Preview

Hamlet Questions

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
320 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Hamlet Questions
Hannah Love

ENG4U

November 30th 2012

U3A8

On the discussion board post your answer to the questions: "What is Hamlet 'about'?" and "What are its enduring themes and messages?”. Your response does not have to be governed by the Values and Worldviews (Dialectic) approach taken through this unit. Substantiate your own ideas with evidence from the play. Don't research. Build on or refute with reason the responses of two others.

What is Hamlet about?

With knowledge of the book from previous research and actually reading the play itself in my opinion, the play “Hamlet” is about a troubled man going through very difficult time in his life after his father is murdered by his uncle which is now married to his mother (which would have been his sister in law). Hamlet throughout the play seeks revenge on Claudius for the murder of Hamlet’s father.

What are its enduring themes and messages?

The main theme for Hamlet in my opinion is revenge and madness. Hamlet seeks revenge on Claudius for the murder of his father, which is Hamlet’s mother’s recently new husband and has not known about the murder of her late husband. Madness is another common theme in the play because Hamlet for some scenes pretends to act mad towards his companions (Act Two, Scene One) or when he is actually angry but talks to himself about his plan to seek revenge (Act Four, Scene Four). The message I got from the play is that family is truly important in life, Hamlet had a close father-son relationship so when he lost his father it was very traumatic for him. It is always very hard when you lose a loved one in your life but to find out that he was murdered by your uncle? I am not surprised for how Hamlet reacted to everything that happened in his life. That is a lot for one person to

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    This a brief synopsis of the play; Hamlet is the son of King Hamlet who died before the play begins. King Hamlets brother, Claudius takes the throne and marries his wife. The story largely tracks the revenge sought by Hamlet after the murderer who is, by GREAT surprise, King Hamlet's brother, Claudius.…

    • 2327 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet supports a large array of themes, but I feel that the most prominent theme, by far, must be that of Appearance vs Reality. Shakespeare’s work, very much open to interpretation of the individual reader, makes the question of the central theme one that proves difficult to choose but simple to support no matter the decision. The play, filled with problems and questions answered with yeses or noes or anywhere in-between, creates a large area for discussion and person identification. Whether the reader supports the theme of Women, Poison and Corruption, or any of the other themes said to be present in the play it proves fairly simple to build a case to support it. With all that, I have decided to support the stance of viewing Appearance vs Reality as the central theme as I feel it seems the most logical and the most widely supported theme throughout the work. Overall, the theme of Appearance vs reality proves to be the best fitting central theme throughout the story because it encompasses other smaller themes, such as Madness vs Sanity and Justice and Revenge, and it is the most widely supported theme as a whole.…

    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    From the very beginning, the Play shows that Hamlet is not living the life that everyone would expect a prince to live. His father is dead and his uncle conquered Hamlet’s throne, while declaring Gertrude as his property. Also Hamlet and his love Ophelia are told they cannot be together, which truly initiates the Play. Hamlet doesn’t understand why his life turned out this way. He is often confused and doesn’t know why his life seems to be ‘stuck’ in this horrific cycle of unfortunate events, or if there is more to his life, or a greater purpose. “To be or not to…

    • 1715 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet

    • 1093 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The tragedy starts with just that, tragedy, the death of Hamlet’s Father, the king. The movie starts out with the watchmen on duty seeing an apparition of some kind, which they later learn is Hamlet’s deceased father. The watchmen decide to tell Hamlet of this strange apparition after Hamlet’s mother, the queen’s wedding to her brother in law. While the wedding is going on and after the ceremony, Hamlet is clearly distraught. The queen is marrying Hamlet’s father’s brother only two short months after his father’s sudden death. The watchmen tell Hamlet of the strange apparition that is haunting them nightly and Hamlet is curious, he wants to see it for himself. In my favorite scene of the entire movie, Hamlet runs through the foggy woods that night, yelling, screaming for his father’s tragic passing. He gets a response from his father’s spirit; his father’s voice speaks in the most bone chilling voice. He tells Hamlet that his death was “most cruel and most unnatural” and he makes this very clear, saying it more than once. He says his brother snuck up on him while he was asleep in the orchard and poured a leprous mixture into his ear. The King’s own brother committed the deed that made him fall ill and die almost immediately. Before disappearing into the night, the apparition says to Hamlet “Remember me!” This experience is of course very emotional for Hamlet.…

    • 1093 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet undergoes many forms of stress throughout the play, and, as a result, his complexities are quite apparent. While some of Hamlet's attributes work in his favour, others, such as his strange relationships with women and ever present insanity, only act to hurt him. Hamlet's studying at Wittenburg also serves to his disadvantage. While attending this progressive school, Hamlet has obviously gained vast amounts of knowledge, as illustrated in his Pyrrhus speech (II:ii:455). A result of Hamlet's advanced education is his desire to obtain proof of Claudius' guilt before he takes action. Rather than act quickly, as was the case with Fortinbras' actions, Hamlet would much rather establish guilt in a (relatively) calm and collected manner. While Hamlet could have easily taken Claudius' life, he instead wrote new lines for the play "The Murder of Gonzago" and stated he would observe Claudius' looks (II:ii:601). A special type of individual is required kin order to develop such a plan, and had Hamlet not been so well educated, he might have acted quickly or without thought. Hamlet's plan is carried off and Horatio "did very well note" (II:ii:294) that Claudius showed…

    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A#1 Question 15: The ghost explains to Hamlet about the way he died. That he was asleep in his orchard, and that his uncle came up to him while he was sleeping and poisoned him, “with juice of a cursed hebenon in a vial” (Shakespeare 1824). He had poured the poison it in his ear and it moved quickly through the body. He tells him how his body was then covered in a rash. His own brother took his life and everything that went with it.…

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Characters in Hamlet

    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The play Hamlet is without a doubt an odd story to read based on what society today has become accustomed to. A brother killing another brother, and then marrying his wife. It is not a typical story in the modern world today. There is a vast variety of different themes that can be traced throughout the play, however the most popular is madness and sanity. Madness and sanity shape the play into what it is, without madness and sanity the play would have no life. Certain actions would not occur, certain events would not occur, and certain statements would not occur. Hamlet is a perfect example in the thought of is he acting insane or is he truly insane?…

    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Questions

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages

    1. No, Gertrude does not tell Claudius the entire truth about what happened between her and Hamlet. She tells him that Hamlet killed Polonius and that Hamlet is going insane. Hamlet advised her to tell Claudius that he is crazy and not tell him that she knows that he is faking it.…

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Les Brown once said ,"The question is- if you die today what ideas, what dreams, what abilities, what talents, what gifts, would die with you? Think about it" he and the main character of Shakespeare's Hamlet have a similar way of thinking. This quote makes you think, what's the point in having aspirations, what is the point in living, what is the point in love, what is the point in anything if we all are going to die and leave it all behind . These two men have a very insensitive way of asking these questions, but the questions are indeed great questions. These questions can trigger so many different emotions and thoughts. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet deals with internal and external turmoil, causing him to ask universal questions…

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Theme Of Death In Hamlet

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hamlet contains many underlying themes that sum up the story in a simple phrase. The most visible theme in Hamlet is the mystery of death. The mystery of death is a thematic element in Hamlet because after his father’s death, Prince Hamlet himself becomes obsessed with death and the spiritual aftermath around it. Hamlet in turn is even visited by his father’s ghost which mysteriously tells him important information surrounding his death. “...and the devil hath power / T’ assume a pleasing shape” (2.2.561-562). The apparition that visited Hamlet is in the form of his father and it is mysterious yet pleasing that the devil himself would take this form. King Hamlet’s death was a mystery to the people of the kingdom. “I’ll have the grounds / More relative than this” (2.2.565-566). They did not know it was Claudius who killed him and the prince…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Analysis

    • 3020 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Hamlet decides to get more information / prove what the ghost was saying before doing…

    • 3020 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1. In the beginning of the act, Hamlets asks himself a question. “To be, or not to be—that is the question.” What Hamlet is actually asking is considering if he wants to live or kill himself.…

    • 1369 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Questions

    • 5164 Words
    • 21 Pages

    1. What happens when Francisco and Bernardo meet at the beginning of 1.1? Where are we, and when? Why is there confusion over which one is supposed to challenge the other by asking "Who's there"? Why is Horatio with Bernardo and Marcellus? Who is he?…

    • 5164 Words
    • 21 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Contradictions

    • 70 Words
    • 1 Page

    Hamlet focuses on how such a motive can become practical and ethical when faced with a particularly sensitive mind. Francis Bacon's famous comment that revenge is "a kind of wild justice" reaches the heart of the battle of vengeance, the terse phrase "wild justice" offers the paradox of revenge that feels the restoration of balance and legitimate dealings through unregulated and unregulated men. Enact these contradictions and communicate with them.…

    • 70 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Horatio Essay

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hamlet is a play about the tragedy of a young man, who is put in the dilemma of having to avenge the death of his father by killing his own uncle. The tragedy of Hamlet is the consequences of achieving the goal of avenging the death of King Hamlet. In the process of killing Claudius, his uncle, most of the people that played a major role in Hamlet's life end up dying, even himself. Through this entire aspiration of killing Claudius and avenging the death of his father, Gertrude, Ophelia, Polonius, and Laertes all end up dead even before Claudius is finally killed and the goal has been accomplished. The tragedy of Hamlet is all the blood that must be shed (even his own) in order to accomplish his goal of avenging his father's death.…

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics