Universal Acceptance of Hamlet by William Shakespeare
The tragedy and situation in the play ‘Hamlet’ has been commented on as ‘universal.’ Audiences of many different cultures can enjoy ‘Hamlet’ even though it is set in an alien culture to them. The reasons for this are that many people can relate to the play, they feel that they are living though a profound experience, even if nothing in the plot of Hamlet has ever happened to them. The experience of ‘Hamlet’ is not restricted to the plot and its characters.
A large factor in this universal acceptance is that the main character, Hamlet, around whom the entire play revolves, is realist and ‘universal’ himself. In this Hamlet is merely a reflection of aspects found in all men, he is a symbol for how any man would act given the situation. If he reacts the way you would react, that makes him a very easy to relate to and sympathetic character.
This does not mean that Hamlet reflects the common man and his action, or Rosencrantz and Guildenstern would be more probable ‘universal men.’ Hamlet reflects what the common man wishes and feels he could do if he were given the chance. Hamlet is 'superhuman' in this sense. He is able to find the strength to act though his tragic situation with out giving in to easier ways and temptations along the way. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are more common man than universal, for though they have loyalty to Hamlet as they have been his friends for many years, they still have their own ambition.
(Gertrude) “Your visitation may receive such thanks
As fits a king’s remembrance…
(Rosencrantz) by the sovereign power you have of us,…
(Guildenstern) Heaven make our presence and our practices
Pleasant and helpful to him! [Hamlet]” (Act1, Scene2)
They make a choice, and like Judas, they make the ‘wrong’ one. They do not stand strong and faithful to Hamlet, but act on King Claudius’s behalf, in hope of recognition. This is a ‘common’ man’ action, to take the favorable route on the behalf of personal interest. Hamlet’s main appeal is that he is trapped into a cycle, but he takes the noble and faithful action to affront the situation, leaving no doubt to the audience that he is in the right.
Though Hamlet is in a sense 'superhuman,' he is still human and easy to relate to for he does have flaws. He is not the shining hero riding in on a white horse to save the day, he...
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...ample Hamlet forgives Laertes, yet kills him. Therefore Hamlet can not give punishment without commit crime. As a result the cycle starts again, against Hamlet this time. The crime is committed, and the ‘Commits the crime and must suffer for it’ role acts again. Hamlet is forced into the cycle over which he can have no control. In being the punisher Hamlet must also be punished. In this Hamlet may symbolise an aspect that many people feel, that they are locked into cycle that they cannot escape.
Hamlet is therefore a symbol of the ‘universal man.’ He does not reflect the common man’s actions and deeds, but what the common man could possible do if given the chance. He represents the inner strengths of humanity, the virtues that they are capable of achieving. Yet he still remains truly human, making mistakes and being unable to escape the greater cycles and powers that exist. Hamlet may not reflect every man that exists, he reflects a part within them that exists. Hamlet is not the common man, but this is not due to his sovereignty, education, manners or upbringing. It is due to his ability to access his inner strength and do the right thing, even when the odds are against him.
...f action have been eaten up by thought, he to whom the universe seems infinite, and himself nothing; whose bitterness [75] of soul makes him careless of consequences, and who goes to a play as his best resource is to shove off, to a second remove, the evils of life by a mock representation of them - this is the true Hamlet” (2). To me this means that Hamlet is what the audience or reader makes him to be. He is not mad, but a part of everyone. He is seen in the audience. This play contains a truth, the truth of life. Hamlet’s character contains many feelings that are shared such as sorrow, dread, and lonely. For Hamlet’s character lives through the reader.
...of Hamlet is hit with hardship after hardship he is affected to the absolute core. Hamlet’s perfectionist nature makes it even more difficult to wade through everything that is being throw his way - he wants every one of his actions to be executed flawlessly, and the inability for this to occur renders him static. Consequently, due to his inactivity, Hamlet becomes more frustrated with himself as he feels useless and unworthy. Though it is a dramatic example, I believe Hamlet has a relatable quality to most everyone. The desire to succeed and hold the unattainable characteristic of perfection is something we have all yearned for at one point or another. Hamlet’s soliloquies give us insight into universal human nature, as well as the startling reality of how one can be negatively affected by being so hard on oneself. We have all felt Hamlet’s struggles to some degree.
All of the other individuals in the play have their own motives or have thoughts that cloud their thinking, straying them away from what is spiritually and rationally right. Hamlet is the only person seem to see both the lower and higher morality, making him separate from everyone else right at the start. Hamlet’s struggle and eventual acceptance of the higher morality of justice and God. This then makes him the only character to follow the higher morality while everyone else submits to the lower one. William Shakespeare, by making Hamlet stand independently as the only higher morality character and the only mentally sane character, made Hamlet into “a man ahead of his time, as Shakespeare was ahead of his.”
The impression made by a character in a play is one of its most complex and debatable components, for each individual, from the director to the audience, forms an idea based on their own interpretation of the work. Each character can be read differently, with each perception having its own implications beyond the text. The analysis of alternate perspectives of Hamlet can provide insight into possible hidden motivations and underlying plot elements invisible in the original text.
Mack, Maynard. “The World of Hamlet.” Twentieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet. Ed. David Bevington. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.
In conclusion, Hamlet is undeniably the crown of indulgence into contemporary behaviors and insight into human complexities. Shakespeare’s exquisite use of theme, entertainment and characterization not only develops the intricate plot and body of the play, but also invites the audience into a realm of knowledge and understanding. Ultimately, the pursuit of knowledge is the greatest asset known to humankind. Its infinite possibilities excite the imagination and for that reason, one should value contemporary literary works. But it is important to respect and study the foundation of these pieces, for they base their content off of the classics.
In Hamlet’s speech, Shakespeare’s efforts to target his Elizabethan audience develop the theme of the frailty of man. Shakespeare conveys this underlying theme of the play by subt...
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is arguably one of the best plays known to English literature. It presents the protagonist, Hamlet, and his increasingly complex path through self discovery. His character is of an abnormally complex nature, the likes of which not often found in plays, and many different theses have been put forward about Hamlet's dynamic disposition. One such thesis is that Hamlet is a young man with an identity crisis living in a world of conflicting values.
Hamlet is intelligent, thoughtful but calculating and is out for revenge for the murder of his father. However, he is not able to carry out his revenge immediately which is crucial for fairness and his rightful ascendancy to the Danish throne. However, he rationalizes to hide behind excuses instead of seeking revenge by killing Claudius. Hamlet’s inability to act and make a final decision is his single tragic flaw. In direct contrast, Laertes suffers from not able to control his emotions. He comes back from France angry at Claudius with a suggestion of a coup. However, when Claudius redirects anger from Laertes away from himself, he is so fired about killing Hamlet, he would not mind killing him in a church.
The puzzling tragedy that is Hamlet will forever be speculated, which is why it has attracted such attention and praise. The madness in which Hamlet lives draws decisions of polarizing weight. Stay righteous and live out your life with your father’s killer? Or do you slay him and suffer before god and the law? It bears moments of wisdom, followed by inexplicable actions and Vis versa. One moment you find the protagonist staring at his girlfriend with his pants at his ankles, the next you find him contemplating the value of life. It’s hard to determine what the message behind the wildcard character that Hamlet is. William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet” unravels opposing subjects, superstition instead of righteousness, private revenge or public revenge; it portrays the contradictions emerging in the religious revival of the Renaissance as “Christian humanism” was taking form in Western Europe. An aspect of the play reveals and mocks the hypocrisy of the kingdoms as they exert authority and pose as the ideal of religion. The king is a murderer who prays to god without belief. The one who attempts to remain righteous is an outcast amongst his kingdom. The biggest speculation is drawn on the rectitude of revenge. Does Hamlet have the right to kill his uncle? If so, does Laertes then have the right to kill Hamlet? Is Fortinbras the only exception of just revenge when he is motivated by honor, while the others rage over personal revenge? In the wake of these quarrels, the most evident and obvious Christian Humanist belief is held true...evil never wins. The punishment of those who died in Hamlet is virtuous and deserving. Those who stooped to treachery suffered the consequence.
As the play’s tragic hero, Hamlet exhibits a combination of good and bad traits. A complex character, he displays a variety of characteristics throughout the play’s development. When he is first introduced in Act I- Scene 2, one sees Hamlet as a sensitive young prince who is mourning the death of his father, the King. In addition, his mother’s immediate marriage to his uncle has left him in even greater despair. Mixed in with this immense sense of grief, are obvious feelings of anger and frustration. The combination of these emotions leaves one feeling sympathetic to Hamlet; he becomes a very “human” character. One sees from the very beginning that he is a very complex and conflicted man, and that his tragedy has already begun.
Hamlet’s wit and play of words deceits everyone. He seems to be philosophical and existential being with a certain interest to the meaning of life. Many may see him as the tragic hero fighting against a superior force. This image of a tragic hero seems to be just a façade. Although there can be many reason why he may be seem as a tragic hero he is corrupted by those around him making him evil.
Hamlet is one of the most often-performed and studied plays in the English language. The story might have been merely a melodramatic play about murder and revenge, butWilliam Shakespeare imbued his drama with a sensitivity and reflectivity that still fascinates audiences four hundred years after it was first performed. Hamlet is no ordinary young man, raging at the death of his father and the hasty marriage of his mother and his uncle. Hamlet is cursed with an introspective nature; he cannot decide whether to turn his anger outward or in on himself. The audience sees a young man who would be happiest back at his university, contemplating remote philosophical matters of life and death. Instead, Hamlet is forced to engage death on a visceral level, as an unwelcome and unfathomable figure in his life. He cannot ignore thoughts of death, nor can he grieve and get on with his life, as most people do. He is a melancholy man, and he can see only darkness in his future—if, indeed, he is to have a future at all. Throughout the play, and particularly in his two most famous soliloquies, Hamlet struggles with the competing compulsions to avenge his father’s death or to embrace his own. Hamlet is a man caught in a moral dilemma, and his inability to reach a resolution condemns himself and nearly everyone close to him.
The perfection of Hamlet’s character has been called in question - perhaps by those who do not understand it. The character of Hamlet stands by itself. It is not a character marked by strength of will or even of passion, but by refinement of thought and sentiment. Hamlet is as little of the hero as a man can be. He is a young and princely novice, full of high enthusiasm and quick sensibility - the sport of circumstances, questioning with fortune and refining on his own feelings, and forced from his natural disposition by the strangeness of his situation.