Example Of Symbolism In Hamlet

“If thou didst ever thy dear father love- revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (Shakespeare 1.5. 29-31). In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, we see the true depths of revenge and how life-consuming it can be. It is not always noticeable the evilness that runs through the play Hamlet. Symbolism shows up throughout the play, the madness and pure evilness. The ghost symbolizes the unfortunate victory of evil. Another example is Yorick’s skull which ultimately represents death. The spying and deception that the characters continue to give each other throughout the story deepens the need for revenge. The ghost that appears to Hamlet is what starts the spiral for himself. In Hamlet, Shakespeare analyzes Hamlet's need for revenge and

Hamlet’s sticks out the most due to many reasons. His speech is filled with ridiculous emotions that the reader will immediately catch. In the early beginnings of the play Hamlet, Shakespeare from the start shows the revenge Hamlet needs. “Bloody, bawdy villain! Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindles villain!O, vengeance! Why, what an ass am I!” (2,2, 610-612). In this line, the reader will see Hamlet has lots of anger towards himself. His madness strikes up after he does not get revenge on his Uncle Claudius. This need for revenge goes around when Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius thinking it was his Uncle Claudius. At this point in Shakespeare's play, you can see the need for revenge trickled into the other characters. “I am satisfied in nature, whose motive, in this case, should stir me most to my revenge: but in my terms of honor I stand aloof” (5,2, 259-262). During this part of the play, Hamlet apologizes to Laertes for accidentally killing his father. Laeteres takes the apology but the revenge is still in the air because he still blames Hamlet for the death of his father and his sister Ophelia. The madness and revenge are what led him to use a poisoned

After the King is murdered by Hamlet’s Uncle he appears to Hamlet. The ghost of the late king represents revenge. “The “enterprise” that has highest priority is revenge; it is on behalf of his vow to the ghost that Hamlet fears the conscience that “makes cowards of us all''—the “craven scruple” of which his encounter with Fortinbras' army will once again seem to accuse him” (Skulsky). Hamlet is made with a decision if he should take revenge for his father. Without hesitation he is on the path to avenge his father against his Uncle Claudius who is now married to Hamlet’s mom. Hamlet leads to the cowardly side of his mind which takes off. He is on the downfall to the madness which spirals into the others. Hatred isn’t always the main key factor in revenge. In this source Skulsky gives other examples of what could infuriate this feeling. “There is always the possibility of being prompted to revenge, not by anarchic hatred, but by fidelity to a code of honor coolly indifferent to the emotional excesses of the aggrieved party” (Skulsky). In this instance he is talking about the emotional sides of things. Would Hamlet be a terrible son if he did not avenge his son? Would the ghost of his father ever go away? He takes the code of honor to his father. The aggrieved party is the ghost itself playing a role in the influence. At first Hamlet is hesitant when he first has the opportunity to kill his uncle. He