The Tragedy Of Hamlet Essays (914 words) - Characters In Hamlet

The Tragedy of Hamlet Annonymous Disillusionment. Depression. Despair. These are the burning emotions churning in young Hamlet's soul as he attempts to come to terms with his father's death and his mother's incestuous, illicit marriage. While Hamlet tries to pick up the pieces of his shattered idealism, he consciously embarks on a quest to seek the truth hidden in Elsinore; this, in stark contrast to Claudius' fervent attempts to obscure the truth of murder. Deception versus truth; illusion versus reality. In the play, Prince Hamlet is constantly having to differentiate amongst them. However, there is always an exception to the rule, and in this case, the exception lies in Act 2, Scene 2, where an honest conversation (sans the gilded trappings of deceit) takes place between Hamlet and Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern. Via the use of prose and figurative language, Shakespeare utilizes the passage to illustrate Hamlet's view of the cosmos and mankind. Throughout the play, the themes of illusion and mendaciousness have been carefully developed. The entire royal Danish court is ensnared in a web of espionage, betrayal, and lies. Not a single man speaks his mind, nor addresses his purpose clearly. As Polonius puts it so perfectly: And thus do we of wisdom and of reach^? By indirections find directions out Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 71-3 The many falsehoods and deceptions uttered in Hamlet are expressed through eloquent, formal, poetic language (iambic pentameter), tantamount to an art form. If deceit is a painted, ornate subject then, its foil of truth is simple and unvarnished. Accordingly, when the pretenses of illusion are discarded in Act 2, Scene 2, the language is written in direct prose. Addressing Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet pleads with them to deliver up honest speech about the intent of their arrival: [offer up] Anything but to th' purpose. Act 2, Scene 2, Line 300 In a gesture of extreme significance, in a quote complementary to Polonius' aforementioned one, Hamlet demands: Be even and direct with me whether you were sent for or no. Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 310-11 Being the bumbling fools they are, Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern disclose their intentions and purposes to Hamlet, revealing the King and Queen's instructions. Thus does truth prevail in this passage. For this reason, the whole passage is devoid of the artful poetic devices that are used in the better portion of the play. The recurring motif of corruption also appears in the passage. Due to the wicked internal proceedings in the state of Denmark (e.g. murder, incest), Shakespeare implies that the whole state is soiled, which in turn has a direct negative consequence in the grand universal scheme of things. Imagery of warped and distasteful plants, in place of the traditional aesthetically correct beautiful flowers in a garden, serves to further reinforce the degeneration theme: 'Tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature possess it merely. Act 1, Scene 2 Essentially, all of life, and all that was good and beautiful in life (e.g. the garden) is sullied. Hamlet, the disillusioned idealist, continues with the motif when he disheartenedly declares: the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory^? -Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 321-2 [the air] why, it appeareth nothing to me but a fouled and pestilent congregation of vapors. -Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 325-6 The above lines represent Hamlet's cosmic view on the planet. He finds the world to be empty and lifeless, dirty and diseased, and his particular place in it to be desolate and lonely. Indeed, he feels so isolated and entrapped in his native land that he says: [the world is a prison] A goodly one, in which there are many confines, wards, and dungeons, Denmark being one o' th' worst. -Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 264-6 This view of the world exemplifies the micro/macro concept, where Denmark is the micro manifestation of a prison for our hero. The taint of micro Denmark leads to repercussions that in turn affect the whole universal order, leading to the consequence of the world itself becoming the macro manifestation of a prison in Hamlet's eyes. Further along in the same paragraph, Hamlet offers up his opinion on man, extolling his virtues and excellent qualities (what a piece of work is man^?). Yet, it is tremendously ironic, that the ideal type of man Hamlet is describing is nowhere to be found in the play. Hamlet himself is indecisive, unable to take action, Claudius is a slave to his lusts and passions, Polonius is a simpering, servile old fool, and Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern are mindless ninnies. Quite simply, no true man as Hamlet describes him exists in the play. As a result of this dismal realization,

Prepositional Phrases Sentence Building Exercise

Prepositional Phrases Sentence Building Exercise In this exercise, you will continue to apply the basic strategies outlined in Introduction to Sentence Combining.  Combine the sentences in each set into a single clear sentence containing at least one prepositional phrase. Omit words that are needlessly repeated, but dont leave out any important details.   After you have completed the exercise, compare your new sentences with the original sentences on page two. Keep in mind that many combinations are possible, and in some cases, you may prefer your own sentences to the original versions. A mouse darted.It darted across the salad bar.This happened during the luncheon.We traveled this summer.We traveled by train.We traveled from Biloxi.We traveled to Dubuque.The convertible swerved, crashed, and caromed.It swerved off the road.It crashed through the guardrail.It caromed off a maple tree.Mick planted seeds.He planted them in his garden.He did this after the quarrel.The quarrel was with Mr. Jimmy.Grandpa dropped his teeth.His teeth were false.His teeth dropped into a glass.There was prune juice in the glass.Lucy played.She was behind the sofa.She was with her friend.Her friend was imaginary.They played for hours.There was a man.He wore a chicken costume.He dashed across the field.He did this before the ballgame.The ballgame was on Sunday afternoon.A man stood, looking down.He stood upon a railroad bridge.The bridge was in northern Alabama.He was looking down into the water.The water was twenty feet below.The water was swift.The gray-flannel fog closed off the Salinas Val ley.It was the fog of winter.The fog was high.The Salinas Valley was closed off from the sky.And the Salinas Valley was closed off from all the rest of the world. I climbed to my perch.I did this one night.The night was hot.The night was in the summer.The night was in 1949.It was my usual perch.My perch was in the press box.The press box was cramped.The press box was above the stands.The stands were wooden.These were the stands of the baseball park.The baseball park was in Lumberton, North Carolina. After you have completed the sentence building  exercise on  page one, compare your new sentences with the sample combinations below. Keep in mind that many combinations are possible, and in some  cases, you may prefer your own sentences to the original versions. Sample Combinations During the luncheon, a mouse darted across the salad bar.This summer we traveled by train from Biloxi to Dubuque.The convertible swerved off the road, crashed through the guardrail, and caromed off a maple tree.After his quarrel with Mr. Jimmy, Mick planted seeds in his garden.Grandpa dropped his false teeth into a glass of prune juice.Lucy played  behind  the couch for hours with her imaginary friend.Before the ballgame on Sunday afternoon, a man in a chicken costume dashed across the field.A man stood upon a railroad bridge in northern Alabama, looking down into the swift waters twenty feet below.​  (Ambrose Bierce, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge)The high gray-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world. (John Steinbeck, The Chrysanthemums)One hot night in the summer of 1949, I climbed to my usual perch in the cramped press box above the wooden stands of the baseball park in Lumberton, North Carolina.  (Tom W icker, Baseball)