Hamlet by Shakespeare

Setting: Denmark back in the day

Main Characters: Hamlet, Claudius, Ophelia, Gertrude, King Hamlet, Laertes, Young Fortinbras

Plot: The plot centers around the play's namesake: Hamlet. Hamlet sees a ghost of his dead father King Hamlet. Instantly he feels the filial obligation to avenge his dead father, who was killed by his brother and now King, Claudius. Hamlet acts crazy causing Claudius to search for the root cause of such insanity. Hamlet's love Ophelia decides to obey her father and betray Hamlet. Hamlet is enraged by such a betrayal and yells for Ophelia "to go thee to a nunnery". Throughout this scene, Hamlet's words play on two levels. In one sense his words imply those of a lover asking if she is serious. On another level, Hamlet is talking to Ophelia as if she were a prostitute. These two levels emphasize the Madonna-Whore complex in literature. Soon Hamlet's insanity is wide spread but is he actually insane? His words work on many levels implying thought, not gibberish. Hamlet acts as a christ-like figure and asks Gertrude to cast away her sin and incestuous sheets. After Hamlet kills Polonius, Ophelia kills herself and Laertes leads an uprising. Meanwhile Hamlet questions himself and his god and looks for verification by sending players to reenact a play of his father's murder. The final scene, like all shakespeare tragedies, end with every main character dying. However, to me it was a unique tragedy because Fortinbras survived and won! This wasn't a massacre it was a purge of sinners.

Theme: Filial obligation means not taking revenge and acting in your own self-interest, but rather improving the lives of your loved ones. Faith in one's religious and filial duty trumps all other aspirations.

Author: Shakespeare puts so much in this text. By far, his use of language is unparalleled. One of the key tools Shakepeare uses, is the use of foils. Foils in Hamlet as a means to provide meaning to the piece. Having Fortinbras come out as the victor shows that he was the only one not being selfish and the only one to truly follow his parent's wishes. But what of King Hamlet? One of the most interesting details in Hamlet is that King Hamlet is in purgatory for his sins. This is a huge deal to Hamlet, but acting as the hand of god led him to his own downfall.

"Go thee to a nunnery"-Hamlet
One of the most passionate scenes in Hamlet contains this phrase. These words work on multiple levels. On one level Hamlet is angry at Ophelia and asking her to join a Nunnery. On another level he is aking her to go to a prostitution house.

"To be or not to be"-Hamlet
Shakespeare's use of Sililoques are unmatched. In this sililoquy, shakespeare questions his faith with god. He loses his innocence. From now on, Shakespeare is a sinner. Controlled by the desire to avenge his father and save his mother, he acts along his own accord(not that of God)