Essay Ambivalence and Death in Shakespeares Hamlet

In act IV, scene III, Shakespeare addresses the play’s themes and messages; those being ambivalence and how people are one and the same in the end of life. Hamlet speaks in an eccentric riddle form but there are underlying messages communicated through Hamlet’s craziness and Claudius’ confusion. The ideas are conversed through Claudius and Hamlet and convey the morals of the drama, Hamlet. Shakespeare also takes the liberty in this section to show how diverse and opposite the characters of Claudius and Hamlet are by differentiating their literary devices. Although Hamlet and Claudius are related to one another by the law and by both of their needs to achieve self-fulfillment; In act IV, scene III, it is clearly conveyed how the†¦show more content†¦Ã¯ Å  In addition to the sentence length and the content, Shakespeare shows the distinct difference between Hamlet’s quick thinking wittiness and Claudius’ slow uncertainty. Shakespeare dictated in the script that Claudius was to talk with â€Å"[fiery quickness]† (48) during the dialogue where he is telling Hamlet off; this section of lines is inferring that Claudius’ lines have been delayed and not very powerful up to that point. In this particular scene, it is quite apparent that Claudius does not know what to make of Hamlet’s riddles. For instance, â€Å"(To the attendants) Go seek him there.† (41), states that Claudius is quite slow on the uptake. Hamlet just told Claudius that Polonius’ body was â€Å"up the stairs into the lobby† (40- 41) which was up in heaven or hell, whichever the reader chose. Since Claudius tells his servants to go find him there, it shows that he is not able to grasp Hamlet’s intended meaning, which is bi-polar opposite of Hamlet’s witty character. Another device Shakespeare crafted into the script to highlight their differences was to have Hamlet speak about the â€Å"Fat King† and the â€Å"Lean Beggar† (26). Both the adjectives and the nouns are opposites, which subliminally spotlight the differences in this segment of theShow MoreRelated Alienation in Hamlet Essay745 Words   |  3 PagesAlienation in Hamlet In Hamlet, Shakespeare depicts alienation among the younger characters. Trusting no one, Claudius, the new king, and Polonius send out spies to obtain information from others to assure Claudiuss rule of Denmark runs smoothly. Claudius killed Old Hamlet for the rule of Denmark and he fears that Hamlet might know of the murder. Both Claudius and Polonius spy on Hamlet to find out if he knows of the murder. Polonius sends his daughter, Ophelia, out to also gain informationRead MoreHamlet as Tragic Hero Essay1361 Words   |  6 PagesHamlet, the titled character of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, William Shakespeare’s most prominent play, is arguably the most complex, relatable, and deep character created by Shakespeare. 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