Essays on Plays

1844

The Role of "Nothing" in Hamlet by William Shakespeare

6 pages / 2864 words

Hamlet begins at the open mouth of the Void. Barnardo and Francisco call out to each other and into darkness; they stand atop a guard platform that is naked to the open air and to the night. Every character's entrance is marked by a series...

Hamlet

1845

Analysis of Ophelia in Hamlet by William Shakespeare

2 pages / 994 words

Ophelia’s situation in Shakespeare’s Hamlet not only invokes pity in the reader but also provides an example of the nature of men and women and accentuates Hamlet’s tragic flaws. Shakespeare so beautifully links the female with the liquid, insanity, and frailty through this character that...

Hamlet

1846

The Mental Evolution of Hamlet in Shakespeare's Play

2 pages / 1201 words

Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet is actually a conglomeration of many subtragedies. One of these smaller tragedies within the story of Hamlet is the mental evolution of Prince Hamlet, to the point where he acted king-like and would have made a great king. Throughout the story there...

Hamlet

1847

From The Playing Aim: Defining Hamlet's Text

12 pages / 5410 words

In the introduction for Hamlet in William Shakespeare: A Textual Companion, Gary Taylor writes that “of all the two-text plays, Hamlet comes closest to Lear in the scale and complexity of the textual variation apparently resulting from authorial revision” (401). Indeed, Hamlet’s three earliest texts...

Hamlet

1848

Hamlet's Depression and His Implications

2 pages / 830 words

Introduction In his famous speech, “I have of late, but wherefore I know not, lost all my mirth…” (Shakespeare, II.ii.280), Hamlet illustrates an Elizabethan fusion of medieval and humanist ideas, perhaps lost on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern but not on E.M.W. Tillyard. Tillyard, in The Elizabethan...

Hamlet

1849

Analysis of Hamlet as an Archetypal Hero

4 pages / 2124 words

“The hallmark of the psychopath is the inability to recognize others as worthy of compassion.” Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences + experts online Get my essay -Shirley Lynn Scott, What Makes Serial...

Hamlet

1850

Supernatural Forces in William Shakespeare's Play

2 pages / 936 words

In the plays of Shakespeare, readers can find several issues of human nature addressed. In Othello, Shakespeare addresses jealously and racism. In King Lear, he addresses pride and love. In Romeo and Juliet, he examines fate. In The Tempest and Hamlet in particular, he seems...

Hamlet

1851

Representation of Catharsis in Hamlet by William Shakespeare

2 pages / 899 words

Critic Northrup Frye has evaluated Hamlet as a play without catharsis, a tragedy in which everything noble and heroic is smothered under ferocious revenge codes, treachery, spying and the consequences of weak actions by broken wills. While the play deviates from the traditional definition of...

Hamlet

1852

Analysis of Antithesis in Hamlet's 4th Soliloquy

2 pages / 1002 words

Antithesis is a rhetorical device in which two contrasting words or concepts are juxtaposed within a parallel grammatical structure (literarydevices.com). In this case, the repeated use of this literary convention and the balanced structure it employs is meant to highlight the irony of the fact...

Hamlet The Prince

1853

Analysis of Ophelia's Story Through The Context of Gender and Madness

10 pages / 4736 words

Introduction Past critics have deemed Ophelia an insignificant and marginal character in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, functioning only to further define Hamlet. One such critic, Jacques Lacan, interprets Ophelia as a mere object of Hamlet’s sexual desire: she is essential only because she is inextricably linked to...

Hamlet

1854

Complex "Thought": Paralyzed Prince in Hamlet

9 pages / 4139 words

“If Hamlet from himself be ta’en away, Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences + experts online Get my essay And when he’s not himself does wrong Laertes, Then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet...

Hamlet

1855

Traps and Deception in Shakespeare's Hamlet

5 pages / 2271 words

When Hamlet’s father orders him to kill Claudius, Hamlet’s reaction is one of questioning and disbelief. While he feels strongly about the murder of his father and yearns to discover the killer, he harbors suspicions about the truth behind the ghost’s jarring indictment of his...

Hamlet

1856

Hamlet and The Falsehood of The Tragedy

2 pages / 848 words

Deception is a critical component of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Its appears most significantly in Claudius concealing murder and Hamlet concealing knowledge of the same. Hamlet also feigns madness in order to misguide others and attempt to prove Claudius guilty. Others characters, including Polonius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern...

Hamlet

1857

Analysis of Olivier's Nunnery Scene in Hamlet

3 pages / 1628 words

“Like sweet bells jangled, out of time and harsh” Hamlet’s trust is betrayed by the people who are dearest to his heart (III.i.87). The theme of betrayal takes root before Shakespeare’s tragedy begins, when Hamlet’s uncle murders his father and marries his mother. These enormous...

Hamlet

1858

Gertrude's Emotional Growth in Hamlet

2 pages / 851 words

Introduction Women living in Elizabethan times, although more liberated than medieval women, were still expected to do their husband’s will and obey at all times. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Queen Gertrude begins the play acting as a typical Elizabethan woman. She sits beside her new...

Hamlet

1859

Conscience Vs Reason in Hamlet: Stoicism in Shakespeare's Play

3 pages / 1352 words

In Hamlet, the philosophy and ideas of Stoicism make their appearance onstage and shape the themes and dialogue of the play. Stoicism, which praises the superiority of reason and civilization over the more base element of emotion, is the backbone of much of the conflict...

Hamlet

1860

Hamlet: Revenge as The Major Force that Drives The Play

4 pages / 1855 words

The act of revenge never fails to gather an audience, due to the simple fact that revenge raises one of the great questions in regards to human life: how does one seek justice when the law ceases to function properly? William Shakespeare tapped into the...

Hamlet Hamlet Revenge Revenge

1861

How Hamlet is Faking Insanity: Appearance Vs Reality in Shakespeare's Play

5 pages / 2735 words

Shakespeare’s Hamlet has often been considered one of the most intriguing and problematic plays of the English language. Among the many questions that Hamlet raises, lies the subject of whether or not Hamlet actually becomes insane. Using extensive evidence from the text and scholarly criticism,...

Hamlet Hamlet Madness

1862

Moral Duality in Shakespeare's Hamlet

3 pages / 1285 words

The author Izaak Walton noted, “The person that loses their conscience has nothing left worth keeping.” The characters in Hamlet constantly struggle with the power of their consciences, as they are tempted to satiate their innermost desires. Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, is the epitome...

Hamlet