Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Job Distribution
Topic Questions No.1
By 許珍馨 89210093
Hamlet summary, Topic Questions No.2
By 王麗君 91110858
the background of the works
By 洪若蓉 86210540
Job Distribution, Author Of The Works Concerned
By 辛明珠 92110576
Topic Question No.3
By 洪石良 91110563 and 梁嘉豪 93210254
PowerPoint presentation
By 梁嘉豪 93210254
An introduction to the author of the works concerned
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William Shakespeare was born in 1564 into a middle-class family, English poet and
playwright, has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in the English language, as
well as one of the world's pre-eminent dramatists.
People analyze Shakespeare's life and works to understand his long-lasting and broad
appeal. Many Shakespeare scholars credit his continued appeal and fame to two
related characteristics; his deep understanding of human nature and a broad
knowledge base that encompassed varied interests and fields of study. Both of these
attributes contributed to his development of vivid and varied characters from many
walks of life and his creative use of language. Shakespeare's knowledge included
music, law, the Bible, military science, politics, the sea, history, hunting, woodcraft,
sports, and theater. In his literary works, he wrote of Kings, drunkards, generals,
pickpockets, shepherds, hired killers and thugs, and philosophers. His understanding
of people and their nature enabled him to create dramatic characters whose struggles
and often failures extended beyond the setting of his plays.
Shakespeare's literary achievement is not confined to his mastery of the poetic and
dramatic form; his ability to capture and convey the most profound aspects of human
nature is considered by many scholars to be unequalled, due to his understanding of
the range and depth of human emotions. A colossal figure in world literature,
Shakespeare's legacy and influence continues to be felt in all parts of the globe. He
has been translated into every major living language, and his plays are continually
performed all around the world. Shakespeare was among the very few playwrights
who have excelled in both tragedy and comedy.
Shakespeare wrote his works between 1588 and 1616, although the exact dates and
chronology of the plays attributed to him are often uncertain. His prolific output is
especially impressive in light of the fact that he lived only 52 years.
Shakespeare's influence on the English-speaking world shows in the widespread use
of quotations from Shakespearean plays, the titles of works based on Shakespearean
phrases, and the many adaptations of his works.
the background of the works
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Hamlet was likely written in 1600, but the date of composition is uncertain. Hamlet was probably first performed in July
1602. It was first published in printed form in 1603. As was common practice during the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, Shakespeare borrowed for his plays ideas and stories from earlier literary works. The narrative behind
Hamlet derives from the legendary story of Hamlet (Amleth) recounted in the Danish History from the twelfth century, a
Latin text by Saxo the Grammarian. This version was later adapted into French by Francois de Belleforest in 1570.
Hamlet is arguably Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy. It reaches into the hearts of all people because we can identify
with the sad hero, Hamlet. Hamlet is the story of a Danish prince whose uncle murders the prince’s father, marries his
mother, and claims the throne. The prince although still young, decides to avenge his father's murder. He pretends to
be a fool in order to avoid suspicion, a strategy which works. Shakespeare changed the emphasis of this story entirely,
making his Hamlet a philosophically-minded prince who delays taking action because his knowledge of his uncle’s
crime is so uncertain.
Shakespeare takes an unremarkable revenge story and makes it resonate with the most fundamental themes and
problems of the Renaissance. The leading figures of the Renaissance were generally deeply religious, but took as their
main subject the study of man rather than that of God. Their perspective became known as Humanism. Humanists
did not doubt the existence of God, but emphasized human capabilities and celebrated individual achievement and
genius.
Influence of Renaissance humanism’s critique of the inconsistencies and contradictions of supposed Christians living
lives of ambition, pride, greed, envy, hate, murder, and plotting and scheming against others. The ideas of the main
figures in European Humanism, Erasmus of Rotterdam and Sir Thomas More, influenced the works of Shakespeare.
Hamlet describes mankind in terms that steeped in Humanism in Act II, “What a piece of work is a man! How noble in
reason, how infinite in faculty, in form and moving how express and admirable, in action how like an angel, in
apprehension how like a god—the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals!”
The sixteenth-century French humanist, Michel de Montaigne believed that the world of experience was a world of
appearances, and that human beings could never hope to see past those appearances into the “realities” that lie
behind them. This is the world in which Shakespeare places his characters. Hamlet is faced with the difficult task of
correcting an injustice that he can never have sufficient knowledge of—a dilemma that is by no means unique, or even
uncommon. And while Hamlet is fond of pointing out questions that cannot be answered because they concern
supernatural and metaphysical matters, the play as a whole chiefly demonstrates the difficulty of knowing the truth
about other people—their guilt or innocence, their motivations, their feelings, their relative states of sanity or insanity.
The world of other people is a world of appearances, and Hamlet is, fundamentally, a play about the difficulty of living in
that world.
the summary of the plot
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The play opens during the evening watch at the castle of Elsinore in Denmark. The last two nights, a
ghost dressed in the dead King Hamlet’s armor has appeared as the clock strikes one. Three men,
Horatio (Hamlet’s friend), Marcellus, and Bernardo, are talking, when the ghost appears once more.
Horatio tries to talk to the ghost, but the ghost is silent and then disappears. The men try to figure out
why the ghost has returned and decide that Hamlet should speak to his father’s ghost.
Meanwhile, Prince Hamlet is at the castle with his mother, Queen Gertude, and her new husband,
King Claudius (Hamlet’s uncle). Claudius tells Hamlet that prolonged grieving for his dead father is not
right. When they leave the room, Hamlet is alone to lament and think. "O God, God! How weary, stale,
flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world!" Horatio then comes to greet Hamlet, who
is delighted at his friend’s arrival. Horatio tells Hamlet about the ghost and Hamlet agrees to meet
them.
Laertes, the son of Lord Chamberlain Polonius, is getting ready to leave for France. He leaves his
sister, Ophelia, with a warning not to pay much attention to Hamlet, who is trying to court her.
Polonius also gives advice to Laertes.
At night, Hamlet joins Horatio and Marcellus to wait for the ghost. The ghost calls Hamlet and Hamlet
follows him, even though his friends plead against it. The ghost tells Hamlet the horrible secret--- his
father did not die from a serpent’s bite but from poison. His father was murdered by Hamlet’s uncle,
who has now married Hamlet’s mother! Hamlet is told to revenge his father’s death, but to leave his
mother alone. As the ghost leaves, Hamlet becomes enraged at his uncle. From his intelligent,
civilized self, Hamlet changes into an enraged person determined to kill his uncle. He decides to act
insane so that no one will suspect him. Hamlet makes Horatio and Marcellus swear to tell no one what
happened here.
Later on, Ophelia tells her father in a fright that Hamlet appeared to her, his face white as if he had
been to hell. Polonius believes that this madness is due to the fact that Ophelia doesn’t love Hamlet
back. He goes to tell the King this. The King and Queen agree that Hamlet has gone insane. To find
out the reason for this, the King sends two of Hamlet’s friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to talk
to Hamlet. Polonius, wordy as usual, relates his reason for Hamlet’s madness: he is hopelessly
obsessed over Ophelia.
A group of players arrive, much to the interest of Hamlet. He asks one of them to perform The Murder
of Gonzago the next day, with a few changes by Hamlet. Since this play is similar to the situation with
King Claudius and Hamlet’s father, Hamlet can figure out if the ghost was truthful. If the King reacts to
the play, Hamlet will surely know that the ghost was speaking the truth.
continue
the summary of the plot (continue)
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Since Rosencrantz and Guildenstern can not figure out the reason for Hamlet’s madness, the King
decides to see how Hamlet acts around Ophelia. While Hamlet is alone, he delivers his most famous
"To be or not to be" speech. Here he contemplates suicide, with the conclusion not to take his life
because things in the afterlife may be even more dreadful. Ophelia appears to Hamlet, in an attempt
to return the gifts that he gave her. Hamlet replies harshly that he never loved her and says, "Get thee
to a nunnery." Ophelia is left in sorrow, believing that Hamlet has truly gone insane. The King is not so
sure and wishes to send Hamlet to England, suspecting that Hamlet may be a threat to him.
It is the night of the play. Horatio agrees to watch the King for a reaction. During the scene where
poison is poured down the victim’s ear (Claudius poured poison down King Hamlet’s ear), the King is
greatly disturbed. He ends the play, calling for the lights to be turned on. Now Hamlet knows that the
King is guilty. Hamlet goes to talk with his mother, who is scared that he has come to murder her. As
she cries for help, Polonius (hiding behind the tapestry) speaks and is killed by Hamlet, who thinks
that Polonius is the king. Hamlet tries to get the Queen to admit to her wrongs, but she doesn’t
understand him.
King Claudius decides that Hamlet must be put to death in England. Hamlet escapes this fate by
rewriting the King’s letter, substituting his name with the names of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. So
Hamlet escapes and the two men are put to death. Learning that Hamlet did not arrive in England,
Claudius brings Laertes into the plan. Laertes, enraged over the death of his father, is persuaded to
kill Hamlet with a poisoned rapier during a duel.
Ophelia is distressed over the death of her father and becomes insane, singing songs. She later
commits suicide by drowning. At her funeral, grieving Laertes jumps into the grave, followed by
Hamlet. They fight and Hamlet later apologizes for his behavior. When Laertes challenges him to a
duel, Hamlet accepts. At the duel, the rapier is poisoned. After the first half where Hamlet emerges
victorious, the King uses his backup plan. He poisons a cup of wine and offers it to Hamlet. Hamlet
refuses the wine, but the Queen drinks it. Before the King can stop her, she dies. At this moment, both
Hamlet and Laertes are hit by the poisoned rapier. Laertes tells the people that both he and Hamlet
are injured by the poisonous weapon and that "the King’s to blame." Before Hamlet dies, he lunges at
the King with the rapier and kills him. And so the play ends, with Horatio’s last farewell to his dear
friend Hamlet.
Topic Questions No.1
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Think about Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia. Does he love her? Does
he stop loving her? Did he ever love her? What evidence can you find in
the play to support your opinion?
Hamlet and Ophelia are like genaeral lovers and they have known each
other since many years ago. Their love is royal, sweet, unselfish and
sincere without any purpose or dark dust. We think that Hamlet really
loves Ophelia at first, and pays his honest heart to her by writing her
love letters, cards, gifts and flowers. So he ever loves her very much.
But his love feeling has reduced and changed after his father's death
and Ophelia decides to obey her father words not to love Hamlet again.
In the fiction we can find that the pretend to be crazy and struggled
Hamlet tries to overcome his deisre but often appear to Ophelia and say
some bad or ironic funny words to test her heart and see her response.
From this point we can find that Hamlet still cares her because if you
don't love anyone, then you will not care his idea or thinking, or we can
say that he depresses and controls his feeling or love to her. He even
shows his opinions that she should go to a monastery(abbey) to be a
nun, means a virgin or she will be a prostitute because she can stand to
live with anyone without any truth love. The condition is like that a man
who can't get his lover, then he will hate her and treat her in a high
standard. (愛之深責之切!) But for us, love can not divide right or wrong,
the key point is that if they ever pay their truth heart to each other.
Even you can't get love, then give a sincere blessing to the other is a
unselfish and real love.
Topic Questions No.2
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2.Analyze the use of comedy in Hamlet, paying particular attention to the
gravediggers, Osric, and Polonius. Does comedy serve merely to relieve the tension
of the tragedy, or do the comic scenes serve a more serious thematic purpose as well?
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Comedy a work intended to interest, involve, and amuse the reader or audience, in
which no terrible disaster occ2.Analyze the use of comedy in Hamlet, paying
particular attention to the gravediggers, Osric, and Polonius. Does comedy serve
merely to relieve the tension of the tragedy, or do the comic scenes serve a more
serious thematic purpose as well?
Most of Shakespeare's great tragedies contain at least a little comic relief. But Hamlet
is full of comic scenes. Polonius is very often the source of laughter, and there are
clever and joking scenes throughout--notably the gravediggers and Osric. Examine
Shakespeare's use of comedy, the TYPE of humor he favors here, its placement in the
play, and its function in the scene where we find it.
Comic relief: A humorous scene or incident that alleviates tension in an otherwise
serious work. In many instances these moments enhance the thematic significance of
the story in addition to providing laughter. When Hamlet jokes with the gravediggers
we laugh, but something hauntingly serious about the humor also intensifies our
more serious emotions.
Polonius who's a figure of fun. When foolishly trying to analyze Hamlet’s madness, he
delivers his comments into a mini tape recorder; so is virtually everyone else.
Osric, a courtier, invites Hamlet to participate in a fencing match with Laertes. Since
Laertes is rumored to be the better swordsman, the King has wagered on Hamlet
with a flattering handicap. Hamlet agrees to fight, even though Horatio warns his
friend that it may be a trap. Hamlet decides that he will allow fate to rule his actions.
urs and that ends happily for the main characters. High comedy refers to verbal wit,
such as puns, whereas low comedy is generally associated with physical action and is
less intellectual.
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Topic Questions No.3
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3. Suicide is an important theme in Hamlet. Discuss how the play threats the idea of suicide
morally, religiously, and aesthetically, with particular attention to Hamlet’s two important
statements about suicide: “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt” soliloquy (Act I, Scene ii)
and the “To be, or not to be” soliloquy (Act III, Scene I). Why does Hamlet believe that, although
capable of suicide, most human beings choose to live, despite the cruelty, pain, and injustice of
the world?
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Alone, Hamlet exclaims that he wishes he could die, that he could evaporate and cease to exist. He wishes bitterly
that God had not made suicide a sin.
The idea of retribution haunts and goads characters throughout the play, functioning as an important motivation for
action, spurring Claudius to guilt, Hamlet to the avoidance of suicide, and Laertes to murderous rage after the
deaths of Ophelia and Polonius.
Hamlet enters, speaking thoughtfully and agonizingly to himself about the question of whether to commit suicide to
end the pain of experience: “To be, or not to be: that is the question”
In the first place, Hamlet doesn’t talk directly about what he’s really talking about. When he questions whether it is
better “to be, or not to be,” the obvious implication is, “Should I kill myself?” The entire soliloquy strongly suggests
that he is toying with suicide and perhaps trying to work up his courage to do it. But at no point does he say that he
is in pain or discuss why he wants to kill himself. In fact, he never says “I” or “me” in the entire speech. He’s not
trying to “express” himself at all; instead, he poses the question as a matter of philosophical debate. When he
claims that everybody would commit suicide if they weren’t uncertain about the afterlife, it sounds as if he’s making
an argument to convince an imaginary listener about an abstract point rather than directly addressing how the
question applies to him. Now, it’s perfectly ordinary for characters in plays to say something other than what they
mean to other characters (this suggests that they are consciously hiding their true motives), but Hamlet does it
when he’s talking to himself. This creates the general impression that there are things going on in Hamlet’s mind
that he can’t think about directly.
All the things what Hamlet said were trying to avoid suicide and he made it finally, but I noticed something that also
signified Hamlet faced to the viewpoint of suicide as follow:
In Hamlet’s soliloquy，when he says，“To sleep，perchance to dream. ----ay，there’s the rub.”
He is primarily thinking about death.
If dying is like going to sleep，he may perhaps have dreams，sometimes even bad dreams. That is still a problem.
And if suicide can solve any problem, human beings is not necessary to exist, because once you were born you
must live, if some said creature must die eventually then why does it need production?
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Topic Questions No.3(continue)
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Morally, Hamlet’s most logical and powerful examination of the theme of the moral legitimacy of
suicide in an unbearably painful world is this soliloquy in Act III, scenei(58-90). He poses the
problem of whether to commit suicide as a logical question: “To be , or not to be,” that is, to live
or not to live. He then weighs the moral ramifications of living and dying. Is it nobler to suffer life,
“the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,” passively or to actively seek to end one’s
suffering? He compares death to sleep and thinks of the end to sufferings, pain, and uncertainty
it might bring, “the heartache ,and the thousand natural shocks/ That flesh is heir to.” Based on
this metaphor, he decides that suicide is a desirable course of action, “ a consummation/
Devoutly to be wished.” But, as the religious word “devoutly ” signifies, there is more to the
question, namely, what will happen in the afterlife. Then he reconfigures his metaphor of sleep to
include the possibility of dreaming; he says that the dreams that may come in the sleep of death
are daunting, they ‘must give us pause.”
Religiously, although the Everlasting had not fixed His canon against self-slaughter, suicide is
forbidden by religion in general. Hamlet decides that the uncertainty of the afterlife, which is
intimately related to the theme of the difficulty of attaining truth in a spiritually ambiguous world,
is essentially what prevents all of humanity from committing suicide to end the pain of life . No
one would choose to live, except that “The dread of something after death “ makes people
submit to the suffering of their lives rather than go to another state of existence which might be
more miserable. The dread of the afterlife leads to excessive moral sensivity that makes action
impossible: “conscience does make cowards of us all”. He has turned to religion and found it
inadequate to help him either kill himself or to kill Claudius. He also turns to alogical
philosophical inquiry and finds it equally frustriating.
Aesthetically, according to the definition of tragedy, it is an imitation of an action that is serious,
complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic
ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not
of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions. In Hamlet,
the death of Hamlet and Ophelia arouses us pity on them. And the process of revenge let us
have fear for whether Hamlet will be killed.. But the death of Claudius, Getrude, and Polonius
fills us with disgust. The feelings of pity, fear, and disgust reach the aesthetic effects.
B. Hamlet believes that although capable of suicide, most human beings choose to live, despite
the cruelty, pain, and injustice of the world. The uncertainty and dread of the afterlife makes
people choose to live and submit to the suffering of their lives .
the individual response to the works
許珍馨 89210093
From reading this Shakespeare's Hamlet, it makes me think about something important and interesting.
The product reflects human natural desires that bring a lot of unavoidable conflicts. 1. The author created
a particular and successful role Hamlet who lived in tragedy. He was a prince of Denmark. After his kindly
father's (the old king) death, he almost became crazy because his virtuous mother would marry to his
crafty uncle right in two months after king's death and spirit like his father told him the terrible fact that he
had been killed by his brother (Hamlet's uncle). What a tragedy! If you were Hamlet, what should you do?
Revenge at once or receive the bad result without prove to show his uncle's guilty. For Hamlet, he chose
to pretend to be crazy for finding the real fact and waited for a good chance to kill the uncle. At last, he
killed his evil uncle but he also lost his precious life. The unhappy ending shocked me very much
because I believed that the protagonist Hamlet would be successful to revenge, disclose the unnatural
murder and get his lover's love. This story gave e a big surprise and the complex character of Hamlet
attracted me very much. His internal world that was full of unsettled and unquiet also attracted the
audiences' heart. 2. Shakespeare's famous sentence: "Frailty, the name is woman!" It looks like very
suitable to every women at that time because they always live by depending on men and have no more
strength to protect themselves. It just likes Hamlet's mother whose husband was dead and so she wanted
to find another support immediately and Hamlet's lover Ophelia who obeyed her father's words and
orders not to receive Hamlet's love, but today it's not suitable to everyone since women are more
independent and confident in their own abilities. After finishing reading the fiction, I think that
Shakespeare was a great and wonderful writer who could write such a marvellous product "Hamlet" and
created many different roles to manifest their speical characters and internal thinking or desires.
Although it is a tragedy, it is real impressive.
the individual response to the works
王麗君 91110858
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I think although Hamlet is brilliance, his character of melancholic and
unstable nature of mind, the result finally is only sadness—he had
finished the revenge and he died. Since I had studied the same
tragedy—Oedipus, so I thought that Hamlet’s inability to act and
tendency toward melancholy reflection is a representative of “tragic
flaw”. By this tragic flaw, he needs to die at the end. This is an
accurate way of understanding the play.
If the end of this play is that Hamlet had finished his revenge and
became the king of Denmark. It would tally with the definition of
comedy in academic terms suggests that it begins in disharmony and
ends in harmony. So the outcome of this play is a comedy. Since the
best famous plays of Shakespeare are tragedies, so if we change the
end from sadness to happiness, maybe it is not becoming a famous
play. That will be against the original intention of Shakespeare.
the individual response to the works
洪若蓉 86210540
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Shakespeare is considered by most to be the greatest writer of all time, and Hamlet is without question
Shakespeare's greatest tragedy. Hamlet's a brilliant play and a masterpiece; it is certainly one of the
cornerstones of English literature. There are so many immortal phrases and lines in this play, the most
famous being "to be or not to be." At any rate, Hamlet is one of the most famous of all of Shakespeare's
works; only Romeo & Juliet really comes close.
Hamlet is the most complex of Shakespeare's many plays. Many of the themes covered are love vs hate,
action vs non-action, revenge, and jealousy. Hamlet discovers that "something is rotten in the state of
Denmark" when he encounters the ghost of his father, the King, who has recently been killed in battle.
From here, Hamlet goes on a search for the discovery of what happened to his father. He is deeply
shocked by his father's murder and his mother's betrayal, and that he is completely disillusioned with the
world and with life. However, Hamlet not only uncovers secrets of the past, but also the depths of his own
being.
I think this is quite true: For Hamlet, the difficult thing is to make a decision, to act. And if it is the case it
is because he doesn't feel life is really worth the effort. To be true to his father and to his own sense of
honor he has to act against his own inclination. But for him, the choice is not so simple. He has to feign
madness to be able to come out and do it. This is a way to escape responsibilities. And it is so difficult for
him to find the strength to act that the first time he acts, it is on an impulse and it is a total fiasco as he
kills the poor Polonius instead of his uncle. It is only after having gone away and come back, after
Ophelia's death, after having meditated again and again that he will finally accomplished his mission.
Moral dilemma, ethics, deceit, virtue, honor, revenge... these are all things that make a story classic, not
rustic. Here is not some cheap revenge drama where the hero eventually triumphs in glory. Here is a man
spider-entangled with puzzle, here is man truly confused by life's perplexity.
Hamlet arouse our sympathy and draw us into his sphere, cheering for him, rooting for him, praying for
his eventual conquest of lechers for we all at one time or another have experienced similar ideas floating
in our cosmos. When he fails life's omnipresent hazard strikes us in greater preponderance thus causing
us think more deeply on our existence.
the individual response to the works
辛明珠 92110576
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Hamlet is one of the Shakespeare's most famous four tragedies. It is written from A.D. 1601 to A.D. 1602.
Its meaning is the most penetrative and art is the most perfect play. Many litterateurs, critics, scholars
think Hamlet is the great work of Shakespeare. The plot describes Denmark prince, Hamlet, revenged his
father story.
First, from “love” and “incest” start, Hamlet’s father (king) murdered by Hamlet’s uncle. Hamlet's mother
remarries with his uncle quickly. Later, when the king’s soul appears, Hamlet played the fool to revenge.
Among, the third screen explores the meaning of “life and death”. It’s monologue: ”To be or not to be,
that is the question” . It’s also known in Western literature.
As Hamlet's sanity becomes a relic of the past, his reasoning and actions reveal a different side to this
character and make the audience doubt his uprightness. For example, Hamlet's murdering of Polonius
without even confirming that it was, in fact, Polonius. This deed alone seems uncharacteristic and
spontaneous in nature, but it is soon followed by others of similar severity. Another such action was
Hamlet's malice towards the king, and his desire to kill him. While the Hamlet from the previous section
would leave Claudius to his certain fate, the new Hamlet hunts the king seeking revenge. Finally, Hamlet's
thirst after Laertes' life completes the ambiguity of his character. Even though Hamlet killed Laertes'
father, in his rash lack of inhibitions, he sought to battle Laertes. This action pushes him over the top and
makes the reader truly skeptical of Hamlet's true self.
All of the confusion over Hamlet's true nature and the ambiguity of his character is the result of
Shakespeare's clever manipulation of his characters to implicitly articulate his ideas. He makes the point
that because you cannot know someone's thoughts, there is no way for you to know their true self.
Though somewhat cynical Shakespeare's views are well thought out and clearly illustrated through
Hamlet.
In conclusion, Shakespeare used Hamlet's ambiguous nature as propaganda for his opinions. Almost
every kind, noble, or gentle act Hamlet commits is coupled with one lacking morality. This analysis of
Shakespeare is a testament to his superb control of his characters down to the smallest detail. Hamlet’s
character, his thinking is penetrative and his heart is full of anxiety. This work, Hamlet, has much charm
so far. It influences deeply Western culture and produces exploration in psychology.
the individual response to the works
洪石良 91110563
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We all know that Hamlet is one of four great Shakespearean tragedies. Hamlet's delay in revenging his
father and killing Claudius is no doubt a central problem of the play. It is Shakespeare's most complex
and most difficult play. After reading this play, two points come into my mind as follows:
A. the clash between old and new politic forces: The ghost presents a figure of antiquity that contrast
strongly with the more modern Denmark ruled by Claudius. The image of Old Hamlet is responding as the
old warrior, wearing complete armor and holding a truncheon. Claudius represents the voice of this new
society; he is the perfect new politician and stands in contrast to Old Hamlet. This is evidenced strongly
by their choice of words: Old Hamlet is the old Senecan tradition and uses repretion, Claudius uses prose.
In true political vein, Claudius' words flow smothly but his meaning runs counter to the words. This
conflict between the new world which has defeated the old world is made clear by Hamlet, who comments,
"That thou, dead corpse, again in complete steel".
B. the competition between classic and popularity: Dante and Shakespeare are the center of the Western
literature becaause they excell all other Western writers in cognitive acuity, linguistic energy, and power
of invention. Just as Dante surpasses all other writers, before or since, in emphasizing an ultimate
changelessness in each of us, a fixed position that we must occupy in eternity, so Shakespeare
surpasses all others in evidencing a psychology of mutability. He originates the depicition of self-change
on the basis of self-overhearing. Hamlet, the leading self-overhearer in all literature becomes this most
remarkable of all literary innovations. We go around now talking to ourselves endlessly, overhearing what
we say, then ponding and acting upon what we have learned. And the audiences find out that
Shakespeare represents them upon the stage. Shakespeare has been the people'spoet, even as Dante has
been the poets' poet., who is not for the common people. Then Dante alienates the audience. Shakespeare
holds almost any audience, upper or lower class And Shakespeare is vertually unique in simultaneously
manifesting both difficult and popular art.
At any rate, national surges are present in all eras. The unity of a great era is generally an illusion. The
clash between old and new politic forces inevitably goes on in the future. It stands for for the persuit of
ideal life is the major object of human beings. On the other hand, we can realize the trend of literature or
arts. It is how to simultaneously manifest both classic and popularity.
the individual response to the works
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Hamlet wants the playlet to expose Claudius' guilt. To do that, it must be realistic, not stylized. It must be
intensely, naturally affecting and dramatic, not theatrically showy or melodramatic. It must get to the point
and push it home to the heart, not bandy about with excessive oratory. And this is all that Hamlet is
arguing for in his injunctions to the players. This is what he desperately need them to do, especially in
this performance. That it is pretty good advice generally for acting is more beside the point. Certainly
none of it is a guideline for real life human behavior, his own or anyone else's.
His own behaviour during the performance of the playlet is not a song and dance act. It is his natural
human reaction to the performance and the circumstances. I think Hamlet is nervous from the start of the
playlet. Obviously, its outcome matters so much. As he sees it, his whole future depends and turns on it.
He may get to be justified in killing his uncle and king. Or he may not get his proof, in which case he still
wouldn't know; or he would have to settle back, maybe eventually forgive his mother, get back with
Ophelia, wait and be elected king when Claudius dies in 20-odd years. Judging from his reaction after the
playlet, I think he wants the former. Needless to say he's on edge, which explains the febrile sparkiness of
his conversation with Ophelia, on whom of course he is hardly concentrating even when speaking to her.
He's anxiously engrossed in watching his mother's and his uncle's reactions to the playlet.
Then, yes, towards the crux of the issue he starts joining in. I doubt its that he thinks or feels he should. I
imagine he can't help himself. Because while he is anxiously watching his uncle's reaction to a - by his
own injunctions - very realistic enactment of the murder of his father, HE IS ALSO HIMSELF WATCHING A
REALISTIC ENACTMENT OF HIS OWN FATHER'S MURDER. Furthermore, with 'This is one Lucianus,
NEPHEW to the King", Hamlet is surreptitiously letting Claudius know he plans to kill Claudius if Claudius
did the murder. That's a bold step. Hamlet adored his father. That bastard Claudius did to his father what
that bastard Lucianus is doing to that poor king just there on the stage. Ophelia, unaware of what's going
on, keeps trying to talk to him, distract him, even reprove him. His mother is getting uncomfortable,
distressed: she deserves it, but he loves her. Polonius (no doubt) is looking at him like he's a half-wit.
Claudius is ... or isn't he? ... getting hot under the collar.
Nervousness, anxiety, expectation, hope, irritation, defiance, grief, horror, love, hate ... . Maybe you can
do the math. I find it all a soul-crushing equation.
reference (either books or websites)
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相關書籍：SHAKESPEARE MADE EASY "HAMLET" (BARRONS)
Modern English Version Side-by-side with Full Origianl Text edited and rendered into
modern English by Alan Durband
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http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet/context.html
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http://www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/hamlet/about.shtml
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http://library.thinkquest.org/19539/hamlet.htm#back
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http://facstaff.bloomu.edu/hickey/to%201650%20lecture%2013.htm
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http://fajardo-acosta.com/worldlit/shakespeare/
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1) books:莎士比亞故事集(作者:Charles Mary Lamb, 譯者:陳敬旻出版社:寂天文化)
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2) websites :http:// web.cwoc.ufl.edu/ owl/archives/2003_08_29/messages/407.html
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http://www.allshakespeare.com/hamlet/
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet