Polonius

Hamlet has been performed and recreated in countless ways. Each variation holding a different experience for the audience through the creative choices that the directors make. The three versions of Hamlet each showcase a new and unique interpretation of Hamlet’s famous soliloquy, “To be or not to be”. Franco Zeffirelli's adaptation of Hamlet released in 1990, Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation in 1996, and lastly the latest modern adaption out of the three, Michael Almereyda’s released in 2000.…

Throughout literature, authors manipulate their characters in certain manners to help the audience discover their identities and their personalities. One way that Shakespeare presents Iago’s character in Othello is through Iago’s sacrifices throughout the play. Shakespeare communicates Iago’s pure craving of revenge through what Iago is willing to give up. Iago is willing to sacrifice all the honor that is and could ever be associated with his name for the simple idea of Othello’s downfall. As…

Shakespeare has written many plays that seem to all revolve around a common theme of all the main characters suffering with an inner conflict. In Hamlet, hamlet has undergone a series of difficult events that cause him to so some questionable actions. A common question asked in regards to this play is “is Hamlet's character stable or unstable?” Being unstable consists of sudden mood changes, lack of emotional control and being highly violently reactive. Hamlet’s character shows none of these…

Out of all the people around us, our family and friends have the capability of hurting us the most because we would drop our guard around them. Resulting in the loss of Hamlet’s trust in his family and friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s betrayal, among other people’s, forces Hamlet to act overly cautious of his surroundings when planning for his father’s revenge. This sets the play up to end in tragedy when he misses opportunities and makes mistakes. Initially, when Rosencrantz and…

It is common across many Shakespearean tragedies for at least one character to die; in Hamlet, five characters are murdered. These five (King Hamlet, Hamlet Jr., Laertes, Gertrude, and Claudius) all die as a result of being poisoned by Claudius, directly or transitively. The repeated use of poison across Shakespeare's plays is not a coincidence, and when Shakespeare uses poison in Hamlet, he sets up a strong association of poison to the corruption in man. More specifically, Shakespeare uses the…

To determine what Robin should do, Robin must assess his areas of weakness. First, I would hold a meeting between Robin and his most trusted top members, his lieutenants, to discuss the issues, to brainstorm ideas for solutions, and to develop a good strategic plan. To begin with Robin’s team of Merry Men have outgrown the forest and Robin should either downsize or franchise. It is my opinion that franchising would be the best answer. If Robin seeks new forests to expand the business it will…

In Shakespeare’s 1 King Henry IV, the three main settings: the castle, tavern, and the battlefield, are used to represent very different lifestyles, which all play a vital role in the portrayal of certain themes within the play. The castle is normally associated with King Henry, duty, and power, whereas the tavern is populated by drunks, low-lives, and lackluster endeavors. It is also where Hal spends the majority of his time. These two setting cause major conflict between Hal and King Henry as…

Betrayal is a common human emotion, and it is human nature for people to want to seek revenge. The Tragedy of Prince Hamlet written by William Shakespeare, is a classic tragic drama. This play is a perfect example of how far someone is willing to go to seek vengeance. Prince Hamlet seeks revenge for the murder of his father, the king by his brother Claudius. William Shakespeare displays the extreme length someone will go to seek revenge, even if it means taking a person’s life. When the ghost…

The movie “Hamlet” is a story of betrayal, vengeance and insanity. The story reveals how betrayal and vengeance led to madness and horrible deaths. The story of Hamlet took place in a brooding castle at the eleventh century Denmark. The story is about Prince Hamlet who seeks revenge against his mother Gertrude and his uncle Claudius for the death of his father. Hamlet was angered by his mother marrying his uncle shortly after his father’s death. He was even more enraged by discovering the…

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, written in the beginning of the 17th century, concern’s itself with the consequences of human frailty, be it mental or moral. The concern is primarily presented using the nature of tragedies, presenting death as the most austere repercussion of decrepitude. Refined and impactful word choices embellish the theme of death with images of rot, decay, and nature. In addition to death, the moral frailty of Claudius, leads to societal corruption, and the mental frailty of…