Hamlet The Real Villain - 1406 Words

The Real Villain The king of Denmark, Hamlet’s father, has died, leaving Hamlet distraught and grieving. His mother triggers these emotions in him to an even further extent by marrying Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, soon after the funeral. When the ghost of Hamlet’s father comes to Hamlet while roaming the castle grounds, telling him he was murdered by Claudius, Hamlet vows to use madness as a weapon to exact revenge upon Claudius and his mother. However, the idea that Hamlet descends into madness throughout the play is extremely debatable, as some of his actions have no logically beneficial explanation. In Hamlet Shakespeare describes a fictional world filled with spies, murder, and revenge. Through Hamlet’s thoughts and actions Shakespeare communicates the idea that Hamlet’s tragically flawed motives derive not from revenge and hatred, but from a severe mental disorder. Shakespeare wrote Hamlet around the end of the 16th century, and during that time, mental illnesses were not usually addressed. Just because it wasn’t defined then, doesn’t mean that mental illnesses didn’t exist. To the authorities of this time, people with mental illnesses did not have the mental ability to understand reason. Very few people got actual institutional care during that time; many people who needed mental therapy were thought of as burdens to their friends and family, causing them to become beggars (Historic England Mental Illness in the 16th and 17th centuries). This reflects onto Hamlet as heShow MoreRelatedPerformance vs. Reality in Shakespeares Hamlet884 Words   |  3 PagesPerformance versus reality in Shakespeares Hamlet William Shakespeares tragedy Hamlet has often been described as a play about a man who cannot make up his mind. Yet it could just as easily be described as play about a man putting on a play. Hamlet is obsessed with the discrepancy between what is real and what is performed. Hamlets despair at the difficulty of understanding what is the truth motivates him to put on a play to test his uncle Claudius, to see if Claudius is really the murdererRead MoreEssay on Irony in Hamlet1749 Words   |  7 PagesIrony in Hamlet  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This essay will discuss the issue of irony in Hamlet by dealing with the problems that arise as a result of Hamlets attempt to avenge his fathers death. One of the central problems is the clash between Hamlets overpowering need to believe in the ghost of his father, who is the authoritative figure in his life, and the awareness that he lacks empirical knowledge of the truth. In trying to achieve this knowledge, Hamlet sets out on a mixed mission of accusation,Read MoreHamlet, By William Shakespeare918 Words   |  4 Pagesconflict between hero and villain. In some stories, there is a plot twist where the hero is also the villain—but in Hamlet, there are no heroes and many villains. In Hamlet, every character has lied, kept secrets or is seeking revenge that leads to a tragic ending at every corner, but what we fail to see is who the true villain is. Looking at the character of Hamlet throughout the play, it is easier to spot his many dishonorable actions than his few honorable ones. Hamlet is often viewed as an honorableRead MoreComparing The Novel Atonement By Ian Mcewan And The Play Hamlet By William Shakespeare1428 Words   |  6 PagesMany writers aim to identify the similar and contrasting features of their characters in order to addresses varying issues within the texts. These issues within the text In the novel Atonement by Ian McEwan and the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the writers’ use of juxtaposition is used to accomplish a more profound understanding of the internal relationships of the characters and external relationships with the other characters in the texts. Essentially, through the use of juxtaposition, bothRead MoreHamlet s Search For Justice1294 Words   |  6 PagesShakespeare’s novel, Hamlet. The title character, Hamlet, understands justice in terms of a noble revenge, but fails to take action, due to his weak disposition to act on his thoughts. Hamlet’s search for justice was not successful because his sense of â€Å"justice† was flawed, ultimately leading not only to his own death, but to Laertes who had a very similar mission to that of Hamlet. Hamlet’s fatal flaw leads to the question concerning what differentiates real justice from faux justice. Hamlet seeks a nobleRead MoreEssay on Heroes and Revenge in Hamlet and The Spanish Tragedy1389 Words   |  6 PagesHeroes and Revenge in Hamlet and The Spanish Tragedy In Elizabethan drama, it was accepted that the villains of the piece would, because of their evil methods and aims, be revealed and punished - in other words, justice would be served. The problem, however, arises when the heroes of the piece use the same methods as the villains. I use the term hero warily, as the traditional hero of a revenge tragedy is one who would at first seem completely unsuited to a revenging role; Heironimo is portrayedRead MoreResponse to Shakespeares Presentation of the Responsibilities and Obligations Placed on Sons by Fathers in Hamlet1394 Words   |  6 PagesResponse to Shakespeares Presentation of the Responsibilities and Obligations Placed on Sons by Fathers in Hamlet Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is a play based on the theme of revenge (otherwise known as a revenge tragedy). However there are other themes to this play that may not be as obvious as the main. Love, hate, madness are all other themes to this play, along with the theme of responsibility to sons and fathers. This theme is sustained throughout the whole playRead More Characteristics of a Machiavel in The Spanish Tragedy and Hamlet1163 Words   |  5 Pagesof a Machiavel in The Spanish Tragedy and Hamlet  Ã‚   To understand a renaissance machiavel as portrayed in The Spanish Tragedy and Hamlet, it is necessary to find characters from both works that exhibit the characteristics of a machiavel (Plotting, secrecy and eventually murder). This is the difficult part, as most of the major characters in both plays exhibit some, if not all of these characteristics - while neither Heironimo nor Hamlet are villains, they both rely upon machiavellian tactics;Read MoreThe Tragedy Of Hamlet By William Shakespeare1739 Words   |  7 PagesTragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is a tragic play about the revenge Prince Hamlet is told to take on his uncle, Claudius, by the ghost of Hamlet s father, King Hamlet. According to the ghost of King Hamlet, Claudius had murdered his own brother by pouring poison into his ear while he was sleeping. Claudius also seized the throne and married his deceased brother s widow, Prince Hamlet s mother. Finding out the real reason of his becoming an orphan, from his ghost f ather, Hamlet sets out toRead More The Works of William Shakespeare Essay1429 Words   |  6 Pagesqualities that refer to all human beings. He could thus produce characters that have notion beyond the time and place of his works. Yet, his characters are not symbolic people. They are prominent individual human beings. They strive just as people do in real situations, sometimes fruitfully and at times with troublesome and tragic mischance. Shakespeare created at least 37 works. These works include vivid characters of all kinds and from walks of reality. Kings, pickpockets, thieves, shepherds and philosophers