Hamlet and the Renaissance: Do you think that his desperate view of man might render him unable to act?
Hamlet, even before he is haunted by his dead father's ghost, seems revolted by humanity in the early scenes of Shakespeare's tragedy. Hamlet has already begun to suspect his stepfather Claudius of something evil, and is angry at his mother for remarrying so quickly, even though the rest of the Danish court does not seem equally upset at what only Hamlet considers an incestuous marriage. Later, when confronted with a visit from his old school friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet parodies the conventional Renaissance ideal of the noble workings of the human form, calling humanity a quintessence of dust. Even if he once believed that humanity was good, the Hamlet the audience sees throughout the duration of the play is someone who mourns the fact that the everlasting never prohibited self-slaughter in his first soliloquy and later muses as to whether he should exist at all, in "To be or not to be," in a world where the dust of Julius Caesar means nothing, as he states in the graveyard.
Hamlet clearly melancholic view of the future of humanity, although he is capable of acknowledging goodness, as he does when he praises Horatio's character before the play-within-a-play, and he even praises Fortinbras' action in the name of the Norwegian's own father, although it goes against the interest of the Danish state. Finally, Hamlet admits that Laertes has a right to be angry on Polonius' account, as Hamlet's rash actions killed Laertes' father, even while Hamlet strove to avenge his own father. Thus, rather than a desperate view of human morality, Hamlet's inaction seems to arise from a combination of paralyzing depression about the nature of acting in a meaningless world and internal self-doubt. He also has an over-active intellect that enables him to rationalize both the murderous instincts of people going against his own interests like Laertes, and as well as his own revulsion at murder, as when he foolishly decides not to kill Claudius at prayer.
Though Hamlet can, and does, clearly make a difference in the situation on the physical plane, he may or may not have achieved any change in the world beyond the grave. Hamlet's death at the end of the play ensures that, though Hamlet will inevitably answer all of his metaphysical questions by entering the realm of the dead himself, he is unable to provide any comfort or information to
He questions whether he should try to clear the court of corruption or just give up and end his life now. It is this emotional doubt that drives Hamlet to act deranged at times, but he overcomes it, and almost manages to answer the difficult questions posed in his life. In Act V, when calm returns, Hamlet repents his behavior (V, ii, 75-78) (Lidz, 164). In Lidz's book Freud is
Hamlet and Don Quixote According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, renaissance means "a revival of intellectual or artistic achievement and vigor, the revival of learning and culture, a rebirth, a spiritual enlightenment causing a person to lead a new life (Renaissance pp). Hamlet and Don Quixote are not Renaissance men in the same sense as other notable figures such as Leonardo da Vinci. They were not artists
Dissidence for Sinfield is the element in a text that seeks to contradict the dominant ideology of the text, or of the culture in which the text was produced (Sinfield agrees with Marx that these are the same thing). Subversiveness is similar, perhaps even identical in objective; the difference is that to be subversive, a text must be successful in its dissidence. For that reason, one must consult the historical
Hamlet is by far one of Shakespeare's more enigmatic characters. We understand from the beginning of the play with Horatio and Marcellus that they think very highly of Hamlet as they decide to tell him first about the ghostly vision they saw whom they believe to be his father. However, when we meet Hamlet, we are confused. Is he depressed -- or is he simply cruel (Davies 30)? Or is
"It is true that Hamlet dies because he postpones too long the killing of the king. But it is equally true significant that Claudius dies because he postpones too long the killing of Hamlet" (Elliott, 1951). 4. Conclusions Great Britain has produced ones of the greatest writers of all times, with William Shakespeare being the most relevant example to sustain this statement. His Hamlet has been played for years within theaters
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now