Hamlet - Shakespeare
‘Shakespeare’s Hamlet continues to engage audiences through its dramatic treatment of struggle and disillusionment.’
In light of your critical study, does this statement resonate with your own interpretation of Hamlet?
Hamlet is a moral avenger in a corrupt and unjust world. He is the only person who questions the moral atmosphere of Denmark but is driven to act irritationally because of the distress placed on him by the world. Hamlet struggles with his duty to his father, his disillusionment with himself, his revenge on Claudius, his mother’s sudden remarriage, the purpose of the ghost and the corrupt nature of Denmark. By not informing the audience of the intentions of the ghost, Shakespeare keeps them engaged by creating disillusionment through Hamlet’s struggle for the truth. Furthermore, Shakespeare continues to engage audiences by presenting ideas of duty and corruption which are shown largely through the characterization of Hamlet.
Hamlet struggles with his thoughts and feelings. The degree to which his alienation and melancholy signalled in his behaviour varies from production to production due to his father’s death. ‘O that this too too solid flesh would melt, thaw and resolve itself into a dew, or that the everlasting had not fixed his canon ’gainst self-slaughter. O God, God, how weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!’ (Act 1 Scene 2). This quotation is Hamlet’s first soliloquy which signifies his first thoughts about suicide and how the world seems “weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable”. It conveys that he sees the world as a neglected garden grown foul. It also uses extended metaphor to articulate his strong desire to rest in peace. In other words, Hamlet finds suicide a desirable alternative to life in a painful world but this option is closed to him because it is forbidden by religion. Hamlet exposes the range of his depression: weariness, despair, grief, anger, nausea, loathing and disgust, resignation.
In light of your critical study, does this statement resonate with your own interpretation of Hamlet?
Hamlet is a moral avenger in a corrupt and unjust world. He is the only person who questions the moral atmosphere of Denmark but is driven to act irritationally because of the distress placed on him by the world. Hamlet struggles with his duty to his father, his disillusionment with himself, his revenge on Claudius, his mother’s sudden remarriage, the purpose of the ghost and the corrupt nature of Denmark. By not informing the audience of the intentions of the ghost, Shakespeare keeps them engaged by creating disillusionment through Hamlet’s struggle for the truth. Furthermore, Shakespeare continues to engage audiences by presenting ideas of duty and corruption which are shown largely through the characterization of Hamlet.
Hamlet struggles with his thoughts and feelings. The degree to which his alienation and melancholy signalled in his behaviour varies from production to production due to his father’s death. ‘O that this too too solid flesh would melt, thaw and resolve itself into a dew, or that the everlasting had not fixed his canon ’gainst self-slaughter. O God, God, how weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!’ (Act 1 Scene 2). This quotation is Hamlet’s first soliloquy which signifies his first thoughts about suicide and how the world seems “weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable”. It conveys that he sees the world as a neglected garden grown foul. It also uses extended metaphor to articulate his strong desire to rest in peace. In other words, Hamlet finds suicide a desirable alternative to life in a painful world but this option is closed to him because it is forbidden by religion. Hamlet exposes the range of his depression: weariness, despair, grief, anger, nausea, loathing and disgust, resignation.