The struggle to act upon his father’s murder is a key factor in Hamlet’s disillusionment with the world. The Elizabethan period was a time that demanded revenge and this is even true in our present time to some extent. An eye for an eye approach was considered socially correct which Hamlet initially suggests ‘May sweep to my revenge’. Since Claudius has become the new king, he is considered a false king and imposter to the throne by Hamlet and this leads to the collapse of the natural hierachy that was in place. He states ‘tis an unweeded garden’ alluding to the fact that a false king leads to corruption which finally leads to the collapse of the hierarchy.
Thus, Shakespeare addresses the earthly presence of death to challenge man’s existence, while acknowledging the contradictory nature of man. When Hamlet distinguishes the public view of humanity as an invention of perfection, he juxtaposes these glorifications for mankind by emphasizing his gloomy opinion about the subject and therefore illustrates how his father’s murder contributes to his disillusioned, yet paradoxical thinking. Hamlet’s purpose for juxtaposition seems to assist in revealing the concept of man’s contradictory nature. Shakespeare uses such diction as “angel” and “god” to describe society’s perspective on mankind, and contrasts this concept by having Hamlet state that humanity is simply “dust”(2.2.327-331). Hamlet’s juxtaposition of humanity highlights how Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s behavior derive from a contradictory nature.
Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’ reveals the consequences of change as a result of individual action within an Aristotelian concept and structure of tragedy. Lear’s violation of the natural order in the first scene “we have divided our kingdom in three” is a direct challenge to the Divine Right of Kings. This action reveals Lear’s hamartia of hubris which is reinforced throughout the drama. “Which of you shall doth love us most?” His abdication of the throne in order “to shake all cares and business from our age” and his treatment of Cordelia and Kent represent the most unnatural acts of injustice, unleashing strife and chaos on the world and unimaginable suffering .A traditional Aristotelian tragic hero, Lear undergoes dramatic transformation from a egotistical, autocratic ruler to “a very foolish old man”. The process of change can be challenging and can be achieved through a painful and erratic process to enlightenment and humility.
Check your notes; below is a succinct synopsis of that introductory discussion: “Waiting for Conventions” In Waiting for Godot, Beckett implements broken conventions of traditional theatre in order to successfully satirize the detrimental nature of the human condition symbolized throughout this absurdist play (which seems to have no plot). A certain level of tension is created by this plays lack of plot which leaves the audience expecting something to happen that never comes. This lack of plot to some overshadows the reasoning behind why Beckett does this. Although these broken conventions can act as a looking glass into the true meaning of the play, they require the audience to do a certain amount of searching to crack the nut which is Waiting for Godot. Waiting for Godot, unlike many plays follows no specific plot, a concept in which most conventional plays ought to have in order to rope in an audience member to the contents and morals of the play.
While they argue that Hamlet's problems cannot be simply reduced to the Oedipus complex, Barber and Wheeler state that an understanding of Hamlet "must be consistent with the presence of that complex, for the Freudian explanation clearly works." Emphasizing Hamlet's guilt, which is focused on his father, not his mother, the critics argue that this guilt refers to Hamlet's wish to kill his father, which he cannot do since Hamlet's father is already dead. The wish, Barber and Wheeler explain, is diverted from Hamlet's father to his uncle. Taking another approach to Hamlet's oedipal issues, Janet Adelman (1992) centers on the role of the mother. Adelman illustrates that
If Hamlet were to have seen his father’s ghost by himself, there would be a greater argument for him being insane from the outset of the play. Hamlet also exerts control over his actions, which is the main reason why it could be argued that he is sane. He actively tries to convince Polonius that he has gone mad - mocking him when he would usually be respectful, acting cruelly towards Ophelia whom he was clearly affectionate to earlier in the play. He does this in the hope that Polonius will tell the court of his madness. Hamlet is often hesitant to do things, for example where he had the chance to kill Claudius in the chapel but couldn’t bring himself to do it, not because he would be killing another human but because he wanted Claudius to suffer and not go straight to Heaven.
In Hamlet’s third soliloquy, there are echoes of struggle and disillusionment which are illustrated as important concepts in dealing with Shakespearean language throughout the play of HAMLET. The quote, “To be, or not to be: that is the question” (ACT 3 SCENE 1)– Hamlet, illustrates the rhetorical questioning, a feature of dramatic struggle, of Hamlet about asking of ‘being’ in the first line. He points out that this is the question that we must all ask ourselves all the time. It is in this first line that it is noted that the soliloquy is a set piece on life and suicide rather contrasted to Hamlet’s ‘feigned’ madness which is recurred throughout the
Analysis of Hamlet’s Soliloquy in Act III Scene I of Shakespeare’s Hamlet Hamlet’s soliloquy in Act III scene I of Shakespeare’s tragic play Hamlet is perhaps Shakespeare’s most famously known discourse. The very first line “To be, or not to be - that is the question” (3.1.57), enters the audience into a great philosophical question about the limits of human integrity. This soliloquy focuses doubly on portraying abstract, profound questions about life to the audience, and explaining the intensity of the turmoil which Hamlet feels. This in turn pushes the topic of Hamlet’s sanity, and the legitimacy of his mental frame. Hamlet’s soliloquy functions to attract the audience, and to reveal important information about the tragic hero: himself.
How does Shakespeare attend to the problem of knowledge in Othello? My thesis is that there is an epistemic crisis in Othello. Tragedy is an epistemological problem. It is the outcome of the problem of knowledge. Thesis underlines the notion that the play has an attitude towards the audience.
In my final paper, I plan to prove that the root of Hamlet’s problems is the patriarchal society he lives in. I believe that Hamlet’s hesitation is a result of his reluctance to participate in the patriarchal order. He is torn by his need to honor his father and take his rightful place in that society and his disdain for that very system. I will use the Characters of Ophelia and Gertrude, not as evidence of Shakespeare’s misogyny, but as deliberate devices that illustrate the consequences of patriarchy. Should he comply with the patriarchal order, he must either oppose his mother and take the throne, or dishonor his father by accepting his uncle as his mother’s husband.