Free Hamlet Essays - Hamlet as a Love Story :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Hamlet as a Love Story    The part of Hamlet that I would like to discuss is the love story theme. I think that it is very romantic how even in today's society we do not view the other aspects of Hamlet like revenge, delay, and madness but view Hamlet as a love story. I like the part of the love story when Hamlet writes that letter to Ophelia. The poem that Hamlet wrote to Ophelia, "'Doubt thou the stars are fire, doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt our love."' I really like this quote because it is very romantic. -Marka Jones The aspect of Hamlet that I find interesting is the appearance of the ghost that Hamlet suspects may be the ghost of his father. Hamlet does not know if the ghost is actually of his father or if it is a demon taking on his father's appearance. How will he know what decision to make if he does not know what the ghost actually is? Also, now I'm wondering if Hamlet makes the wrong decision, will his decision lead to his death? This is the second play of Shakespeare's that I have read that has the appearance of ghosts. Macbeth also had apparitions appear in it. Shakespeare seems to have a method of placing ghosts into his writings, and in Macbeth these ghosts led to the downfall of Macbeth. -Keisha McWhorter "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." "antic disposition." Hamlet states this after he discovers Claudius killed his father. If indeed Hamlet was mad, the fact that Claudius killed his father could have been a cause; however it seems that by the second quote he decided to pretend he is crazy. I do not think that the death of his father drove him mad. -Matthew Kilgore Act 1, Scene 2, Line 66 KING. How is it that the clouds still hang on you? HAM. Not so, my lord. I am too much in the sun. QUEEN. Good Hamlet. Cast thy nighted color off, And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark. Do not for ever with thy vailed lids Seek for thy noble father in the dust. Thou know'st 'tis common - all that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity. In the above conversation the Queen and the King both feel Hamlet meant what he said.

Hamlet’s Madness

â€Å"I am but mad north-northwest: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw† (Foakes 213). This is a classic example of the â€Å"wild and whirling words† (I.v.134) with which Hamlet hopes to persuade people to believe that he is mad. These words, however, prove that beneath his â€Å"antic disposition,† Hamlet is very sane indeed. Beneath his strange choice of imagery involving points of the compass, the weather, and hunting birds, he is announcing that he is calculatedly choosing the times when to appear mad. Hamlet is saying that he knows a hunting hawk from a hunted â€Å"handsaw† or heron, in other words, that, very far form being mad, he is perfectly capable of recognizing his enemies. Hamlet's madness was feigned for a purpose. He warned his friends he intended to fake madness, but Gertrude as well as Claudius saw through it, and even the slightly dull-witted Polonius was suspicious. His public face is one of insanity but, in his private moments of soliloquy, through his confidences to Horatio, and in his careful plans of action, we see that his madness is assumed. After the Ghost's first appearance to Hamlet, Hamlet decides that when he finds it suitable or advantageous to him, he will put on a mask of madness. He confides to Horatio that when he finds the occasion appropriate, he will â€Å"put an antic disposition on† (I.v.173). This strategy gives Hamlet a chance to find proof of Claudius's guilt and to contemplate his revenge tactic (Burton 2). Although he has sworn to avenge his father's murder, he is not sure of the Ghost's origins: â€Å"The spirit that I have seen May be the devil† (II.ii.596-7). He uses his apparent madness as a delaying tactic to buy time in which to discover whether the Ghost's tale of murder is true and to decide how to handle the situation. At the same time, he wants to appear unthreatening and harmless so that people will divulge information to him, much in the same way that an adult will talk about an important secret in the presence of a young child (Boyce 232). To convince everyone of his madness, Hamlet spends many hours walking back and forth alone in the lobby, speaking those â€Å"wild and whirling words† which make little sense on the surface but in fact carry a meaningful subtext. Although he appears to have lost touch with reality, he keeps reminding us that he is not at all â€Å"far gone, far gone† (II.ii.187) as Polonius claims, but is in fact very much in command of himself and the situation. With his ranting and raving and his seemingly useless pacing of the lobby, Hamlet manages to appear quite mad. The naive and trusting Ophelia believes in and is devastated by what she sees as his downfall: â€Å"O, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown! . . . The expectancy and rose of the fair state . . . quite, quite down!† (III.i.152,4,6). Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are also fully convinced. They are Hamlet's equals in age but are far inferior in intellect and therefore don't understand that he is faking. However, although Hamlet manages to convince these simple friends and Ophelia of his insanity, other characters in the play such as Claudius, Gertrude and even Polonius eventually see through his behavior. Claudius is constantly on his guard because of his guilty conscience and he therefore recognizes that Hamlet is faking. The king is suspicious of Hamlet from the very beginning. He denies Hamlet permission to return to university so that he can keep an eye on him close by. When Hamlet starts acting strangely, Claudius gets all the more suspicious and sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on him. Their instructions are to discover why Hamlet is pretending to be mad: â€Å"And can you, by no drift of circumstance, Get from him why he puts on this confusion Grating so harshly all his days of quiet With turbulent and dangerous lunacy† (III. i.1-4). The reason Claudius is so reluctant to believe that Ophelia's rejection has caused Hamlet's lunacy is that he doesn't believe in his madness at all (Kirsch 2: 507). When Claudius realizes through the play-within-the-play that Hamlet knows the truth about his father's death, he immediately sends him away to England. The prevailing piece of evidence demonstrating Claudius's knowledge of Hamlet's sanity is the fact that he feels threatened enough by Hamlet to order him killed by the king of England: â€Å"For like the hectic in my blood he rages And thou must cure me: till I know 'tis done Howe'er my haps, my joys were ne'er begun† (IV.iii.67-9). In the scene in his mother's bedroom, Hamlet tells Gertrude that his insanity is assumed: I have utter'd: bring me to the test And I the matter will reword, which madness Even without this confirmation, the Queen has seen through his act (Burton 2). While Hamlet is reprimanding her, she is so upset that she describes his words as â€Å"daggers† (III.iv.98) and claims, † Thou hast cleft my heart in twain† (III.iv.158). The words of a madman could not have penetrated her soul to such an extent. The queen takes every word Hamlet says seriously, proving she respects him and believes his mind to be sound. Furthermore, she believes Hamlet's confession of sanity immediately. She does not question him at all but instead promises to keep it her secret. â€Å"I have no life to breathe What though hast said to me† (III.iv.200-1). Even Polonius can see that Hamlet has not completely lost touch with the world. Although he frequently misses the meanings of Hamlet's remarks and insults, he does recognize that they make some sense. When asked if he recognizes Polonius, Hamlet promptly replies, â€Å"Excellent well; you are a fishmonger† (II.ii.172). Although the response seems crazy since a fish-seller would look completely unlike the expensively dressed lord Polonius, Hamlet is actually criticizing Polonius for his management of Ophelia, since â€Å"fishmonger† is Elizabethan slang for â€Å"pimp† (Boyce 237). He plays mind-games with Polonius, getting him in crazy talk to agree first that a cloud looks like a camel, then a weasel and finally a whale, and in a very sane aside, he then comments that â€Å"they fool me to the top of my bent† (III.ii.375). After the confusing conversation with Hamlet he remarks, † Though this be madness, yet there is method in't† (II.ii.205). When his theory of rejected love proves wrong, he becomes very suspicious of Hamlet's behavior and offers to test it by hiding behind the â€Å"arras† in Gertrude's bedroom so that he can listen in on Hamlet's private conversation with his mother. Polonius' suspicions about the legitimacy of Hamlet's madness lead to his death when Hamlet stabs the â€Å"arras† in the mistaken belief that the eavesdropper is Claudius. Hamlet's soliloquies, his confidences to Horatio, and his elaborate plans are by far the most convincing proof of his sanity. Throughout the play, Hamlet's soliloquies reveal his inner thoughts, which are completely rational (Kirsch 511). In one such speech, Hamlet criticizes himself for not having yet taken action to avenge his father's murder: â€Å"O what a rogue and peasant slave am I Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words† (II. ii. 545, 581-3). Hamlet calls himself a â€Å"dull and muddy-mettled rascal† (II.ii.563), a villain and a coward, but when he realizes that his anger doesn't achieve anything practical other than the unpacking of his heart, he stops. These are not the thoughts of a madman; his emotions are real and his thoughts are those of a rational man. Even when he contemplates suicide in the â€Å"to be or not to be† soliloquy, his reasons himself out of it through a very sane consideration of the dangers of an unknown afterlife: â€Å"And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought† (III. i. 85-6). A further important proof of his sanity is how patiently he devises plans to prepare for his revenge. As he explains to Horatio, his â€Å"antic disposition† is a device to test his enemies. His mounting of the play-within-the-play is another well-laid plan to trap Claudius into admitting guilt: â€Å"The play's the thing Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king† (II.ii.602-3) and even when the play brings him concrete proof, he is careful not to rush to take his revenge at the wrong moment. He could easily kill Claudius while he is praying but restrains himself so that there is no chance of Claudius's entering heaven. Although Hamlet's patience can be seen as an example of his procrastination, the Foakes think that it is rather a sign of rationality. Hamlet shows himself perfectly capable of action, as well as of rational thought, in escaping the king's armed guard, dispatching Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths in England, dealing with the pirates and making it back to Denmark. In addition, the letter Horatio from him through the ambassador bound for England is clear and precise and shows no signs of a befuddled mind (Burton 1). Finally, we are convinced of Hamlet's sanity by his very normal reactions to the people around him. He is perfectly sane, friendly and courteous with the players, giving them good acting tips, which they appreciate and respect. When Polonius and Claudius test the rejected love theory by â€Å"loosing† Ophelia to him, Hamlet acts completely rationally. He greets Ophelia sweetly, gets a little cold when he remembers that he has not seen her â€Å"for this many a day,† is very hurt when she returns his remembrances, and becomes completely furious, insulting womankind in general, when she lies to him about her father's whereabouts and he realizes he is being spied on. He reacts the way any hurt young rejected lover would. This shows that he is very sane and rational indeed Throughout the play, Hamlet†s calculating mind lets him get away with all of his actions. He is the most sane person in the play and he uses his â€Å"antic disposition† to manipulate people, confuse everyone, and investigate anything he wants. He is fully aware of all of his actions and the consequences that they will have on the other characters in the play. Shakespeare†s genius shows through in the character of Hamlet. He was able to show Hamlet outwardly as a madman, but still keep the audience believing that he was still very sane underneath. Hamlet puts on his antic disposition very well. He is, in fact, â€Å"sane throughout the entire play† (Boyce 239).

Types of Roman Gladiators

Poetry by Langston Hughes and his life as an African American - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 901 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/10/30 Category People Essay Level High school Tags: Langston Hughes Essay Did you like this example? Langston Hughes poetry reflects his life as an African American and the time period in which he lived in.He was born in 1902, in Joplin Missouri. After his parents separated, he and his mom lived a life of poverty moving from place to place. After completing high school and attending a year at Columbia University, he worked in a series of low skill jobs. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Poetry by Langston Hughes and his life as an African American" essay for you Create order He became a merchant seaman in 1923 visiting ports in West Africa and living for a time in Paris, Genoa, and Rome before coming back to the United States. He then published some poems and an essay which earned him fame. In 1929 he graduated from Lincoln University. Hughes was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance. He was a talented author in many areas including: fiction, drama, translation, criticism, opera libretti, memoir, cinema, songwriting, and poetry. He was also enthusiastic about African American culture and wrote down folklore and poetry.The 1920s was a time period called the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was the development of the primarily African American Harlem neighborhood in New York City where black culture and the social and artistic boom happened. It is considered a golden age in African American culture, resulting in literature, music, stage performance and art. The civil rights movement was a struggle for social justice that took place mainly du ring the 1950s and 1960s. Blacks wanted to gain equal rights under the law in the United States. The civil war abolished slavery but it didnt end discrimination and segregation against African Americans. Blacks continued to endure the devastating effects of racism, especially in the South. In the mid-20th century, African Americans were fedup of the prejudice and violence against them. Blacks along with many whites, mobilized and began an unprecedented fight for equality that spanned two decades.Langston Hughes Mother to Son poem reflects his life as an African American and the time period in which he lived. In this poem, a mother uses the metaphor of life being like a set of steps. This poem uses symbols like tacks, splinters, uncarpeted floor and dark, unlit corners to refer to hardships, challenges, and darkness in life. She tells her son that life is difficult but just as you walk up a set of stairs, you have to keep moving in life, keep going forward and upward. She tells him not to go back down even if climbing the stairs is difficult. She confesses that she is still climbing, still going up the steps, even though her life is still filled with hardships and problems. The mother has an inner strength which gives her perseverance and allows her to keep going against all odds.This poem also touches on the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. The poem talks about the painful history of African Americans. The poem is comparing a staircase to the many hardships in life. His poem has obvious tone of hopelessness, perseverance, and sadness. Langston is talking about a mother talking to her son and all young people suggesting they keep persevering when its hard too. Most African Americans during this time could relate to Hughess poems. They lived in these hard times, encountered these struggles he talked about. They felt Hughes frustration. His words were affirming, challenging, and political. They spoke to all those trying to live up to his advice and reach for their dreams. Hughes showed that wisdom was passed down through generations when writing about the mother telling her son to never give up, even though times were difficult and hard. Wisdom is learned through experience and influences ones decisions to continue in the face of hardships.The poem I, Too by Langston Hughes reflects his life as an African American and the racism and unequal treatment of African Americans in the time period he lived in. He wrote this poem from the eyes of a black servant. He begins by saying that he too can sing America, meaning that he is claiming his personal right to feel patriotic towards his country, even though he is the darker brother who cannot sit at the table and must eat in the kitchen. This implies to the common prac tice of racial segregation during the early 20th century, when African Americans faced discrimination in almost every way of their lives. They were forced to live, work, eat and travel separately from whites. They had few civil or legal rights. They were often victims of racial violence, and faced economic isolation in both the North and the South.He then claims that tomorrow he will join the others at the table and no one will dare send him back to the kitchen. Not only that, but the people will see how beautiful he is, even though he is black and will therefore feel ashamed of how they were treating him. This states the hope that African Americans have for tomorrow meaning the future. Poetry by Langston Hughes reflects his life as an African American and the time period in which he lived in. He condemned racism and injustice and promoted equality and celebrated african american culture. Langston Hughes accomplished many things in his life. He was a poet, novelist, playwright, columnist, social activist and more. His writings influenced people and helped shape american literature. He played an important role in many peoples lives. People could relate to his writings especially African Americans.

Capital Budgeting Valuation Essay Example

Essays on Capital Budgeting Valuation Essay The paper "Capital Budgeting Valuation" is an excellent example of an essay on finance and accounting. The primary step in evaluating various investment opportunities is preparing a list of potential projects. A capital budget enumerates the investments and projects that a company strategizes to undertake during future years. Theoretical knowledge of capital budgeting differs from the real application of these skills due to various factors (Baker 10). Capital budgeting can be generally defined as methodical evaluation of how much capital to spend in one venture or asset and the exact assets companies should exploit to meet their investment objectives. This differs when it came to implementation. Most organizations are faced have limited resources and strict regulations, in addition, to a set of priorities hence a rift in implementation. Making best capital budgeting decision frequently necessitate identifying and accurate analysis of opportunities associated with the project. Inadequ ate assessments and decision tools jeopardize the likelihood of applying scarce resources to sections that give revenue less than the cost of capital, consequences in the destruction of value. This educational knowledge acts as a guiding principle; however, the chief financial officer may find it difficult to implement them 100 percent due to underlying factors in the organization. The popular methods used in capital budgeting include net present value, internal rate of return, profitability index, payback period and discounted payback period (Baker 120). Due to cost issues and complexity of some of the methods many organizations prefer alternatives thus hindering chief financial officers from maximizing on the methods. Monitoring of the capital budgeting is done by topmost officials of the companies. This act limits implementations of the recommendations that a chief financial officer might have instructed.   Statements of other students on the Discussion Board are ideal and tackle the discussion question adequately. In general, students have talked of the capital budgeting process, methods applicable, decision-making criteria, challenges facing the chief financial officer in implementing processes adequately and investment opportunities available.

Fatal Attraction ( Adrian Lyne ) Cape Fear ( Martin Scorsese ) free essay sample

Compares 1987 1992 films portrayals of traditional social gender roles, family values the threat of sexual deviance. Films make a number of assumptions about gender based on audience beliefs and expectations, and these are derived from the social structure prevalent at the time the film is made. A given film may present different images of gender roles through different characters. In both Fatal Attraction (1987) and the 1992 version of Cape Fear, there are gender roles based on the nuclear family that are held up as preferred or normal roles, and these are countered either by the actual behavior of some family member or by an outside force representing a different sexual energy, a different gender role. The films deliberately contrast what the filmmakers see as normal gender roles and deviant gender roles, and in both cases the deviant sexual energy threatens the family unit to such a degree that the outside force has to be killed to restore order to the family. We will write a custom essay sample on Fatal Attraction ( Adrian Lyne ) Cape Fear ( Martin Scorsese ) or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page

What makes Odysseus a Hero Essays - Odyssey, Ancient Greek Religion

What makes Odysseus a Hero What makes a hero? The epic The Odyssey tells the story of a hero named Odysseus. Odysseus is the king of Ithica, Greece. There are many ways to identify heroes, superheros, tragic heroes, and epic heroes. Odysseus was an epic hero, defined by qualities through the epic. One of the characteristics of an epic hero is to have courage. Odysseus clearly shows this when he was in the Cyclopes cave. The way he reacted when faced with danger, was relaxed and calm, Odysseus was ready to fight. He came up with a smart scheme and escaped the Cyclops. Bravery is a quality of a hero because without courage, man cannot complete the journey of being a hero. Along with being brave, an epic hero must have physical strength. Odysseus shows his strength when he throws a discus. At the Olympics many men were competing and they asked him to join. Knowing his strength he humbly said no, but he was bullied a bit, and threw the discus. The discus went tremendously far, and no one challenged him anymore. Strength is required to defeat humans and to overthrow monsters. Scylla is a monster with 12 legs, six heads, and three rows of teeth, with an urge to eat humans. Charybdis is a monster that drinks the ocean and also swallows boats in the process to get back home to Ithica Odysseus and his crew must pass by these two monsters. In the process, Scylla kills six of his men and the rest of the crew makes it out alive. This is vital to the formation of Odysseus as a hero because to be a hero man must battle demons or monsters. Monsters are an important part of Greek mythology so the specification of battling against a monster is seen as a vital part of being an epic hero. While Scylla and Charybdis were seen as vicious monsters, many forget about the murderous nymphs The Sirens. These were sea nymphs that would use their beautiful singing to lure in men, and then kill them. Odysseus was told to but bees wax in the ears of himself and the crew. Instead, Odysseus took an unnecessary risk and listened to them. He did this because he wanted to be the only man to hear them and live, showing how he accepts challenges and invites problems, and takes unnecessary risks. To be an epic hero Odysseus had to descend into the underworld. There Odysseus gets advice on how to complete his journey. While in the underworld he meets one of his dead crewmen. The crewman speaks of how he was not buried and tells Odysseus to give him a proper burial. When Odysseus leaves the underworld, he does go back and bury the man. This shows his value of honor he respected what he was told and did the morally right task. While Odysseus was a man of most his morals, he did not do the right things at times. One of the characteristics of an epic hero is encounter women who tempt him. Odysseus was tempted by calypso but did not choose to be adulterous, but calypso forced him against his will. Calypso was later punished her actions, but she was angry because of a double standard for gods and goddess. Odysseus met Circe was tempted, and stayed with her for a year. A hero is a man of great strength and contains physical appeal, so the idea of women trying to seduce him, would prove as a common happening. Some women helped Odysseus in a beneficial way. Athena, the goddess, proved as a source of advice, and protection, through Odysseus journey. One of the ways she helped Odysseus was when he was trapped with Calypso. Athena urges her father to help Odysseus out, and Zeus sends Hermes to Calypso to release Odysseus so he can return home. Athena often makes Odysseus appear younger, stronger, and more attractive for many reasons. When he was put in a situation with fighting between men, appearing stronger and younger would provide a sense of fear, which would help Odysseus win. Also when Odysseus arrives home Athena makes him appear as an old man, a beggar. This lets him