In his "to be" soliloquy, Hamlet explores how we can sometimes kill our motives when we think about them too much. He is thinking of Fortinbras when he makes this statement because he is aware that there is something in him that is very different from Fortinbras and he attempts to figure this out. Thoughts "make cowards of us all" (Shakespeare III.i.91). He states, wishing he could not think so much about his actions but simply act upon what he knows to be right. This statement allows us to see how much Hamlet is haunted by Fortinbras as he is haunted by his father. Fortinbras reaches Denmark when it is too late to actively do anything about his father's death. When Hamlet hands the kingdom over to Fortinbras at the end of the play, Shakespeare is reinforcing the...
This final act also resolves any conflict between the two men. The conflict between the characters is important because when looking at the two men, we see that Fortinbras possesses the strength and drive that Hamlet needs but simply cannot muster. Fortinbras is also significant to the play because he is actually needed at the end of the play because there is no one else qualified enough to rule Denmark.
"(Summary and Analysis: Act V) CONCLUSION It is clear that Hamlet undergoes a personal transformation as he holds the skull of the court jester of his childhood and as he has lost all of those he loves so dear. Whether his mind clears or he simply is able to step back from that which bound him from action and had him hiding behind a mask of insanity it is clear that Hamlet
" This madness likely leads to Ophelia's suicide but, consistent with the entire theme of this play, the exact nature of Ophelia's demise is left to speculation. The fascination with Hamlet is uncanny. What provides this fascination is the fact that there is always more to what is going on in the play than what actually appears to be. Observers of the play are left with an overwhelming feeling that they
A hop'd thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's wife; thought thy bride-bed to have deck'd, sweet maid, And not have strew'd thy grave (V.1.244-247). When Hamlet is feigning madness and wishes to tweak Laertes, he claims to have loved Ophelia, though his actions previously have not shown much love for her: lov'd Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers Could not (with all their quantity of love) Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her? (V.1.280-282). Laertes
The centrality of the ghost to the play's metaphysics might be inferred from the fact that William Shakespeare acted as the ghost and the player king (Bloom), a strange chimera and bellerophon within the anatomy of the play. To cite Eliot again, Hamlet "is the 'Mona Lisa' of literature" (cf. Hoy 182). It is an exciting challenge to participate in this critical tradition in hopes of concluding it. However, the
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
Shakespeare's Plays: Henry the IV Part I, Hamlet, a Midsummer Night's Dream Henry the IV, Part I Act 1, Scene 1, Lines 78-90. KING HENRY IV: Yea, there thou makest me sad and makest me sin In envy that my Lord Northumberland Should be the father to so blest a son, A son who is the theme of honour's tongue; Amongst a grove, the very straightest plant; Who is sweet Fortune's minion and
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