¶ … Hamlet
Understanding Hamlet
William Shakespeare's Hamlet is one of the most famous plays in history. Since Shakespeare's time this play has been continually published and performed all over the world. But when it comes to actually reading the play, the fact that it is written in archaic language makes it very difficult to understand. So in order to understand the play; it's plot lines, characters, and themes, a modern reader must undertake a series of steps in order to fully explore Shakespeare's masterpiece. Using modern technology, particularly the computer, internet, and television, I was able to gain an understanding of Shakespeare's play.
The first thing I did was to obtain a copy of the text, which I located online, and immediately realized that while I understood most words in the sentences, the grammar or way the words were arranged, made it very difficult to understand the meaning of the sentences. It was as though the play was in a foreign language. So in order to get an idea of what the play was about, I consulted several Hamlet summary pages on the internet. One web page, called Absolute Shakespeare, had a very good summary of the plot and important actions within the play. For instance, Hamlet's father, the former king, was also named Hamlet, but referred to in the play as "Ghost." The web page also identified the main plot of the story when it stated "Hamlet learns from King Hamlet's Ghost that he was poisoned by King Claudius... The Ghost tells Hamlet to avenge his death but not to punish Queen Gertrude for remarrying…" ("Absolute Shakespeare") After consulting this background information, and obtaining a general overview of what the play was about, I was able to make a second stab at the actual text of the play.
There are several texts of Hamlet available online, many free, and the Literature Network provides an excellent version that is free and easily available....
After Hamlet has killed Polonius and Laertes has returned from Paris demanding satisfaction, Hamlet justly observes "by the image of my cause, I see the portraiture of his." It is the contrasts between these three characters which give significance to the parallelisms. The intelligent, sensitive Hamlet and the hot-headed Machiavellian Laertes perish on the same poisoned foil, leaving the kingdom to the cool-headed Norwegian, who has been a shrewder contriver
"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
Hamlet Shakespeare's play Hamlet is essentially a character study of one man's slow descent into insanity. The play opens with the Danish prince presented rather innocently, as his father recently died and it is understandable that he might be caught up in grief. However, the appearance of his father's ghost shakes Hamlet to the core. He is faced suddenly with the arduous task of avenging his father's murder. Hamlet believes himself
Here, it is obvious that he cannot see the world in such a simple terms. This attitude establishes Hamlet's views on human nature and life, as stated in his famous soliloquies. First, Hamlet, as a witness and an avenger of his father's murder and of the sinful relationship of his mother to the murderer, is driven to consider that man is nothing more but a "quintessence of dust," although he
William Shakespeare Should Shakespeare's Work Be Translated? Shakespeare has been the lord of writing for centuries. His work, full of wit and puns has not been replaced by any other writer so far. However, the language used in Shakespeare's work has been the reflection of the then literary language which was full of flavor and richness and suited the culture of Western world then. The question is whether Shakespeare retains its meaning
For Oedipus to be considered successful, then, he would have had to challenge his own fate and succeed, rather than enact it entirely according to what was set out for him. In Hamlet, on the other hand, the enemy is tangible and human in the form of Hamlet's uncle, and thus Hamlet is able to confront and vanquish him. Thus, Oedipus represents a kind of ignorant struggle against the
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