Hamlet as a Literary Standard Essay

William Shakespeares, Hamlet

One of the best known pieces of literature throughout the world is Hamlet; hamlet is also accorded a position of high merit among the superior works of art. What fascinates readers, scholars, critics, psychologists and actors is the character of hamlet, the reasons for his actions and the intense human relationships and mans attitude, in addition the problems of text and sources and contribution to the legend or to the sub-genre of revenge tragedy. This tragedy can also been seen as a metaphor for the tragic nature of humanity, and he is the victim of human nature. Hamlet remains still as one of the most known and important text because the text has veracity which is assured through the texts content and the form of language techniques although it is quite a unique text prevailing to the orthodox conventions of tragedy it also departs and explores other regions of life and death but some critics such as T.S Elliot have suggested that Hamlet as a play is not structurally cohesive and that it is a puzzle or a mess. It has been considered that the messy structure of the drama mimics the messy frame of mind of the protagonist Hamlet.

The ideas portrayed through Hamlet still remains ageless which still appeals to a wide range of responders maybe even more. Hamlets character has fascinated many readers, he is characterised being a meditative and thoughtful individual but, because he is contemplative and thoughtful by nature but a grieving young man dealing with the tragedy of losing his father and his mother to his conniving incestuous uncle. Hamlet is left with a burden in carrying out the revenge of his fathers most foul and unnatural murder. The central idea of death develops near the beginning of the play where Hamlet is in the state of mourning for his fathers death with the wear of the symbolic black which we get the feeling that hamlet is in a deep state of mourning. He claims that the clothing is merely the trappings and the suites of woe this line conveys to the responders that Hamlet is just playing the role of the bereaved child. The quick marriage of Gertrude to Claudius enrages Hamlet a lot more which makes him act out as being a spoilt child that always gets his way and that he hasnt this time around which ends up making him say quiet bitter and outrages statements of rejection to people he truly cares about such as his mother how she has forwarded in a new marriage But two months dead, Nay not so much, not two and the love of his life Ophelia, Hamlet says to Ophelia I loved you once he then contradicts himself saying I loved you not.

Hamlet shares odd relationships with Gertrude his mother and Ophelia who is supposed to be his one true love. You first believe the play will be about politics and fairs of the state of Denmark, but all that Hamlet seems to care about is the sexuality of Gertrude and Ophelia. Ophelia reports to her father and Reynaldo that she has been frightened by Hamlets strange appearance and behaviour, his clothing dishevelled and odd behaviour As been loosed out of hell, Polonius had believed that he has been driven by Ophelias rejection of his love, he then decides to tell Claudius Guilderstein and Rosencrantz were sent to spy on Hamlet, he becomes suspicious of the two and wonder whether they have been sent or have come on their own. Guilderstein and Rosencrantz admit to being sent by Claudius, Hamlet reflects on his melancholy I have lost all my mirth, he speaks of the wonderful nature both of the world and humankind but nothing now gives him pleasure. The players arrive ad Polonius enters to tell Hamlet of their arrival, but Hamlet finds the opportunity to taunt him about his daughter.

Death is explored more with the ghost. The ghost raises many questions to whether it is real or not or just the making of Hamlets mind, why doesnt anybody else seem to see him and is it sent from the devil, an agent from the devil to corrupt Hamlet. The appearance of the ghost calls the question of what happens to one after death, which may be one of the greatest uncertainties of the human condition, along with why are we here. The ghost tells the tale of his death and that he was murdered by his brother Claudius. The ghost throws a suggestion that he is condemned in some form of purgatory and wont be freed until Hamlet avenges his death because he is Doomed for a certain time to walk the night, And for the day confined to fast in fires, Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature are burnt and purged away.

Hamlet tries to find out the truth of whether his father was murdered by his uncle Claudius. Hamlet devises a devious plan of inviting actors or players to perform a play based on the way his fathers death occurred hoping he can catch out Claudius by his reaction and maybe his mother may believe that he really did commit a vicious crime. Hamlets preoccupation with appearance versus reality. The play presented a sleeping king being murdered by a man who steals his crown and his women, it being an exact image of what had happened, as the play gradually went on Claudius realises what the play is about. The players speech sound formal, the players speak in rhymed couplets using stylised language and also making classical references to Apollo the God of the sun and Tellus God of the Earth. The play has direct links to what has happened in reality The player king speaks of thirty years of a loving and holy marriage, The player Queen replies about his health, but vows that she will not marry again and the King replies that vows can often be broken, he argues that strong intentions do not last because as time goes on it lets us forget purpose but the Queen argues back and swears she will never remarry. The player Queen in this scene speaks of womens fear and love are equal hold quantity, being either very extreme or barely felt In either aught, or in extremity. Students have argued about the meaning and importance of the scene but many have had different opinions, such as whether to relate it as a representation of ordinary life, one student had said Its so obviously artificial-a theatrical convention. The player King than sleeps and Hamlet hints he knows of Claudiuss action, a massive abrupt of comments occur and Claudius abruptly leaves the play calling for light. Hamlet is quiet delighted with himself believing that Claudius has shown his guilt and the ghost has told the truth.

Hamlet is indeed a great source of text especially when it comes to finding relations to our own lives. We relate to the intense human relationships involved within this play