In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare Essay Example for Free

In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare Essay In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, one of the main themes is the discrepancy between appearance and reality. The development of this theme through the plot, soliloquy and imagery help to reinforce the players role in the play and directs the audience to where their allegiances should lie for the climax of the play. The theme appearance versus reality is clearly evident throughout this Shakespearean play; it is introduced at the very beginning through Claudius speech to the court. The structure and rhythm of this blank verse carries him through but the imagery that Shakespeare uses signals to the audience the corruption in Denmark he uses phrases such as defeated joy, one auspicious and one drooping eye and wisest sorrow. These opposing images and hollow phrases reveal the hypocrisy of the diplomats words; how can a person have one auspicious and one drooping eye unless they are duplicitous? Claudius opening speech is also eloquent, relaxed and so carefully structured that it appears rehearsed he deals with three items of business before confronting his black-suited nephew: Old King Hamlets death; the threat from Fortinbras army; Laertes impending departure to France. Shakespeare here signals to the audience that Claudius is uneasier than he appears by leaving his nephew and son-in-law to deal with last. In my opinion, the exposition of Claudius Machiavellian mature at the beginning through the theme appearance versus reality is very effective as it reveals to the audience the corruption in Elsinore which essentially instigates Hamlets revenge and also exposes Claudius at the beginning of the play as the antagonist, aligning the audiences sympathies. Furthermore, this main theme is developed through the soliloquies in particular Claudius. During his agonised soliloquy, Claudius puts on the appearance of praying but he is pseudo-sincere in this: Pray can I not, though inclination be as sharp as will. This reveals Claudius confessing to the murder of his brother but not repenting for his sins. As he is not sincere in this, he believes that he will not go to heaven: My words fly up, my thoughts remain below, words without thoughts never to heaven go. This rhyming couplet not only reveals the theme appearance versus reality, but is also richly ironic as this prayer actually saves his life. Shakespeare also employs the transferred epithet stubborn knees to further emphasise Claudius reluctance to repent for his sins and how he is putting on the appearance of praying, albeit mendaciously. In my opinion, the development of the main theme through Claudius soliloquy successfully polarises Claudius from the protagonists and reinforces him as the villain in the play, directing the audience to where their allegiances should lie for the climax of the play. In addition, Shakespeare conveys the theme appearance versus reality through Hamlets antic disposition. This is illustrated particularly well through Hamlets exchanges with Polonius: Let her not walk ithsun. Conception is a blessing. But as your daughter may conceive friend, look tot. Although these words sound like nonsense to Polonius and the audience, there is a thread of bitter satire running through them. Hamlet reveals his witty sarcasm here as he is aware that Ophelia has been prevented from seeing him and tells Polonius that he should not let her walk in the sun if he wishes to prevent her becoming pregnant. Hamlets antic disposition is reinforced throughout the play but particularly through his exchanges with Claudius: Excellent ifaith of the chameleons dish. I eat the air, promised crammed. You cannot feed capons so. Hamlet here is trying to make Claudius think that he is frustrated at not being the King; Claudius pretends not to understand him. In my opinion, Shakespeare effectively polarises Hamlet from Claudius through his antic disposition and wit which in turn successfully aligns the audience with the protagonist for the denouement. Furthermore, it could be argued that the theme of surveillance intertwines with the main theme appearance versus reality which helps to further develop the audiences awareness of the conflict between reality and appearance. For example, Hamlets conversations with the two people he loved, Gertrude and Ophelia, were eaves-dropped by Polonius. As a result of the spying, Ophelia and Gertrude spoke to Hamlet with constrained formality: How does your honour for this many a day? . This heated exchange between the eponymous prince and Ophelia during the nunnery scene recapitulates arguably the main theme of the play; appearance versus reality which is exposed at the very beginning and is reiterated through Hamlets exchanges with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern they also spy on Hamlet for Claudius: they did make love to this employment! . In my opinion, Shakespeare effectively evokes sympathy for Hamlet and his little allies through dramatic irony and further polarises Hamlet and Claudius through the development of this main theme hence reinforcing Hamlet as the tragic hero of the play. In conclusion, the development of the theme appearance versus reality is essential in augmenting the audiences understanding and appreciation of the play as a whole. In my opinion, Shakespeare effectively develops this main theme through the plot, soliloquy, imagery and dramatic irony which successfully reinforces the players role in the play and also directs the audience to where their sympathies should lie for the denouement.

Essay on William Shakespeares Fools -- Biography Biographies Essays

Shakespeare's Fools      Ã‚   Shakespeare used foolish characters in his plays to make points that he considers highly important. I had previously supposed that Shakespeare was an entertainer who sprinkled his writing with observations about humanity and its place in the world to please critics. However, I discovered that he was a gifted writer who had a penetrating understanding the condition of humanity in the world and sprinkled his plays with fools and jokes meant for the common man as a way of conceding to his audience's intellectual level. Or, as Walter Kaufmann said in his essay "Shakespeare: Between Socrates and Existentialism," Shakespeare "came to terms with the obtuseness of his public: he gave his pearls a slight odor of the sty before he cast them." Kaufmann continues his essay by saying that Shakespeare, unlike many modern artists, "turned the challenge of a boorish, lecherous, and vulgar audience to advantage and increased the richness and the subtlety of drama." (Kaufmann 3)    Perhaps the best example of Shakespeare's use of the fool (and certainly the best in any Shakespearean play that I have read) is Falstaff in I Henry IV. In "The Fortunes of Falstaff," Wilson claims that Falstaff is the embodiment of the vice of Vanity: he is cowardly in battle, proud and pretentious, dishonest, conniving, lacks respect for the property of others, and is concerned only with wine, tavern wenches, and comfort. It would be easy for a reader (or play-watcher) unfamiliar with Shakespeare to conclude, in our own time, that Falstaff has been included in the drama solely to provide entertainment value.    However, Falstaff is also essential to the play in many ways. He is necessary in the development of Prince Hal, ... ...han I first supposed. Rather than being mere device for the entertainment of his audience, Bottom and Falstaff (and many of his other characters) are used, in these cases to contrast the other characters of his plays, to make important points that Shakespeare wishes his audience to understand. They are integral parts of Shakespeare's drama.    References Kaufmann, Walter. "Shakespeare: Between Socrates and Existentialism" in From Shakespeare to Existentialism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980. Shakespeare, William. The Comedy of Errors. New York: Penguin, 1965. Shakespeare, William. Henry IV, Part I. New York: Penguin, 1965. Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. New York: Penguin, 1965. Wilson, John Dover. "From The Fortunes of Falstaff" in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part I. Ed. Maynard Mack. New York: Penguin, 1965.

Industrial revoloution Essay

How bad were the living conditions for the poor in the newly industrialised towns and cities of the 1840s In the 1840s, there was a lot of pollution, and there was little regulation of what was put into the river or the air. The houses for 1840s workers were built very poorly. They were usually made by the factory owners at minimum cost. They were made either one brick, or half a brick thick, and only consisted of one room. There were no indoor lavatories, therefore the workers were left with only two ways to go to the toilet. The first way was to walk up the road and use the toilets at either end of the blocks. Once there they would deposit their body waste into the cess pool via a wooden bench. Flies lived on the walls of the cess pool. They were nourished by the molecules of excretion in the air. There toilets would be shared by as many as 160 people, sometimes more. The cess pool would empty itself into the river, but sometimes market gardeners who would go down into the cess pit to use the filth inside as fertiliser for their garden. Occasionally, young children would drop into the cess pit, never to be seen again. The second way of going to the toilet was to simply do it out of a window. The body waste which was left on the streets was called night mud. Sometimes when it rained, the night mud would slip underneath your door and end up in your house. Sometimes the night mud would be placed in your house on purpose by people being malicious. People did not have the type of water supply we have today. They did not have instant running water in their houses, instead they had to collect their water from standpipes in the street. These standpipes had clean water which could be pumped out, as it wasn’t safe to drink from the river, but water only came to a street, via these standpipes, every other day. Yet, there were also water seller who would sell bottles of supposedly, clean water, although no one ever found out where the water came from. People in the 1840’s were afraid to leave their houses for an extended period  of time. The reason for this is that as soon as you leave you house for over a day, it would be used as a toilet. This meant that people who got new jobs in factories would have to clean out there new houses of all of the muck left there by their fellow workers. In the 1840s, living conditions were much worse than nowadays, due to the lack of both appropriate sanitary provisions and constant running water, but people of 1840’s would have found those conditions normal. What we think of as clean would have probably been considered impossible in those days.

Animal Rights in Germany vs. Switzerland - 1901 Words

For the second and final country journal assignment of the semester, I elected to compare and contrast the statutes regarding animal rights in Germany and Switzerland. While conducting my research, I came to the realization as a whole, both Germany and Switzerland often rank in the top 5 countries worldwide when it comes to discussions and statistics on environmental policies and animal rights and are considered progressive in these areas. However, though both are considered progressive countries, the methods used to enforce animal regulations, as well as the history behind the current statues, are quite different. Animal rights activists have played a major role in changing how animals are viewed and treating in many countries,†¦show more content†¦Activist across the country call for the preservation of the dignity of animals on the basis that animals are sentient living beings, much like humans. While there is no origin for the nationwide support of animal rights, much of the country is in favor of the amendments and animal protection acts that have been established throughout Switzerland. In a 2010 poll, 70% of the population was in favor of the government hiring numerous lawyers to go to defend the rights of animals. According to researchers, the movement for animal rights in Germany found its justification in a different area; xenophobia. Within Nazi Germany there was a definite emphasis on labeling Jewish shechita as â€Å"wrong† and associating vivisection with their culture (Evans 1). This association was widely accepted by the anti-Semitic Nazi supporters. Similarly, in 2002, public uproar occurred after the Supreme Court granted a practicing Muslim the permission to perform a ritual slaughter involving â€Å"unnecessary cruelty†. 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