ipl-logo

A Comparison Of Madness In Hamlet And In Cold Blood

969 Words4 Pages

Hamlet is arguably the most revered and re-enacted of Shakespeare's plays. In Cold Blood is commonly recognized not only as an American tragedy but also as a human tragedy, the malevolent as well as the uncanny nature of human existence is beautifully portrayed in the novel. Both the play and the novel are successful because of the universal themes they portray, including revenge, deception and madness. Hamlet and In Cold Blood show how revenge, deception and madness can be all-consuming and will inevitably be destructive (Teaching Companion, 2010).
The works of William Shakespeare and Truman Capote as described in Hamlet and In Cold Blood are similar and, at the same time, differ in how revenge, deception and madness can be all-consuming …show more content…

With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts,-/ O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power / So to seduce! - won to his shameful lust” (Act I, Scene v, 42-45)
The King is in such a rage that he demands his son, Hamlet, "bear it not” without thinking of the consequences (I, v, 83). Even in his anger, Hamlet is aware of the trouble his father's anger will cause; "The time is out of joint: O cursed spite – That ever I was born to set it right" (I, v, 190). This revenge led to the tragedy in the play. This proves the fact that revenge always has disastrous consequences.
In "In Cold Blood," at the heart of the story lies the clash of two Americas, entwined in a tight deathly embrace, Capote sets out to describe the two faces of the conflict - the Clutters and “the others”- extruding dark tones from either party (Olsza, 2009). Capote described how self-deception and revenge can lead to tragedy as follows: “The Clutters were such a perfect set of symbols for every frustration in his [Perry Smith’s] life. As Perry himself said, ‘I didn’t have anything against them, and they never did anything wrong to me - the way other people have all my life. Maybe they’re just the ones who had to pay for …show more content…

His self-deception and revenge led to the eventual tragedy in the novel proving that deception and revenge can lead to frustration and vicious behaviour with disastrous consequences.
The King's anger, Hamlet's ensuing instability and Perry Smith’s psychopathic tendencies and thinking prove the disastrous consequences of deception revenge. For centuries we have read of feuds within families and between countries. It seems that once revenge becomes a factor, anger becomes paramount and the human logic becomes ineffective. In the play "Hamlet" Shakespeare teaches us a valuable lesson; namely, not to allow revenge to overcome us (Teaching Companion,

Show More
Related

Jimmy Cross The Things They Carried

1357 Words | 6 Pages

Shakespeare questions the value of revenge as a means of finding closure and justice, suggesting that it often leads to more harm than good. To draw a conclusion, the tragedy of revenge in Hamlet is a prominent theme in the play, demonstrating the destructive nature of seeking vengeance. Hamlet’s relentless pursuit of revenge causes internal conflicts, brings about a cycle of violence, and ultimately leads to tragic consequences for himself and people around him. Shakespeare’s exploration of this theme raises profound questions about the nature of revenge and its deeper effects on both individuals and

Read More

Revenge In Shakespeare's Hamlet And Robertson Davies Fifth Business

1409 Words | 6 Pages

Revenge can be a dark and winding road for those who choose to take it. This proves true in the play William Shakespeare's Hamlet and Robertson Davies' fifth business throughout the lives of characters Paul Dempster and Hamlet. In both Hamlet and fifth business, revenge used to avenge another person close to a character leads to the death of the one who causes a character's need for revenge; however, in Hamlet of William Shakespeare's Hamlet and in Paul Dempster of Robertson Davies' fifth business, revenge displays different effects on their lives. Paul and Hamlet's paths to revenge are both born out of anger and resentment, both planned ahead of time, but where Hamlet's personality changes, Paul's stays the same during his revenge.

Read More

How Does Fortinbras Get Revenge In Hamlet

2017 Words | 9 Pages

Have you ever been wronged by someone so badly that you felt as though revenge was needed? Perhaps your best friend stole the woman you loved, so you felt that you needed to act and do something to get back at him. Maybe you destroy his life by starting a false rumor about him, or you get in a fight with him and humiliate him. This is just one common example of “revenge” in our everyday lives. In the play Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, there are much more serious things going on, involving death, murder, and wars between nations.

Read More

Hamlet Movie Vs Play Essay

567 Words | 3 Pages

Hamlet is a powerful story of love, life, revenge, and death. The themes within the play are written to live on for eternity. It is difficult to fully and accurately represent a play as great as this one. The movie that we watched in class did not wholly represent the wonders and the magnitude of the themes within Shakespeare’s work.

Read More

Character Deception In William Shakespeare's Hamlet

1940 Words | 8 Pages

Hamlet Character deception is a common characteristic that has and will be a reflecting characteristic in literature for centuries. In many of William Shakespeare’s tragedies, deception, whether positive or negative, is being used to mislead, to protect characters, or to hide a crime or future crime. Analyzing why the characters are using deception against each other is very important to the reader’s understanding of the work as a whole. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, He uses Hamlet’s deception of character and also the character’s use of deception towards Hamlet to carry out the overall theme of the tragedy. The theme that is represented, is that in able to get malicious revenge, you must be able to act as if you are someone different than your true self while in turn, being able to deal with others deceiving you.

Read More

Example Of Betrayal In Hamlet

1327 Words | 6 Pages

When betrayed, one usually has negative emotions towards the people who have betrayed them. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare this idea is well illustrated, it is shown that betrayal affects the actions of Hamlet towards his friends and family, which indicates that the pursuit of vengeance often can cause one to forget the value of life. The betrayals that Hamlet suffered at the hands of his close friends and family, revealed important parts of Hamlet’s character, such as his intelligence, he is a very meticulous thinker that looks at situations from all angles, he is cunning, he has the ability to manipulate everyone into believing that he is insane, and he is skeptical, he does not believe any information until he finds it out for

Read More

The Importance Of Redemption In Hamlet

1386 Words | 6 Pages

O cursèd spite,/ That ever I was born to set it right!” (1.5.188-89). As a result of the truth concerning his father’s death, Hamlet feels as though all the gruesome occurrences happened because he only, can fix them. Hamlet receives a new meaning of self-worth. As the play goes on, Claudius realizes that Hamlet has discovered the truth about the Old King and beings to repent.

Read More

Abuse Of Power In Elizabethan Era

1534 Words | 7 Pages

Firstly, Hamlet is a play of a man by the name of Hamlet, whose father was murdered by Claudius, his uncle. Claudius murdered the king by pouring poison in his ear to claim the throne for himself. Hamlet is then told by a ghost to murder Claudius for revenge, and he struggles within himself for the length of play whether to do it or not. When Hamlet begins to hesitate it does more damage than good and causes a chain reaction of tragic events, and makes the readers question whether Hamlet is truly sane or not. Claudius’s corruptness begins to show when he uses his authority to order those around him to rid of Hamlet.

Read More

Is Hamlet A Coward Analysis

1267 Words | 6 Pages

Hamlet, one of the world’s most popular revenge tragedies, is a play written between 1599 and 1601 by renown playwright William Shakespeare. It tells a story of the royal family of Denmark plagued by corruption and schism. Prince Hamlet, the protagonist, embarks on a journey of incessant brooding and contemplation on whether to avenge his father’s death. In Hamlet’s soliloquy, at the end of Act 2, Scene 2, he asks himself, ‘Am I a coward?’ (II.ii.523) after failing to carry out revenge.

Read More

Nature Of Cruelty In Hamlet

887 Words | 4 Pages

The personality of such characters as Hamlet from William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is much remarked upon. However, it is even more meaningful to analyze changes in Hamlet’s character throughout the play. As Hamlet becomes more driven in his revenge, his actions lose morality and gain consequences. In fact, Shakespeare uses the relationship between a character’s cruelty and the meaning in the pain they cause to comment on the cyclically destructive nature of cruelty.

Read More

Essay On Revenge In Hamlet

1173 Words | 5 Pages

Towards the end of the play, Hamlet finally receives his chance at revenge in the form of a fencing match against Claudius. Although he kills Claudius, a poisonous sword wounds Hamlet, and he exclaims that “O, I die, Horatio./ The potent poison quite o’ercrows my spirit”(5.2.352-353). Revenge distorts Hamlet’s mind to the extent that he challenges Claudius to a fencing match, even though Claudius is out to kill Hamlet. As a result, Hamlet dies, and, in turn, illustrates that revenge hinders logical decision making, and induces dire repercussions.

Read More

Values And Beliefs In Shakespeare's Hamlet

1262 Words | 6 Pages

The reader's beliefs of revenge are re-assessed following Hamlets meeting with the ghost of King Hamlet. In Act One scene five, Hamlet states “ o villain, villain, smiling damned villain.” The

Read More

Shakespeare Use Of Revenge In Hamlet Research Paper

1305 Words | 6 Pages

In Shakespeare’s, Hamlet, revenge plays a major role in how the characters act. They base their actions off of getting revenge. Hamlet, Laertes, and Young Fortinbras all are trying to get revenge for their fathers. All three of the characters use different methods for getting revenge and they all get different results. Shakespeare uses these three characters to show that revenge can consume you and that is all that you want and he shows how harmful it can be.

Read More

Hamlet: A Psychological Approach In Shakespeare's Hamlet

1673 Words | 7 Pages

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (I.v.90). Hamlet is about a young prince who is mourning the loss of his father. He then tries to seek revenge on his uncle Claudius because he poisoned his father. Throughout the play Hamlet’s behavior starts to change which causes him to become mad. The theory about all this is a Psychological Approach.

Read More

A Vendetta By Guy De Maupassant: Literary Analysis

1198 Words | 5 Pages

As long as people have existed, they have wronged one another. They find different ways to harm others. Those who have been wronged tend to seek revenge no matter the situation. They feel as though they must revenge. Because humans almost always seek revenge, William Shakespeare’s statement, “If you wrong us, shall we not revenge?” holds significant truth.

Read More

More about A Comparison Of Madness In Hamlet And In Cold Blood

Related Topics

Open Document