Contents
Character map
2
Introduction
3
Tips for writing essays
17
Essay 1: ‘Shakespeare uses striking imagery to underpin his characterisations.’
How significant are the images of disease and corruption in Hamlet?
19
Essay 2: ‘Hamlet swears to the ghost of his father that “thy commandment
all alone shall live/Within the book and volume of my brain”.’
How successful is Hamlet in keeping this promise?
23
Essay 3: ‘In considering whether to take revenge against Claudius, Hamlet
struggles not only with his morals, but also with his attitude
towards life.’ Discuss.
27
Essay 4: ‘Hamlet reminds us that we must accept the inevitability of death.’
Is this a valid view of the play?
31
Essay 5: ”This bodes some strange eruption in our state.” ‘The characters’
flawed values reflect Shakespeare’s view on how societies descend
into corruption.’ Discuss.
35
Essay 6: “The purpose of playing … is to hold … the mirror up to nature.”
Does Hamlet support its protagonist’s view?
39
Essay 7: ‘Hamlet illustrates the difficulty of taking decisive action.’
Do you agree?
43
Essay 8: ‘Hamlet’s thoughtful mind and sensitive conscience cause him to
suffer greatly, but he makes too many others suffer for us to
sympathise with him to any great degree.’ Discuss.
47
Essay 9: ‘Hamlet knows that he is prompted to seek revenge
“by heaven and hell”.’ Why does he delay in seeking it?
51
Essay 10: “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.”
What purpose does Hamlet’s madness serve?
55
Practice topics
59
© Insight Publications 2010
Sample essays on texts
Character map
poor advice
Claudius
King of Denmark,
after murdering
brother, Old Hamlet.
Hopes to keep crime
secret but distrusts
nephew, Hamlet.
Killed by Hamlet.
Gertrude
Hamlet’s mother, now
wife of Claudius.
Unaware of murder
but accepts guilt for
incestuous remarriage,
dies attempting to
protect son.
Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern
Hamlet’s treacherous
student friends
sent to spy on him
by Claudius. Die in
Hamlet’s place after he
substitutes their names
in diplomatic letters.
Old Hamlet
Recently dead king
returns as ghost to
demand his son take
revenge on Claudius.
brother;
murders
for throne
newly
married
father (ghost);
urges Hamlet
to seek revenge
kills
disapproves of
new marriage
mother/son;
loves
discovers
plot; kills
them
betray
Hamlet
harbinger of death
Gravedigger
Makes Ophelia’s grave,
shows Hamlet Yorick’s
skull. Has grim realistic
sense of humour.
Polonius
Not-so-wise chief
counsellor to Claudius.
Domineering father of
Ophelia and Laertes.
Killed in error by
Hamlet.
Hamlet
Scholarly prince,
forced to take on role
of revenger. Disgusted
by mother, feels
betrayed by Ophelia.
Uses Play at court to
confirm ghost’s story
and reveal crime of
Claudius. Dies in
final duel.
close friends
Horatio
Hamlet’s closest
student friend,
trustworthy, calm
observer. Survives
to tell Hamlet’s
story.
controlling father
kills in
error
loves but
rejects
loves
kill
each
other
in final
duel
perform
play;
Claudius
gives himself
away
Players
Actors who come to play
at court, allowing Hamlet
to write scene that proves
Claudius is the murderer.
2
Ophelia
Loves Hamlet but
obeys father. Goes
mad after Hamlet’s
cruelty and
father’s murder.
Drowns herself.
father/
son
brother; spies on
Ophelia for father
Laertes
Young courtier, good
swordsman. Becomes
revenger plotting with
Claudius after his
father’s murder.
Dies in final duel.
names him as heir to throne
Fortinbras
Warlike prince of
Norway. Hamlet
names him next King
of Denmark.
© Insight Publications 2009
© Insight Publications 2010
Hamlet
Introduction
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) is considered the greatest English playwright. He wrote and
produced a large number of plays, ranging from comedies to histories and tragedies. Hamlet
was written in 1601 during a phase of other profound tragedies, such as Othello (1604) and
Macbeth (1606). Shakespeare is appreciated for the ways in which he beautifully and poignantly
expresses the dilemmas at the core of human existence.
Shakespeare wrote Hamlet as a play to be performed, not read. The text is littered with
references to ‘acting’; ample evidence within the play also highlights that acting can operate as
both an overt and a covert activity. It is also important to appreciate that the version of Hamlet
you are studying is actually a ‘compilation’ of the three extant versions of the play: the variation
that exists amongst the numerous publications available today is a consequence of the editorial
licence that has been exercised.
Hamlet is an unusually rich text, a product of the complex psychological profile of its protagonist
and its intricately interwoven themes of ambition and power, revenge, murder and treason,
illicit and unfulfilled love, madness, religion and the supernatural. Political intrigue and the
quest for self-aggrandisement govern the thoughts – and consequently the actions – of several
characters, especially Hamlet, Claudius and Polonius.
Brief synopsis
Prince Hamlet, heir to the throne of Denmark, appears to have been usurped by his uncle
Claudius, the ruthless and conniving interloper, who is keen to consolidate his position by
expunging Hamlet from Denmark’s political landscape. When Hamlet discovers that Claudius
has taken the throne by murdering his father, the previous king, he vows to take revenge
on Claudius.
In order to prevent his plan from being detected, Hamlet pretends to – or possibly really does
– become ‘mad’, alienating many of his close friends and putting his life at risk in the process.
He rejects his lover, Ophelia, sending her mad; he also kills her father, Polonius, whom he
mistakenly identifies as Claudius.
After Hamlet confronts his mother about the morality of her marriage to Claudius, the following
events occur in quick succession:
3 © Insight Publications 2009
© Insight Publications 2010
Hamlet
Tips For Writing Essays
If you follow these simple tips, you’ll be assured of an extra
mark or two!
10 Do’s
• Know the text really well and answer the question properly.
• Write a plan.
• Structure your essay using an introduction, several body paragraphs and
a conclusion.
• Use paragraphs with clear topic sentences to mark the progression of your
argument. Remember ‘new paragraph = new point’. A good example of a clear
topic sentence is: ‘The consequences of racial prejudice are explored in Othello’.
• Use correct spelling and ensure you always spell book titles, characters’ names or
authors’ names correctly; for example, ‘Eli Wiesel’s Night’.
• Put direct quotations in inverted commas; for example: ‘Othello defends
Desdemona’s loyalty to Brabantio, swearing ‘my life upon her faith’.
• Display your knowledge of the text by selecting relevant references to support your
views. For example, if you choose to focus on the moments of Eli’s life that shaped
his personality in Night, you might analyse the scene featuring the death of his
father.
• Work out your own point of view on key elements such as characters, narrators,
plot, etc.
• Keep to topic.
• Acknowledge the difference between genres; for example, film, play. For example,
when discussing a film, refer to ‘shots’, ‘images’, ‘scenes’, etc. When discussing
a play, acknowledge the performance aspects, such as stage directions, the
playwright’s instructions for the setting, etc.
17 © Insight Publications 2009
© Insight Publications 2010
Hamlet
ESSAY 1
‘Shakespeare uses striking imagery to underpin his
characterisations.’ How significant are the images of
disease and corruption in Hamlet?
Images of disease, infection and poison abound in Hamlet and are
connected with language invoking rot and decay, as well as cure
and its opposite, death. The use of these metaphors serves several
purposes: to aid the audience’s understanding of the action, to
reflect broader issues in the play and, importantly, to underpin the
characterisations. The images point to the sins, or perceived sins,
of the characters, the corruption pervading the political world of
Elsinore and, even more broadly, to the imperfect nature of the
The introduction opens well,
directly addressing the topic.
The use of language devices is
explained, showing the writer’s
extensive knowledge of writing
techniques.
The main contention is stated,
rounding off the introduction
and linking to the first paragraph.
world we all must live in.
Characters in Hamlet often describe other people as diseased,
referring, for example, to blisters, cankers and ulcers. When
criticising his mother for marrying Claudius soon after his father’s
death, Hamlet likens the stain of sin on her soul to an ‘ulcerous
place’, where ‘rank corruption … infects unseen’. The use of
such powerful, even visceral language indicates Hamlet’s strong
The question is immediately
addressed in the topic sentence
with direct reference to the
play. Examples follow to
demonstrate how the imagery
underpins Shakespeare’s
characterisations.
feelings about his mother’s behaviour and provokes disgust in the
audience, who may then be more likely to share Hamlet’s point of
view. Alternatively, the audience may turn against Hamlet, seeing
such harsh language as wildly out of proportion to Gertrude’s
supposed ‘sin’ of disrespecting her dead husband’s memory.
Hamlet himself is perceived by Claudius to have the same effect
as a disease: ‘like the hectic in my blood he rages’. Here, the use of
such an image has a different function: it shows the audience that
Hamlet is pricking Claudius’ guilty conscience, confirming that
Concluding sentence rounds
off the main point made in
the paragraph and links nicely
to the next paragraph with
the repeated reference to the
murder of King Hamlet.
Claudius is indeed responsible for the murder of the previous King.
The murder of King Hamlet, as well as being an integral part of the Topic sentence extends the
action, is overtly linked to the other images of sickness in the play
through the use of poison. The ghost describes the poison used to
main discussion to the play’s
action. Further examples of
‘disease and corruption’ follow.
19 © Insight Publications 2009
© Insight Publications 2010