Meaning Of Life In Hamlet, White Fang, And Antigone

"What is the value of life?” When you are asked this question most people will start to think about their accomplishments, their families, what they have done, and sometimes people simply do not know how to answer this question.

In the beginning of William Shakespeare’s introspective play, Hamlet’s first soliloquy finds him as a more melancholic and more desperate character. He faced conflicts involving himself, the people around him, and his environment–how the events that have occurred in his surroundings negatively influenced his character. In Act 1, after enduring an unpleasant encounter at his mother and Claudius’ court, then being asked by his parents not to resume his studies in Wittenberg and rather stay in Denmark, Hamlet starts to have his suicidal thoughts for the very first time. For Hamlet, existence itself is a burden; he desires for his flesh to ‘melt’ and wishes that God had not made ‘self-slaughter’ a sin. Hamlet, then characterizes the world as “weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable.” (1; 5) Claiming that suicidal is the only alternative way out of a painful world but it is however forbidden by his religion. In a quote from the text, “O God! a beast that wants discourse of reason, Would have mourn’d longer,—married with mine uncle, My father’s brother; but no more like my father”, (1; 21-24) Hamlet describes his intense disgust at Gertrude’s decision of marrying Claudius, her vastly inferior former brother-in-law. As matter of fact, this is specifically

“To be, or not to be- that is the question.” These words are easily identifiable, although not most easily understood, to anyone who has read or knows of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. However, what Hamlet is trying “to be or not to be,” who Hamlet is or perceives himself to be, has remained a mystery ever since William Shakespeare penned Hamlet in 1603. Critics such as Johann Wolfgang van Goethe from as early as the 18th century have debated Hamlet’s emotional instability, while later critics use earlier ideas such as Goethe’s to build their own assumptions of Hamlet’s situation. Critics such as T.S. Eliot, Robert Palfrey Utter, and George Anastaplo state that to understand Hamlet’s emotions, one must first eliminate their own bias before looking

William Shakespeare’s titular character in the play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a young prince who is overwrought with grief after his father’s death. The king’s sudden death has a negative impact on Hamlet’s state of mind and psyche. Through Hamlet’s thoughts and soliloquies, the audience can see the main character’s obsession with spirituality, death, and mortality. Hamlet’s fixation on life after death causes his descent into madness. Because of this, spirituality, death, and mortality are the most important themes in Hamlet.

“But o, how bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man’s eyes” Hamlet written by William Shakespeare during the Elizabethan age revolves around the setting, time and the nature of its characters. Happiness in Hamlet is a vague theme that involves almost all the characters, who are significantly influenced by the time and place of the play, the sexuality of the characters and also, how they practice deception. The tragedy of Hamlet presents various characters who pursue or compromise their happiness to satisfy their conscience. This is shown through characters such as Hamlet, Claudius and Ophelia. In addition, to how their differences and similarities shape their personalities, which causes them to pursue or compromise their happiness.

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, while guarding the castle, waiting in anticipation of the ghost’s appearance, Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus hear trumpets flourish from within, proclaiming the King’s late night partying (1.4). Horatio asks about the nature of the commotion, however, Hamlet remains nonplussed, crestfallen by the evening’s affairs. In his lengthy, 26-line response to Horatio’s simple question, “Is it a custom,” Hamlet experiences an internal struggle between fated traditions and logic, elaborates upon the country’s damaged reputation, the immediate yield of the King’s drinking, and argues that even the most picayune evils can eradicate a man’s fame (14). Hamlet, despite his devotion to kin and country, through sardonic diction, repetition,

Man vs. Self is a common theme in Shakespeare’s work, and Hamlet is no exception. The most distinct example of this sophisticated concept is Hamlet himself. When analyzed thoroughly, Hamlet is his greatest obstacle and enemy. The earliest of his internal conflicts is when his mother married his uncle, Claudius, in such a short window of time after his father’s death. He expresses his feeling in his “heart, for I must hold my tongue” (1.2.160). This is an important quote because it is important to understand because it allows to the reader to see that Hamlet cannot speak to anyone about how he feels. As an effect to his decision of not speaking out, this allowed for rage and discomfort to grow inside him which will be one of the main reasons as to why he is legitimately going insane. With these various stressors in his life, it gives more evidence and reasoning to why he often experienced constant signs of depression and suicidal thoughts. The signs of distress he showed throughout the play are highlighted tremendously since he experienced major signs of depression. He

After King Hamlets passing, Hamlet entered an unknown state of mind that not only feared others for his wellbeing, but also feared himself. Hamlet no longer wanted to live in this life despair and pain. Another illustration of his indecisiveness is during the play when he had a clear chance to avenge his father by killing Claudius but choose not to do so, because he thought that Claudius was repenting for his

Many characters show signs of intelligence throughout William Shakespeare’s Hamlet as they conjure plans to achieve their goals. However, Hamlet’s intelligence is far superior to that of all the other characters. He is capable of altering the kingdom’s perception of him to his advantage by adjusting his behaviours. The schemes he devises outsmart everyone and leave him to appear innocent. Most importantly, Hamlet miraculously escapes his own death and instead brings an end to those involved in his execution. His detailed plans and keen mental ability make him the most intelligent character in the entirety of the play.

Hamlet’s perspective causes him to stall and make excuses as to why he should wait to kill Claudius such as waiting till Claudius has sin, in order to ensure that he wouldn’t go to heaven. His perspective on life through his soliloquy “to be or not to be” allows us as readers to interpret to the development of Hamlet’s character. It reveals his inner thoughts and adds more quality to the play. In this soliloquy, Hamlet is contemplating suicide, but is haunted by the unknowns of the

Values and beliefs are defining principles of the way in which we view a person, action or relationship. Often, we are encouraged to think again about these values and beliefs, after being exposed to challenging and insightful events, people, or material. William Shakespeare's tragedy, “Hamlet,” written in the Elizabethan era, encourages us to think about our values and beliefs surrounding revenge, love and loyalty. After examination of these concepts, the reader develops new insights into their values and beliefs, and come to fully support the statement that “ the most significant texts encourage us to think again about our values and beliefs.”

The ability for an author, character, or actor to portray certain emotions is key and can potentially change the whole storyline of a play. Shakespeare's writing is no exception and may sometimes leave the reader confused. Throughout the play of Hamlet, there is a constant battle between love and revenge amongst the characters, which causes the reader to vacillate between the idea of which emotion the plot is based around. In the play, the protagonist, Hamlet, is confronted with the problem of his uncle marrying his mother and killing his father. Along the way he continues to contemplate whether or not to kill his uncle, Polonius. His actions affect those emotions and decisions of Gertrude's, Ophelia's, Laertes, Claudius, and others, who all

murder”(Beasley 1985). Again, he does not see Claudius as just ordinary person considering how the father’s ghost referred to him as “Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, with witchcraft of his wits, with traitorous gift. O wicked wit and gift that has the power to seduce” (Act I, Scene 5). These strong words of the ghost makes Hamlet to be very careful in approaching Claudius, even he already knows Hamlet plan. The major problem with Hamlet is that he engages enormous time in planning instead of taken action.

Hamlet was intelligent and careful yet slightly unsure of himself. The reasons behind his delay show that Hamlet was smart and cautious; thinking things through before he acted. This also shows that Hamlet was patient and did not rush into conclusions or actions. “Contagion to this world. Now could I drink hot blood and do such bitter business as the day would quake to look on. Soft, now to my mother.” – Hamlet (3/2 pg. 61). Hamlet says here that he is ready to kill and to take his revenge, but then continued to say he needed to talk to his mother, even though he actually did not. Hamlet is showing here that even though he said he was ready, that he also was unsure if he could truly go through with killing Claudius. Hamlet also discloses this when he states, “The time is out of joint. O cursed spite, That I ever was born to set it right.”- Hamlet (1/5 pg. 96). Here he questioned if he truly wanted to kill Claudius and how he ended up with the responsibility in the first place. Once again Hamlet was unsure if he is even capable of killing

Turning now to the absurd world of the two plays. To begin with, Hamlet finds himself in a world of actors where no one is who they seem. Claudius is playing the role of the king though his betrayal would suggest he is not meant to be king. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are playing the role of Hamlet 's friends while secretly working for Claudius. Even fair Ophelia, who Hamlet thought honest deceives him in Act 3 scene 1. Hamlet himself is characteristically indecisive of what role to play as is seen in his "to be or not to be" monologue (3.1). On another note, Hamlet appears to be the only one grieving for his late father. Claudius assumed the throne and carried on as king, Hamlet 's mother remarried and carried on as queen. Hamlet even acknowledges "how/ cheerfully [his] mother looks" (3.2.116-117) so soon after his father 's death. Hamlet 's grief juxtaposed with the lack of grief in the other characters serves to alienate him from the world around him, as briefly mentioned before. Being alienated from his world serves to make it appear more absurd and meaningless to him. In understanding how Hamlet feels about the world around him, we can better understand his motivations