Hamlet Ambiguity Analysis
William Shakespeare is credited by some scholars as being astute regarding human nature., allowing him to write plays and sonnets that explore the patterns and inclinations of man.
This cannot be refuted. When one reads any of Shakespeare 's plays or sonnets, Shakespeare presents attributes and fears that are dominant in and reflective of human character. Especially through his character Hamlet, Shakespeare outlines commonalities present in human nature.
However, alongside Shakespeare 's insight into the secrets of human nature, there is also a lot of ambiguity. John Russell Brown explores these ambiguities and various interpretations of the last scene of Hamlet in his paper, "Multiplicity of Meaning in the Last Moments of Hamlet." Brown
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It is not always so. Brown studies Hamlet 's last scene in order to give an interpretation of the play, but he discovers that Shakespeare 's use of word play and ambiguity can throw off the audience 's judgment of the play. Concerning wordplay, Brown says, "Wordplay allows
[Shakespeare] to escape without revealing his secrets" (26). Wordplay is a device which Shakespeare employs which adds to the mystery of Hamlet. "... it is not always clear as to what purpose he uses it. To confuse or to clarify? Or to control his own uncensored thoughts?"
(Brown 20). To the average reader, it seems to confuse. The wordplay used adds several different connotations to lines; it is hard to find the context with which to interpret them.
Shakespeare uses wordplay and ambiguity in Hamlet and several of his other plays in order to reveal character 's intentions, mask a character 's meaning through taunts or insults, or to add different connotations to the play. For example, in Julius Caesar, Shakespeare gives "his most thoughtful character words which liken the protagonists to horses who are judged for resources of spirit in painful trial" (Brown 17):
These are no tricks in plain and simple faith, But hollow men, like horses hot at hand, Make gallant show and promise of
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