How the Victorian Age Shifted the Focus of Hamlet 19th century critic William Hazlitt praised Hamlet by saying that, "The whole play is an exact transcript of what might be supposed to have taken pace at the court of Denmark, at the remote period of the time fixed upon." (Hazlitt 164-169) Though it is clearly a testament to the realism of Shakespeare's tragedy, there is something strange and confusing in Hazlitt's analysis. To put it plainly, Hamlet is most definitely not a realistic play. Not only are the events conveyed in the drama fantastic, the dialogue that brings it to the reader is overdramatic and often metatheatrical. The stirring monologues delivered throughout the play are theatrical speeches rather than genuine dialogue. Frequent references to acting and theater, especially surrounding the presence of the players, serve to make the audience aware of the play instead of drawing them into it. The tragedy's villain oozes evil, murdering the king and marrying his queen in just two months. Even more unrealistic is the presence of the king's ghost, surely there weren't really any apparitions floating around the court at Denmark. Then why does Hazlitt make this statement? Though it is tempting to simply write him off as a bad critic, similar statements made by other critics of the 19th century suggest that this view of Hamlet as a realist drama was commonly held in the Victorian Era. It seems clear that the ideals of the Victorian era caused a significant change in the way Hamlet was interpreted. Victorian society's high esteem for rationality and utility shifted the focus of Hamlet from the tragedy's fantastic nature to its realistic insights. The values of the age imply that a 19th century audience would not appr... ... middle of paper ... ...Schriber is praised for his convincing portrayal of the young prince, even though the texts suggests that Hamlet's actions are improbable and irrational. (Lahr 46-51) It is plain to see that the Victorian desire to find reason and practicality still impacts our understanding of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Works Cited Coleridge, Samuel T. "Notes on the Tragedies: Hamlet." Essays in Criticism. Second ed. Ed. Cyrus Hoy. New York: Norton, 1992. 157-164. Hazlitt, William. "Characters of Shakespeare's Plays: Hamlet." Essays in Criticism. Second ed. Ed. Cyrus Hoy. New York: Norton, 1992. 164-169. Bradley, A.C. Shakespearean Tragedy. New York: Fawcett Premier, 1904. 110-118. Landow, George P. "Philosophy Overview." . Cited 12 December 1999. Lahr, John. "Fresh Prince; Why Liev Schreiber is ready to play Hamlet." The New Yorker December 1999: 46-51.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square-Pocket, 1992. Print.
Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." Madden, Frank. Exploring Literature. 4th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print 539-663
Henry Ford was one of the most famous people in the world. He revolutionized assembly line modes for the automobile, which revolutionized the auto industry for America. He invented the Ford model T car, in 1908, which was his first car he invented. Because of this reason, Ford sold and continues to sell millions of automobiles and became head of a world renowned and innovative auto company. His company didn't really dominate the foreign market, but it made a huge impact in technology and the development of the U.S infrastructure. Today, we look at the Ford company and see how much it has changed, and how much it has evolved. Ford is known for helping build the American economy
Henry Ford, born July 30, 1863, was the first of William and Mary Ford's six children. He grew up on a prosperous family farm in what is today Dearborn, Michigan. (Teachers D.) It was early on that Henry showed a strong dislike for his farm chores and interests in all types of mechanical things. (Editors 205.) In 1879 at the very young age of only sixteen Henry left home for Detroit the present day motor city.(Ford Motor C.) In Detroit Henry worked as an apprentice to a machinist.(Wik 190.) Returning home to help with farming from time to time he remained in his apprenticeship for 3 years.(Ford Motor C.) In the years to follow Henry more or less drifted in his work such as operating or repairing steam engines, finding occasional work in a Detroit factory, and over-hauling his father's farm implements, as well as lending a reluctant hand with other farm work.(Dahlinger 12.) However In 1889 with the marriage to his wife Clara Bryant he was forced to find a steady job to support them and worked by running a saw mill. (Teachers D.)
In “Young Goodman Brown” Hawthorne uses the hypocritical nature of Young Goodman Browns neighbors and friends to show the hypocritical nature of the puritan people. In the story, Young Goodman Brown is led by the devil to a witching party in the woods. At the witching party he sees all the people he thought to be honorable and pious. He sees his minister, and Goody Cloyse, the woman who taught him his catechisms, meeting with the devil. He even sees his wife about to join the commune but doesn’t see whether she does or not because he resists the devil and wakes up by a tree. After witnessing these things in the woods Young Goodman Brown can’t look at the people he loved and looked up to in the same way anymore. He becomes a bitter and distrustful old man because of their hypocr...
Boklund, Gunnar. "Hamlet." Essays on Shakespeare. Ed. Gerald Chapman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965.
In the early 1900s, Hamlet was “rediscovered.” A resurgence of productions came about, and with the creation of a modern director now in place, several alternations were made. Hamlet was converted into movies, opera, condensed plays, parodies, and even later offshoots were created, such as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. 11th ed. New York: Norton, 2013.1709-1804. Print.
Shakespeare, William, Marilyn Eisenstat, and Ken Roy. Hamlet. 2nd ed. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 2003. Print.
Goldman, Michael. "Hamlet and Our Problems." Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ed. David Scott Kaston. New York City: Prentice Hall International. 1995. 43-55
Shakespeare, William. The Three-Text Hamlet. Eds. Paul Bertram and Bernice Kliman. New York: AMS Press, 1991.
Mack, Maynard. "The World of Hamlet." Yale Review. vol. 41 (1952) p. 502-23. Rpt. in Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism. Rev. ed. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. New York: Oxford University P., 1967.
Born on July 30, 1863, on his family's farm in Wayne County, near Dearborn, Michigan, Henry Ford showed interest in machinery and became an apprentice as a machinist at 16 years old in Detroit, where he mastered the structure and operation of steam engines as well as bookkeeping skills. At the age of 28, Ford was hired by Edison Illuminating Company as an engineer, and he was quickly promoted to chief engineer due to
Corum, Richard. Understanding Hamlet: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998. Print.
...World of Hamlet.” Yale Review. vol. 41 (1952) p. 502-23. Rpt. in Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism. Rev. ed. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. New York: Oxford University P., 1967.