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Hamlet
In act 2, scene 2, Polonius, in his characteristically long-winded way, tells Gertrude that her son is mad. Brevity may be the soul of wit, but, as usual, there is nothing particularly brief about...
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Hamlet
The deaths of Hamlet and Laertes mark the end of the tragic denouement of the play. Laertes, bent on avenging the deaths of his father and sister, both of which he blames on Hamlet, conspires with...
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Hamlet
Figurative language is descriptive by nature, yet it should not be taken literally. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, figurative language allows the audience and reader to more deeply experience what occurs...
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Hamlet
Yes, I believe that Hamlet is a good person. He does questionable things, certainly: his treatment of Ophelia is abysmal (though some argue that, in spurning her that he actually protects her from...
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Hamlet
Traditionally, the hero's fall in tragedy is attributed to what is called a "tragic flaw." This flaw is some fault of character such as inordinate ambition, jealousy, quickness to anger, or...
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Hamlet
Hamlet's most resonant flaw is his reluctance to take action. Though his father's ghost visits him and exhorts him to avenge his death, Hamlet's indecisiveness ultimately enables Claudius to get...
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Hamlet
Hamartia, also referred to as a tragic flaw, is a personal error in a protagonist's personality which results in their unfortunate downfall. One could consider Hamlet's indecisiveness and inability...
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Hamlet
Whether Hamlet should be considered a "hero" is a matter of how you define the term "hero." In literary criticism, the term originates in Aristotle's Poetics. Aristotle is trying to define what...
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Hamlet
The past permeates Arthur Miller's tragedy Death of a Salesman. It hangs over the proceedings, casting a pallor over the story of an aging traveling salesman who never finds the success he...
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Hamlet
The IB IOP is usually 10-15 minutes in length. From what I can see, it looks like you're interested in an oral expose or structured presentation. Granted that you're not given much time, here is...
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Hamlet
An Act Three, Scene One of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet delivers the iconic "To be or not to be" soliloquy. In this passage, he ponders whether he should continue to live when life is merely a...
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Hamlet
Imagery is a type of language that appeals to the audience's five senses. Throughout various scenes in the play Hamlet, Shakespeare utilizes imagery to create an atmosphere, emphasize themes, and...
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Hamlet
This seemingly simple phrase that Hamlet utters after his horrifying meeting with his father’s ghost is actually another example of Shakespeare’s genius with words. Let’s begin by unpacking...
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Hamlet
Shakespeare's characters and their relationships are a rich topic of discussion. It seems that you may choose any two characters for this essay and analyze their relationship. I would suggest that...
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Hamlet
It appears that your instructor is asking you to think of potential thesis statements for essays you might write in the future about your assigned readings. The thesis statements need to address...
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Hamlet
The concept of Hamlet's descent into madness is a major theme throughout the play, but there is no definitive answer as to whether he was actually mad or simply giving a convincing performance....
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Boys and Girls
In completing this assignment, you should start with an introduction that focuses on this theme as part of the rise of individualism. You should make the point that as a literary, philosophical,...
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Hamlet
Hamlet struggles in the play to express his individuality, or his sense of himself. He is in many ways an intellectual who is devoted to his studies, but he is forced, by dint of events beyond his...
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Hamlet
Hamlet is an idealistic character, as he believes that people should act in a moral way and is crushed when they don't. He is disappointed that his mother, Gertrude, has married Claudius shortly...
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Hamlet
Renowned Shakespearean critic Harold Bloom credits Hamlet with being "Freud's mentor." For, like Hamlet, Freud contends that people are "lived by drives we cannot command." These looming drives are...
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Hamlet
Though the armor worn by King Hamlet's ghost is a small detail, it actually serves an important role in the play. First of all, the armor worn by King Hamlet's ghost signifies that the ghost is on...
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Hamlet
Hamlet opens with an atmosphere of of gloom and foreboding. Not only has King Hamlet, Hamlet's father, died recently, the guards on duty at the castle are discussing disquieting events with...
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Literature
A foil or a foil character differs from one character (in this case, Hamlet) and those differences highlight Hamlet's traits. So, we don't have to look far until we come to Claudius who serves as a...
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Hamlet
When the troupe of actors comes to Elsinore and Hamlet begins to conceive of his plan to have them act out a play that is similar in its plot to the way his father was killed by his uncle (or so a...
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Hamlet
As a matter of fact, I do agree with this criticism. Hamlet decides to act mad, and then waits for months before taking any other "action." Then, he seems only to make a plan once the traveling...
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Hamlet
Hamlet suggests that his condition is caused by various factors in his 'To be or not to be' soliloquy in scene 1, Act III. In this dramatic monologue, he rhetorically asks who, in his right mind,...
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Hamlet
Ophelia is a young female character in Hamlet. She is the daughter of Polonius, who is an adviser to King Claudius. She is also the sister of Laertes. Prince Hamlet has told Ophelia that he loves...
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Hamlet
The main message of this soliloquy is that Hamlet feels like a total lowlife for having done nothing so far to avenge his father's murder. Hamlet has just heard an actor recite a monologue about...
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Hamlet
In Act 3, Scene 1 of Hamlet, the main character utters what would become one of the most common allusions in all of literature: "to be or not to be." This line is written by Shakespeare, but...
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Hamlet
One conflict Hamlet faces is how to deal with his uncle, Claudius, who Hamlet suspects has killed his father to usurp the throne of Denmark. Hamlet is also faced with the apparent treachery of his...
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Hamlet
The end of the play seems to signify the idea that anyone who contributed to the "something rotten" in Denmark has to be eliminated in order for the country to move on and prosper again. Gertrude...
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Hamlet
I would argue that madness in Hamlet and King Lear ironically allows characters to more clearly understand truth. In Hamlet, Hamlet's decision to feign madness (although, to be sure, it's unclear...
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Hamlet
Your question apparently refers to the exchange between Hamlet and his mother in Act III, Scene 4, right after Hamlet kills Polonius, who was hiding behind the arras. Gertrude is horrified. She...
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Hamlet
Hamlet is vastly different than the other characters in Shakespeare's play of the same name, largely due to his sensitive, tormented, tragic nature. He is a character who is constantly questioning...
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Hamlet
Claudius dies shortly after Laertes's fatal duel with Hamlet. Laertes has dipped his sword in poison and grazes Hamlet with it. Hamlet then uses this sword to kill Laertes, who, as he is dying,...
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Hamlet
Hamlet, the title character of a 17th-century tragedy by William Shakespeare, speaks seven soliloquies. Recall that a soliloquy occurs when a character in a work is speaking his or her innermost...
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Hamlet
In Hamlet, the image of women is one of dependence upon male chivalry and solicitude. Through characterization, we can learn about a character directly or indirectly. Direct characterization allows...
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Hamlet
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Hamlet
These questions have been debated for centuries. They are called "The Hamlet Problem." I think the best answer was given by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who said Hamlet procrastinates because he thinks...
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Hamlet
Shakespeare’s art of characterization—his power of creating personality through diction, revealing psychology through the words his characters speak and think—is the essence of his genius,...
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Hamlet
Corruption and decay are a constant theme in Hamlet. From Horatio's assertion early in the play that something is "rotten in the state of Denmark," to Hamlet's disturbing joke that "politic worms"...
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Hamlet
Hamlet gives his first soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 2, and it's here that we learn of his depression, his suicidal tendencies, and (most importantly) his scorn for his mother's decision to remarry....
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Hamlet
The short answer is yes, Hamlet's uncle really did murder Hamlet's father. The evidence for this is in Act 1, Scene 5. In this scene, Hamlet's father appears as a ghost to his son. When he speaks...
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Hamlet
Your first step in researching this might be reading the beginning of the play. Hamlet is initially set on his course when the ghost of his father appears and demands that Hamlet kill Claudius,...
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Hamlet
I do think the characterization of Gertrude and Ophelia as passive and dependent on the men in their lives is accurate. Gertrude is so dependent on men that she cannot bear to be alone even for...
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Hamlet
Perhaps Shakespeare gave Hamlet at least three reasons for feeling "extraordinary grief" because the playwright realized that one by itself was not sufficient reason. Hamlet is still grieving over...
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Hamlet
The best way to prepare for an essay test on a book or play is to know the book or play well. You have taken the first step in coming to eNotes. On the eNotes Hamlet page there are summaries,...
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Hamlet
There are several characters in Shakespeare's Hamlet that the author uses to target the interests of young people during the Elizabethan (English Renaissance) period. The first character is Hamlet....
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Hamlet
Hamlet is experiencing some personal conflict as a result of the information he gets from his father (the ghost) that his uncle is a murderer. His father wants to be avenged, and Hamlet wants to...
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Hamlet
For the most exciting stories, we want the juiciest material—gaps where the character is in a really different place before and after. What comes to mind for you? Here's what my mind jumped to:...
