... the play. He speaks these words after the deaths of Hamlet, Claudius, King of Denmark, Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, and Laertes, son of Polonius. Also dead are Hamlet, King of Denmark, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, former friends of Hamlet, Polonius, councilor to the King, and Ophelia, daughter of Polonius. Death is an extremely prevalent theme in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. However, each death is unique in circumstances, causes, and ... saying, "If thou didst ever thy dear father love "Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder- (Hamlet, Act I, Scene 5, Lines 23 and 25). Hamlet had no...

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... murderer of his own kin. Interestingly, the size of the final death toll can be mainly blamed on Hamlet's actions or rather his lack of action. After learning from his father's ghost about the circumstances of his father's murder "by a brother's hand Of life, of crown, of queen at once dispatched" (I.v. 75), Hamlet struggles with his conscience about actually killing his uncle. At the same ... time, Hamlet feels guilty that he is not avenging his father's death and calls himself a coward. He wants further evidence ... by poison. Claudius supplies the poison, but the weapon Claudius rea...

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... married his mother, Gertrude. The marriage took place during the mourning period and raised questions in Hamlet's mind about the death of his father. Hamlet had his suspicions but he had no proof that his uncle was responsible for his father's death. " The serpent that did sting thy father's life now wears his crown,"(I.v.38-39). Then the apparition of his father appeared. The ghost ... told young Hamlet that Claudius poisoned him. He said that Claudius has poured poison in his ear while he was sleeping. The ghost told Hamlet to seek revenge for his death. Hamlet was the heir to the thr...

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... king when that position should rightfully be his. This is a lot for young Hamlet to handle. He even continues to wear black months after his father's death. When Hamlet's good friend Horatio tells Hamlet that a ghost looking exactly like the late King Hamlet keeps appearing, Hamlet is very eager to see the ghost. When Hamlet does finally get a chance to see the ghost he is afraid, but anxious ... his father then he must "revenge his foul and most unnatural murder" (1.5.25). Hamlet is shocked when the ghost tells him that his father was murdered. Hamlet is even more stunned when the ghos...

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... it. Then comes the burial of Ophelia, which is when Laertes and Hamlet fight as Hamlet feels that Laertes is not truly sorry for Ophelia's death as Hamlet says, "even Forty thousand brothers " can't make up the love he had for Ophelia. It is after this that Laertes joins Claudius, and schemes to kill Hamlet by poisoning the foil they plan to use in a joust between ... the court; instead it brought him more awareness. In his quest to kill Claudius, he gets side tracked and unintentionally takes the life of Polonious. "I took thee for thy better"-this is when Hamlet was speaking to his mo...

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... you into madness? (I, iiii, 69-74) These words of wisdom from Horatio become reality and the ghost of Hamlet's father does tempt Hamlet and eventually leads him over a cliff of self destruction and complete madness. Hamlets psycological state quickly changes from ... well. From the very beginning of the play the characters emotions are very apparent. Gertrude and Hamlet have had a different emotions regarding the death of King Hamlet and the marriage to Claudius, but it is these emotional ruins that tear them up inside. ... the play that we see her true feelings about her marriage to Cla...

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... going David 2 to be effected, so he repeated statements and displayed his circular talking to regain his lost ground. Hamlet's loathing might have spurred from Polonius" swiftness to serve under Claudius after Hamlet's father died, which helps give a vivid picture of the corruption. Polonius, although a family man, was one of ... who had been rejected by her consort, Hamlet. His intentions were to find the truth in Hamlet's supposed madness, but ironically, he assisted in Hamlet's death. The King and Queen had been leery of Hamlet after their marriage, but when Polonius confronted them w...

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... with her. He simply could not show it and avenge his father's death at the same time. After Polonius' death, Ophelia becomes increasingly lonely, and is driven to death, due in part to Hamlet's denial of any feelings for her. If Hamlet had let her in on his plan, her death could have been prevented, but Hamlet's quest would not have been fulfilled. Due to confusion between appearance ... own life. All doubts that Hamlet once had concerning the reality of Claudius' actions dissolve as he acknowledges the evil that Claudius has committed. Hamlet is the first to realize the true character ...

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... man. Along with being complicated himself, his life was also complicated. The death of his father and the marriage of his mother to Claudius are just two examples of the many conflicts Hamlet had to deal with. These issues lead Hamlet through hard times that he had to solve and do something about. Hamlet was both a man of thought and a man of action. This made ... to live in the end after going over and over these kinds of thoughts. If Hamlet had spent less time thinking about things he would have got things done a lot faster and would have had an easier life. Hamlet was also a man of a...

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... struck off," (V, 2) ""Read it at more leisure"" (V, 2) and ""Devised a new commission, wrote it fair..." (V, 2) shows how Hamlet outsmarted Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Claudius, and Polonius. Hamlet wrote a different letter that said that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were to be executed, and therefore cheated death. Hamlet revenged his father's death by murdering Claudius. After Hamlet found out that the sword he and Laertes were struck with was poisoned he then stabbed ... anyone else. When his childhood friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were executed he felt no remorse even though i...

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... , And thy commandment all alone shall live Within the book and volume of my brain" (1054, line 100). Hamlet is stating his utmost commitment to nothing short of revenge of his fathers' death. At this juncture in the play, there is little doubt about his state of mind, or intentions. However, ... and actions are placed in order, and he makes the decision to uphold the destiny his father had proclaimed. Hamlet makes this momentous decision while watching the soldiers going off to battle, "The imminent death of twenty thousand men That for fantasy and a trick of fame, Go to their graves lik...

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... youth, The serpent that did sting thy father's life Now wears his crown. (II,ii, 37-40) In this quote, spoken by the spirit of Hamlet's father's ghost, he reveals to Hamlet that Claudius murdered him. Claudius not only murders his own brother, and Hamlet's father, but he also marries Hamlet's mother Gertrude a very short time after the death of his brother. As Claudius begins to realize ... the King's efforts to rid of Hamlet. As with any relationship, Hamlet's rise and fall can be contributed to the people in his life who both care and have a lack of care for him. Horatio proves to Ham...

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... commits suicide, since the play supports that she has drown"d, it really seems that she can not see any good destiny to her future life. Her future life would be only death. Laertes after being aware of his father's death he tries to take revenge on Claudius but he says that he has no involvement in this situation and tries to direct Laertes" anger towards ... Hamlet and they both plan to kill him. Laertes plans to challenge Hamlet to a duel so he could use a poisoned sword. Claudius plans, in case of failure ... has foreseen the poisoned wine and decides to drink that in order to save...

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... they report back to Claudius. But Claudius is never convinced his madness was driven by love and makes plans to send Hamlet to England. While creating a new character for himself Hamlet does come out of the spell of madness during his soliloquies. When he tells us, the audience of his intentions and ... the conscience of the King. (2.2.623-634) This is said after he has spoken with the players about adapting a few of his own lines to the play of, The Murder of Gonzago. So Hamlet can determine whether Claudius is guilty of King Hamlet's death, by creating "The Mousetrap" for Claudius to se...

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... and Guildenstern loathe Hamlet. Polonius, King Claudius? loyal subject and right-hand man, detests Hamlet because he thinks Hamlet is madly in love with his daughter Ophelia. Hamlet's refusal to be thus translated in what leads to Polonius's death. Polonius spends much energy, in his last few days of life, on finding a ... the betrayers of Hamlet. These two LName 2 people grew up as friends and schoolmates with Hamlet. His joy at first seeing them is obviously genuine-?My excellent good friends.? [II.ii.224]-but he quickly senses that they, unlike Horatio, have changed with time. After ...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... play and eventually contemplates suicide and murder. This paper will analyze Hamlets thoughts and speeches through the first half of the play. Hamlet begins the play upset over his father's death. He is also upset about his mother's quick remarriage to his uncle, Claudius. It is hard for the audience to ... Eventually this will lead to a dislike of all women. He compares his mother to a beast and then criticizes her for marrying his uncle. After his first soliloquy Hamlet learns of his fathers ghost who has been appearing. He confronts the ghost who is his father, and finds out he was ki...

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... . How he says the world is "weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable" (1, 2, 137) To Hamlet the world is useless, boring, and purposeless. Hamlet is unhappy with his life and where he lives that he calls "Denmark is a prison"(2, 2, 262) Hamlet, besieged by guilt and self-contempt, remarks in his second soliloquy of Hamlet of the emotion this player showed despite the fact that the player had ... only a young boy who suffers with his emotional, self-contempt, felling of being lonely, no one he can trust, his weakness and powerless. Hamlet in his early life suffers the loss of his beloved fath...

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... however, exactly what Stoppard wanted: he has avoided coherence at all costs. The comic scenes undercut the solemn scenes, which undercut the absurd scenes. Hamlet considers committing suicide, then spits into the wind, hitting himself in the eye, then happily sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths. In the ... course, also about these issues, but in a much less serious way. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are not two people trying to find meaning in their lives after a loss of faith, for example. They have never had any meaning, because they are essentially paper dolls. This is ...

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... honeying and making love over the nasty sty- -(III:iv). This intense emotional reaction between Hamlet and his mother results in the death of Polonius, who is hiding in the room. We can make an assumption that Hamlet is not crazy and is thinking clearly throughout most of the play. Yet towards the end ... born to set it right-(I:iv) to seek vengeance. This request by the ghost puts Hamlet in an hardnosed situation. For he must revenge his father's death, knowing that it will certainly lead to his downfall. From this point on Hamlet begins to wear a "mask of madness- using insanity as sc...

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... that he has a one-track mind, which is for getting revenge for his father. His mission that his father gave has blinded him. Hamlet's mental illness causes others around him to lose it as well. For example, Ophelia drowns herself and it is his entire fault. It is ... corruption and revenge. After Ophelia killed herself, and Polonius was stabbed by Hamlet, Laertes had a great motive to get revenge on Hamlet. Hamlet's madness drove Ophelia and Polonius to an unnecessary early death and Laertes to anger. Laertes wants to kill Hamlet, Hamlet wants to kill Claudius, and Claudius wants to kill...

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... power that takes over his senses and narrows his field of vision, limiting it to his objective, mission, and purpose. All other aspects of his life degenerate into chess pieces in the greater game. His mission consumes him, devouring his life and leaving him an uncomplete person. Rages, unwarranted erratic behavior, and evil-doing are symptomatic such a state of being. Much of ... indeed acting madly and without a reason. But the clearest proof of his madness is his obsession with death. As the horrors mount up, it becomes blindingly clear that Hamlet descends from pretending madness to...

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... of Queen Gertrude and the late King Hamlet. After the late King Hamlets death, Claudius (the late Kings brother) married Queen Gertrude and became the father uncle to Prince Hamlet. After the ghost (King Hamlet) appeared to Prince Hamlet and informed him that Claudius was the murderer of his father, by putting poison in his ear, Hamlet was furious. The ghost told Hamlet to seek revenge on King Claudius ... , Claudius was very disturbed and he ordered that the play be stopped. Hamlet then realized that the ghost was right and Claudius did murder his father. Is Hamlet Mad? A big part of th...

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... France with money and written notes for Laertes, he orders him to spy on Laertes personal life. Polonius suspects that Hamlet may be madly in love with Ophelia and that may be the cause of Hamlet's moodiness. ACT 2 SCENE 2 Characters: King, Guildenstern, Rosencrantz, Polonius, Hamlet Setting: Room in castle. (After midnight) Summary: Polonius declares, that the prince is mad with love for Ophelia. He shows ... in at a distance and watch the gravediggers work. Hamlet looks with wonder at the skulls they dig up to make room for the fresh grave and wonders about what occupations the owners...

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... and basically a normal, well adjusted person. This initial set-up will help to further accentuate how strange Hamlet's behavior would seem to the other characters in the play. After having been a good son for years he's now about to start acting strange and crazy. Hamlet learns about the ghost from Horatio and decides to go see it the next night. This lays a shadow ... of anything, further showing his loyalty to his parents, or at least to Gertrude. It's a view of an uncorrupted, if not quite innocent Hamlet, before his life is invaded by turmoil. By the last scene of the play Hamlet ha...

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... acting crazy. Ophelia, as a female character is suppressed by hamlet in her romantic relationship with him as a cause of Hamlet's selfishness, self-destruction and developed hatred towards women. Throughout the play Hamlet, Hamlet only cares about his own misery happening in his life without thinking about the other people's problems and causing them to suffer. Hamlet shows selfishness throughout the play by taking revenge but making ... scenes in the play, Polonius, Guildenstern and Rosencrantz die which were caused by Hamlet. As the play progresses, Hamlet does not show any signs of g...

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• Grade Level: High School