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Betrayal in hamlet act 1
Essays on the theme of betrayal in Hamlet
Betrayal in hamlet act 1
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In Act one Scene two, Hamlet feels betrayed by the world, Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Throughout the reading Hamlet feels betrayed, his father has just died and his mother now moved on. Also, he exposes a strong part of his character, he shows his depressed and wrath side of his character.
Hamlet states, “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt,” which he goes to say he wants to die. Hamlet has been thinking of suicide due to his despair, “Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew.” However, Hamlet thinks of the world as, “how weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable,” sense it’s a rotten world and he cannot get anything out of it. “’Tis an unweeded garden,” saying that the world has grown into weeds. His father has been dead two months and his mother has by this time progressed on to wed Claudius, brother of his father. As Hamlet remembers, “visit her face too roughly, heaven and earth,” his parents were very in love, and his father was very much affectionate to his mother. However, he is furious at his mother due to the fact that she wed Claudius a very short time after his father’s death. Hamlet worries if the queen was really in love with the king. “O, most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” explains Hamlet that his mother jumped into the bed with her
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“O, that this too too solid flesh would melt,” Hamlets states as he feels depressed as of everything that is happening. He contemplates it would be better if he dies as a look of suicide. Though, suicide is against their religion. Hamlet senses as he is being betrayed and he cannot do anything for what is happening, he shows sadness. He holds back to say what he has to say to his mother due to respect towards her. The prince does not have a great perspective of his mother at this point. Revealing his resentment side of the character, Hamlet says, “as if increase of appetite had grown,” since his mother wed again a little after a
As aforementioned Hamlets makes a number of references to Denmark. Preceding the death of his father and the marriage of his mother, his mental state begins to fall into demise . Although he appears to not have much courage at first, his focus remains on avenging his father whose murder is described as being "most foul." As noted in one of Hamlet's first soliloquies, his downward spiral has already began and already he is contemplating suicide; "O that this too too sullied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew (I, II, 130)" and "seems to me all the uses of this world... Things rank and gross in nature posses it merely (I, II, 136)." To be degrading to be thinking of imagery including flesh melting shows that Hamlet is not in the state that he ought to be in. Furthermore Shakespeare encourages us to empathize with these emotions by using such rich descriptions.
From past experiences in ones life, whether it be the death of a long aged gold fish to a deceased elder, one knows the pain and suffering that goes on afterwards. For one to finally move on and continue life without a tear in their eyes may take a while, yet having that immense step means to put the emotions aside and live life. Hamlet's father was murdered, and he soon sees his mother move on so quickly and marries his uncle, to continue being the queen. Hamlet's love for his father does not fade away within a two month span like his mother; he refuses to accept the fact that his father was killed, instead of a natural death. Because of this, Hamlet does not know what to do with his life. He mentions "O, that this too too sallied flesh would melt,/ Or that the Everlasting had not fixed/ His canon `against self-slaughter" (129-132). Immediately does Hamlet questions the existence of his own life, as he feels the need to melt and disappear, ultimately referring to suicide. The problem we face...
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.
Hamlet possesses an uncomfortable obsession with his mother’s sexuality. For this reason, Hamlet’s soliloquies provide most of the audience’s information about Gertrude’s sexual activities. In his first soliloquy, Hamlet refers to the relationship between Gertrude and Claudius when he exclaims, “Within a month…She married. O, most wicked speed, to post / With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (I, ii, 153-157). In saying this, Hamlet displays how hastily Gertrude has abandoned the late King Hamlet, Hamlet’s father, such that she has already married Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle. In addition, Hamlet acknowledges that Gertrude and Claudius have quickly developed a very sexual relationship. Despite the very recent death of her husband, Gertrude is unable to control her sexual desires, and she remarries less than two months after King Hamlet’s funeral.
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 Shakespearean play of Hamlet captures the audience with many suspenseful and devastating themes including betrayal. Some of the most loved characters get betrayed by who they thought loved them most. The things these characters do to the people they love are wrong, hurtful and disappointing. These examples lead to the destruction of many characters physically and emotionally. The characters in the play who committed the act of betrayal end up paying for what they have done in the form of death, either from nature, their selfishness, disloyalty and madness. The act of betrayal truly captures and displays the play of Hamlet as a sad tragedy.
Hamlet is left so distraught by his father 's death and his mother’s quick remarriage of his father’s brother that he wishes to die. Hamlet begins his soliloquy with a metaphor that shows his desire for death: “Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, / Thaw,
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic play about murder, betrayal, revenge, madness, and moral corruption. It touches upon philosophical ideas such as existentialism and relativism. Prince Hamlet frequently questions the meaning of life and the degrading of morals as he agonizes over his father’s murder, his mother’s incestuous infidelity, and what he should or shouldn’t do about it. At first, he is just depressed; still mourning the loss of his father as his mother marries his uncle. After he learns about the treachery of his uncle and the adultery of his mother, his already negative countenance declines further. He struggles with the task of killing Claudius, feeling burdened about having been asked to find a solution to a situation that was forced upon him.Death is something he struggles with as an abstract idea and as relative to himself. He is able to reconcile with the idea of death and reality eventually.
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears…But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue" Hamlet painfully moans to himself. It is clear at the beginning of the play that Hamlet was suffering—emotionally. It hurt him to see his mother marry so soon after his father’s death and Hamlet felt alone since no one else seemed to feel his pain and be mourning with him. It’s safe to conclude that Hamlet had a commendable and upright relationship with his father whom he admired. Unless one was not as courageous or as confident as Hamlet, we would’ve complained and tried to ruin the marriage.
He is trapped in Elsinore, a town where it seems that people will do almost anything to acquire prestige and power. He believes everything in the world should be good and fair so he does not understand people’s corrupt actions. He finally comes to the realization that “’tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature possess it merely. That it should come to this” (I.2.135-137). The reader also sees a time that Hamlets comes to terms with the world when he tells Rosencrantz that the world has many “confines, wards, and dungeons. Denmark being one o’ th’ worst” (II.2. 132-133). For example, his mother’s marriage to his uncle is something that he does not understand. The reader can tell that the marriage obviously upsets Hamlet when he mutters under his breath, “a little more than kin, and less than kind” (I.2.65). Speaking of his mother, he states that within a month, “ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears had left the flushing of her galled eyes, she married” (II.2.154-156). Hamlet also comes to the conclusion that “to pose with such dexterity to incestuous sheets,” is not good and will have no good result of it (II.2.156-157). The reader is also given insight to Hamlet’s disgust for his mother’s ability to move on so quickly when he calls her weak and states that “a best that wants discourse of reason would have mourned longer” (I.2.150-151). By practically comparing his mother to
At first, Hamlet is respectable even though he is not happy to find out that his mother is married to his uncle nor is he happy to discover that his father is dead. The reader is first introduced to Hamlet’s madness in his first soliloquy. His is speaking on his lack of satisfaction with his life and on his mother’s hasty marriage to his uncle.
However, his complicated personality and emotions draw the audience into the play. For example, Hamlet confounds the audience by apparently loving Ophelia but then he says vile things to her and treats her horrendously. At first glance, Hamlet simply seems mad, but a close student of Hamlet will realize that Hamlet is simply taking out his anger towards his mother on women in general. Since Hamlet sees his mother’s quick remarriage after his father’s death as a betrayal, Hamlet holds deep anger towards his mother. Some may even argue that Hamlet is less angry at the murder of his father and more angry at his mother’s quick remarriage. Hamlet’s bitterness towards his mother’s marriage shows as he talks to his friend Horatio: “Thrift, thrift, Horatio! the funeral baked meats / Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables” (Shakespeare.) This bitterness shows through as he proclaims that he finds all women weak: “Frailty, thy name is woman!” This is just one example of the complicated emotions that the characters of the play Hamlet feel. By using complex characters. Shakespeare adds a deep level of interest and entertainment to this
Betrayal is known as one of the most common themes expressed throughout literature. At times, this cruel theme brings to the reader acts of sympathy towards the character(s) that have witnessed deceit from another person. Authors address the theme of treachery within their works to derive a specific message across. Characters in Hamlet and Death of a Salesman contribute to this theme both physically among other individuals, and mentally within themselves to help gain their own desires.
The factor that sets the play Hamlet apart from other notable works from other artists is that Shakespeare is able to influence his audience by weaving a gripping yet tragic tale of a revengeful son. Soon after the death of his father, Hamlet’s Mother marries Claudius that makes his the new king of Denmark. Hamlet is heartbroken to find that none in his family nor the royals are able to display grief over the death of his father – the late king. The play Hamlet is written in the form of a poem that is constant throughout the play. One good example of the poetic stance of the author is through ‘Seems, madam! Nay, it is, I know not seems. Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother’ (Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, page 199). Unlike the p...
Old Hamlet is killed by his brother Claudius. Only two months after her husband’s death a vulnerable Gertrude marries her husband’s brother Claudius. Gertrude’s weakness opens the door for Claudius to take the throne as the king of Denmark. Hamlet is outraged by this, he loses respect for his mother as he feels that she has rejected him and has taken no time to mourn her own husband’s death. One night old Hamlets ghost appears to prince Hamlet and tells him how he was poisoned by his own brother. Up until this point the kingdom of Denmark believed that old Hamlet had died of natural causes. As it was custom, prince Hamlet sought to avenge his father’s death. This leads Hamlet, the main character into a state of internal conflict as he agonises over what action and when to take it as to avenge his father’s death. Shakespeare’s play presents the reader with various forms of conflict which plague his characters. He explores these conflicts through the use of soliloquies, recurring motifs, structure and mirror plotting.