Hamlet Lyndsey Turner Essay

Hamlet also shows anger towards the female character, Ophelia as they interact with each other on a daily basis. He tells her that he has “heard of [her] paintings too, well enough; God hath given [her] one face, and [she] make[s] [herself] another. [She] jig[s] and amble[s], and [she] lisp[s], and nickname[s] God’s creature, and make[s] [her] wantonness [her] ignorance…to a nunnery, go” (3.1.153-157,161). As a result of this quote, Hamlet demonstrates strong anger as he insults Ophelia for her cosmetics and tells her that her flirtatious affections is her excuse for her stupid behaviour. Not only does Hamlet insult her because of his anger, but she does not defend herself either, which makes the situation worse. In addition, Hamlet not only undergoes his father’s death, but no one seems to grief over the death which is surprising, as he was the King of Denmark. The new King, Claudius asks Hamlet, “How is it that the clouds still hang on you?” (1.2.67). This quote shows King Claudius’ lack of grief towards King Hamlet’s death, oppose to when Polonius dies, he immediately tells Laertes, Polonius’ son, “I must commune with your grief” (4.5.213), Which again leads for Hamlet through the anger stage.

To play one of Shakespeare’s most complex roles successfully on stage or on screen has been the aspiration of many actors. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet has been the focus on various accounts throughout the 20th Century, each actor attempting to bring something unique and unmarked to the focal character. Franco Zeffirelli and Kenneth Branagh, both film directors, introduce varying levels of success on the screen through downright differences in ways of translation and original ideas. Zeffirelli’s much shorter interpretation of the film is able to convey the importance of Hamlet as a masterwork by using modern approaches to film but still capturing the traditional work behind Shakespeare’s well-known play.

Polonius seemly hear all these vulgar and misogynistic rants and becomes ever more convinced that Hamlet is mad. He never rests easily until he ends up behind yet another arras, scheming, yet this time in Gertrude’s room and gets himself killed. The act of betrayal, by both Polonius and Gertrude has far-reaching consequences; Polonius is killed by Hamlet, Ophelia becomes mad and Laertes demands vengeance. Polonius’s betrayal disgusts Hamlet and he can only but refer to him as ‘a foolish prating knave’ and his mistreatment of his body when he says he will ‘lug his guts in the neighbour room’ can equally be taken as his disgust towards him.

Two months have elapsed since Hamlet swore to avenge his father; but he has not yet moved “with wings as swift/as meditation or the thoughts of love”(I, v, 29-30). Hamlet is very emotional because Claudius is still alive. This emotional balance has become risky, is shown when he encounter’s with Ophelia. When Hamlet enter Ophelia closet while she is sewing. She is very frightened, and rushes to her father to tell him what happened. She says, “Lord Hamlet with his doublet all unbraced; no hat upon his head; his stockings foul’d, ungarter’d and down- gyved to his ancle; pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other; and with a look so piteous in purport as if he had been loosed out to hell to speak of horrors, (II, i, 78-83). She describes Hamlet’s strange behavior to her father Polonius. Polonius begins to wonder that there may be an explanation to his strange behaviors, and this led Polonius to believe: “This is very ecstasy of love; whose violent property fordoes itself and leads the will to desperate undertakings, as oft as any passion under heaven that does afflict our natures” (II, i, 102-106). Polonius is certain that Hamlet is having these behaviors due to the fact that he loves Ophelia. This is due to the fact that Ophelia has followed her father’s instruction to stay away from Hamlet, causing him to be mad. Polonius hopes are strengthened when he reads the note that Hamlet has

When Hamlet hears a noise behind a curtain, and stabs at it wildly, assuming it is the man who killed his father, he finds out it is his friend Polonius, the father of Ophelia. After Ophelia learns of her father’s death, she loses touch with reality, and drowns. Once Hamlet decided to take action, he had no control over the actions of his revenge, which consequently led to his girlfriend’s death. Also, Laertes, the son of Polonius, after learning of his father’s murder by Hamlet, concocts a plot of his murder. He poisons a rapier to kill Hamlet, but Hamlet unknowingly uses that same poison against him. Laertes´ desire for revenge against Hamlet led to his own death from his own actions. After being poisoned in his duel with Hamlet, he says “I am justly killed with mine own treachery” (5.2.338). The characters who pursued these acts of vengeance expected satisfaction, but the opposite occurred. Thus, Hamlet, undermines the belief that revenge gives satisfaction and relief to the pursuer, especially because of Shakespeare’s acknowledgement of the drastic consequences. Finally, the play offers the idea that for both parties, revenge can be forgiven, which is more satisfactory than any other

Laertes voices his concern of Hamlet's true intentions towards Ophelia and advises her to be wary of Hamlet's love. Laertes impresses upon Ophelia that Hamlet is a prince who, most likely, will have an arranged marriage. Hamlet's strong love for Ophelia withers after she rejects his affinity. Hamlet's extensive love for Ophelia resulted in grave suffering for Hamlet once his affection was rejected. Hamlet's appearance decays due to the rejection of his love for Ophelia "Pale as his shirt, his knees knocking each other" (Act 2, Scene 1, line 82). The loss of Ophelia's love for Hamlet causes Polonius to believe it has caused Hamlet to revert to antic disposition. Once Laertes learns of the death of his sister, he is afflicted with sadness. In the same way, Hamlet is shocked and enraged over Ophelia's demise. Both Hamlet and Laertes are so profoundly distressed at the death of Ophelia, they jump into her grave and fight each other.

He knew that his Uncle Claudius was guilty to the murder of his brother. While trying to get revenge for his father, he killed Polonius by stabbing him through the curtain. He thought Polonius was Claudius behind the curtain. After killing Polonius, Hamlet doesn’t react in the way a normal person would. Hamlet hides Polonius under the stairs. This act of madness leads to the death of Ophelia. Ophelia drowns herself from being stressed out and overwhelmed by the death of her father. The killing of Polonius makes Laertes want revenge on Hamlet for his father. Hamlet’s act of madness contributes to a lot of deaths throughout the

Hamlet's surrounding are increasingly affected by his flaw. Hamlet begins to forget all important obligations in his life and neglects his responsibilities, causing other problems. One very important commitment Hamlet has which he lets go is his relationship with Ophelia. Ophelia becomes very confused and hurt. Hamlet hurts her in a couple of ways. First, he neglects her, and second, he insults her. "Ha, ha! Are you honest??Are you fair??That if you be honest and fair, your honesty should admit no discourse to your beauty. ?I loved you not? Get thee to a nunnery." Then Hamlet kills Polonius, Ophelia's father, which in turn makes her go mad and in her madness she commits suicide. Hamlet loses objectivity. He does not respect the King nor his mother's feelings. Hamlet meets with his mother and insults her. He calls her a whore and a sinner for marrying a murderer. Since he knows that the King is a murderer, he attempts

    Ophelia's downfall continues throughout the play, and her final plunge into the waters of madness and suicide culminate around her father's death. Hamlet, while talking threateningly to his mother, accidentally slays Polonius who was hiding behind the curtain in his mother's room. Hamlet thought it was Claudius he heard coming to his mother's aid when she cried for help and lunged at the curtain with his sword, killing Polonius. "O, I am slain!" were his final words. After Ophelia learns of her father's death at the hands of her estranged lover, she goes

Over the course of the past fifty years there have been many cinematic productions of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, some of which remain true to the text while others take greater liberties with the original format. Director Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 production of Hamlet was true to Shakespeare’s work in that the film’s dialogue was delivered word or word as it is presented in the text. In contrast, Franco Zeffirelli conducted his 1990 production of Hamlet in a much more liberal direction in which lines, scenes and characters were omitted from the film. I argue that from the perspective of an individual with moderate knowledge in Shakespearian literature, that the best film versions of Hamlet are those that take the most liberties from the text. I

"But I am very sorry, good Horatio, /That to Laertes I forgot myself; /For, by the image of my cause, I see/The portraiture of his" (V.2). In seeking to revenge, Hamlet accidentally stabs Polonius, the king's advisor, thus killing the father of Laertes. Hamlet acknowledges, with his sense of higher justice and objectivity, that Laertes has a reason for hating him, given that he is also a parricide. There is a sharp, circular irony to this cycle of revenge. Similarly, Ophelia is driven mad by the death of her father and kills herself. Hamlet, while much of his madness is assumed, is also driven to a state of emotional distress. Laertes, Hamlet, and Ophelia all act irrationally in ways that bring about their death because of the extremity of their grief.

Ophelia experiences alienation throughout Hamlet, although she ends her life with suicide, unlike Hamlet. The queen places blame on Ophelia for Hamlet's madness and states: "...for your part, Ophelia, I do wish that your good beauties be the happy cause for Hamlet's madness..." (Shakespeare 140). The queen lightens her feelings of guilt for the murder and places the guilt upon Ophelia. Gertrude, the queen, knows that she has committed something wrong with the plot of killing Old Hamlet and therefore finds an outlet through Ophelia. Also, to try to discover Hamlet's cause of insanity, Claudius and Polonius use Ophelia to get closer to him and find out that perhaps they could conclude that his

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the most produced plays of all time. Written during the height of Shakespeare’s fame—1600—Hamlet has been read, produced, and researched by more individuals now than during Shakespeare’s own lifetime. It is has very few stage directions, because Shakespeare served as the director, even though no such official position existed at the time. Throughout its over 400 years of production history, Hamlet has seen several changes. Several textual cuts have been made, in addition to the liberties taken through each production. In recent years, Hamlet has seen character changes, plot changes, gender role reversals, alternate endings, time period shifts, and thematic alternations, to

Hamlet will never act upon his suicidal idealizations because of these standards and the Court hides Ophelia’s suicide because it represents such a religious and cultural taboo, yet the characters do not apply the same religious rigidity to the sin of murder. Murder is so common in Hamlet that the pages of the play practically seep blood. Claudius kills his brother King Hamlet and inadvertently poisons his wife Gertrude. Hamlet is responsible for the deaths of Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Laertes, and Claudius, and Laertes kills Hamlet. Ophelia is notably the only character who dies not by murder but by suicide, yet Shakespeare presents her death a greater taboo--the court effectively erasing the evidence of her suicide by giving her a Christian burial.

They push Hamlet to accept his father’s death and move on with his life. While Hamlet should admit his hatred of their marriage, he hides his feeling. While Hamlet is holding back his feelings, he becomes more angered at their attempts to calm him. Gertrude is also aware of Hamlet’s feelings for Ophelia and uses this as an excuse for Hamlet’s actions. Hamlet has plenty of time to confess the cause of his madness. Unfortunately, Hamlet allows his mother to think he is madly in love rather than tell the truth. After Hamlet delivers his play and sees guilt in his uncle, Gertrude sends for Hamlet. Instead of hurting his mother, he insists on her to tell him the truth. If Hamlet wouldn’t have taken so long, her confession could have taken place earlier in the play. This could save him from a great deal of pain and leave his thoughts for other problems.