Preview

How Does Hamlet Respond To Horatio's Character

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
819 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Does Hamlet Respond To Horatio's Character
Sometimes the way the world perceives somebody’s character is not always accurate. In Shakespeare’s infamous play Hamlet, Hamlet is thought to be a mentally unstable character. When he isn’t feigning madness, Hamlet is a well educated individual, who is capable of manipulation as well as a capacity for sarcastic wit. Shakespeare effectively portrays Hamlet’s true character through his interactions with other characters as well as his instinctive emotional responses.
Shakespeare effectively uses Hamlet’s interactions with other characters in order to reveal the entirety of his true character. When speaking to Horatio, an educated scholar, Hamlet uses an iambic pentameter. When Hamlet is speaking to Horatio, he says, “...lord. How dost thou, sweet lord? This might be my/Lord Such-a-one, that praised my Lord Such-a-one’s…” (V. i. 78-79). Wary of social class and the meter
…show more content…
By speaking to Horatio in iambic pentameter, Hamlet recognizes Horatio’s position, and adjusts his speech. Hamlet’s ability to use this meter demonstrates his sanity and educational ability. He is aware of who how to address others and is not too emotionally unstable to dismiss this, thereby making him able to adjust his tone of voice accordingly. Hamlet’s true character is revealed as his awareness proves his rational state of mind. When speaking to the gravedigger, who is uneducated and on the lower end of the Great Chain of Being, Hamlet swiftly switches from iambic pentameter to prose. When tossed another skull, Hamlet says, “[t]here’s another. Why, may not that be the skull of a/lawyer?” (V. i. 91-92). By switching to prose, Hamlet acknowledges that the gravedigger is uneducated and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Hamlet, having suffered a sudden of death of a loved one, had to watch the marriage of his mother “with wicked speed” to his uncle, Claudius (Shakespeare 31). Grief stricken and “taking (his mother’s actions) to heart”, it would make sense that the sarcastic Hamlet coped with his feelings through acting without care (Shakespeare 27). Horatio, Hamlet’s friend “from Wittenberg,” would have a genuine relationship with Hamlet, demonstrated by how he decided to tell him about the ghost at all and his loyalty throughout the entire play (Shakespeare 31). Knowing Hamlet for a while, Horatio would be understanding of Hamlet’s method of grieving, but would be annoyed at the lack of interest of what he has to say, since he knows how important it is. Hamlet,…

    • 189 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He returns from England with a new attitude and allows himself to undertake Horatio’s guidance, ‘There’s a divinity that shapes our ends’. Interestingly, Hamlet does not partake in a soliloquy in this final act, symbolising that he is now ready to finally take revenge against Claudius. Shakespeare in this final scene also reveals to the audience that destiny will inevitably expose death in possibly more ways than one. The way in which he has displayed this thought throughout the play begins with the death of Polonius and ends with the death of Hamlet. Shakespeare then turns to tragedy upon the death of Hamlet as Horatio is given the responsibility to tell the story of his vengeful ways and controls Hamlets emotions as his moral obligations had faded. The human quality of tragedy is well recognized in this play as it attracts large amounts of sympathy, however sympathy is not felt for all of the…

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Shakespeare Major Paper

    • 2842 Words
    • 8 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet himself is a difficult character to figure out. With his elegant intensity and reckless but cautious attitude, he is able to keep his readers entertained as the play progresses. Through his irrational decisions, emotional madness and admirable qualities, Hamlet becomes a character with whom readers will continuously empathize. Our first impression of Hamlet sets the tone for the entire play. We are brought to one of the beginning scenes where Hamlet is…

    • 2842 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Soliloquy Analysis

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Shakespeare employs violent, corporal imageries such as “Who… breaks my pate… plucks off my beard, and… tweaks me by the nose?” (II, ii, 568-570) to disclose the mental status of Hamlet. These imageries commonly imply pain, suggesting the excruciating internal struggle of Hamlet as he endures character dynamics. The diction also plays a crucial role in determining the tone. Hamlet finishes loathing himself by “Bloody, bawdy villain!/ Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!” (II, ii, 577-578). The alliteration of the explosive consonance “b”, the internal rhyme of the syllables “less” and “rous”, and the repetition of the word “villain” all amplify strong disgust. Shakespeare utilizes forcefully negative diction to illuminate the struggles of…

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    HAMLET INSANE OR NOT

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The story of Hamlet is undoubtedly one of the most famous stories in the whole wide world of literature. It features everything one would wish for in a tale: death, love, injustice, revenge, doubt, and eventually, (in)sanity. How is it with the latter, though? Was the main protagonist of Shakespeare’s most famous play a real madman? Was he faking lunacy to baffle the others? Or did periods of sanity and insanity fluctuate throughout the course of the story? These are the questions that will be looked at and answered in the following paragraphs, and perhaps the enigma of Hamlet’s mental health will finally be resolved.…

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tragic Flaws In Hamlet

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hamlet by William Shakespeare focuses on the drive of a young prince, prince Hamlet, who is driven to act out revenge on King Claudius for his role in the death of King Hamlet, Hamlet’s father, and the many who get trapped between the familial battle and power struggle between Uncle and Nephew. Throughout this tragedy, it is the realizations and the hidden truths that trap many of the characters for their ineludible death. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet and Gertrude are perfectly capable of hearing and seeing, yet they are deaf and blind to the truth of their circumstances. Their lack of sense eventually leads to their own demise. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses the senses, especially hearing and sight, to reveal the tragic flaws of both of these characters.…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the intensely introspective character, Hamlet, purposely uses an internal dialogue and calculatingly waits and plots to cope with the moral issues, draw out his enemies and manipulate the situation to exact revenge without guilt, all while feigning madness.…

    • 1753 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    He possesses a level of knowledge demonstrated throughout the play, while advising Shakespeare on what he believes he should do or not do. The first sign of this is when Horatio and Hamlet encounter the ghost of King Hamlet. "Why, what should be the fear? I do not set my life at a pin 's fee, and for my soul, what can it do to that"? (Shakespeare 653) Hamlet has already made up his mind about following the ghost, and finding out what it wants. Horatio pleads for Hamlet not to go, but he doesn 't listen anyway. Although Horatio couldn 't sway Hamlet from following the ghost, at least he was concerned and made Hamlet take the time to think about it…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Horatio Foils In Hamlet

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses several literary FOILS to contrast Hamlet’s character. These characters use their relationship and interactions with Hamlet to better show the audience who he is. Many of theses characters are alike in their negative ways. I think by using foils with negative attitudes Shakespeare shows the true Hamlet.…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare’s hero, Hamlet, and his insanity is shown and is demonstrated in the different parts of the play. Many parts in the play points out his madness and his loss of control. Hamlet shows many mood swings throughout the play that makes him act mad and speaks like an insane. Hamlet illustrates many unclear emotions to show his insanity. We can see that there are two versions of Hamlet in the play because of the different actions. Sometimes he acts as a perfect prince and sometimes he acts as he is mad. There is a shift in the different personality Hamlet image, he therefore shows us that he in fact insane, with many example shown throughout the play.…

    • 868 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Mind and Hamlet

    • 1116 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Shakespeare’s texts have been re-visited, re-interpreted and re-invented to suit the context and preferences of an evolving audience, and it through this constant recreation it is evident that Hamlet “does not define or exhaust its possibilities”. Through the creation of a character who emulates a variety of different themes, such as revenge, realisation of reality and the questioning of humanity, we can see the different possibilities within Hamlet as an “admirable text” with enduring human value. Furthermore, the emotional journey of Hamlet and his progression of madness provide further opportunity for differing interpretations. Hamlet connects with audiences from a variety of socio-historic contexts primarily due to its address of fundamental human issues and what it is to be human.…

    • 1116 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hamlet Character Analysis

    • 1996 Words
    • 8 Pages

    In Hamlet, many think of Hamlet as being the main or only tragically flawed character within the play. However, in actuality, the play contains many other characters that possess varying severities of imperfection, some of which put the shortcomings of Hamlet, the title character of Hamlet, to shame. Despite the tragically flawed nature of Hamlet’s character, other characters in the play are clearly more flawed in comparison to Hamlet. As a result of this character’s imperfection, many of the characters within the play Hamlet are considered tragic; however, those in which this trait is predominant are Claudius, Laertes and Gertrude.…

    • 1996 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    is revealed in conversation with his mother, is a negative one and that is anger.…

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare was a skillful writer and had the ability to form different styles of characters effectively to develop the story to captivate his audience. In Hamlet, Shakespeare creates several “Masters of Rhetoric” who skillfully use language to gain an upper hand over other characters, as well as to accent the character’s personal motive’s and desire’s to the audience. Shakespeare develops certain characters such as Hamlet and Claudius as Masters of Rhetoric to show their puissance, and uses Polonius and his comical failed attempts at rhetoric to show his weaknesses. Hamlet and Claudius continually use rhetoric to battle each other with words, trying to prove their prowess and gain the upper hand by making the other look foolish. They think that through superior use of language, they will show they are higher on the Great Chain of Being, as both think they are destined to be the King of Denmark. As will be shown in a moment, Shakespeare aptly uses these “word battles” to make one character appear greater than another, at times humorously destroying or establishing the assumed Great Chain of Being. This constant battling also contributes to Shakespeare’s flux of order and chaos to make a great dramatic tragedy.…

    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet has a vast understanding of the circle of life and how to achieve and not achieve certain goals, and he illustrates this constantly in majority of his soliloquys. However, this is contrary to his actions and gestures because he is hesitant and indecisive in his actions. Thus, Shakespeare uses diction to convey Hamlet’s state of mind rather than actions alone. For example, he uses choppy and long sentences in Hamlet’s diction and eventually as he comes to a decision and becomes more self-assured his sentences become less choppy and more solid. Also, while Hamlet’s inaction does not necessarily come out in his gestures and actions, his anger towards Claudius, Ophelia, and all of the others who betrayed him does. For example, Hamlet is angry with his mother Gertrude for quickly remarrying after the death of his father to his uncle. While conversing with his mother in her chamber, he becomes extremely violent and volatile, to the point where she has to ask him not to murder or harm her. His violent actions show his pent up anger and the chaos flooding his mind. Also, Hamlet is angry and feels betrayed by Ophelia, his former love, for being a pawn in her father’s plan. Thus, he implies that she is salacious and needs to go to a “nunnery” immediately. His roughness and harsh words clearly shows his state of mind about Ophelia. He is furious with Ophelia and wishes to discontinue any relations with her. Thus, Shakespeare utilizes gestures and actions to illustrate character’s states of mind in most cases. However, in certain scenarios, the actions or gestured carried out by character’s can be contradictory towards their…

    • 280 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays