... embrace it when it arrives. At the same time, in William Shakespeare's "To be, or not to be" soliloquy from his play "Hamlet," the main character struggles with whether to live or to take his own life. Although these poems view death differently, they all have similarities which link them together and at the same time have their differences. These three literary works share ... linking them to dreams and good nights. One other similarity shared by all three poems is that they were written in iambic pentameter. In Shakespeare's soliloquy, Hamlet shows his uncertainty for what happens aft...

• Word Count: 898
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... with the idea of death, and over the course of the play he considers death from a great many perspectives. He ponders both the spiritual consequences of death, embodied in the ghost, and the physical remainders of the dead, such as by Yorick's skull and the decaying corpses in the cemetery. Throughout, the idea of death is closely tied to the themes of spirituality, truth, and uncertainty ... in that death may bring the answers to Hamlet's deepest questions, ending once and for all the problem of trying to determine truth in an ambiguous world. The question of his ... than the pain one...

• Word Count: 913
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... is already unsure of what to believe and what to do, and the tension of his uncertainty arises as he speaks to heaven in his soliloquy at the end of Act One, Scene Five. Hamlet was indecisive on how to channel his emotions into a productive plan. After much thought, he decides that he will seek revenge through Claudius's guilt (Hazlitt). This is shown ... ) In Hamlets soliloquy in Act Three, Scene One, he ponders the value of his own life by contemplating the moral aspects of suicide, life, death, and afterlife (Shakespeare). Hamlet cannot trust anyone because he is surrounded by people ...

• Word Count: 1397
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... him, but could not because of a couple of barriers that he had to deal with. The appearance of the ghost in the first act changes the fate that has struck Denmark with the sudden death of Old King Hamlet and turns the play into a revenge tragedy. On the side the ghost triggers the ... to us, was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway, thereto prick?d on by a most emulate pride, dar?d to the combat. Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands which he stood seiz?d of." (I.1.92-109) He appears to Horatio, Bernardo and Marcellus in full armor "Such was the very ... 's father was an und...

• Word Count: 1577
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... the King, for their own selfish reasons. She killed herself after knowledge of her fathers' death. Last to die was Laertes, it is easily seen how Laertes, in the heat of his anger could conspire to murder, though he kills Hamlet he is avenging his fathers' death, an act, with reference to the moral climate of the 1600's. Therefore it is overlooked. Laertes in his ... as brush strokes to paint a powerful picture. He uses the castle of Elsinore and it's vicinity to depict a rundown and depressing place where incest and murder are a normal part of life. Where revenge is a commonplace motiv...

• Word Count: 1486
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... be sure before killing Claudius, his father's murderer. This shows how Shakespeare uses the audience's uncertainty to manipulate their response to the play. Shakespeare also uses conflicting culture to control the audience's reactions. Hamlet is set in Denmark, but written for an English audience. According to the Danish tradition of ... and will therefore go to Hell. Likewise, when Hamlet kills Claudius in the midst of a murder plot, his desire is to send him to eternal damnation and avenge his father's death. This knowledge of Christianity is not typical for a Dane. In other words, Ha...

• Word Count: 1416
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... performed, the text leaves loopholes, gaps in meaning that are ultimately meant to be filled by the directors and actors that bring the work to life. The end result of this of course is a myriad of interpretations on the work that end up conflicting or merely differing from one another. ... Shakespearean age live performance at the Globe. It opens on a tower top almost completely occluded by fog. This creates a very simple suspenseful ambience of uncertainty that will hold through to the end of the film. Some interesting characterizations also begin to take place in the first few scene...

• Word Count: 1694
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School