Category: Hamlet

Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, is a play ruled by Hamlet’s conscience. It is his values, attitudes and beliefs that drive the plot and contribute to the understanding of the social, cultural and historical context of Shakespeare’s time. Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in response to Elizabethan culture and life to compare the ideas of the era…

Allan G. Johnson, a sociologist, defines Misogyny as ‘misogyny is a cultural attitude of hatred for females because they are female’. (Johnson, 2000). In the play, Hamlet, there are just two individuals from the cast who are female characters. One is Gertrude who is anticipated as a forbidden, cutthroat and a prostitute. The other, Ophelia,…

Tragedies are unfortunate events that occur on a daily basis, no matter if they were done on purpose or intentionally. Some things occur for a reason while others cause extreme chaos and distraught. The play Hamlet is based on many tragedies that occur due to one person’s selfish actions. The Elizabethan chain of being is…

It is a valid argument that evil is something that we all possess in one way or another. It is also true that evil draws its power from indecision, this can be examined through Hamlet’s behaviour in the play. Hamlet the protagonist has revealed the tendency to overthink and procrastinate upon situations. Life-changing decisions can…

Throughout the play “Hamlet”, written by William Shakespeare, there are various important themes that are developed among the characters within their respective traits and personalities. However, in the midst of all the chaos and tragedy in the story line, there is one major theme that tends to always stand out in Hamlet’s life; death. Over…

It is clear that Shakespeare intended these creative names to evoke certain fragments of meaning. For instance, Hamlet’s name recalls the phrase: ‘If you are not getting to eat that ham, let your sister have some,’ while Fortinbras clearly implies ‘Hello, I’m An eccentric old woman, I’m trying to find tin bras.’ There’s another similarity,…

‘To be, or not to be?’ To die, or to suffer eternally? That is the question the two protagonists are faced with, all in order to build resilience. Both protagonists possess the ability to rebel against and challenge their fate to prove their credo, but only one turns into a resilient hero. By comparing the…

Hamlet written by Williams Shakespeare is a significant work in British literature. Its setting is in Denmark, it starts when the old king Hamlet died and in the first Act the Ghost of the old king, Hamlet’s father appears. He wants to speak to Hamlet because of his murder, and Claudius took his throne. He…

Both Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet explore the nature of patriarchal values and the responses of female characters to these values. Whilst both male protagonists had similar contexts their personal responses to gender stereotypes were very different. Similarly, both female protagonists also had seemingly similar upbringings – as privileged members of powerful families, yet…

When the subject of Hamlet is broached in conversation (assumedly by tweed-wearing types), often does the topic sway towards humor, as humor is used very often yet always very strategically in this play about the Dane and the fall of his house. The comedy found in Hamlet varies from the chuckles garnered by the long-winded…