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Common Themes In Modern American Play

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Themes that are frequently used in modern American plays such as betrayal, incest, revenge, love, the responsibility of power, the complexity of action, the impossibility of certainty, the mystery of death, and where we fit in in the world are all found in Shakespeare's Hamlet. These themes describe the human condition which is what we study as actors. Hamlet has a difficult time taking action towards his objectives in a purposeful manner. Specifically, Hamlet acts upon his thoughts, it is violent, crazy, and out of control. As functioning human beings in society we make decisions without thinking things through all of the time and when we do our actions tend to be based off of what we think others will think of us. Many people care about their
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In the ever changing world of literature, one play stands the test and that is William Shakespeare's Hamlet. This dramatic, thrilling, tragic play tells the story of a “young prince of Denmark, Hamlet, who is seeking vengeance for his father’s murder.” () The storyline itself is able to grasp the reader, and take them alongside Hamlet as he slowly takes down his enemies and uncovers the secrets, betrayal, and scheming nature of his family. Aside from the storyline, what makes this play great is the monologues, as well as dialogues between characters. Shakespeare incorporates an array of vivid imagery, metaphors, and exquisite vocabulary to make known the passion and heart behind every single character.

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The moral background within the story of Hamlet and The Lion KIng are similar consisting that their plots also correspond. In every situation whether it be in Hamlet or The Lion KIng all the actors or cast members displayed an act of portraying a personality not seen at first glance. Which can be similar corresponding to “real” life that most people aren't who they appear to be. For example The King’s brother or Simba’s uncle took on this role of being responsible, caring, and a very big role model in the kingdom but in turn his real role in society was to play this manipulative, and inconsiderate being. The common people; however, followed the role he displayed not the role that made him who he was.

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Throughout the Zeffirelli and Branagh adaptations of Hamlet and the actual text itself, a variety of different views can be

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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.

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America, a country where the people are from all corners of the Earth. Each bringing their own ideals, traditions and beliefs. Since America was young, many have immigrated to the country. Though their reasons, hopes, and expectations vary between individuals, each come here wanting a better life. Having found three individuals, I wanted their accounts to tell three different perspectives on being an immigrant.

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Nicole Glaser Mrs. Barris American Literature 19 April 2023 The Influences of American Literature on Modern Day Pop Culture Throughout American history, as the country has grown and changed, so has its literature. The different literary movements are inspired by the values and beliefs of people, technology, and language evolving over time. Characteristics of American literary movements, such as Indigenous Oral Tradition, Realism, and the Harlem Renaissance are still prevalent today and can be seen in pop-culture including the 2016 Disney film Moana, Harry Bradbeer’s 2022 film Enola Holmes 2, and Angie Thomas’s 2017 novel, The Hate U Give.

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This quote reveals how all these things have affected Hamlet psychologically and emotionally. The death of King Hamlet has led the play toward more death themes, making this the most tragedy

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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.

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In the final scene of Hamlet, Hamlet says “Being thus be-netted round with villainies, -- Ere I could make a prologue to my brains, they had begun the play” (Shakespeare 131). Hamlet ironically thinks to himself as a character in a play because he is so melodramatically self-conscious. By adding this sense of paradoxical exposure, Shakespeare shows his effort to foreground the fact that the audience is watching a play within the play. Since Hamlet is such a rich character, Shakespeare’s work shows how he has something within him goes beyond what a play is capable of representing.

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In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the protagonist, Hamlet, dies in an effort to revenge his father, the King of Denmark, who was murdered and usurped by Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle. Hamlet’s tragic flaw, the cause of his downfall, is the reason why the play concluded with his own death. Ruled by his intelligence, Hamlet examines ideas and plans from many different angles before putting them into action. Although his thoughtfulness is an admirable trait, due to the circumstances, his thoroughness led to the inability to make and commit to decisions, the cause of his doom. This indecisiveness is physically manifested on the PostSecret the forms of text and visual cues.

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Shakespeare uses the indecisiveness of Hamlet to demonstrate that human life is about acting, not thinking. At the beginning of the play Hamlet encounters a ghost while out with his friends. The sight shocks him, but he decides to follow it. The ghost is his father, and they begin to have a full conversation.

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William Shakespeare was a master of his craft, as he managed to write countless of classic plays that are more complex than most today. In Hamlet, Shakespeare used the mental and psychological events to create a sense of excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. The play very much centers around Hamlet’s mental state, making the audience question whether or not the protagonist is actually losing his mind. With this psychological-centered story, a lot of the suspense and excitement comes from questioning Hamlet’s state of mind. Although, Hamlet’s mind isn’t the only source of intrigue, as almost every character has some important psychological event or problem that creates more suspense in the story.

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In the play, Shakespeare portrays Hamlet as a dynamic character to cause a mental state conundrum among the audience and explore the themes of suicide, spying, friendship, madness, providence, love, hate and humour. Furthermore, by utilising literary devices such as soliloquy, characterisation, dialogue, personification, metaphor, dramatic and situational irony Shakespeare exploits these themes and questions Hamlet’s sanity. In the beginning, Hamlet is portrayed as an overthinking person, claiming to act an antic disposition. However, as the play advances his manic rage and irrational acts such as Polonius’s murder and

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Title of the Written Task 2: How does the text conform to, or deviate from, the conventions of a particular genre, and for what purpose? In this essay I will: Explore the conventions of a tragedy Show how Shakespeare adheres to the rules of a tragedy Determine sub-genres present in the play Demonstrate how Hamlet’s themes and characters conform to revenge tragedy In a nutshell, a tragedy is a form of drama established on human suffering, generally concerns the downfall of the protagonist and ending on a despondent tone. “Hamlet” is more specifically classified as a “Shakespearean tragedy”; in which key differences consist of the chorus being replaced by comedic scenes, the play having several subplots and the protagonist facing a tragic death. Additionally “Hamlet” can be categorized as a revenge tragedy, as partly the plot is about a quest for vengeance.

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Williams Shakespeare is recognized as the greatest English writer. One of his best works ever written is “Hamlet”, which is the most complex, confusing, and frequently performed play. The extreme complexity of the main character – prince Hamlet in this play contributes to its popularity until today. “Hamlet is supposedly the most quoted figure in Western culture after Jesus, maybe the most charismatic too” (Bloom 384). In the most famous revenge tragedy, his biggest weakness that he procrastinates completing his revenge for his father’s death by killing the murderer.

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