Hamlet ICE PDF

Preview

Summary

Hamlet ICE...

Description

Hamlet Similar to the problems the US government suffer from today, Shakespeare explores the motifs of inaction vs. action, corruption, and _ in his work of Hamlet to drive the plot, develop the characters, and invoke questions in the reader. Despite the difficulty of the language and seeming unimportance of some lines, it is critical to analyze each line, as it allows you to connect them to each other to understand the careful implementation of meaningful motifs. This attention to detail is what allowed the work, and ultimately Shakespeare himself as a playwright, to be successful. The dilemma plaguing Hamlet’s mind throughout the work, when to kill if to kill at all, contrasted by Laertes’ similar circumstances yet the polar response to them proposes the motif of inaction vs. action; the middle ground between the two is portrayed through Ophelia. Hamlet is the embodiment of inaction. As Hamlet’s conscience enshrouds each of his decisions in moral implications, this integrity forbids him from avenging his father through the murder of Claudius before confirming the veracity of the ghost’s proclamation. Ultimately, this inability to take action emerges from his propensity for spending copious amounts of time engrossed in self-conflict and therefore overthinking. In the most acclaimed soliloquy in the play, “To Be or Not to Be,” this motif is portrayed straightforwardly. Hamlet ponders the option of suicide to avoid his problem because he cannot rid himself of his indecisiveness; ironically, this inner conflict of whether or not to commit suicide is indecisive itself. Even after achieving verification of the validity of the ghost’s story, Hamlet has an opportunity to kill Claudius while he is praying but claims, “A villain kills my father, and for that I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven. Why this is salary and hire, not revenge.” (3.3 find line) He decides not to take action because Claudius’ admission of his sins would permit him to heaven, something his father was unable to do. Laertes and Hamlet serve as foils for one another; they are similar in age and both lose their father in violent and inter-related ways. Unlike Hamlet, Laertes is fuelled by passion rather than reason and is therefore quick to take action, claiming “That drop of blood that’s calm proclaims me bastard,” ( meaning that if he were to calm down, it would be a dishonour to his father. His immediate response to hearing of his father’s death is to storm to Denmark and kill Claudius. He arrives here with a mob, with no information on who the actual murderer of his father, Polonius, is, indicating a clear lack of thought and reason. Laertes’ sister and Hamlet’s lover, Ophelia, reacts to the same situation in a completely different way. Incapable of processing her grief as well as the weight of other personal circumstances, she commits suicide. These three characters evoke the motif of action vs. inaction in themselves. Corruption is a dominant, plot-driving motif in Hamlet. “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” (5.1 find line) and that first implication of corruption sets the premise for more instances of dishonesty and immoralities that spread from character to character. Shakespeare uses this motif to shatter the social order in his work and progress character development. An extensive chain of corrupt events begins with Claudius’ greed causing him to poison his brother in order to evoke an abnormal coronation. Queen Gertrude then goes on to quickly establish an incestuous marriage with Claudius, her ex-husband’s brother. Corrupt with selfishness, she

does not consider Hamlet’s opinion on the subject. Many characters then go on to arrange eavesdropping and spying missions; Claudius employs Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet, Polonius spies on Hamlet and Gertrude, then later Laertes, and Claudius and Polonius spy on Hamlet and Ophelia. There are an abundance of instances of manipulation and lying by almost all characters, including Hamlet inducing the king of England to hang Rosencrantz and Guildenstern instead of him, and Claudius manipulating Gertrude to marry him to gain the throne. As the play ends in the death of every major character besides Horatio, the corruption only then comes to an end....