Hamlet free essay sample

The full name of the book is, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. 2. The author of the book is William Shakespeare. 3. The film was produced by The Royal Shakespeare Company. III. Plot The genre of Hamlet is tragedy. The inciting incident of the play is that the King Hamlet appeared as a ghost wearing armor and revealed that Claudius murdered him. Hamlet has conflicts himself about whether to avenge Claudius or not because he is not sure the King’s honesty. While Claudius and Polonius surveil Hamlet, Hamlet stabs Polonius, and he creates unavoidable strife with Claudius. Claudius manipulates Laertes into revenge, so Laertes challenges Hamlet a combat, and Hamlet accepts it. The ending IS a sad denouement because everyone succeeds in blood revenge, and they all die at the end of the scene. IV. Characters Hamlet is protagonist with a fatal flaw. He leads the whole story from the beginning to the end. We will write a custom essay sample on Hamlet or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The point of view focuses on Hamlet, and Shakespeare primarily describes Hamlet’s conflicts inside of his mental. Hamlet struggles due to his father’s revenge and finally he revenges on antagonist. Hamlet is antagonist also because he constantly suffers himself due to his thoughts; thinking of his mother’s insane marriage, and his father’s death sparks him revenge. Thus, Hamlet is antagonist toward himself. Claudius is clear antagonist in Hamlet. He murdered the king, and re-married his sister-in-law. Claudius surveils Hamlet when Hamlet pretends to be crazy, and he sends Hamlet to England to kill him. Polonius, a faithful counselor of Claudius, is killed by Hamlet behind the tapestry while peeping at Gertrude and Hamlet. Horatio plays an interesting role in the play; he is the only one whom Hamlet trusts and relies on. Horatio stays consistent with Hamlet and gives him advice. At the end, Horatio cleans up everything and announce the story to the world. Gertrude, the queen and Hamlet’s mother who remarried Claudius, eventually dies drinking poison, which is originally targeted to Hamlet. Laertes is counterpart of Hamlet who mainly resolves the problem. He charges Hamlet to avenge of Polonius and Ophelia, so the bloody fencing match, which is the last scene in which every character dies, holds. Ophelia is Polonius’ daughter who loves Hamlet. She keeps unease behavior and being dragged by other character. She becomes mentally sick after Polonius’ death, and consequently commits suicide. V. Theme The lesson of the play is that a person will certainly be punished if commits sin or harm someone. VI. Spectacle of the Film Film helps readers to understand the original play easier. As an active device, visual elements such as light, expression, and clothing refer the atmosphere of scene and characters’ traits. For example, Gertrude always wears saturated-colored clothes. In Act1, Scene2, when people commemorate Claudius’ throne, Gertrude wears a dark-blue dress that seems somber and cold. The blue color of her dress represents that she is cold-blooded, so she could remarry her brother-in-law less than two month after the king died. Her red dress, in Act 3, Scene 2, shows her passion towards the authority. Like her clothing colors, her behavior is greedy and ambitious. For Ophelia, she always wears ambiguous and faint colored clothes; it shows that her character is unstable and easily swayed. As the film heading to the end, both Gertrude and Ophelia become disheveled. The queen’s hair becomes messy, and she does not wear organized make up. Likewise, Ophelia’s lips are pale and she has deep-dark circle under her eyes after Polonius’ death. Consequently, an appearance of actors emphasizes their emotional changes, so the audience catches the traits of characters. Lighting plays a role to switch the mood of the scene; in the dark, actors are usually in a bad mood. It also creates gloomy mood of the scene. For instance, the light is very dark when the dead King appears to tell the truth. The light shows daytime and nighttime by controlling the amount of light. And a spotlight brings concentration upon the actor who is playing. Background music generally appears when the tension is raised. For instance, when Hamlet approaches Claudius to kill him in Act 3, Scene 3, the serious sound heightens the situation. The film does not contain unnecessary sounds, so the lines of actors can be listened clearly. There is a little echo with their voice, and it creates an equivalent mood to watching a play in the theater. When Ophelia sings the song, it raises miserable feelings to an extreme state. Rather than merely reading her singing, watching her sadness and listening to her wailing stimulate audiences’ emotion, so they can empathize with the character. VII. Acting Ophelia, who loves Hamlet, seems a delicate and weak lady in the play. Her older brother Laertes and her father Polonius always nag her to be aware of Hamlet. She is obedient to them and never refutes aggressively; she seems static and passive in the book. In Act 1, Scene 3, Laertes advises Ophelia not to trust Hamlet before he leaves to France. Ophelia answers him to keep his advice. She said, â€Å"I shall the effect of this good lesson keep as watchman to my heart. But, good my brother, do not, as some ungracious pastors do, show me the steep and thorny way to heaven whiles, like a puffed and reckless libertine, himself the primrose path of dalliance treads and recks not his own rede†(43). This shows that Ophelia is placid and respectful. In the scene of film, she is more active and lively. She lashes out at Laertes; she takes his condoms out of his suitcase instead of saying that long line of dialogue from the original. Also, when Polonius dies, Ophelia shows reckless behavior when Claudius let Gertrude talk to her. VIII. Outstanding Moment The outstanding moment is when the queen drinks poisoned alcohol in the last scene. In the text of play, Gertrude simply denies when Claudius stops her from drinking. It seems that she merely proceeds to drink because she is over excited due to Hamlet’s predominance in the fencing match. She says, â€Å"I will, my lord. I pray you, pardon me† (326). According to that, it is difficult to judge that Gertrude intentionally drinks a cup to protect Hamlet because she notices there is poison in the cup. Readers can only guess and imagine through the lines in the book. However, in the film, she shows a grim face and hesitance at the moment when Claudius says, â€Å"Gertrude, do not drink† (326). Through her action and facial expression in the movie, I see that she intends to drink poison to save her Hamlet. This scene is impressive because Gertrude seems to commit suicide as apology for the dead kiang. IX. Summary In high school, students are compelled to read world literature and get to know Shakespeare. The very first impression of Shakespeare is frightening and complicating due to the fact that everyone has once heard about â€Å"classical† masterpiece is composed of old language, and classical literature typifies hardship of English class. However, high technological development gives a chance to understand these masterpieces better by putting it into visual devices, such as film. It has facial expressions, actions, some humorous satire, and stage settings that emphasize what is playing on the screen. Indeed, visual elements offer easier approach to comprehend ancient literature; preference of watching film rather than reading a book stems from easier understanding. As we can see, the film version of Hamlet provides collateral elements, and it makes some ambiguous scenes of original play clear. Also, feature of the actors becomes plain rather than the text. Hence, while the text of play inherits the original form, which keeps archaic language, the film offers new version that retails visual stimulation, so it delivers deeper understanding of characters. Hamlet free essay sample His uncle now King Claudiusmurdered King Hamlet, his father. Now Hamlet realizes that he cannot trust anyone not even his best friends. In Act 3 Scene 2 Hamlet is talking with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and he asks Guildenstern to play the recorder for him. He denies the request, but Hamlet keeps pushing and pushing him to play it. Hamlet is using the recorder as a metaphor for Guildenstern and Rosencrantz playing him for a fool. The only reasons that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are seeing Hamlet is because Claudius asked them too and are most likely getting paid. Hamlet asks, â€Å"Will you play / upon this pipe† (3. 2 358-59), a question he really intends to mean, â€Å"Go ahead and try to find out what is really on my mind. † When Guildenstern refuses to play the recorder Hamlet says, â€Å"It is as easy as lying† (3. 2 365). Not only have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern been constantly lying to Hamlet about their true motives for being there, but  they also have been lying about their friendship. We will write a custom essay sample on Hamlet or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When Guildenstern repeatedly denies playing the recorder he breaks their friendship again and again. Hamlet then tells them that he is the recorder, revealing to them that he has figured them out. When one plays a recorder they put their fingers over the correct holes and blow and the music plays. Hamlet says that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern think they know exactly where to place their fingers to get the information of why Hamlet is going insane, but they underestimate Hamlet. Hamlet uses this play on words as a weapon to tell them he truly knows, and to tell them that they are no true friends of his. With each person double crossing him, Hamlet’s world is continuously filling with lies. Since Hamlet realizes Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are working for the King, he knows now that the King has ordered the people closest to him to figure out why Hamlet has gone mad. In Act 2 Scene 2 Hamlet calls Polonius a fishmonger. With one little word Hamlet describes the entirety of Polonius’s true self. A fishmonger is someone who is very suspicious and smelly. Hamlet does not like Polonius because he knows he is working closely with King Claudius, who is trying to get information out of him. Hamlet also knows that Polonius is doing this solely for the reason to be on the good side of King Claudius, and with this, we see that Polonius is a type of man who cares significantly about what people think about him. Hamlet knows that he told Ophelia to stop talking to him because he was going crazy, and Polonius did not want people to think his daughter was dating a mad man. Polonius also sent spies on his son Laertes to make sure he was not doing anything that would tarnish their family name. Polonius is desperate for recognition of his superiors, especially King Claudius, and Polonius feels his life needs to be picture perfect in order for that to happen. When Hamlet calls Polonius a fishmonger, it also means that Hamlet is calling him a procurer. Hamlet is suggesting the fact that Polonius has complete control over everything Ophelia does, and uses her, just like a pimp does with a prostitute. In 2. 1 when Polonius is talking to Ophelia he asks â€Å"What, have you given him any hard words of late,† then Ophelia replies â€Å"No, my good lord; but as you did command, / I did repel his letters and denied / his access to me† (2. 1 106-10). We can tell from this that Polonius has forced Ophelia to never speak to Hamlet again, and she obliges. Despite Polonius’ efforts to deceive him, Hamlet truly knows what kind of person Polonius is, and he knows that he will try and coax information out of him. Hamlet also knows that Polonius is too oblivious to understand what is truly being said. In Act 3 Scene 2, after Hamlet reveals Rosencrantz and Guildenstern true motives, he talks to Polonius. He points out clouds that look like a camel, then a weasel, and then a whale (3. 2 384-90). With this Hamlet is slyly letting on the plan he has to kill Claudius. A camel is pack animal that is used to carry heavy things on their back. Hamlet is referring to himself because he has all the anger to avenge his father. He has also just found out that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are not his true friends, that Ophelia will not see him anymore, and that his mother has married his uncle. Hamlet is carrying all of the emotions that have overcome him after all that has happened to him. The clouds then transition into a weaselimplying that Polonius is the weasel. As we were able to see before, Polonius only cares about him and becoming powerful, and is trying to weasel information out of Hamlet because the King asked him to. This is also what Rosencrantz and Guildenstern do to Hamlet. The weasel then becomes a whale. The whale is one of the biggest animals in the world, and Hamlet is eluding to the big task he has at hand the task to oust Claudius as the murderer of his father. People often tend to hunt whales, so he could also be referring to Claudius as the whale and he is hunting him down. Here, Hamlet is essentially telling Polonius his master plan. Polonius, however, just thinks Hamlet is still going crazy so he looks right passed it. This pun can also be seen as an outlet that Hamlet uses to tell someone what is going on. He is all alone and has no one to talk to, and with all of the craziness around him needs to get this off his chest. Hamlet knows that Polonius will not catch what he is saying, so Hamlet is able to express this and become a little saner to take on the task at hand. Whether or not Hamlet has ever been sane is a question that no one can ever really answer. What we do know, however, is that with all of the craziness surrounding his life he uses his speech in a crafty way. He uses puns, metaphors and double-entendres because they aren’t completely truejust like the people around him. His whole life is flooded with confusion, and his words are too. Throughout the play, Hamlet is believed to be going insane. He has formed two different personalities; the crazy one which everyone believes (including himself at times), and the one where he knows what he needs to do. He is split into two different people, with two different meanings. Hamlet has become a pun himself, filling two conflicting roles at the same time, never able to adequately fill either one. Hamlet free essay sample Summary I have succeeded in tricking the whole royal family into thinking I am mad. Aphelia, Polonium, Gertrude, Claudia, and all the rest of them believe that I am heart-broken and losing my mind. This should play right into my trap. Since I now know of the players that are in town, I can continue my plan that consists of disposing of Claudia. The royal family was a simple task. They believe that I have become mad because of the forbidden of Papilla to see me. I even expressed a will o die, rather then be left without her. All of this I am doing, because I see no other way. I must deceive the king, until I am ready to kill helm. l was having doubts of the ghost recently. At first, I figured It to be a legitimate specter. Showing up at a time very shortly after my great fathers death and wearing his shelling armor. We will write a custom essay sample on Hamlet or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He seemed to speak of wisdom that only my dead king could portray. Now, I wonder If It true, I would never be able to live with myself, for that would be a horrible deed, one wrong.Yet, I cannot Just dismiss this apparition, so I will carry out my have decided, that with the help of the players and a little improvising on my part with the script they will read, to check on Claudia conscience. They shall perform a play in which the king is slain and shall watch my new king very closely, for if he so much as flinches I can be sure that the ghost has speak the truth. With that confirmation, I shall begin constructing my play to kill him. Hamlet free essay sample Literature Becton 13 April 2013 The Exploration of Hamlet through a Feminist Lens Throughout the Elizabethan era women were not acknowledge as humans. The ideal gender role of women was to work in the home: cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children. Men were the only ones to work and have a career. The feminist theory analyzes the status of women in society. It deals with gender differences, gender inequality, gender oppression, and structural oppression.Analyzing Hamlet through a feminist lens critics focus on Ophelia one of the plays female characters, within the text Shakespeare conveys the treatment of women in Elizabethan society. In doing this, Ophelia is often utilized as an ultimate pawn by the men in her life; Laertes, Polonius, and Hamlet. As for a women’s social position they are define as being powerless. Ophelia’s brother Laertes is one of the characters that implements her for his desire and will because of her gender. We will write a custom essay sample on Hamlet or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the tragedy Laertes converse win Ophelia exuding a tone of authority and power. He speaks to her as a higher power; he gives her orders not advice. She is not privilege to choose what she wants to do, instead she gets told what to do because in this era women were looked as puppets. Laertes finds out that Ophelia has been seeing prince Hamlet, he doesn’t not feel that Hamlet is good enough for Ophelia, he suggest her to stop seeing him. Considering that Laertes has a higher placement in society because of his gender she listens and agrees with him.Shakespeare Writes, For Hamlet and the trifling of his favor, Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood, A violet in the youth of primy nature, Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, The perfume and suppliance of a minute. No more (I. iii. 5-10) fits your wisdom so far to It believe it As he in his particular act and place May give his saying deed, which is no further Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal. Then weigh what loss your honor may sustain If with too credent ear you list his songs, Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open To his unmastered importunity.Fear it, Ophelia. Fear it, my dear sister, And keep you in the rear of your affection, Out of the shot and danger of desire. The chariest maid is prodigal enough If she unmask her beauty to the moon. Virtue itself ’scapes not calumnious strokes. The canker galls the infants of the spring Too oft before their buttons be disclosed. And in the morn and liquid dew of youth, Contagious blastments are most imminent. Be wary, then. Best safety lies in fear. Youth to itself rebels, though none else near. (I. iii. 25-44) Farewell, Ophelia, and remember well What I have said to you, (I. iii. 84-85).Laertes is leaving to go to France but before he leaves he makes sure he talks to his sister about seeing Hamlet. He thinks that Ophelia is too innocent to be dating someone like Hamlet. Knowing that Ophelia will not put up a fight to defend herself or Hamlet because she is a woman, he demands her to stop seeing him. When Ophelia is left in Denmark, her father Polonius is killed by Hamlet. The traditions when a parent is killed the child would usually seek revenge for the parents death. Since Ophelia is a woman she has fewer opinions, she cannot act- all she can do is wait on Laertes to return and take his revenge. Since she cannot act she goes mad. The Saylor foundation writes, â€Å"A feminist theoretical reading of Hamlet might argue that Ophelia—who is driven to seeming madness throughout the play and, possibly, eventual suicide—is figured as being repressed, abused, ignored, and renounced by male characters throughout the play because of her gender,† (16). Ophelia is constantly used, and abused by the men in her life because of her gender. Not only is Ophelia utilized by her brother Laertes but also by her father Polonius. In the play Laertes asks the king to honor his request to go back to France.Before he leave Polonius has a talk to with Laertes giving him advice on what to do and what not to do while he is in France. When Laertes leaves Polonius has a talk with Ophelia about Hamlet, but she tone shifts from when he was talking to Laertes. When he speaks to Laertes he uses a tone of advice and consideration. When Polonius starts talking to Ophelia his tone is demanding, serious, and oppressive. The way Polonius conveys his message to Laertes is totally different to way he convey it to Ophelia and that’s because they are different sexes.Shakespeare writes, Marry, well be thought. Tis told me he hath very oft of late Given private time to you, and you yourself Have of your audience been most free and bounteous. If it be so as so ’tis put on me—And that in way of caution—I must tell you, You do not understand yourself so clearly As it behooves my daughter and your honor. What is between you? Give me up the truth. (I. iii. 90-98) Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. I do know, When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul Lends the tongue vows.These blazes, daughter, Giving more light than heat, extinct in both Even in their promise as it is a-making, You must not take for fire. From this time Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence. Set your entreatments at a higher rate Than a command to parley. For Lord Hamlet, Believe so much in him that he is young, And with a larger tether may he walk Than may be given you. In few, Ophelia, Do not believe his vows, for they are brokers Not of that dye which their investments show, But mere implorators of unholy suits, Breathing like sanctified and pious bawds, The better to beguile.This is for all: I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth, Have you so slander any moment leisure, As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet. Look to ’t, I charge you. Come your ways. I shall obey, my lord, (I. iii. 115-136). Polonius demands Ophelia to stop seeing Hamlet of gender roles in the Elizabethan era, he does not give her any other choice. Ophelia must obey her father because in the era women did not have another option. Women are looked at differently from men they do get the same respect a man does.In this passage, Polonius displays gender differences he examines how women location in, and experience of, social situations differ from men’s by not treating Ophelia and Laertes the same he shows his son more respect than his daughter. After Polonius demands Ophelia to stop seeing Hamlet, Hamlet goes mad. The king needs Polonius to find out what is going on with Hamlet. Polonius thinks he has the answer to Hamlet problem. He thinks that Hamlet is heartbroken over Ophelia. He uses Ophelia as a trap to figure the true reason for Hamlets madness.Even though he knows Ophelia he hurt because she loves hamlet he doesn’t care about her feelings, because she is just a women. In the tragedy by William Shakespeare, he writes â€Å"At such a time I’ll loose my daughter to him. Be you and I behind an arras then, Mark the encounter. If he love her not And be not from his reason falln thereon, Let me be no assistant for a state But keep a farm and carters,† (II. ii. 154-159). Polonius does not even think about asking his daughter if she mined doing this, he just automatically volunteers her.As a woman she does not have the right to have a say so in what is going on in her life, the men in life so far is making all the decision for her. Ophelia is completely powerless; her life in Hamlet is completely dependent on the men in her life. Similarly, Ophelia’s lover Hamlet also uses her as an ultimate pawn for his own selfish needs. Hamlet is so concentrated on seeking revenge for his father death he doesn’t pay attention to Ophelia needs. Gabrielle Dane writes, â€Å"Ophelia’s lover blithely disregards her psychological needs in favor of his own,† (2).Hamlet believes that all women are untrustworthy and disloyal because his mother married his uncle two months after his father was murder and he finds this very untrustworthy. By hamlet coming to this conclusion he sets aside all his feelings for Ophelia and becomes â€Å"violently abusive toward her†. Hamlet does not want to be with Ophelia but he does not want Ophelia to be with anyone else. He demands her to go to a convent where she will be a nun. â€Å"Ophelia behaves not autonomously at all but obediently† (Dane 2). Ophelia do not try to argue with Hamlet or defend herself because of structural oppression. Structural oppression posits that women oppression and inequality are a result of capitalism, and patriarchy. Shakespeare writes, You should not have believed me, for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not. I was the more deceived 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 my mother had not borne me I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offences at my beck than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in.What should such fellows as I do crawling between earth and heaven? We are arrant knaves, all. Believe none of us. Go thy ways to a nunnery. (III. i. 118-131) I have heard of your paintings too, well enough. God has given you one face and you make yourselves another. You jig and amble, and you lisp, you nickname God’s creatures and make your wantonness your ignorance. Go to, I’ll no more on ’t. It hath made me mad. I say, we will have no more marriages. Those that are married already, all but one, shall live.The rest shall keep as they are. To a nunnery, go. (III. i. 143-150) Hamlet is overly demanding towards Ophelia, he does not treat her as a human being but he treats her as a puppet. Ophelia is used for Hamlet’s emotional, mental, and physically needs, but her feeling are never considered by anyone. Hamlet’s displays gender inequality toward Ophelia; it can be recognized that women are not only different but also unequal to men. In brief, looking at Hamlet through a feminist lens you will see how women are treated and portrayed in this text.Ophelia is used and abused by the men in her life: her father, brother, and lover. Her feelings are ignored and unconsidered. Both her brother and father has an hold on Ophelia because they feel she is innocent and is easily manipulated. They are both very protective of Ophelia which makes them come off as demanding and controlling. Their own perception of Ophelia makes them treat her as a helpless little girl. This shows how men in this time period thought of women, helpless and not having a mind of their own. It also can be a reflection on how Shakespeare thought of women.