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The Role Of Sexuality In Shakespeare's Hamlet

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1. Man has no fixed nature, therefore unwillingly forced to create their own identity. William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, encompasses this philosophy of existentialism to an extent through its main character Prince Hamlet of Denmark, whom struggles to find his identity and purpose in a seemingly meaningless world. Shakespeare isolates Hamlet to see the world as it is, stripping away the tunnel vision of order to expose that the world is filled with disorder, corruption, and chaos. In doing so Hamlet questions the meaning of life, the degradation of moral actions, and how to handle situations at hand as he is incapable of deciding what is considered good and evil. In questioning these concepts of good and evil Hamlet is determined to peruse …show more content…

There is a complex intertwining of sex and the status of sex being a pivotal part of the plot to William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, as in this time ones’ sexual life could be used to label and demean people in society. The topic of virginity becomes in its self a huge ordeal as Hamlet and Ophelia’s sexual life is often questioned throughout the play, we see that Hamlet often spoke to Ophelia in a sexual manner, however, Shakespeare never explicitly tells the audience whether or not they had a sexual relationship. This lack of information therefore paves-way to psychoanalyzing the social concept of virginity. When considering Hamlet’s virginity, the audience can easily assume that he is a virgin, when coming to terms with the Oedipus Complex. This Freudian theory expresses that Hamlet would have a sexual desire for his mom, with that being said readers could interpret that he saw parts of his mother in Ophelia, causing him to fall in love with her and develop an emotional connection to her, however, he would be prevented from having a sexual relationship as she is not Gertrude. The concern of Ophelia’s sexuality, however, is more of a family ordeal, one that concerns both Laertes and Polonius as they’re often commenting on Ophelia remaining a virgin until marriage. They warn her that a woman deflowered before marriage is left vulnerable to society, held with no power nor worth as they’re then considered a damaged good not fit for marriage. Shakespeare expresses this social restraint on women through Laertes and Ophelia’s relationship as Laertes warms her that “the chariest maid is prodigal enough, if she unmasks her beauty to the moon. Virtue itself 'scapes not calumnious strokes (I.iii.40-42)” to explain that a woman is powerless if she loses her virginity before marriage. However, Polonius also explains that all women can be used as a powerful tool when it comes to using their sexuality to corrupt men are persuade information out of them as he attempts to use

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This marks his official plan taking shape and action. In conclusion, the three major soliloquies from Hamlet each reflect the major themes of revenge, death, religion, as well as espionage. Through these incredibly engaging, Shakespeare addresses the greatest of the tragedy’s themes to the audience repeatedly. These speeches show the evolution of internal struggle within the protagonist, as he ultimately questions his position in life, as well as death. Due to the countless interpretations to these main soliloquies, Hamlet continues to demand respect

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Her father uses her as a tool to accomplish his tasks, and due to this treatment, Ophelia loses the ability to possess a unique identity of her own. This concept of dehumanization is furthered in regards to Ophelia through the imagery of prostitution. References to prostitution in relation to Ophelia are made most prominently by Polonius and Hamlet. The above quotation emphasizes Ophelia’s passivity and powerlessness, she is unable to navigate her father’s desires and it is through this that she is objectified. In a like manner, Hamlet’s usage of prostitution imagery towards Ophelia serves to create a form of irony.

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After the death of her father and departure of Hamlet, Ophelia arrives at the castle and pays an unsolicited visit to the royal majesties. She sings, “Young men will do’t, if they come to’t./ By Cock, they are to blame” (4.5.60-61). This passage is often interpreted as Ophelia airing the grievances that Hamlet has committed toward her--namely, he used her solely for sexual pleasure and discarded her when he lost interest. In summary, Ophelia exposes the double standard prevalent in her society: to a man, a woman’s value lies only in her virginity. She blames “Cock”, which represents the patriarchy at large, for society’s willingness to excuse male lust and irresponsibility.

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Historically, a woman’s value has come from her marriage. This is reflected in Shakespeare’s work Hamlet, especially in Ophelia’s role. While Ophelia’s brother is encouraged to travel the world and interact by their father, Ophelia is told to keep her purity and stay away from men until a proper marriage can be arranged. This represents how Ophelia’s value is tied to her marriage and her virginity, rather than any other positive characteristic she may have, and reminds the audience that Ophelia holds little value, especially compared to her brother, who serves as her male counterpart.

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Hamlet in rage says, “ … Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow,/ thou shalt not escape calumny.” (3.1 137-138). This shows that no matter what it is that Ophelia does she will be judged. There is no escape from her torments and she has been doomed to be only a pawn with due to her being a women. Her gender being female has brought her a life of oppression from men and a treatment of a child.

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“Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so”, is said by Hamlet during Scene 2, Act 2, of the Shakespearean play, Hamlet. This quote discusses the complexities of thinking, and how overthinking can cause a distorted and impractical idea of reality. In the eyes of a moral idealist, such as Hamlet, this contemplative state causes the character to see only the good outcomes of a situation. Through this idea, in both the Kenneth Branagh and the Gregory Doran’s theatrical renditions of the play, through the use of music, colour, and symbols in the Closet Scene, one can infer that hamlet is in fact a moral idealist.

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The Portrayal of Women Hamlet explores the position and power of women in society through the actions of both Ophelia and Gertrude and through the authority the men have over them. Women are seen as a possession of men. In the scene where Hamlet meets the ghost of his father, the Ghost mentions that as he sleeps by his brother’s hand, he have lost his “life”, “crown”, and “queen” (1.5.81-82). In the Ghost’s eyes, Gertrude, his “queen”, belongs to him just as his life and crown does.

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When Hamlet promises he would marry Ophelia, it shows the coercive and manipulative nature of Hamlet and of males in general. Shakespeare here shows how men, like Hamlet, are willing to lie and manipulate women for the sake of sex, even if that manipulation results in harm (for Ophelia the loss of her virginity means she has no future as nobody will want to marry

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Due to the deep patriarchal view, he inputs women, he suggests Ophelia devote herself to morality and purity. In his eyes, refraining from romantic relationships and remaining faithful increases a woman's value. Therefore, through such suggestions and connotations, Hamlet feels Ophelia has not fulfilled the expectations expected of women, which is a recurring theme throughout the rest of the

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But her brother, Laertes is allowed to go to France on his own and do as he pleases (Shakespeare 15-18). Society has almost always classified work by gender. When Ophelia’s dad, Polonius is giving a perception that he is a man that involves prostitution in his life (Shakespeare 30). It shows how women are more likely to please men. In this scene we see how the woman's job is obviously being a prostitute.

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These are some multifaceted existential questions that links with the tragic hero, Hamlet, the prince. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, a classic play written by William Shakespeare, explores these existential questions, where Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, seeks truth and understanding as he tries to avenge his father's death. Throughout the play, Hamlet proves to be an existential character where he displays traits of being suicidal and insane in his plot to kill Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, to avenge his father’s death. In his efforts to kill Claudius, Hamlet plays the role of being insane thus convincing everyone that he is

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On the one hand, there is the world of absolute, immutable values of which only Hamlet is really aware, and on the other, there is the world as it actually is with all its "imperfection and conflict" with which Hamlet has to contend” (Taylor 152). I agree with Taylor, Hamlet is stuck in a world that has permanent situations that he is unable to change, which result in his conflicts. However, he tries to change permanent situations like his father’s death which result in even more problems for him that keep on going. But, as we can see conflict in Shakespeare’s works is essential, it is what keeps the story going and keeps us entertained. Hamlets many inward and outward conflicts throughout the play allow us to follow him along and see how he reacts to all his problems.

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Hamlet once again fails to understand that Ophelia much like himself is only trying to stay loyal to her father, much like what he is doing himself. In addition, Hamlet blames woman for giving birth to such evil and deceiving men like Claudius and himself. When he was talking to Ophelia he told her "Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better

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A Rue for You, and Some for Me William Shakespeare is a renowned playwright widely known for writing dozens of plays. Hamlet, a play about a son who plans to avenge the death of his father by his own uncle, is one of his most retold plays as it is acted out time and time again over the centuries. His characters, predominantly male, are three-dimensional figures whereas the females in Hamlet are condemned by many shakespearian critics for failing to be strong characters. However, in Elaine Showalter’s article, “Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism”, she describes Ophelia, Hamlet’s love interest, as a character who is more than what modern culture depicts her as.

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Since Renaissance women have taught to get married in order to support themselves, very few lived independently. Women lived their lives along with the dependency, hence men often misunderstandings of women about their inability to protect themselves from society 's conception of them, in which played the most important role in faith that uses to classified between women and men. While Shakespeare 's treatment of Ophelia of the tragedy Hamlet begins with an exploration of the effects of a patriarchal system upon the character. To Ophelia, it would seem to depend on the compassion of the male figures throughout her life, is certainly show that women can be a victim figure to all of these issue during this time period. Although it has been claimed by critics that Hamlet is unique among Shakespeare 's tragic heroes, who is not to blame for the tragedy of the play.

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