Kelsey Deven Sect. 4
Professor Roberts
April 21, 2015
Literary Analysis
Psychological State of the Characters in Hamlet
The English Play writer, William Shakespeare had written many well-known pieces of work including Hamlet. Hamlet is known to be one of his most popular works. Hamlet was written in the late 16th Century about the Prince of Denmark. The original title of the work was The Tragedy of Hamlet, now it is referred to as just Hamlet. In Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses the mental state of his characters to prove that not all characters in books have to be one dimensional. Shakespeare’s writing shows that humans are complex, and can have different mental states. Characters throughout the story such as, Hamlet, Gertrude, and Ophelia show their not so stable mental state. First we will analyze Hamlet and talk about Ernest Jones’ Psycho-analytic study of Hamlet. Then we will talk about Ophelia and how the events that happened leading up to her death or suicide played a role into her mental state. Finally we will analyze Gertrude, the Queen’s role in Hamlet, and how she is a mentally weak woman and relies on the men in her life.
According to Ernest Jones, Hamlet has the “Oedipus-Complex” while others might just call him a momma’s boy. The “Oedipus-Complex” from Freud is expressed through Diderot statement of, “If we were left to ourselves and if our bodily strength only came up to that of our phantasy we would wring our fathers’ neck and sleep with our mothers.” In
Hamlet is a young man who has become crazy from his trials and tribulations in life. He lost his father due to his uncle murdering them and then had to watch his mother marry the killer. Hamlets insanity can be demonstrated by his crude language and disregard for the well being of his mother. It can also be shown by his depression, which causes him to second guess everything including his life and finally his love, Ophelia helps to justify his absurdness by acting as a mirror. His foolish behavior worries many in the kingdom and creates a hostile and paranoid environment for those around. While some in the castle may believe that Hamlet is putting on an act, he proves that he is mad through his violet actions, his mental health and Ophelia.
“Do it or do not do it – you will regret both” (Kierkegaard 72) is a quote that echoes and expounds upon the famous “To be, or not to be” (Hamlet 3.1.56). The former quote was written by none other than Danish philosopher and poet, Søren Kierkegaard. Born in 1813, Søren Kierkegaard was well acquainted with Shakespeare’s text and often referred to it in his writings. When watching Kenneth Branagh’s unique, unabridged adaptation of Hamlet, it is apparent that Kenneth Branagh was able to capture how similar his Hamlet and Søren are in character while making his mark in cinematography history. The connection between Branagh, Shakespeare, and Kierkegaard goes beyond the setting and 19th century architecture of Branagh’s recreation of Hamlet. Through both Søren and Kenneth’s backstory, choice of esthetics, and their actions in life changing moments the story of Hamlet has proven to be a guide for both of these extraordinary men.
Hamlet is a work consisting of many different themes throughout the play. The main theme that occurs is revenge. King Hamlet’s brother, Claudius, marries his widow, Gertrude, shortly after his death. Prince Hamlet becomes aware that his father’s death wasn't really an accident and he was murdered by his brother, Claudius. After he finds this out, Hamlet plans to seek revenge on his uncle. Throughout the book, Hamlet attempts to achieve this revenge, which is why revenge is one of the main themes in the play.
Hamlet is the main, and most influential character in the book ‘Hamlet” that was written by Shakespeare.Even though, he has a lot of flaws, and even seen as a negative character at most points of the play,he does in fact help the kingdom a lot.He saves people from an evil and greedy king, by simply saying “giving his life for others’ Unfortunately, he isn't the best “hero” (according to his actions). Which causes the death of his friends, mother, and his loved one.
Shakespeare's play, "Hamlet", is an intriguing and intricate drama about an individual who wants to avenge the death of his father. Prince Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet, was once king and the throne was inherited by his evil brother, King Claudius. In addition to inheriting the throne, Claudius has married Prince Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, which is perceived as weird and unlawful. Interestingly, Prince Hamlet has cohesive evidence that King Claudius is responsible for the death of his father. As a result, Prince Hamlet’s main goal is to kill Claudius as revenge for killing his father. King Hamlet’s ghost constantly appears in the play, and it encourages Prince Hamlet to commit the murder. While attempting to kill Claudius, Hamlet portrays
How far would a man, who is a still a child at heart, go to avenge the death of his father? Hamlet, who is the son of the recently deceased King, engages in a quest to avenge his father, who was murder by the man who is now in his place, and married to the queen. Hamlet tries to develop a plan to kill King Claudius, but only time is stopping him. Time inevitably leads toward expiration of a human life. Hamlet shows a great concern for time and its effects, which was brought upon a death that contributed to his insanity. He is unable to recognize that the past and future do not exist, therefore, causes him suffering; he needs his ego to help keep the past of his father alive because without it, who is he?
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, readers commonly look at many different aspects of the book and translate them studies or developments in psychology. Relationships, Mental stability, and even the subconscious can be argued presently in the book. Many argue that young prince Hamlet is mentally unstable, and it’s hard to disprove such a theory. However, it is commonly disagreed upon what the source of this madness may be. It can be argued that Gertrude, Hamlet’s Mother, holds all of the power and drive behind his madness, whether she knows it or not.
The story of Hamlet is so famous, it is easy to forget that at the beginning of the play, Hamlet is unaware of the fact that his father was murdered by his uncle. Hamlet begins the play a depressed, angry young man who is barely able to conceal the fact that he despises his new stepfather for marrying his mother so soon after his beloved father's demise. However, he has no proof that his uncle did anything wrong at first. In fact, the main problem seems to be Hamlet's attitude: he is wearing black and is entirely removed from the merriment of the rest of the court. He barely acknowledges Claudius and makes an effort to go back to Wittenberg so he can study, but his mother begs him to stay. When he says: "I shall in all my best obey you, madam," he excludes Claudius from his reply, even though Gertrude begs him on behalf of 'us' (I.2).
In this essay I will be explaining where and when Hamlet talks about certain characters, to help explain how he thinks about them (ex: King Hamlet, Claudius, and Gertrude). This essay will help to explain Hamlet as well as his thought process throughout the book (story).
before collaborating within the Shakespeare competition of the STEM academy in Kaimuki high faculty, we, as a class, needed to provide you with a script for our play. First, we got here up with what act and scenes that we need to act on and decided on the subject matter based on what scenes we chose. The subject matter that we chose for our play was a excessive college homecoming dance. The play consisted of Hamlet stabbing Polonius, King Claudius and Queen Gertrude dancing along side random players, Ophelia going mad and taking the crown from Queen Gertrude, the janitor rejecting a Kaimuki excessive school teacher, and anyone dancing on the stop to a Shakira song. We did now not get hold of a grade for finishing this script; however, our trainer
The beginning of the scene starts us off at a churchyard, where we first see two clowns, also known as gravediggers; start up a conversation about Ophelia 's death. Strangely, this is actually supposed to be the comic relief of the story. Between their conversations, the first clown believes that her death was not by of nature and was indeed a suicide, and since suicide is a sin against God, she should not technically be allowed to be buried in a Christian graveyard. While the second clown defends her for a bit, they both eventually came into an agreement about the argument. As for Ophelia, she is lucky that her family is rich and has power with the king, so they were somewhat able to make an exception. After that, they had a humorous that invokes the Bible and to the art of gallows-making.
In the play, Hamlet, William Shakespeare utilizes power and revenge to contribute to the major theme of evil or “rottenness” in the play. Shakespeare shows the audience how the lust for power leads to a manifestation of evil that corrupts humankind to do terrible and wicked things. Claudius, out of resentment and lust for his brother’s power and the people and things that come with it, in essence, Queen Gertrude and the Kingdom of Denmark, created the multiple forms of evil that can be found in the play.
Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. In this essay I will look at Hamlets perception of women in general but particularly Gertrude and Ophelia. I will also look at the historical presentation of women, comparing Hamlets time to today and seeing if the symbolic role that the females characters have is related to the period. Also I will look at Hamlets madness, whether it was real or not and also whether women could be the cause of it. Finally I will look at a possible ‘Oedipus complex’ in Hamlet. ‘Hamlet’ as the title suggests is based around the character Hamlet Prince of Denmark. This is why women are often presented the way that Hamlet sees them. Also Hamlet lives in a very enclosed world
“To be or not to be, that is the question” Winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, Laurence Olivier states in his famous redemption of William Shakespeare’s "Hamlet", where Laurence Oliver played as Hamlet.
In the first act Hamlet seems to be in a perfectly sane state of mind