Literary Response On Hamlet
The topic of one's mortality and the complexities of life and death are introduced from the beginning of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Michael Neill’s literary response on Hamlet rubs on the perception when one dies; they just become a part of the cycle of dust. However, his response neglects the fact that you leave a legacy behind for the living to remember.
Neill summarizes that “even the mightiest mortals, like the legendary Alexander the Great, inevitably succumbed to death” (112) in the end. Others argue this overlooks many aspects of life including the detail people are remembered by the legacy they leave behind. We all don’t end up in the same place since revered people lie in great cemeteries or in pages of a history book. That being said, …show more content…
One can wholeheartedly endorse the author when he states, “the only story Hamlet is given is that of a hoary old revenge tragedy” (Neill 116). The protagonist strives to revenge his father, Old Hamlet because he was a good person with a respectable legacy. Moreover, this is evident after Hamlet’s first encounter with the ghost where he exclaims, “I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records” (1.5.104-105) and “thy commandment all alone shall live within the book and volume of my brain” (1.5.108). Evidently, Hamlet has become a tool for revenge regardless of the consequences. He strengthens the point when he refers to his father having, “Hyperion’s curls and the front of Jove himself” (3.4.66) and glorifies that his father had “an eye like Mars to threaten and command” (3.4.67). It is vibrant that Hamlet severely misses his father. From Hamlet’s actions one can conclude that Old Hamlet was a great individual, who was even compared to the Greek Gods. Though, when he heard the prejudice his father faced due to the evil actions of his uncle, the anger Hamlet experienced was funnelled into fortitude to murder Claudius. In the end of the play, Hamlet ultimately kills Claudius in exchange for his own life. He gave is own life to revenge his father, who was close to him and who had a great
Neill summarizes that “even the mightiest mortals, like the legendary Alexander the Great, inevitably succumbed to death” (112) in the end. Others argue this overlooks many aspects of life including the detail people are remembered by the legacy they leave behind. We all don’t end up in the same place since revered people lie in great cemeteries or in pages of a history book. That being said, …show more content…
One can wholeheartedly endorse the author when he states, “the only story Hamlet is given is that of a hoary old revenge tragedy” (Neill 116). The protagonist strives to revenge his father, Old Hamlet because he was a good person with a respectable legacy. Moreover, this is evident after Hamlet’s first encounter with the ghost where he exclaims, “I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records” (1.5.104-105) and “thy commandment all alone shall live within the book and volume of my brain” (1.5.108). Evidently, Hamlet has become a tool for revenge regardless of the consequences. He strengthens the point when he refers to his father having, “Hyperion’s curls and the front of Jove himself” (3.4.66) and glorifies that his father had “an eye like Mars to threaten and command” (3.4.67). It is vibrant that Hamlet severely misses his father. From Hamlet’s actions one can conclude that Old Hamlet was a great individual, who was even compared to the Greek Gods. Though, when he heard the prejudice his father faced due to the evil actions of his uncle, the anger Hamlet experienced was funnelled into fortitude to murder Claudius. In the end of the play, Hamlet ultimately kills Claudius in exchange for his own life. He gave is own life to revenge his father, who was close to him and who had a great