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Identity In Hamlet

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In the plays that we have covered throughout the semester, Shakespeare continuously adds layers of complexity to the events, dialogue, and characteristics of the main characters. In doing so, Shakespeare is able to create a presentation of reality as a more subjective interpretation rather than an objective truth. Additionally, this complexity is extremely prevalent in the characterization of the main characters, in which he intimates the multiplicity of human nature. Although the genres range from the history plays of Richard II and Henry V to the revenge tragedy of Hamlet, there are numerous themes that arise within all of these works that aid in the understanding of human nature and identity. Overall, the idea of identity is explored as …show more content…

In Act 1.3, Mowbray is sentenced to banishment and laments to King Richard, asking “What is thy sentence then but speechless death, / Which robs my tongue from breathing native breath?” (Richard II, 172-173). In this excerpt, it is relating the relocation to another country with the loss of language, which Mowbray equates with death. Therefore, Mowbray is being forced to give up his English language, as well as his Englishness because of this banishment. This creates a clear connection between the concept of identity as social and relational, rather than …show more content…

For instance, in Hamlet, when his father was murdered, Hamlet presented himself in a sane manner. Yet, only when the Ghost of Hamlet told him to “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder,” did Hamlet begin to create the appearance of being mad (Hamlet, Act. 1.5, 26). Hamlet continues to portray this intense mourning for his father’s death and becomes consumed with revenge to the point of questioning the reality of these feelings. In Act 2.2, Hamlet begins a rant about the actors’ abilities to, “in a fiction, in a dream of passion,” portray intense feelings that were not real but quickly reverts to questioning the reality of his own feelings. This is representative of temporality associated with identity, which is prominent throughout the

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