In his play Henry VIII, author William Shakespeare does an incredible job of conveying the emotions of his character Wolsey, who has just received the shock of his dismissal as the King's advisor. Shakespeare's description is realistic because it reflects the range of feelings people often undergo when reeling from an unexpected disappointment. Wolsey's soliloquy reveals anger and lamentation as he struggles to come to terms with what has happened. Shakespeare portrays both the hostility and despair of Wolsey's reaction through allusion, figurative language, and an altercation in tone.…
He goes on to continue that the player would “drown the stage in tears and cleave the general ear with horrid speech” if he knew what Hamlet’s burden. He is thinking that the player was so skilled that he could have the entire kingdom revolting against Claudius in a five-minute speech than Hamlet has done in two acts of a play! Hamlet is upset and angry with himself because this is so. He has let the vile King out of his sight too many times when he could have taken revenge, but he has failed to do so. Hamlet’s soliloquy reflects this anger at failure theme in Act II, Scene…
Claudius’s words and actions in Act IV further reveal the king’s duplicity and ruthlessness. In the act’s first scene, he tells Gertrude that he had hidden Hamlet’s madness from others because “so much was our love” for the prince. Two scenes later, alone on the stage, he reveals his plan to have Hamlet killed in England. The contrast calls to mind the lesson Hamlet drew from the Ghost back in Act I, that stated, “one may smile, and smile, and be a…
Deception was a common theme among the two plays, and it was used to mask the sorrows one has had to experience in life. Often, one falls into the hands of deception not only to deceive others, but mainly to deceive themselves from the truth they cannot bear to face. It is important to accept the mistakes and forgive, in order to…
Shakespeare employs violent, corporal imageries such as “Who… breaks my pate… plucks off my beard, and… tweaks me by the nose?” (II, ii, 568-570) to disclose the mental status of Hamlet. These imageries commonly imply pain, suggesting the excruciating internal struggle of Hamlet as he endures character dynamics. The diction also plays a crucial role in determining the tone. Hamlet finishes loathing himself by “Bloody, bawdy villain!/ Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!” (II, ii, 577-578). The alliteration of the explosive consonance “b”, the internal rhyme of the syllables “less” and “rous”, and the repetition of the word “villain” all amplify strong disgust. Shakespeare utilizes forcefully negative diction to illuminate the struggles of…
Shakespeare has used various dramatic techniques to express his idea and enduring value of guilt. In Act 1, as Polonius talks about ‘the devil hiding’, Shakespeare uses a dramatic technique as Claudius acknowledges his conscience in an aside, “how smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience”. Claudius is the villain of the play, however Shakespeare has a created a complex character with a working conscience and serious feelings of guilt.…
Comparing the plot and the play, I was able to see a parallel to some very basic human emotions and dispositions such as unrequited love, deception, and lies. Once the actual story was revealed I was able to gather a myriad of human experiences and see that they are still relevant and prevalent to me in the twenty first century; to list a few, religious prosecution, adultery, deception and scams, mob mentality, love, mankind evilness towards one another, pride, and…
Hamlet 's soliloquy at the end of Act 2 is a conveyance of the emotional journey of Hamlet and its exploration of the theme of revenge provides extensive evidence possibilities of constant reinterpretation as it demonstrates a character to understand and relate to. The soliloquy provides a chance for change in the audience 's perception of Hamlet, and allows for a more intensive insight into Hamlet 's persona. The characterisation of Hamlet suggests he is self-deprecating and insecure, evident in the statement “oh, what a rogue slave am I!”, and in this the audience relates to Hamlet in his inability to decide how to fulfil his immense responsibility. The idea of Renaissance Humanism is evident in Hamlet 's conclusion to “catch the conscience of the king” through the production of a play that is emulative of his father 's murder in order to see Claudius ' guilty reaction. This notion is supported by Salter, 1988, who declares Hamlet is of a philosophical nature that is aware of the…
Later on in the first play his character changes. He is presented as a disheartened, wretched man. This is shown in the line:…
For me, a fascinating aspect of the play ‘Macbeth’ is the way Shakespeare maintains the audience sympathy for Macbeth, a ‘tyrant whose name blisters our tongues,’. By the end of the play Malcolm is justified when he says, ‘I think our country sinks beneath the yoke;/ It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash/ Is added to her wounds.’ Yet, despite all of Macbeth’s tyrannous actions, somehow his tragic heroic status is intact at the end of the play. For me this achievement represents the true genius of Shakespeare’s dramatic prowess.…
All throughout his play, ‘Macbeth’, Shakespeare excogitates the inevitable obliteration emanating from unrestrained ambition. He exposes in Act I Scene VII, the inner turmoil which plagues Macbeth succeeding the witches’ prophecy of his future as King of Scotland. A glimpse into Macbeth’s soul in this soliloquy enables the audience to analyze Macbeth’s character and state of mind at that specific moment, to gain a better perspective of Duncan’s character, to acquire information necessary to follow the play, and to foreshadow Macbeth’s future actions. These four purposes of Macbeth’s first soliloquy will be further discussed in the following.…
Grief is a universal emotion felt by everyone at some point or another during the course of their lives. Its effects can be very diverse and adverse, causing different people to act in very different ways. It is very unpredictable because it is unique for each person, thus it is difficult to ease or even ascertain. It is accompanied by many other painful and confusing emotions and if not dealt with properly, it may prove to be cataclysmic. The theme of grief is quite prevalent throughout William Shakespeare 's "Hamlet", as virtually every character in the play experiences it. In fact, all of the main characters experience this emotion before the play is through. Grief has many causes and as a result, many outcomes, but the one thing that remains…
Hamlet is plagued by self-doubts. In his second soliloquy, the essence of his true conflict is uncovered. He is committed to seeking revenge for his father, King Hamlet, yet he cannot act on behalf of his father because of his revulsion towards extracting that cold and calculating revenge. Hamlets self-condemnation takes several forms, including a series of imaginary, demeaning insults that he absorbs like a coward- he feels he has done nothing to take revenge on Claudius and feels like he lacks the ability- `unpregnant of my cause'.…
Hamlet’s soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 2 serves to summarize the first events of the play as well as give the audience insight on Hamlet’s distaste for them. Shakespeare uses extensive imagery to show hamlet’s anger, disgust, sadness and recurring self-pity. These arise partially from his father’s death but are due, for the most part to his mother and uncle’s quick and somewhat perverse and unnatural marriage.…
In the last scene of act I Hamlet is told by the ghost that his father has been murdered by Uncle Claudius, the brother of the deceased king. Hamlet once mournful and grim turns revengeful, he promises the ghost to “sweep” to revenge. But he is tormented with doubts. The ghost has taken its toll on Hamlet but has not been convincing enough, he cannot fully trust it given that it might also be an evil spirit willing to make him change course, misleading him to murder an innocent man and be “damned” as Hamlet puts it in his words full of fear and anxiety. For such reasons Hamlet conceives a plan, he is going to wear a mask of madness, or put on ‘the antic disposition’, which Hamlet considers will make things easier for him: Hamlet under the mask of madness intends getting people talk more freely in his presence and thus he might easily find the truth about his uncle. But, far from working his plan turns to be counterproductive. Soon, Hamlet draws even more attention to himself, the royal court is intrigued by his strange behavior and King Claudius summons Hamlet’s school friends Rosencratz and Guildernstern asking them to go spy on him. Hamlet is suspicious of his own friends and soon conceives a new idea to trap his uncle: the reenactment of his father’s murder under the cover of a play called “The Murder of Gonzago”. In this particular soliloquy, which comes right after, the audience is waiting to see a more determined Hamlet ready to avenge his father’s murder: indeed it has been a while since Hamlet promised to act. Instead we are presented with an even more confused character, not only uncertain of the world surrounding him but also himself.…