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The Unusual Ambiguity Of Shakespeare's Hamlet

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Hamlet focuses on the complications arising from love, death, and betrayal, without offering the audience a decisive and positive resolution to these complications. This is due in part to the simple fact that for Hamlet, there can be no definitive answers to life's most daunting questions. Indeed, Hamlet's world is one of perpetual ambiguity. Shakespeare's Hamlet, in my mind is a problem play because that is what it was initially meant to be in the 19th century. Although it has many tragedy aspects, all around it is a problem play. Why do I think this way? Simple. It all has to do with the way Hamlet acts in his script! Although those around him can and do act upon their thoughts, Hamlet is stifled by his consuming insecurities. From the
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In the same way, Hamlet is faced with a lot of challenges in a series. It all starts with Polonius, who was spying on Hamlet with his mother in the queen’s chamber and Hamlet stabs him. When King Claudius learns about it, he punishes Hamlet by sending him to exile in England. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are sent by the king to make sure that Hamlet is handed to the King of England for execution, but he learns about it and arranges for their hanging. Then, Ophelia dies out of depression over his father’s death and Hamlet’s behavior, and her brother dies while trying to wrestle with Hamlet.

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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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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.

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It was hard for Hamlet to act crazy because he was still grieving over his father 's death and his mother not showing that she cares. Hamlet also lost Ophelia which makes his situation even worse than it was because he has no one in his. No family, no girlfriend, no one. Hamlet feels betrayed by his mother and feels like he can 't trust anyone. Shakespeare gives Hamlet these struggles in the play to amplify the mental and psychological events that make the reader feel bad about what all happened to Hamlet.

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You make a good point about tradition, this is one of the plays we read in high school and is, as we are assigned it now, still discussed academically as a mechanism to address the major themes of the play; that we can never really be certain of many questions of moral significance, the idea that actions have consequences and it is impossible to foresee all outcomes of our actions, the moral fiber of the family and its reflection on society and finally death and the unknown of the afterlife. I think you are you are correct that the audience can relate to Hamlet and sees what he does as similar to what they may do if in the same situation, but there are times in the play that we can see the actions and counteraction where that characters in

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Hamlets tragic flaw is his indecisiveness to make decisions. This trait is demonstrated through the entire play and causes Hamlet to his own demise. When Hamlet has immediate suspicious of his fathers murder and later proof, he delays the murder, which is puzzling because the play is about revenge, and one would expect him to have done it earlier as he had ample amount of opportunities to do so. His indecisiveness has puzzled many.

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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.

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Hamlet is William Shakespeare 's renowned tale of mystery, intrigue, and murder, centered on a young misguided prince who can only trust himself. Some may say that the actions of Prince Hamlet throughout the play are weak and fearful, displaying a tendency to procrastinate and showing an apathetic nature towards his family and peers. Others spin a tale of a noble young scholar, driven mad by the cold-blooded murder of his father by his uncle. In truth, I believe Hamlet is neither of these things. Hamlet is a sort of amalgamation of the two, a bundle of contradictions thrown together into one conflicting but very human mess of a character.

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Due to Hamlet dismissing all of his moral behavior and not caring about what is right or wrong changes the whole direction of Hamlet’s character. This leads to the entire demise of the royal family who is left slain on the floor dead by the end of the play. Although Hamlet’s behavior ends up killing multiple people who were not even meant to die, discourages readers from identifying him as purely evil or purely good--which is the true definition of an ambiguous character. Hamlet was not trying to be purely evil, he was only trying to seek revenge for his beloved father. Furthermore, Hamlet ends up dying in the end of the play after fighting and killing Laetres and Claudius, who had created a plan to slay Hamlet.

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