William Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ is a piece of literature with the ability to transcend time and remain relevant four hundred years after its creation. The language Shakespeare’s characters use allows for conjecture into the present day; the titular character utilising language to lure both character and audience into his madness - true or feigned. The themes explored within are complex, like the inner conflict of Hamlet between thought and action, whether to be rash or rational. It is the exploration of these themes, in particular Hamlet’s quest for revenge that allows for the intrinsic construction of a plot interweaving numerous retribution threads that drives the play towards its devastating conclusion.
The language of the play ‘Hamlet’ is perhaps its most crucial element, inviting discussion about an array of aspects of the play - Gertrude’s motives and the existence of the Ghost key examples. However, it is best in the journey of Hamlet’s madness that the crucial role language performs in the play is best …show more content…
Hamlet is torn between his course of action almost immediately after deciding upon it, and the modern man’s seeming inability to undertake an ancient task despite his promise to do so is an integral theme of the play. During his first encounter with the Ghost during the fifth scene of the first Act, Hamlet declares do away with reason - ‘wipe away all trivial fond records,/ All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past’ (Act 1, Scene 5, 99-100) and instead fixating himself on his course revenge, ‘thy commandment all alone shall live...I have sworn’t’. (Act 1, Scene 5, 102, 112) Within eighty lines however, Hamlet is questioning his promise - ‘O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right!’ (Act 1, Scene 5, 189-90) - and thus laying the foundations for the inner tussle to
The language of the play ‘Hamlet’ is perhaps its most crucial element, inviting discussion about an array of aspects of the play - Gertrude’s motives and the existence of the Ghost key examples. However, it is best in the journey of Hamlet’s madness that the crucial role language performs in the play is best …show more content…
Hamlet is torn between his course of action almost immediately after deciding upon it, and the modern man’s seeming inability to undertake an ancient task despite his promise to do so is an integral theme of the play. During his first encounter with the Ghost during the fifth scene of the first Act, Hamlet declares do away with reason - ‘wipe away all trivial fond records,/ All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past’ (Act 1, Scene 5, 99-100) and instead fixating himself on his course revenge, ‘thy commandment all alone shall live...I have sworn’t’. (Act 1, Scene 5, 102, 112) Within eighty lines however, Hamlet is questioning his promise - ‘O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right!’ (Act 1, Scene 5, 189-90) - and thus laying the foundations for the inner tussle to