English Notes Latest Questions

In:
  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    Revenge is the main theme and plot of Hamlet. Inspired by the ghost of his dead father and former king, Hamlet is determined to kill Claudius and regain the crown. However, he is confused with his own justification of the sin of murder and delays the act even when there are opportunities to claim reRead more

    Revenge is the main theme and plot of Hamlet. Inspired by the ghost of his dead father and former king, Hamlet is determined to kill Claudius and regain the crown.

    However, he is confused with his own justification of the sin of murder and delays the act even when there are opportunities to claim revenge. He pretends to be mad and often loses his ability to differentiate between sanity and madness, life and mortality. This internal struggle frustrates his desire for revenge.

    Laertes, Polonius son also tries to seek revenge from Hamlet for the murder of his gather and the suicide of his sister Ophelia.

    See less
    • 1
In:
  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    The central struggle of the play is to decipher whether Hamlet is actually gone mad or just play acting to beguile Claudius into confessing his sin. After the encounter with his father Ghost’s, Hamlet suggests to Horatio about his intention of playing a fool. However, through out the play he is notRead more

    The central struggle of the play is to decipher whether Hamlet is actually gone mad or just play acting to beguile Claudius into confessing his sin. After the encounter with his father Ghost’s, Hamlet suggests to Horatio about his intention of playing a fool.

    However, through out the play he is not sure about his own sanity. His mistreatment of Ophelia and Gertrude, both loved him, also signify his loss of control with rationality.

    Once he kills Polonius, he goes on a spree killing Laertes and Claudius. His madness also leads to Gertrude’s and Ophelia’s deaths. The fact that just before breathing his last, Hamlet directs Horatio to share his tale with others may suggest that he had not lost complete sanity but its still ambiguous.

    See less
    • 1
In:
  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    The theme of death comes full circle in Hamlet. Starting with the murder of King Hamlet, the play ends with the death of the entire royal family of Denmark. Even though Prince Hamlet delays the killing of nefarious Claudius, he kills Polonius without any regret. He also goes on the kill Laertes andRead more

    The theme of death comes full circle in Hamlet. Starting with the murder of King Hamlet, the play ends with the death of the entire royal family of Denmark. Even though Prince Hamlet delays the killing of nefarious Claudius, he kills Polonius without any regret.

    He also goes on the kill Laertes and Claudius. Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother dies after drinking from the poisoned goblet whereas Ophelia, Hamlet’s lover commits suicide after her father’s death.

    Gildenstern and Rosencrantz are murdered on reaching the English shores after the escape of Hamlet from under their noses. Throughout the play the theme of mortality and the inevitability of death is discussed through soliloquies and dialogue’s.

    The best example is the ‘sleep of death’ description by Hamlet in the Nunnery scene and the grave diggers’ conversation about Ophelia’s corpse.

    See less
    • 1
In:
  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    Hamlet deeply investigates the theme of mortality. After being visited by ht ghost of his dead father and learning about his mother’s second marriage Hamlet is disillusioned by memory and mortality. For his if mortal beings can be easily forgotten then how does it matter if a kill b or if someone kiRead more

    Hamlet deeply investigates the theme of mortality. After being visited by ht ghost of his dead father and learning about his mother’s second marriage Hamlet is disillusioned by memory and mortality.

    For his if mortal beings can be easily forgotten then how does it matter if a kill b or if someone kills himself. Even after resolving to seek revenge he still contemplates committing suicide and is going through an existential crisis.

    The scene at the graveyard with two gravediggers is an excellent example of how Shakespeare develops an intelligent discourse around death and mortality and insignificance of the living in front if mortal culmination.

    See less
    • 1
In:
  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    Hamlet’s text is suffused with general, situational and verbal irony. At the start of the play Hamlet responds to Claudius calling him his son by saying that he is too much of a 'sun' i.e. too closely related to be comfortable with him as his uncle and step-father. The death of Polonius is situationRead more

    Hamlet’s text is suffused with general, situational and verbal irony. At the start of the play Hamlet responds to Claudius calling him his son by saying that he is too much of a ‘sun’ i.e. too closely related to be comfortable with him as his uncle and step-father.

    The death of Polonius is situational irony at its best. Up until that point Hamlet had been reluctant to kill his uncle Claudius and in his first rash moment he ends up killing someone but Polonius instead of Claudius.

    In fact Claudius is able to poison Hamlet before he even comes near to killing him with his poisoned sword. Even his famous soliloquy “To be or not to be” is full of irony with the living existing as dead and fearing death when alive.

    See less
    • 1
In:
  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    Hamlet is a man that is confused in his own skin. He wants to exact revenge for his father's murder but also mulls over the act of suicide. He loves Ophelia but belittles and disowns her love and asks her to join a nunnery. Then he ends up confessing his love on top her grave in font of her mournfulRead more

    Hamlet is a man that is confused in his own skin. He wants to exact revenge for his father’s murder but also mulls over the act of suicide. He loves Ophelia but belittles and disowns her love and asks her to join a nunnery.

    Then he ends up confessing his love on top her grave in font of her mournful brother Laertes. He cares for his mother but ends up hurting her the most.

    Even though he knows what he must do to restore justice, he delays it. In the end only when he is assured of his own death, he kills Claudius.

    See less
    • 1
In:
  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    Corruption is rife in the state of Denmark. The savvy and eloquent Claudius is able to murder King Hamlet and obtain his kingship. He also manages to marry her widow and make the crown prince his step child. He and Polonius are able to plot the decline of prince Hamlet and drive a wedge between himRead more

    Corruption is rife in the state of Denmark. The savvy and eloquent Claudius is able to murder King Hamlet and obtain his kingship. He also manages to marry her widow and make the crown prince his step child.

    He and Polonius are able to plot the decline of prince Hamlet and drive a wedge between him and Ophelia. Even Hamlet, in pursuit of revenge, shows contempt for the true love of Ophelia and nurture of Gertrude.

    There is moral corruption in characters like Reosencrantz and Gildenstern who only pretends to be Hamlet’s to curry favour with Claudius. Only characters that are absolved of corruption are Ophelia and Horatio.

    See less
    • 1
In:
  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    Betrayal in Hamlet is widespread. Claudius is able to betray his brother King Hamlet and obtain his kingship.  He and Polonius are betray Prince Hamlet and Ophelia.  Hamlet publicly betrays and humiliates the emotions of Ophelia and  Gertrude. Hamlets mates Reosencrantz and Gildenstern betray HamletRead more

    Betrayal in Hamlet is widespread. Claudius is able to betray his brother King Hamlet and obtain his kingship.  He and Polonius are betray Prince Hamlet and Ophelia.  Hamlet publicly betrays and humiliates the emotions of Ophelia and  Gertrude.

    Hamlets mates Reosencrantz and Gildenstern betray Hamlet to earn patronage from King Claudius. Polonius betrays his daughter by using her to lull Hamlet and trap him in his words, even though Hamlet is too intelligent to fall for the honey trap.

    Even Queen Gertrude can be judged to have betrayed her dead husband by marrying his murdered and brother, though she may not have had many other alternatives.

    See less
    • 1
In:
  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    Flowers are handed by Ophelia as symbols of specific meaning after she loses her mind and goes insane. Different flowers symbolize different sentiment. Fennel stands for strength and resolve, Rue is for remorse, violets symbolize faithfulness and innocence, Daisies stand for purity and Rosemary forRead more

    Flowers are handed by Ophelia as symbols of specific meaning after she loses her mind and goes insane.

    Different flowers symbolize different sentiment. Fennel stands for strength and resolve, Rue is for remorse, violets symbolize faithfulness and innocence, Daisies stand for purity and Rosemary for memory and commemoration.

    Even though she may not have been the right frame of mind, every flower points to particular character and their actions leading up to the scene in the play.

    See less
    • 1
In:
  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    Shakespeare develops the character of Hamlet through its various shades from Act 1 to the last. In Act I he is painted as dejected and forlorn and passive. In Act II, he shows determination to find the truth and prove Claudius complicity in his father’s murder. He becomes more intense in his responsRead more

    Shakespeare develops the character of Hamlet through its various shades from Act 1 to the last. In Act I he is painted as dejected and forlorn and passive. In Act II, he shows determination to find the truth and prove Claudius complicity in his father’s murder.

    He becomes more intense in his responses, so much so that other characters start to consider him insane like Polonius He also shows a level of ambiguity as to the details of his plan.

    However, in Act III, he starts potting the details of how he plans to take down Claudius. However, he stills resists in executing his revenge. The action finally comes in Act IV. In the final act, Act V Hamlet reveals his friable and emotional side.

    He confesses his love for Ophelia, forgives Laertes, avenges his father and finds peaceful sleep of death. He also cements his legacy by asking Horatio to disseminate his legend through his words.

    See less
    • 1