Shakespeare differentiates Hamlet from the rest of the Danish Court through his eloquence of speech and ambiguity in the opening play. Arriving back home from Wittenberg, Hamlet is still in mourn about his father’s death whilst becoming familiar with his mother’s sudden remarriage with Claudius, the present king of Denmark. Hamlet’s initial impression on Claudius is “A little more than kin and less than kind”, utilising the effect of an aside with a riddling comment that plays with his family relationship with Claudius and with a pun on ‘kind’, suggesting that Claudius is both ungenerous and unnatural and reveals Hamlet’s eloquence and extraordinary quickness of mind. The increasing focus on the issue of Hamlet’s mother’s remarriage is developed through his repetitive exclamations of “O God, God” and “Oh most wicked speed” in his soliloquy “O that this too solid flex”. The exclamations reveal that the speech develops a series of disrupted, broken and interrupted thought and feeling that concentrates on his reaction to his mother’s incest, oblivious to the Danish Court. The episode of the news of the apparition stresses Hamlet’s identity as a student prince and adds ambiguity about a conflict between his inner identity and his identity as a prince and man of action.
Claudius is then compared to the internal organs of slaves and a man without morals, remorse or kindness (Ham.2.2.607-608). The powerful metaphors and adjectives used to describe Claudius not only express Hamlet’s intense contempt and disdain towards him, but also serve to convince Hamlet to commit murder. However, Hamlet depicts himself as a whore, a prostitute, and a swearing kitchen maid (Ham.2.2.614-616), reiterating the notion that he is worthless, as well as weak for expressing his emotions through words rather than actions. The shift from metaphors to similes indicate Hamlet’s failure to move past his cowardice and proceed with an act of revenge that would inflict
In his tragedy, Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses diction and sarcasm to foreshadow different interpretations based on connotations and Hamlet’s complex plans to discover the truth in the corrupt kingdom of Denmark. The multiple meanings of phrases represent the internal conflict Hamlet faces, and sarcasm the different masks he wears, as he considers and debates both sides of many situations, leading to his distraction and inaction. Following his inauguration speech, King Claudius speaks to a still-mourning Hamlet, KING. Now, my cousin Hamlet and my son - HAMLET.
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Shakespeare uses range of literary techniques such as soliloquies to express Hamlet’s depression and anger. Hamlet’s emotions play a crucial role to achieve his secret ambitions. Events such as King Hamlet’s death, Hamlet’s mother’s expeditious marriage, conflict between Hamlet and Ophelia. Hamlet’s depression and anger is expressed throughout the play but what are the causes. The root of Hamlet’s feelings of depression and anger was his father’s death.
1) In Hamlet, pouring poison in a person’s ear had both a literal and symbolic significance. The literal meaning is that they are telling lies to people in order to deceive them. They are pouring poison or “poisonous” words into that person’s ear. The symbolic meaning of pouring poison in a person’s ear can be associated with the symbolic meaning of the snake in the story of Adam and Eve where the snake lures Eve in through lies. The characters in Hamlet were misled in the same way because they had poison poured into their ears.
Shakespeare’s use of language helps to portray the major theme of deception in the play Hamlet. The utilization of diction helps to equate Claudius to an evil person, while metaphors help to make the comparison between Claudius and a deathly animal. By making comparisons and using specific word choice that help support the theme, Shakespeare is able to portray the deceitful antics of King
In Hamlet, Shakespeare presented Hamlet as the prince of Denmark. When he arrive his home, he found his beloved father, the king of Denmark, is already dead. Again, his mothers marriage with his uncle came to him bolt from the blue. It was unbearable for him to accept that his parents’ conjugal bed is being shared. Then the trauma started that ended into death.
What would you do if you were to be given great authority and power? There are those who would be responsible and treat such power with the utmost care, and yet there are those who would use their authority for personal gain as if it were a child ’s play toy. Corruption is everywhere; there is no limitation to where or when it can happen. One of the most notable examples of the abuse of power, and the catastrophe that can occur from the aftermath is during the Elizabethan era in England.
The Kingdom of Denmark had just suffered the death of a great King and leader. King Hamlet was a father to the people of Denmark. Some of the citizens fully believed that Hamlet Jr. should be king because it passed down the lineage. Others believed that Claudius should be king because he was the brother of Hamlet and now the husband of Queen Gertrude. King Claudius says, "This ough yet of Hamlet our dear brother 's death
After the sighting of the ghost, Shakespeare introduces a grieving Hamlet, and the happy couple, Claudius and Gertrude. Claudius gives a rousing speech to the court which creates a supporting group for his rule, yet he still can not get Hamlet to fall in line with the rest of the crowd. Old Hamlet’s murder still preoccupies Hamlet’s mind, so Claudius decides to take a drastic measure to win Hamlet to his side. Claudius states to the entire court and Hamlet that, “[He is] the most immediate to our throne, and with no less nobility of love than that which dearest father bears his son do I impart to [him]” (Hamlet 1.2 113-116). By naming Hamlet as his heir, Claudius sets up the ending of the play perfectly.
Throughout the play, Hamlet is forced to make difficult decisions; as he is conflicted with almost every decision he makes, his uncertainty and unsophisticated thoughts will eventually lead to his downfall. Man vs. Self is a common theme in Shakespeare’s work, and Hamlet is no exception. The most distinct example of this sophisticated concept is Hamlet himself. When analyzed thoroughly, Hamlet is his greatest obstacle and enemy. The earliest of his internal conflicts is when his mother married his uncle, Claudius, in such a short window of time after his father’s death.
In this paper, the audience will understand how Hamlet’s moral ambiguity is significant to Shakespeare’s play as a whole. In the beginning of the
Hamlet uses an analogy to compare his father to Claudius by saying, “so excellent a king, that was to this hyperion to a satyr.” (1.2.139-140) He describes how his father is as superior to his uncle as a god is to a beast. Hamlet's inability to differentiate between reason and emotion shows when he shares his biased comparison of his father to a god and of Claudius to a satyr. He has already developed strong emotions toward Claudius after he and Gertrude married not nearly two months after King Hamlet's death.
Hamlet’s Vengence Hamlet returned to Elsinore and received some shocking news that Hamlet’s mother had married his uncle. His expression was sad and upset all at once in his disgusted face of anger. There the door opened with the new king and the old queen entered and Hamlet standing like a tall tree and not moving like a stonewall. In the play Hamlet,by Shakespeare, Hamlet the prince of Denmark was listening to his uncle Claudius about his marrige and and him exhibiting happiness about it while Hamlet looks ashamed. As his uncle advised him to stay in his home he grows into rage about everything that happened when he came back because Claudius was having a party while he was stuck in his own house waiting for them to return.
As the 16th century transitioned into the 17th century, people’s way of thinking changed. There was a divide between Protestantism and Catholicism and people began to turn away from a religious way of thinking. Hamlet shows this change in its ambiguity and constant uncertainty. For example, there were three ways of thinking about ghosts at the time Hamlet was written, the Catholic way, the Protestant way, and the skeptical way. However, all three ways of thinking are shown in the play, making the audience wonder what the play was being based on religiously.
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a play that seeks the truth. Its substantive representations and characterizations of themes and characters ultimately captivate audiences, with significance in the modern era. Upon examining the play Hamlet, it is well known there is a significant amount of the supernatural, spirituality, and the powers of the unknown. The character, Hamlet, is represented through his actions and personality filled by sorrow, especially after the death of his father and the sudden remarrying of his mother to Hamlet’s uncle.