Any critical evaluation of the play “Hamlet” must be chiefly concerned with the character of Hamlet. Unlike Shakespeare’s other tragedies, “Hamlet” is singular in purpose and scope-it is the story of one man’s personal and moral collapse under the weight of his own (and other’s) decisions, intentions and machinations. The play is not complicated with subplots and extraneous secondary characters, but is wholly focused on the man himself. This dedication to a singular dramatic intention paradoxically makes for “Hamlet” to be, subjectively, Shakespeare most confusing play. It is problematic in its protagonists’ inscrutability, his missing motives, his contradictory actions, and his utter implacability to settle into one stable character. Almost everything he does further contradicts him as an individual in the world of the play and as a dramatic character. For this reason my critical evaluation of the play is that it is artistically self defeating due to its own subversions of character and dramatic convention, and this should render it unfulfilling and disappointing as a dramatic performance. Paradoxically, the plays confusion renders it all the more infuriatingly readable-it is both alienating and enticing, a work which defeats itself in its own realisation and at the same time is only worthwhile and meaningful in this artistic enigma-the individual components should not work, yet it does strike a powerful emotional and dramatic resonance in its completion. Many aspects of “Hamlet” as a text are easily criticised-it is certainly a work with a large amount of problems. However, in a rather subversive and mysterious manner the play is a wonderful work of literature.…
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet himself is a difficult character to figure out. With his elegant intensity and reckless but cautious attitude, he is able to keep his readers entertained as the play progresses. Through his irrational decisions, emotional madness and admirable qualities, Hamlet becomes a character with whom readers will continuously empathize. Our first impression of Hamlet sets the tone for the entire play. We are brought to one of the beginning scenes where Hamlet is…
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark has remained the most perplexing, as well as the most popular, of William Shakespeare’s tragedies. Whether considered as literature, philosophy, or drama, its artistic stature is universally admitted. To explain the reasons for its excellence in a few words, however, is a daunting task. Apart from the matchless artistry of its language, the play’s appeal rests in large measure on the character of Hamlet himself. Called upon to avenge his father’s murder, he is compelled to face problems of duty, morality, and ethics that have been human concerns through the ages. The play has tantalized critics with what has become known as the Hamlet mystery, that of Hamlet’s complex behavior, most notably his indecision and his reluctance to act.…
The story of Hamlet is undoubtedly one of the most famous stories in the whole wide world of literature. It features everything one would wish for in a tale: death, love, injustice, revenge, doubt, and eventually, (in)sanity. How is it with the latter, though? Was the main protagonist of Shakespeare’s most famous play a real madman? Was he faking lunacy to baffle the others? Or did periods of sanity and insanity fluctuate throughout the course of the story? These are the questions that will be looked at and answered in the following paragraphs, and perhaps the enigma of Hamlet’s mental health will finally be resolved.…
Hamlet 's self-description in his apology to Laertes, delivered in the appropriately distanced and divided third-person, explicitly fingers the greatest antagonist of the playconsciousness. The obligatory cultural baggage that comes along with Hamlet heeds little attention to the incestuous Claudius while focusing entirely on the gloomy Dane 's legendary melancholia and his resulting revenge delays. As Laurence Olivier introduced his 1948 film version, "This is the tragedy of a man who couldn 't make up his mind." By tracking the leitmotif of "thought" throughout the play, I will examine the conflicts that preclude Hamlet from unified decisions that lead to action. Shakespeare is not content, however, with the simple notion of thought as a mere signifier of the battle between the mind and the body. The real clash is a conflict of consciousness, of Hamlet 's oscillations between infinite abstraction and shackled solipsism, between recognition of the heroic ideal and of his limited means, between the methodical mishmash of sanity and the total chaos of insanity. I repeat "between" not only for anaphoric effect, but to suggest Shakespeare 's conception of thought; that is, a set of perspectivally-splintered realities which can be resolutely conflated, for better or worse, only by the mediating hand of action. Any discussion of Hamlet, a work steeped in contradictions and doubles, necessitates inquiry into passages concerning opposition to thought, namely those of the corporeal. And, as Shakespeare engages the imagination of his audience primarily through metaphor, I will use "thought" as a catapult to critique sections that are relevant to my argument.…
In both Hamlet and King Lear, Shakespeare incorporates a theme of madness with two characters: one truly mad, and one only acting mad to serve a motive. The madness of Hamlet is frequently disputed. This paper argues that the contrapuntal character in each play, namely Ophelia in Hamlet and Edgar in King Lear, acts as a balancing argument to the other character's madness or sanity. King Lear's more decisive distinction between Lear's frailty of mind and Edgar's contrived madness works to better define the relationship between Ophelia's breakdown and Hamlet's "north-north-west" brand of insanity. Both plays offer a character on each side of sanity, but in Hamlet the distinction is not as clear as it is in King Lear. Using the more explicit relationship in King Lear, one finds a better understanding of the relationship in Hamlet.…
Since Shakespeare first wrote Hamlet there has been discussion about whether or not Hamlets madness is real. Some would say it is not madness that leads Hamlet, but the death of his father or his mother marrying his uncle. Throughout the story, Hamlets actions of thinking about suicide, getting rejected by Ophelia, and believing in the ghost can lead the audience to believe that Hamlet has been overtaken by madness.…
Hamlet is generally regarded as Shakespeare’s magnum opus, sometimes it is even referred as the highest literary product of human genius. Critics have always been argued on the interpretation of Hamlet and even after more than 400 years, yet these argues still going strong. One of the most controversial that topic for critics since the beginning is the interpretation of the third act of Hamlet, where many critics themselves baffle because normal interpretations will make Hamlet subsequent actions irrational and impossible to explain. Many will use insanity to explain Hamlet actions. However, we will presume that Hamlet is staying sane throughout the course of the story. This paper is an attempt at interpreting the purpose and significant of…
Shakespeare’s hero, Hamlet, and his insanity is shown and is demonstrated in the different parts of the play. Many parts in the play points out his madness and his loss of control. Hamlet shows many mood swings throughout the play that makes him act mad and speaks like an insane. Hamlet illustrates many unclear emotions to show his insanity. We can see that there are two versions of Hamlet in the play because of the different actions. Sometimes he acts as a perfect prince and sometimes he acts as he is mad. There is a shift in the different personality Hamlet image, he therefore shows us that he in fact insane, with many example shown throughout the play.…
After Walters descriptions of these very scary truths he states there is still hope, with changes in personal behavior e.g. barrier contraception to prevent HIV/AIDS, allowing cattle’s to be herbivores again to quell Mad cow disease, more effective government policies early detection of diseases, medical…
You should not visit Mexico due to the potential risk of your safety from the ongoing violence of the drug cartels in Mexico.…
Hamlet, the eponymous hero of Shakespeare’s greatest work, descends swiftly into madness and paranoia after the murder of his father and the realization of his mother’s true, morally reprehensible, nature. As a result of these new responsibilities and extreme circumstances, Hamlet diverges from his usual, logical thinking into paranoia and over analysis, a condition that prevents him from trusting anyone. Hamlet, having been born a prince, is, for the first time, forced to make his own decisions after he learns of the true means of his father’s death. Another contributing factor to his madness is the constant probing of others into Hamlet’s sanity. These factors all contribute to Hamlets delay, and that delay contributes to the tragic downfall of Billy Shakespeare’s most brilliant hero at the hands of a distraught and vengeful Laertes.…
Shakespeare’s texts have been re-visited, re-interpreted and re-invented to suit the context and preferences of an evolving audience, and it through this constant recreation it is evident that Hamlet “does not define or exhaust its possibilities”. Through the creation of a character who emulates a variety of different themes, such as revenge, realisation of reality and the questioning of humanity, we can see the different possibilities within Hamlet as an “admirable text” with enduring human value. Furthermore, the emotional journey of Hamlet and his progression of madness provide further opportunity for differing interpretations. Hamlet connects with audiences from a variety of socio-historic contexts primarily due to its address of fundamental human issues and what it is to be human.…
Is Hamlet insane? This question has been discussed over and over again. However looking over the evidence, this paper will take the side of he’s not insane, and is merely a façade.…
Massage can be defined as a systematic and scientific manipulation of soft tissues of the body for the purpose of obtaining or maintaining good health. (ABMP) The history of massage and healing touch is long and complex, with more than 75 different types of massage and bodywork modalities, a generic term used to describe massage in its various forms. Now today across the globe, it has grown up to 350 modalities and counting. (NCBTMB) Massage and healing touch have been practiced for thousands of years in all regions of the globe. Massage is very instinctive. It is a natural response to rub our aches and pains, whether or not we are familiar with the medical knowledge behind the instinct to rub our bodies hoping to find relief. In modern healthcare, massage has taken an important role. It is beneficial in several aspects such as to reduce stress, enhance blood circulation, decreased pain, promote sleep, reduce swelling, enhance relaxation, and increase oxygen capacity of the blood. (Salvo) Massage has been also recognized as a nondrug treatment for cancer and post-operative pain. (ABMP) Within my research, I will be looking at the ancient world of massage and how it evolved. The benefits of massage performed on clients which is the major topic of this research and the future of massage therapy.…