Hamlet by William Shakespeare

1382 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Psychoanalysis of the character hamlet

The fight for power is an essential part of the play. Each character has a corrupt way of trying to overpower one another. Due to all the sorrow and madness brought upon the play, the characters have no choice but to go mad. This play would not exist without the lust of power. Within the play comes power which bring upon madness, causing corruption.
Each individual character has their own way to fight for the power they seek. Hamlet, Claudius, and King Hamlet are the ones who seek it the most in the play. Hamlet wants and feels the need to avenge his father, Claudius fights to keep the thrown away from Hamlet and to keep the truth from spilling out, and King Hamlet seeks out his sons help to take vengeance on his brother Claudius for his death. Although Claudius and King Hamlet do not become mad with power the fight for power make them corrupt and make them lose their morals and cause them to have no barrier as to what they will do to keep them from losing it. Hamlet on the other hand will do everything it takes to fulfill his father wishes, even if it means his own sanity.
Some would say that Hamlet was mad, but in reality he was mad with power. He goes to extreme lengths to throw off the king and the queen from the real cause of his madness. He misleads them to believing that the cause of his madness was over the loss of his true love, Ophelia. Even though the loss of Ophelia did affect him, the real cause of his madness was him plotting against his uncle to seek revenge for his fathers death. He brings in poor Ophelia into the madness of it all. He enters her room and causes a scene, grabbing her and throwing her as if she was nothing but a rag to him. She did nothing wrong and yet Hamlet treats her as if she should be pun...

... middle of paper ...

...e Online . N.p., 1999-2014. Web. 17 Feb 2014. .
Jamieson, Lee. About.com Shakespeare. nRelate, 2014. Web. 17 Feb 2014. .
Hamlet by Shmoop. Shmoop, 2013. Film. 17 Feb 2014. .
Hamlet by Shmoop. Shmoop University, 2014. Web. 15 Feb 2014. .
Willyson.com. HAMLET: a translation into modern English. 7 May 2007. 17 Feb 2014. .
Hamlet Study Guide. Absolute Shakespeare , 2000-2005. Web. 17 Feb 2014. .
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Public domain, 2014. 2-152. iBook.
Weller, Philip. Hamlet Navigator. Shakespeare Navigators, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • To Be or Not To Be Loved

    1398 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Hamlet." Shakespeare for Students: Critical Interpretations of Shakespeare's Plays and Poetry. Ed. Anne Marie Hacht. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2007. 193-225. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.

    Read More

  • Comparison of The Great Gatsby and A Streetcar Named Desire

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shakespeare, William. Hamlet (The New Folger Library Shakespeare). Simon & Schuster; New Folger Edition, 2003.

    Read More

  • Hamlet and Horatio

    3393 Words  | 7 Pages

    Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Mask of Hamlet.

    Read More

  • Hamlet's Sanity In Hamlet Analysis

    1561 Words  | 4 Pages

    After this scene Hamlet acts insane and he often criticizes his mother for remarrying and even insults her, but gets away with his actions because at this point those around him are starting to believe there is something wrong with Hamlet. He is not crazy but if he were truly crazy then he would not internally realize that he is mad, a crazy person usually doesn 't realize they are going crazy, but it is others who realize because of his or her actions. In Hamlet 's case, Hamlet knows he is "crazy" and his acting is beneficial for him because he is able to talk freely without having to hold anything back. If Hamlet were truly insane it would have caused him his own death, because usually when an individual is insane they are unaware of what they are saying and their actions are usually always made hastily, a quality that Hamlet does not seem to

    Read More

  • Hamlet by William Shakespeare

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    In William Shakespeare’s 1 Henry IV, Falstaff and King Henry IV share father-figure relationships with Henry “Hal,” Prince of Wales. The former, a drunk and cavalier knight, acts as a surrogate father to the prince, while the latter, a determined and distanced monarch, is his blood. Yet, who is the better father-figure to Hal? Although Falstaff and Prince Henry share a strong, quasi father-son relationship, the former’s manifestation of the tavern atmosphere, venality and dishonor are obstacles to the Prince’s goals; King Henry IV, on the other hand, is the better father-figure because he motivates his son to realize his ambitions, and embodies the setting of the court and the monarchy in which the Prince belongs and will one day inherit.

    Read More

  • Hamlet, by William Shakespeare

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyone has lied at one point or another in their life. Whether it is a small white lie about an outfit’s mishaps or something that ruined a relationship, lying or hiding the truth is a universal theme that everyone could relate to. In Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses the theme of deception to develop characters and cause their ultimate downfall in the play. Deception is not only woven in the plot but also portrays through the characters’ action and personality, such as Claudius, Polonius, and Hamlet.

    Read More

  • Hamlet, by William Shakespeare

    990 Words  | 2 Pages

    What is the appropriate time of mourning for a lost loved one? In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlets mother, Gertrude, mourned the passing of her husband for less than two months. She then decided to marry King Hamlet's brother, Claudius. Hamlets mother's new marriage is what bothers him the most. Hamlet believes Claudius will never live up to the legacy left by his father as the King of Denmark. The social context that is being revealed to the reader through Hamlets soliloquy describes three character traits he possesses: suicidal thoughts, concern for the well-being of his country, confusion towards his father's ghost and whether or not it’s in the countries best interest for him to get revenge. This also portrays how Queen Gertrude’s hasty nuptials after not having a proper time of mourning, goes against society in this era. Furthermore, this foreshadows the vast effect this will have on Hamlet.

    Read More

  • William Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shakespeare’s Hamlet revolves around the title character’s undeniable obligation to immediately avenge his father’s death by killing Claudius. Yet much time elapses before Hamlet finally does slay his evil uncle, leading to a fundamental question: what causes the hero to delay before eventually managing to salvage some retribution? The answer is that Hamlet’s reoccuring state of impractical contemplation renders him incapable of any decisive action that could have brought quick revenge.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Insanity Essay

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    Perhaps Hamlet truly is sane and has little fits of hysteria as the world seems to stack up against him. His anger and feelings of betrayal overload to explosive outbursts that can be interpreted as real madness. Upon learning that Ophelia has allied herself with Polonius and Claudius, he loses his head and has an incredibly dramatic episode. He is initially honest and open with Ophelia, but his mood quickly changes when he learns they are being spied on. He question Ophelia’s motives by asking whether she is honest and fair. He...

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Power In Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    Seen from the early scenes of the play until Claudius’ last breath, Claudius’ only concern is gaining and maintaining power by any means necessary. His introduction into power begins with his own manipulative plot—that succeeds—to kill his brother, which the ghost tells Hamlet within the first act of the play (Shakespeare 59, 61). Claudius’ entrance into the position of king is centered around crime, murder, and manipulation, which in return is the basis of his reign. Further along into the play, readers notice that majority of the men portrayed in the play are concerned about justice or moral balance. However, the man in the position of absolute power is preoccupied with lust and schemes. As the play progresses, Claudius’ malfeasances become more apparent once Hamlet’s “insanity” reaches its peak and kills Polonius (171). More concerned with preserving his seat in the court, Claudius resorts to a plan

    Read More

  • Hamlet and Claudius’ Power Struggle

    1838 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...s, Melanie Anne, and Chris Huntley. "Hamlet Comprehensive Storyform." Dramatica® The Next Chapter in Story Development. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Jan. 2014. .

    Read More

  • William Shakespeare's Hamlet

    666 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the mind of an individual there is a battle between inner choices and outside pressure from the society when both are in the opposite poles, a battle in which in which well being can be lost or found. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the unpropitious hero Hamlet is negatively influenced by demands and enters into a mental dilemma, as he is unable to decide whether he should follow his inner voice and kill his father’s murderer, or whether he should be a law abiding citizen and respect the new king and follow his policies. When individual’s choices conflicts with external demands, individuals will not be able to have good personal life, and chances to become indecisive, which ultimately leads to the downfall of the individual like Hamlet’s tragic end.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Hamlet's Relationship With Ophelia

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet is self-absorbed. He cares more about his own problems than those of his people, and this can be seen in his relationship with Ophelia and how oblivious he is to the emotions of other people. This is a less than ideal quality for a leader to have, as it’s important for a king to put the desires of his people above his own. Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia could never work out, as Laertes points out to Ophelia by saying that “[Hamlet’s] will is not his own, / for he himself is subject to his birth” (I.iii.17-8). Hamlet, however, never realizes that their relationship would not be recognized by the Danish people and pursues Ophelia relentlessly, even after she refuses his advances in Act III Scene i. Hamlet acts brashly towards her during ‘The Mouse-trap’

    Read More

  • Wild Bees by James K. Baxter

    1210 Words  | 3 Pages

    interest of Hamlet, but is driven crazy by Hamlet’s sudden disregard of Ophelia and her feelings.

    Read More

  • Theme of Madness Conveyed in Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1161 Words  | 3 Pages

    The madness of each individual is not realistic, but the idea that death, grievance, and revenge can drive someone to do things that seem to be mad or make them do things out of their nature. Overall, we see that the theme of madness has a significant impact on the conflicts and overall development of the play as well as the characters themselves and is successfully conveyed. Shakespeare developed a theme that tied the many important emotions and ideas together to make the play what it is. He used Ophelia’s grief and love, Hamlet’s wit and ruminative nature to convey a theme that could be related to more than the one character, and tie all of the conflicts and complications down to one cause.

    Read More

More about Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Open Document