Simplicity In Hamlet

Leonardo da Vinci, a notoriously talented artist and prominent figure during the Italian Renaissance, stated: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” (da Vinci). Simplicity, as a characteristic, presents an intriguing class of elegance that is immensely admirable. In modern society, individuals over-emphasize the complexities of living in their search for recognition. Humanity becomes entangled in the materialistic aspect of life, in turn, producing a highly intricate and often, confusing environment. With that said, there becomes an increasing fascination with simplicity, possessing a compelling and harmonious beauty in a frenzied world. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the ingenuity in the portrayal of women exceptionally embodies the …show more content…
Eclipsed by her lascivious weakness, critics fail to acknowledge Gertrude as a knowledgeably concise character. In Bloom’s Shakespeare Through the Ages, Bloom highlights the vitality in examining “the lines Shakespeare has chosen” to gain an understanding of the intelligent mind that is Gertrude (321). The Queen, while indisputably lacking lines in the play, speaks with extraordinary succinctness: “If she is not profound, she is certainly never silly” (Bloom 321). From the onset of the play, Gertrude is described as capable of guilty insight in professing the reality of Hamlet’s disturbance: “I doubt it is no other but the main / His father’s death and our o’erhasty marriage” (Ham.2.2.56-57). Undeniably, Queen Gertrude’s statement contrasts that of an unintelligently ignorant being. The Queen recognizes the flaw in her marriage and is remarkably concise in diagnosing Hamlet’s depression. Moreover, Gertrude’s concision in speech conceives an immediate distinction to both Claudius and Polonius. Whereas the Queen exhibits proficiency in pinpointing the source of Hamlet’s distemper, the King and Lord Chamberlain disregard the Queen’s suggestion to unnecessarily search for a more complex origin of his