planned and fulfilled his plan to murder his brother and take the throne. Claudius actions refer to the poem Elegy because the grandon is evil inside. A monster has an evil inside
For ages, we have wondered what is the difference between monsters and men that make them who they are. What are the characteristics that define a monster? Typically it’s the bad guy, the person or thing that comes into the story just to cause massacre or stand in the protagonist’s way. On the other Men are just defined as people who are the opposite of evil. There can be multiple people in a story who can be characterized as men. They don’t all necessarily have to be heroic to be considered as men. In the literature pieces of Macbeth, Beowulf and Frankenstein; there are countless instances where one might be able to distinguish between Monsters and Men. But they all fall in different genres. Macbeth is a story about a tragic hero; the fallen one or the man who brought misery upon himself. The monster can be identified as guilt. This guilt built stronger and stronger and led him to be his worst enemy. Beowulf is an epic about a hero (men) who takes on great challenges and adventures. His worst enemies are all the monsters that took place over the course of the story. Like: Grendel and his mother. This epic poem was made around the Anglo Saxon period. And lastly, Frankenstein is about a crazy doctor who created a monster. The monster name wasn’t Frankenstein, the doctor’s name was. That’s why the story is called “Frankenstein’s monster.” All these literary pieces are plotted so intelligently that it takes a moment before one can distinguish the monsters and the men.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are both actively used throughout the pieces Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Hamlet as tools which are used to boost the understanding of their similar storylines and enhance the perspectives of the major characters. In both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Hamlet, King Claudius summons both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from Wittenberg so that they can learn the reasons for Hamlet’s strange behavior (Stoppard/Shakespeare). In doing so, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern provide the King with little information of Hamlet’s insanity and forces Claudius to conclude that the death of Hamlet is imperative to his success as King (Stoppard/Shakespeare). In this situation, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are a medium that provide a deeper insight for Claudius into Hamlet’s character; however, this only adds to Hamlet’s façade of insanity by providing another source that can only help Claudius conclude that Hamlet has gone mad. This equal act of manipulation by both Claudius and Hamlet allows the rivals to have a greater understanding into each other’s character; a conclusion that could not be made without the medium of information that is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Therefore, the correlation is made that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are the tools that provided a greater perspective into the thoughts of the protagonists.
Logan Gaertner Mrs. Amon English IV 1 March 2014 Is Hamlet’s Insanity Real? Is Hamlet truly insane? While the play is not extremely clear on the matter and often contradicts itself, many of Hamlet’s wild ramblings and words of nonsense seem to be not the true words of a madman. Hamlet says that he is merely “putting on an antic disposition” (Act 1, Scene 5, Line 181). He admits very early on in the play that his insanity will be nothing more than a ruse to fool those around him.
Hamlet, for reasons of trepidation chooses not to kill Claudius, his nemesis, in the altar room. This fatal procrastination results in the unnecessary deaths of Laertes, Ophelia, Gertrude, and Hamlet himself. This casts a most inauspicious light upon Hamlet, but only if the original premise is true. The obverse side of the argument is that Hamlet, because he desires all those who are in league with Claudius to suffer the same ignominious fate that his father suffers. Thus he delays his revenge in order to intensify the misery of the other characters. This also casts a most inauspicious light upon Hamlet, but only if the general premise of the book is true, that Hamlet is the hero and is not enslaved to evil. That general premise is false. For even the Prince admits that he may be under the thrall of the Devil, who is able to “assume a pleasing shape” and is “very potent with such spirits [of melancholy]”.
Claudius is the antagonist in this play and starts all of the drama. Claudius is the reason why hamlet is trying to seek revenge. Other characters are trying to seek revenge throughout the entirety of the play also. Shakespeare in the play Hamlet, is trying to make this a play on revenge between many characters and also show the insecurities of Hamlet as he tries to seek revenge.
I feel that makes a monster a monster, but what about attitude and emotions. Should I say the lack thereof? Hitler was called a monster and he looked like me and you. He was considered a monster because of killing millions of people, which is an act out of the ordinary. Serial killers are monsters in the modern times. In this regard, the villains are considered monsters because the evil ways are figuratively monstrous. A monster can be created through branding of names. An example that I like to use is Elphaba in Wicked. People called her wicked, and she finally accepted the name, saying, "Let all Oz be agreed. I'm wicked through and through."
Kallie Wagner Professor Arevalo World Literature 1 28 April 2014 Hamlet’s Gone Mad Hamlet is without a doubt one of the most complex pieces to interpret for many different scholars and people. The question of the truth behind his madness has become a debate among anyone who lays eyes on the play. In fact, madness plays a large role within the play that will cause many situations as well as effect them. I believe Hamlet unintentionally went mad attempting to act like a mad man.
An important factor of any fictional story is the antagonist, or a person who conflicts with the protagonist – the “hero” of the story (Encarta). As many have come to the realization already, Claudius is the main antagonist to Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Uncle to Prince Hamlet, King of Denmark and Husband of Gertrude, Claudius is quite a character. Imagine the guilt and anxiety brought about by killing one’s own brother, claiming his kingdom as your own, and then going so far as to marry his widow. These were the crimes of King Claudius of Denmark, and one can see that he was pretty much written to be despised by the reader, a noticeable aspect of Shakespeare’s age-old work. Moreover, many often quickly assume, upon their first reading of the play, that Prince Hamlet ought to kill the king (Goddard).
The play has an antagonist Claudius, who is Hamlet’s uncle and the King of Denmark. There are two significant ways Claudius acts as a foil for Hamlet. Firstly Claudius does not hesitate to utilize violence to further him self and advance his compulsive desire for power. Hamlet is seeking the avengement of his father, which requires the use of violence. However, unlike Claudius, Hamlet is constrained by his conscious to act upon his revenge. Claudius’s desire for power is shown when it is found out that he murdered his brother in order to take over the throne. As for Hamlet he is told about the murder of his father from a ghost and is deciding whether to kill Claudius or not but the idea that if he is wrong he goes to hell comes into his mind. This acts as a foil to Hamlet because Hamlet learns at the end that he needs
Hamlet’s dogged attempts at convincing himself and those around him of Claudius’ evil, end up being Claudius’ best moments. The audience doesn’t have just one view of Claudius; the other characters favorable ideas of Claudius as king and person lets them see the humanity, good and bad, in Claudius. An allegory for the human soul, Claudius is many things: a father, a brother, a husband, and a king. He, like anyone else, has to play the role to the best of his ability, but is still very human and susceptible to the evils of human emotion ranging from concern to jealousy, all of which could have easily fueled his decisions. Page 1 of 6 Works Cited Hamlet, Shakespeare.
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...
This anger also influenced Hamlet to accidentally kill Polonius as he thought that he was Claudius. Another character that was influenced by “The Mousetrap” was Claudius who seemed worried and guilty, but not necessarily remorseful after watching the play. This was seen by how he quickly tried to get Hamlet sent to England and was even seen praying as Hamlet contemplated murdering him. Lastly, the theme of corruption in Hamlet was furthered by the aforementioned events as it demonstrated that King Claudius undeniably usurped the throne after murdering Old King Hamlet, and after doing so, is now attempting to use his power to silence Hamlet, who merely wants justice for the death of his father. Also, the fact that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are so willing to betray their friend in order to do the king’s bidding suggest an underlying theme of disloyalty and corruption by itself. This observation is not only supported by how they willingly spied on Hamlet for the king, but also by how they chose to honor the king’s request, without any real questioning or protest, to take Hamlet to England so that he doesn’t cause any more trouble back
Hamlet, a play filled with action, words, revenge, recognition, focus and hate. Even though we may see the play Hamlet as a story about Hamlet himself, some may also argue it is a play about Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius. Taking into consideration the aspects that make a character a protagonist, it is shown that Hamlet may not be who we thought he was. Viewing definitions of antagonist and protagonist we can see just how Hamlet falls under an antagonist and Claudius falls under more of a protagonist role throughout the play. The play Hamlet should be called “Claudius” as
The supernatural, is an integral part of the plays of William Shakespeare. In addition, the supernatural is, in fact, an integral part of the structure of the plot of Hamlet. The supernatural appears in Hamlet in the form of a ghost. The role of the supernatural is very important.