Essay On Minor Characters In Hamlet

William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet around 1600, telling the story of a prince dealing with the death of his father and the quick remarriage of his mother to his uncle. The play uses mental health, both real and faked, as a way to show human behavior. Commonly studied in high schools all over America, this tale has had a profound effect on the way mental health is viewed.

In Hamlet, pouring poison in a person’s ear had both a literal and symbolic significance. The literal meaning is that they are telling lies to people in order to deceive them. They are pouring poison or “poisonous” words into that person’s ear. The symbolic meaning of pouring poison in a person’s ear can be associated with the symbolic meaning of the snake in the story of Adam and Eve where the snake lures Eve in through lies. The characters in Hamlet were misled in the same way because they had poison poured into their ears. This is explained by the Ghost when Hamlet learns of his father being murdered in Act 1 Scene 5, in lines 35 -39, “’Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forged process of my death Rankly abused. But know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father’s life . Now wears his crown.”

William Shakespeare tells the tale of a troubled man in his masterpiece, Hamlet. Imagine your beloved father dying and your mother marrying his brother shortly after. You’re left to grieve on your own. Instead of consoling you, your mother and uncle have a wedding and begin to share the same bed. This is what Hamlet suffers through in the play. He is depressed and suicidal as indicated in his infamous quote, “To be, or not to be: that is the question.” (3.1.57). However, while many may choose to carry on after the death of a loved one, Hamlet chose to hold on to his sorrow and pretended to be mad so he can know the truth behind his father’s death. Hamlet’s tragic life is not the cause for his madness. Hamlet drives himself to the brink of insanity

King Hamlet’s ghost in Hamlet plays a very significant role in Shakespeare’s play even though he only appears briefly in the very beginning. King Hamlet’s ghost furthers the play in many ways. He affects action by setting the play in motion, he affects the theme of revenge, and he helps develop other characters, specifically his son, Hamlet. He sets the play in motion by causing the wheels to spin inside of Prince Hamlet’s head, the ghost is the whole reason for Hamlet trying to extract revenge upon his murderous Uncle Claudius who is now the King of Denmark. The ghost affects the theme of revenge by causing Young Hamlet to be seized by vengeance, the whole play turns into a story of Prince Hamlet trying to avenge his father’s wrongful death. The ghost of

It has been argued by many literary critics that the ghost is a figment of Hamlet`s imagination, despite Barnardo, Mercutio and Horatio witnessing it before the prince, potentially indicating that it is real because three level headed characters view it first. However, the characters are hesitant about the ghost with Marcellus insisting that they “question it “whilst Barnardo seems to believe “its` not something more than fantasy” which creates uncertainty about the figure`s identity. Many events over the course of the play indicate Hamlet`s fragile state of mind and how the ghost is only present in his thoughts. For example, the prince`s obsession with his mother`s infidelity could be a reason for the ghost instructing him to murder Claudius. Perhaps the spirit wants him to avenge his father`s death so that he can have his mother to himself? Also, can it ever be said that the ghost speaks the absolute truth? For example, it says that his father suffered the “most unnatural murder” but can there be such a thing as a “foul and most natural murder”? . The flaws that arise create speculation about the ghostly figure. It is only when he contemplates suicide “to be or not to be that is the question” that he finally begins to recognise the permanency of death as being “the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns”. It appears that he accepts the likelihood of the ghost not descending from purgatory after all supporting the argument that it is not

Along with avenging his death, the Ghost asks Hamlet to perform another task and says, “But howsoever thou pursuest this act, Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive Against thy mother aught” (1.5.84-85). The Ghost’s assurance of Gertrude’s safety appeals to Hamlet because Hamlet loves his mother and shows willingness to protect her. However, if the Ghost had said negative remarks about Gertrude, he would not follow the Ghost’s wishes. Furthermore, this request by the Ghost makes Hamlet emphasize family throughout the play, and it also fuels his revenge for his father. Also, the Ghost tells Hamlet how his brother betrayed him in order to become king by stating, “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown” (1.5.39-40). By declaring that his own brother had murdered him, the Ghost indirectly shows Hamlet the dishonesty of the world. Thus, this makes Hamlet wary of those around him even his own friends such as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Additionally, this discovery of his father’s murder turns Hamlet into an outcast, for he fails to trust others. Because he acts as an outcast, many people perceive him as a madman. These ideals of life introduced to Hamlet by the Ghost influence the actions and thoughts of Hamlet throughout the

The ghost’s appearance has a significant impact on Hamlet’s behaviors and forms his decisions through the play. Hamlet, who is suffering from depression since he is dealing with his father’s death and the hasty marriage of his mother with Claudius, his uncle, became obsessed with the concept of life and death after seeing his father’s ghost. In the first appearance of the ghost, he reveals the truth about the how the king has been murdered, which drives Hamlet to seek revenge, and by revenge killing his uncle. The ghost establishes a dilemma and gives Hamlet time to think about his father’s request. But Hamlet has an uncertainty about the existence of the ghost as he notes “the spirit that I have seen may be the devil, and the devil hath power T ' assume a pleasing shape” (2.2.561–563) here, Hamlet is concerned that the ghost may be the devil and questions the motivation of the ghost for killing Claudius. He has a doubt about what the ghost told him and instead of acting instantly to ravage his father’s murder, he starts to figure out about whether Claudius was guilty or not, as he says “I’ll have grounds more relative than this” (2.2.565) which shows that he is looking for enough evidence to kill Claudius. But Hamlet is a great

Hamlet is William Shakespeare 's renowned tale of mystery, intrigue, and murder, centered on a young misguided prince who can only trust himself. Some may say that the actions of Prince Hamlet throughout the play are weak and fearful, displaying a tendency to procrastinate and showing an apathetic nature towards his family and peers. Others spin a tale of a noble young scholar, driven mad by the cold-blooded murder of his father by his uncle. In truth, I believe Hamlet is neither of these things. Hamlet is a sort of amalgamation of the two, a bundle of contradictions thrown together into one conflicting but very human mess of a character. The quote, "We admire Hamlet as much for his weaknesses as for his strengths", aptly describes my feelings towards this troubled young prince. It is simply impossible to characterise Hamlet as good or bad, strong or weak. It is my aim to show the depth of Hamlet 's personality and to explain to the best of my ability the traits which make him who he is. Hamlet is the neither the hero nor the villain of his story- he is simply a victim, a young man slowly losing his grip on sanity over the course of the play.

He starts to believe that the spirit may be the devil or some sort of demon that was sent to tempt young Hamlet into a destructive existence. The appearance of the ghost causes Hamlet to mistrust his own perceptions of things and doubt the validity of his father’s ghost and the malicious claim that he states. Hamlet decides to stage a play in which the plot very closely resembles the events that the ghost describes as his death. Hamlet feels that if King Claudius is indeed guilty, it will be written all over his face. “The play’s the thing/Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king” (II, ii, 566-567). In the eyes of Hamlet, Claudius proves his involvement in the death of Hamlet Senior with the look of sheer guilt and horror on his face. Still, it takes a rather long time before young Hamlet carries out his revenge on his uncle. This is in part due to his tendency to over analysis events. Hamlet could have easily listened to the ghost the very first night and killed his uncle out of revenge immediately. Since he took his time to think things through, it gave the audience a chance to reflect the events through the eyes of Hamlet and become one with his thought

King Hamlet’s ghost in Hamlet plays a very significant role in Shakespeare’s play even though he only appears briefly in the very beginning and two other times throughout the play. King Hamlet’s ghost furthers the play in many ways. He affects action by setting the play in motion, he affects the theme of revenge, and he helps develop other characters, specifically his son, Hamlet. He sets the play in motion by causing the wheels to spin inside of Prince Hamlet’s head, the ghost is the whole reason for Hamlet trying to extract revenge upon his murderous Uncle Claudius who is now the King of Denmark. The ghost affects the theme of revenge by causing Young Hamlet to be seized by vengeance, the whole play turns into a story of Prince Hamlet trying to avenge his father’s wrongful death. The ghost of King Hamlet helps to develop his son’s character by setting him on a path, he doesn’t tell Hamlet exactly what to do, but he tells him enough of the story to make Young Hamlet rageful and hate filled.

When can people see as a hero and as a villain based on their actions? Sometimes when a person is looking become a hero, it can lead them to be perceived as a villain to because other people’s ideas of heroic acts aren’t the same as others. The titular character from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet often thought he was involved in a heroic plot but came across as a villain, such as the murder of Polonius, the murders of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, when involuntarily involved in Laertes’s murder, and when Hamlet decides not to kill Claudius while he is praying.

In a nutshell, a tragedy is a form of drama established on human suffering, generally concerns the downfall of the protagonist and ending on a despondent tone. “Hamlet” is more specifically classified as a “Shakespearean tragedy”; in which key differences consist of the chorus being replaced by comedic scenes, the play having several subplots and the protagonist facing a tragic death. Additionally “Hamlet” can be categorized as a revenge tragedy, as partly the plot is about a quest for vengeance.

Through the entirety of the play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, the characters were overcome with the need for revenge as the outcome of many deaths. Therefore, no one was happy through “Hamlet” and it resulted in a tragedy. The character Hamlet played a big role in turning towards revenge and never would classify himself as being happy. Hamlet displays positive and negative behavior throughout the play. Hamlet exhibits strengths and weaknesses as well, although his weaknesses of over-thinking, bitterness, and his inability to accept the death of his father overshadow his strengths.

Williams Shakespeare is recognized as the greatest English writer. One of his best works ever written is “Hamlet”, which is the most complex, confusing, and frequently performed play. The extreme complexity of the main character – prince Hamlet in this play contributes to its popularity until today. “Hamlet is supposedly the most quoted figure in Western culture after Jesus, maybe the most charismatic too” (Bloom 384). In the most famous revenge tragedy, his biggest weakness that he procrastinates completing his revenge for his father’s death by killing the murderer. However, he is still a virtuous hero who possesses admirable great courage and intelligence. In addition, his melancholy and madness increase the complexity level of his character.

The role of Hamlet 's father as a ghost is to not only avenge his own death, but to make sure that Hamlet gets vengeance for claudius murdering him. The nature in which the ghost appears differs between each one of the three appearances. Throughout the play the ghost appears in many different ways, his main objective is to have Hamlet get revenge for his death.