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Hamlet
First performed between the years 1600-01, first printed in 1603.
Throughout Shakespeare's plays, the maintenance of identity is a very common conflict, as it was shown in
Macbeth and now in
Hamlet. In this play Shakespeare has portrayed young Hamlet to convey the two sides to him; one side shows his insane behaviour towards his family, the other side determines his thoughts of either doing right or wrong according to what he has seen. The play trembles with conflicts: one being identity, which shows all the characters in different disputes of their own. We also see the problems of lack of self-confidence, misjudgement, and betrayal.--Submitted by imran.
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First performance at the end of 15th century, ~ timeline, death of Elizabeth I and accession of James VI and I. First printing 1603. One of the more accessible Renaissance/early modern period texts. One constant theme of the English renaissance is the development of personal character and fame. Hamlet is portrayed as being uncertain as to whether he is the prince of the title, or student. Throughout the play Hamlet is presented with choices, of belief, of action, of love, of justice and of conscience. The play is famous for its soliloquies, where Hamlet presents the audience privately with his perceived choices. The results of his limited choices culminate in the tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.--Submitted by Anonymous
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Recent Forum Posts on Hamlet
Rapidly unfolding events prevent Hamlet from developing his ideas
So I was reading Samuel Johnson's notes on Hamlet last night and saw something that never occurred to me. (Of course it doesn't have to be right, but it got me thinking.) He says that Hamlet might have been about to actually apply the ideas he developed in his "To be or not to be" soliloquy to his own situation when . . . he was interrupted in his thoughts by the appearance of Ophelia. I'm taking another look at the scene immediately after the play-within-a-play, where Hamlet is jumping for joy and declaring giddily that the ghost is honest. One second more and he might have asked himself, "So now that I know the ghost is honest, what exactly do I do?" But R&G come dashing in at that point and he immediately sets to cutting them up with his wit, wasting his anger on them, and then along comes Polonius who does the same thing. What a shock it must be to him, and what a change of mood in the play, that when he's all full of himself and speaking daggers to Gertrude, the ghost appears to reprimand him for losing sight of his mission, and even throws in some disapproval of Hamlet's behavior at that very moment. "For heaven's sake, quit your quaking and look at your mother there! Speak to her."
Posted By Miss Plum at Fri 3 Feb 2012, 12:51 PM in Hamlet || 3 Replies
Hoist with his own petard: another speech we needn't take at face value?
Act 3 scene iv, lines 207 ff Hamlet kills Polonius in Gertrude's room and reminds her that he has to go to England. He willingly heads for the ship with a pair of friends whom he considers no better than rattlesnakes, on the orders of a king whom he now knows to be a murderer. Oh, no prob, he says. "I'm just going for the sport of outsmarting them and blowing up their plans." Pretty high opinion of his own abilities. THIS from a guy who has just ignored his target, accidentally killed the wrong guy, hidden the body for no good reason, and then revealed it upon a few minutes of questioning. This from a guy who was just told by the ghost to get on with killing Claudius. Is that hoist on his own petard speech another of Hamlet's avoidance techniques? He does wind up eliminating two threats to his life while at sea (R&G), but that's only thanks to a lucky pirate attack. ********** ********** WOOPS, wait, I got the timing wrong. The pirate attack occurs after Hamlet foils the R&G plot. But still, it was sort of an accident that he went stumbling around while everyone else was sleeping and happened on the death warrant.
Posted By Miss Plum at Thu 26 Jan 2012, 12:37 PM in Hamlet || 0 Replies
Socks down, head nodding, arm-grabbing . . .
Does anyone have an idea just what on earth Hamlet meant by running into Ophelia's closet all loony-like? Why were his socks down? Why didn't he speak a word to her? Why did he seize her arm? Why did he nod three times? Why did he feel his way to the door while keeping his eyes on her? The way Franco Zefferelli staged it, Hamlet faked the whole thing so Polonius would spread the word that he was mad. I need help understanding that scene. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Posted By Miss Plum at Mon 23 Jan 2012, 10:08 PM in Hamlet || 4 Replies
Something Hamlet never seems to wonder about
I've never been a fan of the ghost. He wants Hamlet to avenge his death seemingly for his (the ghost's) own satisfaction, not to re-establish social justice or for the sake of justice itself. The farthest he goes beyond himself seems to be: Let not the royal bed of Denmark be A couch for luxury and damnèd incest. At least he's gotten out to some matter of state, but wouldn't you know it's one that not-so-coincidentally is also a matter of intense personal resentment. Hamlet does wonder whether the ghost is a seductive demon, since demons will assume pleasing forms in order to tempt humans to foul deeds. But as far as I can tell Hamlet never questions his father's love. He never asks, If my father loved me, why would he order me to commit the same kind of deed for which he's now suffering horrible tortures in Purgatory? In fact, Hamlet in his reminiscences of his father never says anything about what a great dad he was or how affectionate he was; he talks about what a paragon of kingliness he was, what a fine figure he cut. Yorick is the guy who made little Hamlet laugh and bounced him on his knee. Maybe the ghost figures Hamlet, unlike himself the ghost, will get a chance to repent and receive absolution before death, but you certainly never see the ghost say "Make sure for heaven's sake to have a priest handy when you go to stab Claudius." NOOO, it's just "Remember me." It's true, Hamlet characteristically generalizes his situation whenever he contemplates it and sets all his considerations in a philosophical, not personal, context, but it seems to me the question of his father's character -- his psychology, his love -- could also be considered that way. Anyhow, I can't find that Hamlet ever asks a question that to me seems quite obvious. Or does he? Am I missing it somewhere? I have another few complaints/questions about the ghost's character coming up.
Posted By Miss Plum at Sat 21 Jan 2012, 1:54 PM in Hamlet || 7 Replies
Please help!
I need to find quotes for the following words in Act V of Hamlet. I've already done a lot but im stuck on these words Metonymy Synecdoche Metaphor Simile Personification Apostrophe Ambiguity Allusion Understatement Irony Assonance Oxymoron Alliteration Onomatopoeia Pun Consonance Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Posted By Marine tuff at Tue 17 Jan 2012, 9:19 AM in Hamlet || 2 Replies
Why do Claudius and Gert go along with Polonius's spy schemes?
Polonius's theory presented to Claudius and Gert of how Hamlet went mad is easily seen by the audience as an idiotic Rube Goldberg process and a reflection, in reality, of his own obsessions. Claudius at a minimum should be shrewd enough to see that his adviser is off his rocker, and that throwing Ham and Oph together while others watch behind an arras is a preposterous act. It's true Claudius wants to glean whatever intel he can about Hamlet, but this arras business is so crazy it's downright risky. Is it possible that Claudius goes along with Polonius's schemes with the private intention to get rid of the old fool as his next order of business (after he takes care of the Hamlet problem)? Does he refrain from dismissing Polonius right away because Polonius knows too much from his long tenure in Elsinore? I just can't for the life of me imagine someone with a modicum of savvy acceding to Polonius's nutty proposals. I'd look at that guy and say "You're the mad one, not Hamlet."
Posted By Miss Plum at Wed 11 Jan 2012, 2:52 PM in Hamlet || 6 Replies
Why didn't Claudius and Gert hire Horatio instead of R&G?
I want to say Claudius AND Gertrude because she's in on it as much as he is although their motives are slightly different; she wants Hamlet to cheer up while he wants to find out if Hamlet's onto the murder. Anyway, R&G are guys Hamlet presumably hasn't seen in a while, maybe years. Meanwhile, there's Horatio right in the court with Hamlet's full confidence and affection. Do Claudius and Gertrude bypass Horatio because they sense he ain't going to do no undercover work?
Posted By Miss Plum at Wed 11 Jan 2012, 10:24 AM in Hamlet || 2 Replies
Come, Hamlet, come, and take this hand from me.
I've never understood what's in their heads as they face each other before that duel begins. Claudius: How the hell did you escape my plot to have you killed? If you're here, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern aren't, then something's radically wrong. What do you know? Hamlet: Why are you smiling at me? You know that I know what you know: you tried to have me killed. (I bet you're wondering where your accomplices are.) And I still know damn well you killed my father. I don't know what you're up to here, but I've already thought about dying. With a subtext like that, the fact that those two would choose a public event for their first meeting after Hamlet's departure for England baffles me. Hamlet maybe -- he's got the upper hand. But Claudius? Is he riding on the crazy hope that Hamlet somehow escaped R&G without discovering his own murder plot? Why didn't he simply show Laertes the way to Hamlet's chamber?
Posted By Miss Plum at Wed 4 Jan 2012, 12:00 PM in Hamlet || 3 Replies
I am in need to it!
Hi Is there a way to see the play Hamlet performed ... a movie or something like so..... send me please the website or tirtle or anything...
Posted By Zemouli Chahra at Sun 25 Dec 2011, 11:12 AM in Hamlet || 9 Replies
Simple help,
In Act I, 1... Shakespeare used Polonius to convey what message as a playwriter? It is all about language the character used and how uncertain he was... thank you all
Posted By Zemouli Chahra at Sun 25 Dec 2011, 11:09 AM in Hamlet || 0 Replies