Essay The Central Question of Hamlet - 2409 Words

The Central Question of Hamlet Hamlets tragedy is a tragedy of failure-the failure of a man placed in critical circumstances to deal successfully with those circumstances. In some ways, Hamlet reminds us of Brutus in Shakespeares Julius Caesar. Hamlet and Brutus are both good men who live in trying times; both are intellectual, even philosophical; both men want to do the right thing; both men intellectualize over what the right thing is; neither man yields to passion. But here the comparison ends, for though both Brutus and Hamlet reflect at length over the need to act, Brutus is able immediately to act while Hamlet is not. Hamlet is stuck thinking too precisely on th event-. Hamlets father, the king of Denmark, has†¦show more content†¦(Act 5, scene 2 . . . to Horatio) Yet he delays. It is this delay in performing the act he has sworn to accomplish which leads to Hamlets death. The poison on the tip of Laertes sword is but a metaphor for the poison of procrastination which has been coursing through Hamlets system throughout the play. Hamlets thoughts focus upon death rather than upon action. His words show an intense longing for death: O that this too too solid flesh would melt Thaw and resolve itself into a dew, Or that the everlasting had not fixed His canon gainst self-slaughter. (Act I, scene 2) In Act 3, Scene 1 Hamlet restates this theme: To be, or not to be, that is the question- The answer eludes Hamlet throughout the play, perhaps because it is the wrong question. Hamlet is alive and to be alive means to do, not merely to be. It is his inability to do, his tendency to reflect rather than to act which poisons Hamlets resolve and causes his tragic death. If the central question of the play is Why doesnt Hamlet kill Claudius immediately upon hearing the ghosts accusation? the easiest answer is that if Hamlet had done so, the play would have ended in Act I. And then Hamlet, Prince of Denmark would be a tragedy of plot management. In his 1904 work Shakespearean Tragedy,* A. C. Bradley describes Hamlet as a play which includes eight violent deaths, adultery, a ghost, a mad woman, and a fight in a grave. Here areShow MoreRelatedLiterature Is the Question Minus the Answer Essays613 Words   |  3 PagesCritic Roland Barthes has said, â€Å"Literature is the question minus the answer.† Choose a novel or play and, or considering Barthes’ observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the author’s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. 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Through how ShakespeareRead MoreImpossibility of Certainty in Hamlet1296 Words   |  6 PagesThe Impossibility of Certainty in Hamlet â€Å"Doubt is that state of mind where the questioner faces no single answer nor the lack of one, but rather a choice between a pair of alternatives.† – Harry Levin in The Question of Hamlet It is appropriate that William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is regarded as the Bard’s greatest dramatic enigma, for misunderstanding is the unavoidable condition of Hamlet’s quest for certainties. Not only is Hamlet bewildered by puzzling visions and by commands seeminglyRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Hamlet - Conversation Enabler1332 Words   |  6 PagesIn Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia is one of the most elusive characters of the play and her importance is very hard to pinpoint and has raised eyebrows for centuries. For example, the scene of her death is one that artists have depicted over and over, yet that iconic moment is merely alluded to and happens off stage. This reflects Ophelia’s character very well considering that she is often at the periphery of the action; more talked about then talked to. There are many questions surrounding OpheliaRead MoreMeaning Of Existentialism In Hamlet1446 Words   |  6 Pagesbecome what one chooses is also libera ting. Hamlet is an embodiment of existentialism as he exemplifies its core concepts such as anguish, despair and absurdity; his perplexity on life and death as well as his reflections on human existence reflect his predicament in the universe in which he becomes aware of his alienation from the human condition, thus exemplifying the existentialist essence of the play write. The central concern of Hamlet is also the question of all man, †What a piece of work is aRead MoreWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet Essay751 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet Hamlet might well claim to be Shakespeares most famous play because of its language and the charm of its central character. Shakespeare wrote some thirty-eight plays. Taken individuallyRead More Reality and Illusion in Shakespeares Hamlet - Reality, Appearance and Deception875 Words   |  4 PagesReality and Illusion in Hamlet    Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, begins with the appearance of a ghost, an apparition, possibly a hallucination. Thus, from the beginning, Shakespeare presents the air of uncertainty, of the unnatural, which drives the action of the play and develops in the protagonist as a struggle to clarify what only seems to be absolute and what is actually reality. Hamlets mind, therefore, becomes the central force of the play, choosing the direction of the conflict by hisRead MoreThe Effects Of Soliloquy On Elizabethan Audience954 Words   |  4 Pagesrevenge tragedy play Hamlet, the prevailing themes of revenge, madness, and morality were recognized by the Elizabethan audience and appealed to them. The play s central focus is on a young prince, Hamlet, who has gone through many challenges to avenge his father s death. Prince Hamlet got his revenge on his deceitful uncle, Claudius, the same man who murdered his father and married Hamlet s mother. From the original text of the play, a major s cene in Act 4 shows where Hamlet decides that it s