... people and to get what he wants out of them. First of all, the whole idea of acting mad is an ingenious tactic on the part of Hamlet because it allows him to do and say whatever he pleases for the entire play without being further questioned or scrutinized by anyone, they simply let things go ... devise and carry out the entire scheme to see whether or not Claudius is guilty. Near the end of the play Hamlet again exhibits his wit on the trip to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Hamlet is able to sense that something is wrong, find the letter explaining that he is to be killed wh...

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... to act through anger instead of acting through reason. Its foundation is on an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Hamlet feeds off the death of his father to seek revenge. Hamlet's revenge was one of personal revenge. Hamlet's father, the king, died and his Uncle Claudius married his mother, Gertrude. The marriage took place during the mourning period and raised ... to Claudius. Claudius gained the crown and the kingdom. This was the motive for Claudius to murder the king and a foundation for Hamlet's revenge. Claudius stole what was rightfully Hamlet's. Hamlet behavior was erratic...

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... the king's secrets. They both try to hide their thoughts and feelings from each other to deflect suspicion of knowing information the other doesn't. Hamlet's madness is an act to help hide his true emotions from Claudius which helps to plot against him. Claudius tries to hide his guilt of ... uses to deceive the king's mind. By making the king go insane, he is able to learn about Claudius' true feelings towards murdering his father. Hamlet explains the process of his plan by telling Horatio; "The harlot's cheek beautied with plast'ring art,/ Is not more ugly to the thing that ... case ...

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... thou noble youth, the serpent that did sting thy father's life, now wears his crown." (Act 1, Scene 5). The ghost explains to Hamlet the story behind his death. In addition, he states, "Sleeping within my orchard, my custom always of the afternoon, upon my secure hour ... At the time, Claudius wished to steal his wife and become king of the country of Denmark. The ghost demands Hamlet to avenge his death from King Claudius immediately. With this demand, Hamlet completely shifts to an evil and senseless state of mind. In addition, the appearance of the ghost affects future moments ... a ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... for revenge. Crying for his father is probably a more natural reaction than the inclination to kill. In the last act, Shakespeare's idea of the nature of revenge is very clear. Hamlet and Laertes had lost their lives by taking revenge into their hands. Fortinbras, who did not avenge his father, gained a kingdom. His actions were rewarded, and his father's death ... was avenged without the tragedy that Hamlet and Laertes experienced. "Fortinbras is the man of the hours, the representative of a restored political stability" (David Bevington). Fortinbras acted commendably and was recompense...

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... achieve his goal of avenging his father and uses his "insanity" as a weapon, applying insanity into the form of actions or words. Hamlet seemed to be constantly taken aback by the corrupt nature of everything around him, including his friends and family. This is why he is only ... believe while much trickery is later involved in trying to overthrow his uncle, this insanity is not a ploy to deceive the king, or even Polonius, but Hamlet's reality. Although that is a valid argument, I believe that his "insanity" is an act. The corruption in the royal house of Denmark and ... them believe t...

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... ghost that he needs to avenge his death by murdering his uncle Claudius. By this time Claudius has already taken the throne and married Hamlet's mother, Queen Gertrude. Hamlet decides to take a passive approach to avenge his father's murder. Hamlet first decides to act "mad" which does not accomplish much besides warning his uncle that he might know that he killed his father ... father's death, though much time has passed. He finally dies from the poisoned sword. Laertes" father, Polonius, is murdered by Hamlet when Polonius is discovered listening to Hamlet and his mother's conversatio...

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... victim of a conspiracy devised against him, headed by his very own younger brother -the present king Claudius. Thus, this story now concentrates on how Hamlet plans to avenge his father's death, and in the process of doing so is ready to renounce everything in the world including his first love. "The character of ... it is his emotions that further provide fuel to his plans of taking revenge. All of Shakespeare's plays comment on certain inevitable factions of the society. In Hamlet, Shakespeare shows that when greed takes over, man does not know what he is doing. He loses all his common...

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... to be the sensitive, intellectual, able to express himself through poetry and who comes across as being dedicated to truth. The other side of Hamlet, barbaric side, treats Ophelia cruelly and with no empathy, slays Polonius and speaks of dragging his guts into another room, and who sends Rosencrantz ... and Guildenstern to their deaths without any remorse. However, dispite these "two Hamlets", most interpreters of Hamlet see him as a "tragic hero" with a clear and sacred obligation to kill Claudius but due to his being a victim of great external difficulties, ... as a coward and cries o...

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... so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not." (III, i, 115-116) However, during Ophelia's funeral in Act V, Hamlet leaps into the grave in grief and says, "I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum." (V, ... i, 221-223) From these two conflicting actions, one must question Hamlet's true feelings for Ophelia. Was he merely acting mad when he claimed to have never loved her? From his show of overwhelming grief upon her ... mind a hell now appear in all their hideousness in the light of day." (Waldock 58) In ...

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... so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not." (III, i, 115-116) However, during Ophelia's funeral in Act V, Hamlet leaps into the grave in grief and says, "I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum." (V, ... i, 221-223) From these two conflicting actions, one must question Hamlet's true feelings for Ophelia. Was he merely acting mad when he claimed to have never loved her? From his show of overwhelming grief upon her ... mind a hell now appear in all their hideousness in the light of day." (Waldock 58) In ...

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... and distressed over the murder of his father. Under the influence of Claudius, he decides to extract revenge upon Hamlet, similar to what Hamlet supposedly will extract upon Claudius. Hamlet's inner conflict that causes him to make his critical mistake of postponing revenge on Claudius, brings death to six ... have in common is something to do with their work of discovery." (P.1498-1499 text book) This means that that Freud uses Oedipus and Hamlet, both being tragedies, because it follows a distinct form of revealing the literary text. Bloom disagrees with Freud because he believes that...

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... respected their fathers and they both sought revenge for their father's death. The also both loved Ophelia; Laertes loved her as a sister, while Hamlet wanted her to be his wife. These are two men who are very proud and arrogant. They felt that they needed to prove to themselves ... all their quantity of love make up my sum." (pg. 255) The differences between theses two men are also important. Laertes is decisive and Hamlet is not. When called to avenge his father's death, Laertes was fast to act. He wanted revenge and he wanted it immediately. He does not ... understand their character...

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... reaction in Act 1, scene 5 is to avenge his father's death, " So uncle, there you are. Now to my word| It is "adieu, adieu! Remember me.| I have sworn't" (111-113). Hamlet's decision to avenge his father's death illustrates his impulsiveness. Later on in Act 3 scene 1 he is unsure of what the ghost represents "May be devil, and the devil hath power"( ... and foreshadows his contemplative attitude. Laertes is the son of Polonius and a soldier. He spends most of his time in France. Laertes" persona illustrates Hamlet's need to complete the task at hand (revenge) as well as Hamlet's impul...

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... Denmark had mysteriously died in his court yard of the Elsinore Castle, now Claudius the kings brother has taken over the throne as King, and has married Hamlet's mother Gertrude. Horatio a friend of Hamlet tells Hamlet that he is afraid because he thinks he has seen a ghost who resembles the late King. King Claudius and his lord Chamberlain Polonius are dealing with royal ... they've seen. He tells them that he's going to pretend to be crazy while he plans his revenge towards Claudius. Now that Hamlet is said to be crazy, Polonius goes to the King and tells him about Hamlet's strange b...

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... Denmark had mysteriously died in his court yard of the Elsinore Castle, now Claudius the kings brother has taken over the throne as King, and has married Hamlet's mother Gertrude. Horatio a friend of Hamlet tells Hamlet that he is afraid because he thinks he has seen a ghost who resembles the late King. King Claudius and his lord Chamberlain Polonius are dealing with royal ... they've seen. He tells them that he's going to pretend to be crazy while he plans his revenge towards Claudius. Now that Hamlet is said to be crazy, Polonius goes to the King and tells him about Hamlet's strange b...

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... good friends.? [II.ii.224]-but he quickly senses that they, unlike Horatio, have changed with time. After this, he treats them as the tools they have become? (Mack 265). Hamlet realizes that these two are being used by Claudius to dupe him into going to England with the ulterior motive of having the King of England execute him. While they ... perceptions are on target with Polonius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern. Throughout the play the opposite holds true with the positive attitude of Horatio, and the love, respect, and concern he and Hamlet share. Although Fortinbras has been frequent...

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... himself, so he creates this whole other person inside of him, someone "insane" proving to everyone that he was truly insane would take some time to accomplish. Hamlet plans to slowly go insane and than avenge his father's death "I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a ... want Claudius to be remembered as a great king that he never was, nor himself as a murdering mad man. He wants the kingdom to know how Old Hamlet was murdered by the devious King Claudius and then they will know the truth and reasoning behind his madness. He tells Horatio "tell my ...

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... of his father, while Claudius is an evil 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 of Claudius ... pain and anguis...

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... to kill Claudius, yet he always comes up with some excuse preventing action. Throughout the play we see many different aspects of Hamlet's personality by observing his actions and responses to certain situations. Hamlet takes on the role of a strong character, but through his internal weaknesses we witness his destruction. First and foremost, after ... for his father's murder. He then thinks up the Murder of Gonzago to verify the truthfulness of the ghost and also to allow himself more time to think. Hamlet says: If his occulted guilt Do not itself unkennel in one speech, It is a damned...

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... he is cold and tired from the many hours of guarding the castle. Soon after, another watchman named Marcellus joins Bernardo and also Heratio, who is a friend of the prince Hamlet. Bernardo and Marcellus want Heratio to stay on guard with them because they feel that they have something shocking to show him, the ghost of the recently passed away King ... was skeptical at first but then the ghost suddenly appears and then disappears without saying a word. Heratio acknowledged that the ghost figure did resemble the deceased King Hamlet. ACT 1 SCENE 2 Characters: King, Queen, Hamlet, Poloni...

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... in fact doing a wonderful job of fooling everyone. Still, no one quite knows. Only if Shakespeare were here to inform us of his purpose in making Hamlet seem really mad, yet not telling us if he is or not. Many readers have spent a great deal of time pondering this matter; it's interesting though ... that no one seems to have gotten anywhere. I believe Hamlet is not mad, I am in no doubt that he has full control over his mind, although sometimes he takes it too far without thinking ahead of the ... Horatio of this, and makes him promise never to tell a soul why he is acting with such we...

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... married. O, most wicked speed, to post With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! It is not, nor it cannot come to good. (Shakespeare 1.2.149-158) Hamlet's melancholy over the death of his father and the remarriage of his mother both contribute to the feelings of isolation from his mother. He feels trapped inside his ... calls her a harlot. Since she believes he has gone mad, and she is hurt by his insults, she becomes dejected and isolated from him. Finally, Hamlet is isolated from his society when he is sent to England by King Claudius: He shall with speed to England For the demand of ou...

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... she was a hypocrite when he tells her "God hath given you one face and you make yourselves another" (3.1.155-154). Hamlet continuously puts her down and treats her like nonsense. Also an additional fault that Hamlet has is that he kind of rubs it in too much to his mother Queen Gertrude that she remarried not even a ... on an act and to try and open the eyes of his mother Queen Gertrude so that she can see that King Claudius killed King Hamlet. Hamlet is the one that is correct because he is trying to open the eyes of his mother so that she can see that Claudius is the appalling one ......

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... , daughter of Polonius. Death is an extremely prevalent theme in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. However, each death is unique in circumstances, causes, and effects. Three important deaths in Hamlet were the deaths of King Hamlet, Ophelia, and Prince Hamlet. The first, and probably most important death in Hamlet, is the death of Prince Hamlet's father, Hamlet, King of Denmark. Even though this death is not portrayed in the ... , and it is impossible to say for sure. The chain of events leading to her death came from two different directions. One cause of her apparent suicide could have been...

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• Grade Level: High School