... and plays, minor and major characters play equally important roles in the progression of the plot. Although the courtiers in Hamlet, such as Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Laertes, help Hamlet find his true self, evoke the madness and spying theme, and they ironically bring his destruction and ultimately show the ... out the spying motif. Another courtier, who was one of the purer characters, was Laertes. Laertes was the son of Polonius and the brother of Ophelia, who was dating Hamlet. Laertes receives permission from the King and his father to take leave for France. When he re...

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• Grade Level: High School

... wants to talk to Hamlet about her disappointment. Hamlet, who is very angry because of Claudius" involvement in his father's death and also her marriage with the King, is very rude with her. During their discussing, Gertrude calls for help, Polonius, the Lord Chamberlain, who is hidden behind the wall covering in order to listening their conversation, answers, and Hamlet kills Polonius thinking that he is ... the King. Polonius dies by paying the price of his own trickery. There is a passage that illustrate ... Polonius" death very well, which means that he has met his death because he...

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• Grade Level: High School

... ' 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 ... from dust and eventually will return. It is possible that Shakespeare was trying to indirectly warn us of Hamlets fate or of the fate of Polonius or Claudius. Hamlet is young, handsome, daring, and witty with an emotional soul and a violent temper. He exhibits a puzzling two-faced nature. He contradicts himself ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... identify with Hamlet on. After the play he is summoned to speak with his mother while Polonius spies behind the curtain. Polonius makes a move and Hamlet draws his dagger and kills him. This is an act committed off impulse and it is not something Hamlet would have ... done if he were thinking logically. Hence, the feelings of passion, anger and confusion are customary to the situation Hamlet ... is faced with which makes the readers compassionate towards him. Aside from the themes and emotions of Hamlet ... within a month, let me not think on't: Frailty, thy woman!"(I.ii.143-145). Anot...

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• Grade Level: High School

... that did not contemplate his actions, but rather took instantaneous retribution. This archetype is seen in the characters of Laertes and Fortinbras. Laertes, the son of Polonius, does not adopt the role of a "hero- in the play until the final stages. He is absent for most of the play but we ... appears to be madness. This is evident through the way he acts with Ophelia and speaks so cryptically to Polonius. Ophelia describes vividly how Hamlet seemed to have "been looséd out of hell- (II.I.82). When Hamlet decides, "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King- (II...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... not hear this part of his prayer. Claudius, by the end of the play has caused more than half a dozen deaths, King Hamlet, Hamlet, Gertrude, Laertes, Polonius, and himself just to name the main ones. It is because of Claudius" scheming that the end of the play is so plagued by ... a good leader. It was Claudius" obsession for control and power that ruined a great kingdom. The question left to be answered however is this, would Hamlet have made a good king? Hamlet possessed many qualities that would have made him a suitable king. First of all, his father was the king, so he was royalty an...

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• Grade Level: High School

... 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 ... Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me-(III:iii). Finally, after the encounter with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Hamlet continues on his way to see his mother, at which time he says that, "Now he could drink hot blood-, showing his passion an...

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• Grade Level: High School

... a play that would help him figure out if his uncle Claudius was truly responsible for his father's death. Although Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Polonius were all present when Hamlet presented his ideas to the head player, they were not aware that Hamlet's changes to the play would have a devastating impact towards their grateful King (II, ii.421-529). They never thought a so-called madman ... death, yet there is another side to where he should not make all of the other comments and action toward the other characters in the play such as Ophelia or Polonius. It is all a matter of how th...

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• Grade Level: High School

... images and thoughts") as being the "intergral" of his own work. Meaning that Stoppard's play ("R & G are dead") is in fact derived from Shakespear's play "Hamlet". In which case in this interview Stoppard confirms that "R & G are dead" can hold up as a play in it own right, however in order to understand ... and Ophelia: his mother by marrying Claudius and Ophelia by spying on him at the behest of her father Polonius. Now he discovers that Ros and Guil are spys too. After Hamlet kills Polonius accidentally in his mother's bedroom, the King decides to ship him off to England for his prote...

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... has difficulties in coping with his fathers sudden death and to see his mother kiss and cuddle her new treacherous husband almost drives Hamlet over the edge. Hamlet, not wanting to offend his mother by telling her about his disapproval, hides his true feelings about the marriage. His disapproval then ... 42-45). Her spirits rise for a moment when she sees Hamlet's excited involvement with the play and his attentions to Ophelia, but then they immediately drop as Claudius rises from the performance in anguish. Finally she is pushed by Polonius to do the one thing that she has avoided for ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... two." (Act I, sc II, l. 142) When he meets the ghost and the ghost tells him the entire story of what really happened: Claudius murdered King Hamlet. Put both the death and the early marriage together and this leads us to be extremely suspicious of Gertrude. Right off the bat, Gertrude does not seem to ... the Queen has no idea of what is being plotted is in act 4, scene 7 in the confrontation between Laertes and Claudius. They are planning to kill Hamlet in a fencing battle. Laertes's objective is not to kill him with honor and dignity but to be cheap and evil. Their plan is to poison...

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• Grade Level: High School

... his plans will not be found out by Claudius, Polonius or any other person that may be suspicious of his actions. The ghost informs Hamlet of his father's murder and demands that Hamlet takes vengeance. Without the ghost, Hamlet's actions would seem much more insane. Hamlet is a very angry character in the play. He ... in others that he is in a crazy and senile state of mind. By doing that it prevents others in the royal family from thinking that Hamlet was planning actions of vengeance against his uncle, presently King of Denmark. In act three scene one, readers speculate to whether wha...

• Word Count: 1516
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• Grade Level: High School

... 5th edition. Boston & New York: Bedford/St. Martin's Press, 1999. 1564-1612. Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. New York: Signet, 1947. The Portrayal of Women in Shakespeare's "Hamlet- and Moliere's "Tartuffe- The portrayal of women has been a particularly daunting challenge for writers of English literature for several reasons. First, until recently the vast majority of writers were men ... her father and other males, fickle in her affections and loose with her morals. When she agrees to spy on Hamlet, she is metaphorically doomed - but Hamlet is unaware of the damage she wil...

• Word Count: 2278
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate