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The character of Hamlet
Psychological aspect of hamlet
Psychological aspect of hamlet
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Recommended: The character of Hamlet
How would you deal with an insane, irrational nephew who is travelling down a path of destruction? William Shakespeare’s Hamlet was written in 1589. The renowned play has been performed thousands of times, and captivated audiences since the early 1600’s. Hamlet features a deranged prince, Hamlet, in his attempt to avenge his father’s death. During a night watch on top of the castle, Hamlet encounters the ghost of his father. The ghoul states that he was killed by his own brother Claudius, and that Hamlet must seek revenge. Throughout the play, Hamlet’s sanity is questioned and he is often portrayed as being trapped in his own mind. Despite his mental drawback, he synthesizes an elaborate plan to uncover the truth about his Uncle, Claudius. Claudius inherits the throne upon King Hamlet’s death, and makes many rash decisions when trying to deal with Hamlet and his antics. These poor decisions on Claudius’ part lead to his downfall. To rid of Hamlet, Claudius opted to publicly poison him, which ended up backfiring on Claudius. Instead of jumping right into a plan to kill Hamlet, Claudius should have slowed down and thought through the decision-making process. Should Claudius had used the decision making process and chosen a wiser method of dealing with Hamlet, he would have avoided his own death.
Upon the realization of the need to get rid of Hamlet, Claudius should have come to a conclusion that if Hamlet were to simply vanish, suspicion would surely arise. Hamlet’s stunt at the play along with Claudius’ reaction likely instilled questions of King Hamlet’s death into the minds of the citizens in attendance of the play. If any of those citizens recognized Hamlet as a hero for exposing King Claudius, they’d be very curious i...
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...emise, and rid of Hamlet at the same time. Hamlet’s unstable mental state and irrational actions led King Claudius to the conclusion that something must be done to rid of Hamlet. Working through the steps of the decision-making process would have enlightened Claudius on three things: citizens would be suspicious if Hamlet was to vanish, Hamlet’s image must be ruined in order to prevent citizens suspecting Claudius to be responsible, and the fact that Hamlet won’t be very easy to expel. After this information was considered, Claudius would be able to synthesize an effective plan to rid of Hamlet. Being aware of the fact that Hamlet is rather smart and likely hard to corner, Claudius would have arrived at a solution; an elaborate plan to kill Hamlet that gives him no time to counter the attack. No suspicion, no more nice-guy Hamlet, no thinking time, no problem.
... of treachery and, luckily, Hamlet realizes the king’s subterfuge, crushing the plot and flipping it back on him. Claudius remains steadfast in his efforts to remove Hamlet, going so far as to set up a false fencing competition and foolishly pushing the poisoned wine without considering the suspiciousness of the action. In his short-sighted and rash decision making, Claudius shows that he allows his inflated sense of regality and self-worth to cloud his judgment.
The second to last decision that Hamlet makes with regard to Claudius is to not kill him, but to allow fate and divine forces to take over his responsibility. He makes this decision mainly as a means of escaping the intense madness under which he finds himself and, instead, entering a much more psychologically peaceful state; denial. Although this reason may seem illogical, Shakespeare clearly emphasizes the importance of such a motivation to escape pain in Hamlet's decision-making. He does so in the Player's scene, which emphasizes that Hamlet is obsessed with disproving Claudius' guilt. The advantage of disproving such guilt is that it resolves Hamlet's pain, showing that the motivation to escape the pain of his obsession is prominent in Hamlet's decision-making. Escaping in denial also seems to be Hamlet's best option at this point since, having previously confronted Gertrude with the premises of Claudius' crime, she failed to respond with recognition of them and disapproval of Claudius.
William Shakespeare was a Stratford Grammar School boy, who was a member of the Church of England, similar to just about everyone else in Stratford. However, due to some events that occurred in the Shakespeare family home, there is some evidence that could prove that the family may have had some Roman Catholic connections. When William Shakespeare was 10 years old, legal issues and debt took a toll on his family’s life. Shakespeare’s father’s stopped attending alderman meetings which resulted in the removal of his name to become an alderman, and he was also forced to sell his beautiful home. The cause of this crisis is unknown, however the records can be used to throw together the idea that there were peculiar religious events going on (Fox). Due to these mishaps, William Shakespeare’s religion is a bit of a mystery. The play, Hamlet, was written by William Shakespeare during the Elizabethan era, which happened to be a time when religious conflicts were a big deal (Alsaif). The protagonist in the story, Hamlet, is a character who seems to make his choices through his religious beliefs. Hamlet is a very indecisive person, but his thoughts on religion tend to persuade him. In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses the character of Hamlet to show the flaws in all religions. Hamlet does his best to follow the rules of Christianity, but he often questions the morality involved. Although Shakespeare belonged to the Church of England, he didn’t find any particular religion to be perfect.
The players and their play serves to underline the analysis of theatre and its power in ‘Hamlet’, and as functions to make objective comparisons to the ‘real’ characters in the play as well as provoke their actions and thoughts in their reflections of what is past and what is to come in the murders of the old King Hamlet and the inevitable murder of Claudius.
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet revolves around Hamlet’s quest to avenge his father’s murder. Claudius’ first speech as King at the beginning of Scene 2, Act 1 introduces the themes of hierarchy, incest and appearance versus reality and plays the crucial role of revealing Claudius’ character as part of the exposition. The audience is left skeptical after Horatio’s questioning of King Hamlet’s ghost in the first scene of the play. By placing Claudius’ pompous speech immediately after the frightening appearance of Hamlet’s ghost, Shakespeare contrasts the mournful atmosphere in Denmark to the fanfare at the palace and makes a statement about Claudius’ hypocrisy. Through diction, doubling and figurative language, Shakespeare reveals Claudius to be a self centered, hypocritical, manipulative and commanding politician.
A threat to the image established by individuals can lead to responses that can reveal the individuals’ true intentions and identity altering other’s initial perception of them. Claudius is a two-faced individual who established an image as an admirable king but when the Ghost informed Hamlet about Claudius’s crime, Hamlet’s perception of Claudius changed. Although Hamlet does not particularly show a liking to Claudius, Hamlet’s initial hatred is directed to Gertrude for remarrying so quickly. It is not until when the Ghost appeared to Hamlet and reveals Claudius’s intentions did Hamlet realizes Claudius’s true identity which altered Hamlet’s perception of his uncle. Claudius believes Hamlet’s “madness…must not unwatched go” (III, i, 189) for it “will be some danger” (167) to his secret and façade. With this suspicion, Claudius takes action and instructs the King of England “by letters…the present death of Hamlet.” (IV, iii, 66-67) When this fails, Claudius manages to convince Laertes to “be ruled by [him]” (IV, vii, 60) and devise “…an exploit [in which Laertes] might be the organ.” (65, 71) This is the moment when Claudius realizes the threat Hamlet poses to him that will lead to his downfall and therefore responds by showing a part of his true identity—his manipulative and plotting side. With Claudius’s lies slowly unravelling some individuals, such as Horatio and even his own self, soon follow Hamlet’s change of perception on Claudius. Hamlet informs Horatio about the letter containing instructions of Claudius to England regarding Hamlet’s murder. Horatio expresses his shock saying, “why, what a king is this!” (V, ii, 66) Horatio’s astonishment shows he does not expect something so cruel from the king who dealt with young Fortinbras’ demands and threats diplomatically to avoid a war. It is evident throughout the play that Claudius loves Gertrude and sees her as “conjunctive to [his] life and
This scene is in fact a visual representation of Hamlet’s problem throughout the play, this focal problem is open to two different interpretations: either Hamlet has the ability and passion to kill Claudius but he doesn’t have the right time to do it, or Hamlet doesn’t have the self-assurance and courage to do ...
Tragedies in the Greek theater when compared to tragedies in the Renaissance theater varied in similarities and differences. Greek theater encouraged the use of religious figures while Renaissance theater was supposed to be strictly pagan in its ideologies. Theater was most dominantly used to depict the social and religious constraints of the time period. For example, Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex are both portrayals of deceit, murder, and revenge all of which lead to the demise of its leading characters. Hamlet is depicted as a young man who is seeking revenge for his fathers death. Oedipus is a king who means to free the people of Thebes from a disease that has been plaguing them. They share similarities in that each of their love interest are conduits of their pain and anguish, further pushing the protagonists over the precipice. The voice of reason that they share is Creon in Oedipus Rex and Horatio in Hamlet. Their tragic flaw is that they are both ultimately and utterly doomed and no amount of guidance will steer them away from what has been predestined by fate. They are ultimately doomed to be their own Achilles heel.
William Shakespeare's Hamlet Perhaps the greatest uncertainty in William Shakespeare's Hamlet is the character of Queen Gertrude. Undoubtedly a major player with regard to number of lines and contribution to the action of the play. her personality is nonetheless basically undeveloped. It is also notable that Gertrude is perhaps the only character besides Hamlet. with enough power over all of the characters to stop the play's tragic.
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).
Throughout Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the revelation of Claudius’ betrayal of the late King Hamlet becomes the causation of a slippery slope of events that revolve around a revenge on Claudius for his betrayal against the late King. Consequently, this key act of betrayal forms the plays overall theme of revenge while also showing the connection between power and corruption and the idea that ‘”what goes around, comes around.”
The madness could be cast off like a muddy robe. Lives could be saved. But he does not act. This is where Hamlet truly goes wrong, for he chooses murder over revenge. It is not enough to kill Claudius, which is treacherous already, but in Hamlet's mind, he must guarantee that Claudius is sent to hell.
How does the use of comic relief best contrast the tragedy of Hamlet? In great works of literature a comic relief is used as contrast to a serious scene to intensify the overall tragic nature of the play or to relieve tension. As illustrated in Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, intense scenes are joined with character’s banter and vacuous actions as to add a comic relief. In Hamlet, Polonius acts as a comic relief by his dull and windy personality, Hamlet uses his intelligence and his negativity toward the king and queen to create humor, while on the other hand Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are a comic relief by their senseless actions and naïve natures. Polonius, Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are all used as a comic relief to increase the ultimate tragic nature of the play.
With his thinking mind Hamlet does not become a typical vengeful character. Unlike most erratic behavior of individuals seeking revenge out of rage, Hamlet considers the consequences of his actions. What would the people think of their prince if he were to murder the king? What kind of effect would it have on his beloved mother? Hamlet considers questions of this type which in effect hasten his descision. After all, once his mother is dead and her feelings out of the picture , Hamlet is quick and aggressive in forcing poison into Claudius' mouth. Once Hamlet is certain that Claudius is the killer it is only after he himself is and and his empire falling that he can finally act.
Hamlet is a scholar, speaker, actor, and prince. For some reason, Hamlet is not able to avenge his father's death without considerable delay. There is one major flaw in Hamlet's character which causes him to postpone the murder of Claudius. I believe that this flaw is Hamlet's idealism. While his idealism is a good trait, in this case, Hamlet's environment and his...