hamlet imagery essay

Imagery in Hamlet Essay

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Shakespeare uses dense imagery to reinforce the grand rhetoric with which he builds the world of the play Hamlet. Hamlet is one of the greatest works of Shakespeare because of its timeless thematic concerns. Elaboration on such themes is made possible by corresponding vivid imageries in a high poetry.

Use of imagery is organic in such a way that the nature of the theme goes along with the constituents of imagery. At the beginning of the play, the reason for Hamlet’s suffering is his father’s death and his mother’s hasty marriage with Claudius, his uncle.

His mother’s hasty marriage hints at the triumph of lust in her which gave in to Claudius’ advances. It’s shown by this imagery when Hamlet says, “ she would hang on him as if increase of appetite had grown by what it fed on .” Hamlet describes his disgust at the mismatch between his mother and Claudius when he says that their marriage is like “ Hyperion to a satyr. ”

When Laertes confronts a mad Ophelia, he expresses his griefs saying “ O heat, dry up my brains! Tears seven times salt, burn out the sense and virtue of mine eyes.”

The corrupt state of Denmark, the political scenario which is primarily marked by the betrayal of Claudius which eventually destabilises the whole kingdom and the corrupt state of inner selves of certain characters in the play is described by the imagery of disease .

Its severity is described by Hamlet when he says that “ the air, look you, this brave o’erhanging firmament this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours .”

The whole imagery is that of some disease. Similarly, when Hamlet and Polonius are talking about honesty, Hamlet talks how rare it is and the imagery he uses is “ for if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a god kissing carrion.. .” 

Throughout the play, there is extensive use of animal imagery too in order to show the besti-ality in the nature of human beings. Through such imagery, one relates to critical situations portrayed in the play.

by William Shakespeare

Hamlet imagery, gertrude's bed.

After learning about his uncle's murder of his father, Hamlet obsesses over his mother's sexuality, as she has married his uncle at the beginning of the play. He on multiple occasions describes the bed they share together, painting a portrait of "incestuous sheets" that have been "stewed in corruption" (1.2-3.4). Hamlet uses sensorial imagery in his descriptions of the bed in order to cast it as disgusting, unnatural, and repulsive – just like Gertrude and Claudius's marriage.

Life as Violent

In his famous "To be or not to be" speech, Hamlet portrays life as insufferable, comparing it to being attacked by an assailant, being drowned by a sea, and being whipped and abused by time itself. This imagery of violence, suffering, and bodily harm represents Hamlet's psychological state to which other characters are not privy; Hamlet uses these metaphors to underscore how psychological conflict generates real and unimaginable pain.

Alas, Poor Yorick

One image in particular has been lifted from the play and used, even to this day, to represent the art of theater altogether: that of Hamlet holding up Yorick's skull and contemplating the nature of mortality. In the play, Hamlet thinks about the inevitability of death, using corporeal imagery to convey the bleak realization that everyone eventually decays in the ground. Beyond the play itself, however, this image has, in popular culture, become associated with theatrical performance more generally, a testament to the play's enduring themes and questions about humanity.

Ophelia's Death

It is Gertrude who reports Ophelia's death, describing how she fell into a brook and drowned. The description of Ophelia's body is notably passive, as Gertrude describes her clothing (rather than her body) as that which floated to the surface and eventually pulled Ophelia underwater. This imagery of Ophelia as a "mermaid" buffeted about by her dress further emphasizes her lack of autonomy throughout the play, as even in her death she is at the mercy of the garments she wears (4.7).

Hamlet Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Hamlet is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Closely examine Hamlet’s most famous soliloquy on page 137 (lines 57-91). Summarize the arguments he is contemplating in this speech.

What act and scene are you referring to?

Describe Fortinbras based on what Horatio says.

Do you mean in Act 1? Based upon Horatio's description, young Fortinbras is bold, inexperienced, and willing to do anything to regain his father's lost lands.

Why is a clock mentioned in Hamlet. There weren’t any clock’s in Hanlet’s time.

Yes I've heard this question before. This is called an anachronism. It is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement. In this case, there were clocks in Shakespeare’s time but not in Hamlet's. Shakespeare wrote it in because he thought it...

Study Guide for Hamlet

Hamlet study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Hamlet
• Hamlet Summary
• Hamlet Video
• Character List

Essays for Hamlet

Hamlet essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

• Through Rose Colored Glasses: How the Victorian Age Shifted the Focus of Hamlet
• Q to F7: Mate; Hamlet's Emotions, Actions, and Importance in the Nunnery Scene
• Before the Storm
• Haunted: Hamlet's Relationship With His Dead Father
• Heliocentric Hamlet: The Astronomy of Hamlet

Lesson Plan for Hamlet

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Hamlet
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Hamlet Bibliography

E-Text of Hamlet

The Hamlet e-text contains the full text of the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

• List of Characters

Wikipedia Entries for Hamlet

• Introduction

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Imagery in Hamlet | William Shakespeare

From disease and decay to gardens and weeds, the imagery in Hamlet serves as a powerful tool to convey the themes and emotions that drive this tragic tale. The recurring motif of disease, rot, and decay is vividly depicted throughout the play.

Shakespeare masterfully uses this imagery to illustrate the moral corruption that infects the characters and society as a whole. In Act 1, Scene 2, Hamlet laments “The time is out of joint; O cursed spite/ That ever I was born to set it right!” Here we witness Hamlet’s despair at the moral decay he perceives in Denmark—his metaphorical portrayal of a world plagued by disease.

Contrasting with this grim imagery is the symbol of gardens and weeds found within Hamlet. Gardens represent order, beauty, and harmony—qualities sought after but seemingly elusive in this tragedy.

Claudius’ treachery has tainted Denmark’s metaphorical garden with weeds that threaten its very existence. These weeds symbolize deceit, betrayal, and moral corruption.

As Ophelia mourns her father’s death in Act 4, Scene 5, she sings: “There’s rosemary—that’s for remembrance; pray,/ love remember.” Here we witness Ophelia clinging desperately to memories of better times amidst a garden overrun by weeds. The presence of ghosts and supernatural elements adds another layer of captivating imagery in Hamlet.

The ghostly apparition of King Hamlet looms large over his son’s consciousness throughout the play. This ethereal presence serves as an unsettling reminder of unfinished business from beyond the grave—a haunting symbol that drives young Hamlet on his quest for revenge against his uncle Claudius.

Ears and hearing play a crucial role in the imagery in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The characters are constantly listening and eavesdropping, fueling suspicion and intrigue.

From Polonius’ famous advice to Laertes, “Give thy thoughts no tongue,” to Hamlet’s plea to Horatio to “report me and my cause aright,” the power of words and conversations takes center stage. Shakespeare skillfully uses this auditory imagery to highlight the importance of communication in unraveling the truth.

Eyes and sight also hold great significance within the imagery of Hamlet. The characters’ ability or inability to see becomes a metaphor for their understanding or ignorance of reality.

Claudius, for instance, is acutely aware of his own guilt but remains blind to his wife’s knowledge of his misdeeds. Meanwhile, Hamlet yearns for proof before taking action, as he exclaims in Act 3, Scene 2: “I’ll take the ghost’s word for a thousand pound!” This visual imagery emphasizes the themes of perception versus reality that pervade the play.

Stay tuned as we explore more captivating examples of imagery found within Shakespeare’s masterpiece, Hamlet! From light and darkness to theatre and masks, we will continue our voyage through this wondrous tapestry that brings this tragic tale alive with vivid imagination and poetic beauty.

Table of Contents

Disease Rot and Decay

Disease Rot and Decay In one of Shakespeare’s most iconic tragedies, imagery in Hamlet plays a crucial role in illustrating the theme of disease, rot, and decay. Throughout the play, Shakespeare expertly employs vivid language and powerful metaphors to convey the moral corruption and degradation present in the kingdom of Denmark.

From the very beginning of the play, we are introduced to an image of disease with the appearance of King Hamlet’s ghost. The ghost is described as “incomplete” and “sickly,” draped in armor that reflects his state of unrest.

This spectral figure serves as a symbol for the diseased state of Denmark itself, plagued by corruption and moral decay. Hamlet himself becomes a vessel for this imagery, as he becomes obsessed with avenging his father’s murder.

His famous soliloquy, “O that this too too solid flesh would melt,” showcases his anguish over the tainted state of society. He compares humanity to an “unweeded garden” where vice thrives unchecked and virtue struggles to find purchase.

Shakespeare further explores disease imagery through his portrayal of Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle and stepfather. Claudius is likened to a “serpent” or a “poisonous weed” infecting not only Gertrude but also polluting the entire kingdom with his treachery.

The motif of disease is heightened when we witness Claudius attempting to pray for forgiveness – he acknowledges that his sins have turned heaven into a “prison” for him. The theme intensifies when Ophelia descends into madness after being rejected by Hamlet.

Her songs are filled with references to death, decay, and sickness. In her fragile state, she symbolizes both her own mental deterioration as well as the societal corrosion occurring around her.

Notably, it is through this pervasive imagery that Shakespeare demonstrates how corruption festers within individuals and society at large. The imagery in Hamlet serves as a powerful reminder of the consequences of moral decay, urging the audience to reflect on the destructive nature of corruption and its potential to rot away at the very foundations of a kingdom.

Gardens and Weeds

Gardens and Weeds In the vast tapestry of imagery in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, one recurring motif that stands out is the contrast between gardens and weeds.

This imagery serves as a metaphor for the state of Denmark, reflecting the decay and corruption that permeate the political landscape. By examining this motif, we gain insight into the larger themes of power, morality, and the consequences of unchecked ambition.

Throughout the play, gardens symbolize order and harmony. They represent a carefully cultivated space where beauty flourishes and life thrives.

This imagery is highlighted in Queen Gertrude’s lamentation over Ophelia’s madness, as she compares her to “a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.” Here, the garden represents innocence and purity. Conversely, weeds serve as symbols of disorder and decay.

They are emblematic of the moral corruption that infects Elsinore Castle. When describing his uncle Claudius’ rise to power after murdering King Hamlet, Prince Hamlet likens him to a “weed” that has overtaken a once fertile garden.

This comparison underscores Claudius’ usurpation of authority and his ability to manipulate circumstances for his own gain. The motif of gardens versus weeds also reflects on individual characters within the play.

For instance, Polonius can be seen as an embodiment of both aspects: he presents himself as an esteemed courtier but is ultimately revealed to be deceitful and manipulative. His moral ambiguity is mirrored in his famous line “To thine own self be true,” which suggests both authenticity and opportunism.

Furthermore, Ophelia’s descent into madness can be interpreted through this imagery as well. As she loses touch with reality following her father’s death and Hamlet’s rejection, she becomes like a trampled flower amidst a field overrun by weeds.

Her mental deterioration mirrors the decay in Denmark itself. Ultimately, through Shakespeare’s use of the garden and weed imagery, we are provided with a vivid depiction of the moral decay and corruption that plagues the kingdom of Denmark in Hamlet.

This imagery serves to heighten the audience’s understanding of the destructive consequences that arise from unchecked ambition and immoral actions. It reminds us that even within seemingly idyllic landscapes, malevolence can take root and thrive, causing chaos and tragedy.

Ghost and Supernatural

The ghostly presence and supernatural elements in Hamlet play a significant role in enhancing the overall imagery in Shakespeare’s masterpiece. Throughout the play, the ghost of King Hamlet appears to his son, Prince Hamlet, and becomes a pivotal character that drives the plot forward. The presence of the ghost creates an eerie atmosphere, signaling a disruption in the natural order of things.

It serves as a physical embodiment of death and serves as a constant reminder of mortality. The imagery associated with the ghost is often described as haunting and spectral, adding to its otherworldly nature.

Shakespeare employs vivid language to bring out the supernatural qualities of the ghost. The description of its appearance as “in his habit as he lived” indicates that it resembles King Hamlet when he was alive.

This visual imagery helps to establish a sense of familiarity for Prince Hamlet while also heightening the chilling effect it has on him. Furthermore, Shakespeare intertwines elements of horror with religious connotations through this supernatural presence.

The appearance of ghosts during this time period was widely associated with sin or unfinished business on earth. By incorporating such beliefs into the play, Shakespeare adds depth to both the characters and their motivations.

In addition to creating an atmosphere filled with suspense and mystery, the supernatural elements also serve as a catalyst for action within the play. The revelation from King Hamlet’s ghost about his murder propels Prince Hamlet into seeking revenge against his uncle Claudius.

This conflict between duty and morality amplifies both internal conflicts within characters and external tensions throughout various scenes. Moreover, through this element of supernatural imagery, Shakespeare explores themes related to corruption and deceit.

The ghost represents an authority figure who exposes hidden truths about Claudius’ treachery in murdering him and marrying Queen Gertrude. This revelation sparks a chain reaction within the narrative that exposes other forms of corruption within Elsinore Castle.

Shakespeare masterfully utilizes imagery related to ghosts and the supernatural in Hamlet to create an atmosphere of dread and intrigue. By incorporating elements of horror and religious beliefs, he adds depth to the characters’ motivations and actions.

The ghost acts as a catalyst for both internal and external conflicts, driving the plot forward and shedding light on various forms of corruption within the play. Through these vivid descriptions, Shakespeare’s imagery in Hamlet captivates audiences and underscores the timeless themes explored within this tragic tale.

Ears and Hearing

Ears and Hearing When diving into the rich tapestry of imagery in Hamlet, one cannot overlook the importance of ears and hearing.

Shakespeare expertly weaves this motif throughout the play to highlight the power of perception and communication, while also delving into deeper themes of deception and manipulation. From the very beginning, we are introduced to this theme as King Hamlet’s ghost beckons to his son, urging him to “give ear” to his chilling tale.

This encounter sets the stage for a story where listening becomes crucial. Throughout the play, characters constantly eavesdrop on one another, overhearing conversations that shape their actions and decisions.

The imagery associated with ears plays a significant role in portraying characters’ states of mind. When Claudius delivers his soliloquy on betrayal in Act 3, he asks heaven to “stop up th’access and passage to remorse,” suggesting a desire to silence any guilt or regret that may trouble his conscience.

This vivid language creates a powerful image of willful deafness, emphasizing Claudius’s refusal to confront his own sins. Moreover, Shakespeare uses auditory imagery not only as a means of communication but also as a tool for manipulation.

When Polonius instructs Ophelia to withdraw from Hamlet’s love, he warns her about being too easily swayed by sweet words: “Give thy thoughts no tongue.” This cautionary advice highlights how words can deceive and influence our perceptions if we let them enter our ears uncritically. Interestingly enough, sound motifs often accompany moments of tension or impending danger in Hamlet.

The ominous sound of trumpets announces the arrival of Fortinbras’s army at Elsinore Castle in Act 4. This auditory cue serves as a reminder that war is imminent and signifies the disruption it brings.

Similarly, when Hamlet confronts Gertrude in her chamber during their emotional exchange about her hasty remarriage, he demands her to “not let the bloat king tempt you again to bed.” The choice of words and the intensity of his voice create a jarring auditory experience that heightens the emotional impact of their confrontation. Shakespeare’s use of ears and hearing as imagery in Hamlet adds depth and complexity to the play.

By exploring themes of perception, communication, deception, and manipulation through auditory motifs, he brings a multisensory experience to the audience. Through these symbols, we are reminded of the power that lies in both listening and being heard – for it is through our ears that we truly understand one another.

Eyes and Seeing

In the world of Hamlet, eyes and seeing play a significant role in conveying deeper meaning to the audience.

Shakespeare masterfully employs vivid imagery related to eyes and sight throughout the play, illustrating the characters’ perceptions, insights, and even their inner turmoil. The use of this imagery enhances our understanding of the themes and emotions conveyed in Hamlet.

One prominent example of eye imagery is when Hamlet delivers his infamous soliloquy in Act III, where he contemplates life’s struggles and his moral dilemmas. He famously utters the line, “To be or not to be, that is the question.” Here, Shakespeare skillfully utilizes visual imagery when Hamlet states that death would enable one to escape “the whips and scorns of time.” This vivid language allows us to visualize those metaphorical “whips” and “scorns” as they relentlessly afflict individuals throughout their lives.

Moreover, Ophelia’s character is also intimately associated with eye imagery. In Act IV, after her father’s death, she descends into madness singing songs laden with symbolism.

One such verse explores her brother Laertes’ departure: “He is dead and gone lady / He is dead and gone / At his head a grass-green turf / At his heels a stone.” This poetic stanza not only exemplifies Ophelia’s deteriorating mental state but also emphasizes her ability to perceive both life and death as she mourns her beloved brother. Additionally, Claudius’ usurpation of King Hamlet’s throne finds representation through the motif of eyesight as well.

In Act I Scene V, after revealing his murderous deed to the audience during his soliloquy about ambition and power, Claudius flawlessly utilizes eye-related imagery when he declares that he has stolen not only King Hamlet’s crown but also his queen. By linking this act of betrayal with sight-related language like “crown” and “queen,” Shakespeare effortlessly captures the treachery and cunning nature of Claudius’ character.

Furthermore, the Ghost in Hamlet is another example where eyes and sight take center stage. In Act I, when Horatio encounters the Ghost, he exclaims, “It harrows me with fear and wonder.” This line signifies that encountering the supernatural visage strikes a profound sense of terror and awe within him.

The use of visual imagery in this context amplifies the Ghost’s grave significance as it haunts not only Hamlet but also the audience’s imaginations. Overall, imagery related to eyes and sight conveys a wealth of emotions, symbolism, and thematic depth throughout Hamlet.

Shakespeare’s deliberate incorporation of this imagery allows for a more profound understanding of the characters’ internal conflicts, their perspectives on life’s uncertainties, and their interactions with each other. Through these vivid descriptions involving eyesight, we are drawn into an immersive experience where our senses are heightened by the intricate tapestry of language woven by the master playwright himself.

Light and Darkness

In Hamlet, the contrast between light and darkness is a recurring theme that is used to convey deeper meanings and create vivid imagery. Shakespeare masterfully employs this symbolism throughout the play to illuminate the characters’ emotions, highlight their moral dilemmas, and underscore the overarching themes of life, death, and deceit.

The interplay between light and darkness serves as a metaphorical representation of truth and falsehood, clarity and obscurity. One prominent example of light imagery in Hamlet is evident in the famous soliloquy spoken by Hamlet himself: “To be or not to be.” In this introspective moment, he ponders the nature of existence and muses on whether it is nobler to live or succumb to death.

Through a series of metaphors including “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” and “the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns,” Shakespeare uses light to symbolize life itself. The use of imagery in this soliloquy enhances its dramatic impact while offering profound insights into Hamlet’s inner turmoil.

Conversely, darkness imagery in Hamlet signifies deception, secrets, and corruption. This can be observed through Claudius’ actions and intentions throughout the play.

From his deceitful murder of King Hamlet in order to seize the throne to his attempts at manipulative politics, Claudius operates in shadows obscured by darkness. By associating Claudius with darkness imagery such as “blackest sin” or “murky night,” Shakespeare effectively portrays him as a malevolent figure lurking within Denmark’s court.

Moreover, light imagery is often employed when depicting moments of revelation or self-realization for characters in Hamlet. One notable instance occurs when Gertrude confronts her guilt over her hasty remarriage after her husband’s death.

As she realizes her complicity in Claudius’ treachery during the closet scene with Hamlet, she implores him: “O Hamlet, speak no more! Thou turn’st mine eyes into my very soul.” Here, the imagery of light penetrating her eyes and reaching her soul signifies a moment of profound understanding and self-reflection. In addition to character development, the use of light and darkness imagery also contributes to the overall atmosphere and tone of Hamlet.

The ghostly appearance of King Hamlet is shrouded in darkness, emphasizing his mysterious nature and signaling a disruption in the natural order. The famous line “It is not nor it cannot come to good; but break my heart, for I must hold my tongue” spoken by Horatio further reinforces the sense of impending doom through its contrasting use of light (“good”) and darkness (“break my heart”).

Shakespeare employs vivid descriptions through light and darkness imagery during pivotal scenes to intensify emotional impact. For instance, in the final scene where Laertes seeks revenge against Hamlet in a duel, their confrontation takes place within an arena illuminated by torchlight.

This setting not only adds visual drama but also reinforces the gravity and finality of their battle. The skillful utilization of light and darkness imagery throughout Hamlet enhances its dramatic impact while adding depth to both characters and themes.

By employing these contrasting elements, Shakespeare creates a rich tapestry that captures the complex human condition, delving into profound questions about life’s purpose, truth versus deceit, as well as morality’s tenuous relationship with power. The imagery in Hamlet serves as a powerful tool that engages readers or viewers on multiple levels while ensuring that this timeless play continues to resonate with audiences across centuries.

Theatre and Masks

Theatre and Masks In the vast world of imagery in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the theme of theatre and masks emerges as a captivating element that adds depth to the play.

Throughout the story, theatrical references and the symbolism of masks are skillfully employed by Shakespeare to explore various themes and reveal the inner thoughts and motivations of the characters. The concept of theatre is intricately woven into the fabric of Hamlet, mirroring the dramatic nature of life itself.

Shakespeare cleverly uses theater as a metaphor to highlight how individuals often wear masks in their interactions with others. Through this imagery, he delves into questions of identity and authenticity.

Characters such as Claudius, Gertrude, and Polonius are seen adopting different roles to manipulate those around them. Furthermore, masks serve as a physical representation of deception within Hamlet.

They become symbolic props that allow characters to hide their true intentions behind a facade. This imagery not only underscores the theme of appearance versus reality but also emphasizes how external appearances can be deceptive.

One cannot discuss theatre in Hamlet without mentioning its profound impact on both plot development and character exploration. The play-within-a-play known as “The Mousetrap” presents an opportunity for Hamlet to expose Claudius’ guilt through a carefully orchestrated performance.

This theatrical device allows for introspection on themes like justice, revenge, and guilt while also offering insight into Hamlet’s own cunning intellect. Moreover, masks within theater symbolize transformation and liberation from societal constraints.

Characters like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are portrayed as mere players who willingly don different masks depending on whom they interact with – highlighting their adaptability to circumstances rather than displaying any firm convictions or loyalties. Ultimately, Shakespeare’s inclusion of theatre and masks in Hamlet offers an illuminating perspective on human behavior – how we navigate our social roles while concealing our true selves beneath layers of pretense.

By utilizing this powerful imagery, Shakespeare invites us to question the authenticity of our own masks and consider the consequences of keeping our true identities hidden. The connection between theatre and life becomes inseparable as we witness the characters in Hamlet grapple with their own roles, both onstage and off.

War and Fortifications

Imagery in Hamlet extends to the realm of war and fortifications, which serve as powerful symbols throughout the play.

Shakespeare masterfully employs these images to convey themes of conflict, violence, and the precarious nature of human existence. In Act 1, Scene 1, the Ghost appears before Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo on the battlements of Elsinore Castle.

This haunting image sets the stage for the impending war between Denmark and Norway. It foreshadows not only physical battles but also internal struggles within characters’ minds.

The specter’s ghostly presence represents a looming threat that will shake up the political landscape. As we delve deeper into Hamlet’s soliloquies, we encounter vivid descriptions of war imagery that highlight both external and internal conflicts.

In Act 4, Scene 4, Hamlet muses about “the imminent death of twenty thousand men that for a fantasy and trick of fame go to their graves like beds.” Here Shakespeare intertwines images of war with notions of fame and honor. He suggests that people willingly sacrifice their lives for an intangible illusion – an idea beautifully conveyed through this striking imagery.

Fortifications also play a significant role in portraying characters’ emotional states. In Act 3, Scene 2, Hamlet delivers his famous “O what a rogue and peasant slave am I” soliloquy while watching players perform “The Murder of Gonzago.” He expresses his frustration by comparing himself to an actor who can effortlessly conjure emotions while he struggles with his own inability to take swift action against Claudius.

The metaphorical walls he builds around himself prevent him from achieving resolution. Furthermore, in Act 5, Scene 2 during the graveyard scene with Yorick’s skull in hand, Hamlet contemplates how even mighty warriors end up as mere dust in death: “Now get you to my lady’s chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favor she must come.” This powerful image highlights the futility of war and the transient nature of power.

It reminds us that no matter how strong or fortified one may appear in life, death ultimately reduces us all to equal footing. Shakespeare’s use of war and fortification imagery heightens our understanding of the characters’ struggles, the costliness of conflict, and the fragility of human existence.

Through these vivid visuals, he reminds us that even in a world filled with violence and uncertainty, there is still beauty to be found amidst the chaos. The imagery in Hamlet serves as a timeless reminder of the complexity and transience of life.

Animals and Beasts

Animals and Beasts In Hamlet, Shakespeare masterfully employs the use of animal imagery to heighten the dramatic impact and convey deeper meanings within the play. Animals serve as powerful symbols that enrich the characters, their relationships, and the overall themes of the story.

By exploring various animal references in Hamlet, we can delve into the rich tapestry of imagery in Shakespeare’s work. One significant use of animal imagery is found in Claudius’ manipulation and deceitful nature.

He is often compared to a serpent or a snake throughout the play. Just like a snake slithers its way into unsuspecting prey, Claudius cunningly worms his way into power by murdering his own brother.

This comparison emphasizes his treachery and duplicity, highlighting his ability to strike without warning. Furthermore, there are instances where Hamlet himself uses animal comparisons to mock others or express his disdain.

In one instance, he refers to Polonius as a “tedious old fool” and likens him to a “lamb.” This comparison portrays Polonius as weak and easily manipulated by others. It implies that he lacks agency or strength of character, making him an easy target for Hamlet’s sharp wit.

Moreover, Shakespeare utilizes bird imagery to evoke feelings of freedom or entrapment within certain characters’ situations. When Ophelia loses her sanity after her father’s death, she sings haunting songs filled with bird references.

These birds symbolize her longing for escape from her mental anguish; they represent freedom that she can no longer grasp. However, not all animal imagery in Hamlet is negative or derogatory.

In some cases, animals are used metaphorically to convey positive characteristics or virtues possessed by certain characters. For instance, when Horatio speaks about King Hamlet’s ghostly appearance on the battlements of Elsinore castle, he compares him to an eagle soaring high above all else – majestic and awe-inspiring.

This comparison elevates King Hamlet’s spirit to a divine level, suggesting his righteousness and regal nature. Animal imagery in Hamlet serves as a powerful tool for Shakespeare to depict the complexity of human emotions and behaviors.

From Claudius’ serpentine deceit to Ophelia’s avian longing for freedom, each animal reference adds depth and richness to the characters and their experiences. By incorporating animal symbolism into his play, Shakespeare crafts a vivid tapestry of imagery that enhances our understanding of the themes and intricacies present in Hamlet.

Flowers and Herbs

Flowers and herbs play a significant role in the imagery of Hamlet, adding depth and meaning to various scenes. Shakespeare masterfully weaves these botanical elements into the play, using them to symbolize love, beauty, and even decay. Let’s delve into some of the key instances where flowers and herbs enhance the imagery in Hamlet.

One of the most prominent uses of floral imagery is found in Ophelia’s tragic arc. After her father’s death, Ophelia descends into madness, an event marked by her handing out flowers with symbolic meanings. Each flower represents a different aspect of her shattered world.

The mournful pansies signify thoughts and remembrance, while rue symbolizes regret and sorrow. Shakespeare’s inclusion of these specific flowers adds layers to Ophelia’s mental state as she grapples with grief and loss.

In Act IV, Gertrude describes Ophelia’s untimely death by drowning, recounting how “There is a willow grows aslant a brook…That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream.” The image of the willow tree serves as a poignant metaphor for Ophelia’s emotional state – bending under the weight of her sorrows just like the branches lean over the water. This visual depiction emphasizes not only her fragility but also foreshadows her imminent demise.

Moreover, flowers are also used to contrast Hamlet’s introspection against Claudius’ treachery. In Act IV, scene v, Ophelia presents Gertrude with rue before singing about a dead lover who betrayed his vows.

This scene metaphorically links Hamlet’s contemplative nature with loyalty while highlighting Claudius’ deceitfulness through Ophelia’s poignant song. Additionally, Laertes’ rage after discovering his sister’s death culminates in him demanding that he be buried with “a sister driven into desperate terms.” Here we witness Laertes’ anger taking the form of violent language, as he metaphorically suggests that his love for Ophelia would lead him to embrace death alongside her.

This powerful imagery illustrates the depths of his grief and showcases the emotional turmoil present in Hamlet. In Act V, during Ophelia’s funeral, Hamlet engages in a verbal sparring match with Laertes.

Their exchange becomes a contest of who can outdo each other with extravagant metaphors centered around flowers. This display of poetic prowess showcases Hamlet’s intellect and wit while emphasizing his ability to manipulate language creatively.

The inclusion of flowers and herbs in Hamlet serves to enrich the play’s imagery, providing a canvas upon which Shakespeare masterfully paints emotions and themes central to the story. From Ophelia’s descent into madness to the contrast between loyalty and treachery, these botanical elements add depth and symbolism to the already intricate tapestry that is Shakespearean tragedy.

The imagery in Shakespeare’s Hamlet plays a pivotal role in enhancing the overall themes and emotions of the play. From the pervasive portrayal of disease, rot, and decay to the symbolism of gardens and weeds, these visual representations create a rich tapestry that deepens our understanding of the characters and their motivations.

The frequent appearance of ghosts and supernatural elements serves to heighten the tension and mystery throughout the play. The ghost of King Hamlet not only sets in motion the tragic events but also represents guilt, revenge, and the blurred boundaries between life and death.

This imagery serves as a reminder that there are forces beyond our control that can shape our destinies. Ears and hearing are recurrent motifs in Hamlet, emphasizing not only the power of language but also its potential to deceive.

The characters’ ability or inability to hear truth or recognize falsehoods is crucial in unraveling their true intentions. Additionally, eyes and seeing symbolize perception and self-awareness.

Through references to sight or lack thereof, Shakespeare comments on how one’s perception can be clouded by personal biases or hidden agendas. The interplay between lightness and darkness is another prominent theme found in Hamlet’s imagery.

Light often represents hope, clarity, or enlightenment while darkness conveys secrecy, deception or despair. These contrasting metaphors mirror Hamlet’s inner turmoil as he grapples with his own morality while seeking justice for his father’s murder.

The theater itself becomes a metaphorical stage within a stage as masks are worn by both actors within the play as well as by various characters who hide behind false personas. This imagery underscores the theme of appearance versus reality throughout Hamlet.

War-related imagery such as fortifications highlights not only external conflicts but also internal battles faced by each character – conflicts driven by ambition, power struggles or personal demons that ultimately lead to tragedy. In exploring these various forms of visual representation throughout Hamlet, it becomes evident that Shakespeare’s mastery of imagery not only adds depth and complexity to the play but also engages the audience on a visceral level.

It invites us to reflect upon our own lives and challenges us to confront universal themes such as mortality, morality, and the pursuit of truth. With its vivid and thought-provoking imagery, Hamlet reminds us that even in the midst of darkness and turmoil, there is always an opportunity for redemption, self-discovery, and growth.

As we delve into the intricate layers of imagery in Hamlet, we are reminded that within tragedy lies the potential for transformation. Shakespeare’s artistry serves as a powerful reminder that even amidst chaos, there is beauty to be found if we open our eyes and truly see.

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Shakespeare’s Use of Imagery in Hamlet

• Shakespeare’s Use of Imagery in…

Just as Hamlet seems curious and questioning the matter of life and death, Shakespeare leaves his audience inquisitive of the many controversial themes exposed in arguably his most dramatic play. 

Though Shakespeare consistently employs an abundance of rhetoric throughout his plays, much grandiosity of his prose relies on imagery to reflect and reinforce the many contentious themes he reveals within his pieces.  

Shakespeare’s Hamlet exhibits themes of madness and betrayal to which he uses imagery to paint a picture in the reader’s mind as to the deepest sentiments of the characters and their situations. 

While Hamlet is searching for an answer to his queries such as, “to be, or not to be,” (Shakespeare, III, i, 58) the reader soon understands his dilemma through the extended imagery provided by William Shakespeare.

The reader is aware of Hamlet’s disapproval of his mother’s hasty wedding as of his first soliloquy early on in the play.  Shakespeare uses much imagery to describe Hamlet’s sadness and suicidal thoughts, as he feels his mother has betrayed “so excellent a king” (Shakespeare, I, ii, 139). 

Hamlet describes his mother’s new obsession: “she would hang on him/ as if increase of appetite had grown/ by what it fed on,” (Shakespeare, I, ii, 143-145).  Shakespeare uses imagery to emphasize the importance of the theme of betrayal, rather than simply mentioning that Hamlet feels betrayed.  By doing so, the reader has a superior understanding of the magnitude of the theme and recognizes its significance. 

Later in the play, additional imagery is used to further the theme of betrayal, as Hamlet cries to his mother of her poor choice to remarry.  He says her choice was unwise, and compares her injudicious selection to one chosen by “eyes without feeling, feeling without sight,/ears without hands or eyes,/ smelling sans all,” (Shakespeare, III, iv, 80-83). 

Hamlet claims that even deprived of all but one sense, one would recognize the senselessness to the wedding, and wonders “what devil was’t” (Shakespeare, III, iv, 78) that compelled Gertrude to remarry such “Hyperion to a satyr” (Shakespeare, I, ii, 140). 

Through such imagery as mentioned above, Shakespeare is able to demonstrate the extent of Hamlet’s disapproval of the marriage, which furthers the theme of betrayal that dominates throughout the play.

Similarly, Shakespeare uses imagery to depict a theme of madness throughout the play.  Following the murder of Polonius, Gertrude describes Hamlet’s madness by comparing it to the sea beneath a storm.  She illustrates this by declaring Hamlet is as “mad as the sea and wind when both contend/ which is the mightier,” (Shakespeare, IV, i, 8-9). 

Shakespeare’s use of imagery allows the reader to compare the circumstances to a more familiar situation, thus highlighting the extent of Hamlet’s madness.  Correspondingly, Shakespeare uses imagery in Laertes’s speech of Ophelia’s madness.  The reader is aware of his distress, as Laertes cries, “O heat, dry up my brains! Tears seven times salt,/ burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye!” (Shakespeare IV, v, 130-131). 

Shakespeare creatively mentions the salted tears of which Laertes feels could burn his eyes out, allowing the reader to enter the piece and connect with Laertes’ anguish and sorrow as he witnesses Ophelia’s madness.  The feeling of misery is developed through the imagery provided in the prose.  Laertes continues; “By heaven, thy madness shall be paid by weight,/ till our scale turn the beam,” (Shakespeare, IV, v, 132-133). 

Shakespeare uses imagery once again here to allow the reader to picture an overflowing scale of revenge for Ophelia’s madness, which will be found in heaven.  The theme of madness is portrayed through the wealth of imagery provided by Shakespeare, which allows the reader to connect to the characters while indicating the prominence of the theme.

Whether it is Hamlet who imagines death to be but a sleep possibly full of disturbing and never-ending nightmares or Gertrude and Laertes who distinctly describe their misery with images that illustrate the madness of Hamlet and Ophelia, Shakespeare never fails to provide the reader with a profusion of rhetoric, namely a cornucopia of imagery to exemplify the themes of betrayal and madness rich in significance throughout his play. 

Such descriptive language evokes sensory experience, enabling the reader to enter Shakespeare’s Hamlet and recognize these essential themes.  Providing the reader with the ability to relate to the characters’ situations through imagery and comparisons to more familiar circumstances, Shakespeare not only creates an excessive ornateness of language but persistently reflects and reinforces his themes through the appealing technique.

Bibliography

Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet.” The Literature Network . Jalic Inc, 22 Feb 2006. Web. 12 Apr 2010. <http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/hamlet/>.

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Hamlet Symbolism & Nature Imagery

There‌ ‌are‌ ‌several‌ ‌symbols‌ ‌in‌ ‌‌Hamlet‌‌ ‌and‌ ‌metaphors‌ ‌that‌ ‌are‌ ‌worth‌ ‌mentioning‌ ‌when‌ ‌studying‌ ‌this‌ ‌play.‌ ‌The most important are: unweeded gardens, Ophelia’s flowers, Yorick’s skull, the ghost, and nature imagery.

Throughout‌ ‌this‌ ‌article‌ ‌prepared‌ ‌by‌ ‌‌our‌ ‌writers‌,‌ ‌you’ll‌ ‌learn‌ ‌these‌ ‌critical‌ ‌pieces‌ ‌of‌ ‌Hamlet symbolism.‌ ‌This‌ ‌information‌ ‌will‌ ‌help‌ ‌you‌ ‌work‌ ‌out‌ ‌‌ Hamlet’s‌‌ ‌characters‌ ‌and‌ ‌the‌ ‌underlying‌ ‌meaning‌ ‌in‌ ‌certain‌ ‌scenes.‌ ‌Plus,‌ ‌this information about Hamlet’s symbols ‌deeper‌ ‌understanding‌ ‌of‌ ‌Shakespeare’s‌ ‌style‌ ‌of‌ ‌writing.‌

• 💀 Hamlet Symbols
• 🪦 Yorick’s Skull
• 👻 The Ghost
• 🥀 Unweeded Gardens
• 🧥 Symbolism of Costumes
• 🌺 Ophelia’s Flowers
• 🔪 The Mousetrap
• 🗺️ Navigation

🎓 References

💀 hamlet symbolism: the key elements.

• Yorick’s skull: highlights the theme of death and the idea of equality of people in the afterlife.
• The ghost: symbolizes the victory of evil.
• Unweeded gardens: contribute to the themes of darkness, decay, and death.
• Ophelia’s flowers: represent her descent into madness.
• Costumes: the changes to the Hamlet’s wardrobe highlight his inner transformations.
• The Mousetrap: the play used by Hamlet as a tool to reveal Claudius’s guilt.

🪦 Yorick’s Skull in Hamlet

Yorick’s skull and the whole graveyard scene in Hamlet are crucial to learning more about the protagonist himself. These elements appear in act 5, scene 1, after Ophelia’s death.

In this scene, two gravediggers provide some comic relief while singing and discussing Ophelia’s death. Then, Hamlet and Horatio approach. They discuss death and Hamlet makes the well-known “Alas poor Yorick” speech:

“Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now, to mock your own grinning? quite chap-fallen? Now get you to my lady’s chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favour she must come; make her laugh at that.”

The “Alas poor Yorick” meaning lies in the themes of death and equality. Hamlet is confronting mortality and the notion that everyone is equal in the afterlife.

📌 Who is Yorick?

From the start of his speech, Hamlet reveals that Yorick was a funny man that he knew well while he was alive. He was the court jester of King Hamlet. This is why Prince is so familiar with Yorick, as he knew him in childhood.

Why Was the Skull Thought-provoking for Hamlet?

A skull is a symbol of death and decay. However, this scene is also a moment of reflection for Hamlet. He contemplates the way death makes us all equals, regardless of our status in life. He compares Yorick to Alexander the Great, saying both of their skulls look the same in death.

Hamlet is reflecting on childhood, his parents, and a matter of life and death. He looks back fondly on his childhood memories of Yorick, laughing at his jokes and playing with him. Hamlet has had to face death in many forms in this play: the ghost of his father, killing Polonius, and thoughts of killing others. He is now at the graveyard, unaware that he is about to witness the burial of his potential wife, Ophelia.

Seeing Yorick’s skull is the first time Hamlet confronts death in such a direct way. Even the jester, someone so full of life, ended up in this graveyard. Prince is coming to terms with human mortality that has tormented him throughout the play. He goes from seeing it as an abstract concept to facing it directly.

📌 How did Yorick die?

Now, the cause of Yorick’s death is unclear in the play. This could be to highlight the notion that regardless of how we die, death is inevitable for everyone, and we all end up in the same place.

What Does the Gravedigger Scene Reveal about Hamlet?

The gravedigger scene is a turning point for Prince. It forces him to confront the suffering he has endured over the topic of death in a more concrete way. He begins to see death as inevitable, final, and removing of the status one possessed in life.

A graveyard is a place where all are equal as death destroys differences between people and their social statuses. Thus, Hamlet begins to accept it as humanity’s shared ending.

The gravediggers are of lower social status than other characters, so they provide comic relief and a new perspective on the story. As Horatio mentions, people working in the graveyards become insensitive to the positions and social class of the dead. This way, their jokes emphasize that status does not matter.

👻 The Ghost in Hamlet

The ghost in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet remains one of the mysteries of English literature. Readers may think it is simply a representation of the main character’s madness. But here’s the thing: Hamlet is not the only person that sees the ghost. So it may not be immediately clear what this character represents.

Hamlet and the ghost appear in several scenes together. Below is a description of each time the ghost appears throughout the play.

Act 1 Scene 1

Two guards, Bernardo and Marcellus, tell Horatio that they’ve seen the ghost of the late King Hamlet. Afterward, the three men observe how the spirit appears and quickly disappears before them. The men decide to find the King’s son, Prince Hamlet, to see if the ghost will speak to him.

Shakespeare seems to have placed the ghost in this scene to introduce the character and alert the other characters to impending danger in Denmark.

Act 1 Scenes 4-5

In this part of the play, Hamlet encounters the ghost and speaks to him. The spirit claims to be his father and that Claudius murdered him in his sleep. He attempts to convince Hamlet to seek revenge for his murder.

Prince decides to obey the request for revenge, and this sends Hamlet into a state of feigned madness through the rest of the play. The ghost disappears at daybreak, and Prince sets out to avenge his father’s death.

The function of the ghost in this scene is to send Hamlet to seek revenge and begin acting as if he were mad. This abruptly changes the way he interacts with other characters. It also causes everyone, as well as the reader, to question his sanity.

Act 3 Scene 4

Here, Hamlet is arguing with his mother, Gertrude. As he shouts at her about her marriage to the evil Claudius, the ghost of King Hamlet appears again. He reminds Prince of his goal and promise.

Up until this point, Hamlet claims he had been faking insanity. He uses this incident to tell his mother he is not mad. However, the fact that Gertrude cannot see the ghost points toward the fact that he may be insane after all.

Now, you may be wondering, what does the ghost symbolize in Hamlet? Below is a list of common questions to help you analyze the symbolism of this character.

What Does the Ghost in Hamlet Represent?

The ghost appearing as Hamlet’s father brings up haunting memories for Prince surrounding his past. This demonstrates that he is haunted by the memory and death of his father. He is also haunted by his mother’s marriage to Claudius and the troubles ahead for Denmark.

The ghost symbolizes that the evil won this fight. The noble King has died, and the wicked Claudius has become the new ruler. This transition of power from good to evil provides foreshadowing that the nation may be in danger. The ghost not only seeks revenge but hopes to save Denmark from a corrupt leader.

The people who can see the ghost are Horatio, the guards, and Hamlet. Yet only Prince can talk to him. This is one of the most crucial bits of evidence toward the theory that the ghost is Hamlet’s fantasy rather than a real apparition.

Besides, the ghost resembles Hamlet in that the two are both pale and have similar features. They also have a manner of speaking. This could be due to their relationship as father and son. It may also allude to the idea that the ghost is merely a figment of Hamlet’s imagination.

🥀 Hamlet’s Unweeded Gardens

The symbolism in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet affects every aspect of the play, including the scenery. Throughout the play, readers will notice imagery of unweeded gardens. Characters bring up the disgusting state of these gardens repeatedly. Taking a deeper look, you will notice that there is more to this imagery than just untamed nature.

As it turns out, characters use the decaying gardens as a symbol for many topics that displease them. This symbolism occurs consistently throughout the entire play, but one of the more memorable instances is Claudius’s soliloquy stating:

“O my offense is rank. It smells to heaven.”

No doubt about it, the line reveals Claudius’s moral corruption . He admits that he is guilty of killing the king to take the throne. He feels sinful and unforgivable for this act he has committed.

Hamlet is all about death, confronting mortality, and coming to terms with the declining state of Denmark, among other dark topics. Naturally, Shakespeare wove these themes into the scenery itself. So, without further ado, let’s jump into a Hamlet unweeded garden analysis.

Nature Imagery in Hamlet

Simply put, the gardens are plagued with disease and rot. For this reason, seeds in this garden cannot produce anything good. Hamlet describes the garden as rank and gross in nature, meaning to describe his feelings toward the relationship between his mother and his uncle.

The weeds and flowers in the garden are unkept, sickly, and give off a horrible odor. These negative descriptions are a way for characters to state how they feel about their circumstances. That’s why treader learns of the state of the gardens mostly through dialogues. Characters comment on the horrible smell or appearance to express disgust for certain circumstances, events, or other people in the play.

The gardens contribute to the themes of darkness, decay, and death that are present in Hamlet . Images of rotting weeds overtake nature, something that should be beautiful and pure. The gardens contribute to the kingdom’s description. It was once lively and well but has been corrupted and poisoned by an invasive force.

Unweeded Gardens as a Symbol of Hamlet

The gardens are the symbol of the “rotten” state of affairs in Denmark. The nation is facing corruption and decline because of Claudius. Since he gained the throne by murdering his brother, he has corrupted the state of Denmark. Similarly, the weeds seem to be poisoning the garden in the play.

By now, you probably know that Hamlet is an indecisive character. The weeds also represent inaction, since no one has come to tend to them. This alludes to the fact that Hamlet’s indifference and indecision have contributed to negative developments in his life.

What’s more, Prince even commands his mother not to fertilize the weeds with compost, as it leads to only makes them stronger. This is his way of asking his mother to end her affair with Claudius. This brings us back to Hamlet’s consistent use of the gardens to express disgust for this relationship.

Unweeded Gardens: Biblical Allusions

The gross and rank state of the garden also alludes to the garden of Eden. Both kingdoms have been taken over by means of poison and murder. Hamlet compares the world to a garden: since it has been neglected, it has fallen into a state of chaos. This could also be a way to describe Prince’s life.

The fact that the King was killed in the garden alludes to the biblical story as well. The garden of Eden reference grows more apparent when you realize that Old Hamlet was also poisoned. Both stories feature references to a snake, as the ghost says:

“The serpent that did sting thy Fathers life, Now wears his crown.”

🧥 Symbolism of Costumes in Hamlet

Every detail in Hamlet contains symbolism, and costumes are no exception. The changes to the protagonist’s wardrobe are an outward representation of how he is transforming mentally and emotionally throughout the play. The most important items are the dark blue cloak and the black clothes he wears.

Hamlet’s costume description not only mentions the colors but also indicates the state of cleanliness. The character’s descent into madness is represented by a more disheveled, dirty, and messy appearance as well. Taking a look at these factors will help the reader understand Hamlet’ s costume symbolism that fills this play.

Hamlet’s Dark Blue Cloak Significance

Prince wears a dark blue cloak at the beginning of the play. It symbolizes mourning for his dead father. He continues wearing it throughout the play, which irritates his mother. Finally, she asks him to stop wearing it. His response in Act 1, Scene 2 is this memorable quote:

“‘Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black, Nor windy suspiration of forced breath, No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, Nor the dejected ‘havior of the visage, Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, That can denote me truly: these indeed seem, For they are actions that a man might play: But I have that within which passeth show; These but the trappings and the suits of woe.”

Hamlet explains that his clothes only represent a small part of his grief. While some people may use costumes to pretend they are grieving, his items do not begin to convey the amount of pain he feels.

Hamlet’s Black Costumes Significance

After Hamlet’s mother asks him to stop mourning, he proceeds to wear dark, black clothing. This change indicates his anger and pain. He plans to avenge his father’s death and does not plan to stop his mourning until he does so.

What’s more, Hamlet wants the people around him to know that he isn’t done yet. He seeks revenge and isn’t afraid to show his true emotions, unlike other people at court. His clothes are also a visual reminder to the reader and the other characters that Prince knows the truth about his father’s death. He sees Claudius and his mother as sinners.

Hamlet’s Motives as Told by Costumes

Hamlet’s clothing changes also reflect his efforts to fake his insanity. Ophelia thinks he’s mad due to his appearance. In Act 2, Scene 1, she mentions this to Polonius in this quote:

“My lord, as I was sewing in my closet, Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbrac’d, No hat upon his head, his stockings foul’d, Ungart’ red, and down-gyved to his ankle; Pale as his shirt, his knees knocking each other, And with a look so piteous in purport As if he had been loosed out of hell To speak of horrors- he comes before me.”

Here, she states that she has become afraid of Hamlet due to his strange appearance. Ophelia indicates fearing that he has gone mad due to his love for her. However, Hamlet later claims that he faked this madness. Regardless of whether it was real or not, this transformation was due to the pain Hamlet feels.

🌺 Ophelia’s Flowers as a Symbol in Hamlet

Ophelia’s flowers are an excellent example of how Shakespeare brought so much symbolism to even the smallest elements of the play. They represent her descent into madness and also allow her to make her opinion of the other characters known.

As it turns out, Ophelia’s flower speech in Act 4 is not only a representation of her madness . Each flower she brings up also carries a message for the character who receives it. In Act 4, Scene 5, she offers flowers and describes what they symbolize in this memorable quote:

“There’s fennel for you, and columbines: there’s rue for you; and here’s some for me: we may call it herb-grace o’ Sundays: O you must wear your rue with a difference. There’s a daisy: I would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died: they say he made a good end… For bonny sweet Robin is all my joy.”

What’s more, in Acts 4 and 5, readers will continue to notice Ophelia paired with such imagery. Analyzing her flowers will provide a deeper understanding of the character, as well as the play itself.

Ophelia’s Flowers Meaning

The flowers are a signal of Ophelia’s descent into madness. They reveal her inner turmoil due to the grief and pain she feels. Since Hamlet killed her father, the feeling of betrayal has overcome her, and she never truly recovers. Thus, they also represent how Prince affected the people around him.

Each flower in Ophelia’s speech is a symbol of some sort. This is her final effort to communicate how she feels about the people in her life, so it is one of her most powerful moments.

Hare the flowers Ophelia offers and their meanings:

• Ophelia offers fennel to King Claudius, which highlights his unfaithfulness.
• Ophelia offers one to Queen Gertrude and then states that she will keep some for herself.
• Ophelia mentions that she would have brought violets if they hadn’t withered when her father died. This sends the message that the purity in Denmark was corrupted at the time of his death.
• Ophelia offers it to King Claudius as another comment on his adulterous actions.
• Ophelia picks up a daisy, and then sets it back down, offering it to no one. This could be a comment on the fact that the innocence in Denmark, and in her own life, has vanished.
• Ophelia offers them to Laertes. Rosemary and pansies are among the flowers with the most positive symbolism attached to them. Ophelia presents Laertes with them as a sign of love and remembrance. Even in her unbalanced state of mind, she is showing love for her brother. This tells us that the message offered by each flower is intentional and specific to its recipient.

The inner meanings of these flowers will give the reader a clue as to how Ophelia feels about these characters. They may also provide insight as to which one she may want to give Hamlet. She may attempt to give him rosemary as a sign of remembrance and love, assuming she is still unaware that he killed her father.

Which Flowers Did Ophelia Die with?

Ophelia died with many extravagant flowers around her neck and body. She drowned herself in a brook in Act 4, Scene 7, while wearing the garlands of “crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples.”

Ophelia was buried with a very plain ceremony, which was meant to indicate that she died by suicide. The grave diggers speculate that the fact she is being buried in the churchyard meant she must have been wealthy.

Laertes argues with the priest after he says he will not perform more than the minimum rites for Ophelia. Queen Gertrude throws flowers on her grave, saying she wishes they could have been flowers for her wedding to Hamlet.

🔪 The Murder of Gonzago in Hamlet: Symbolism

Shakespeare’s Hamlet includes countless examples of symbolism, including the play within a play. It’s called The Murder of Gonzago , and Hamlet nicknames it, The Mousetrap .

To Hamlet, this play is a tool he can use to reveal Claudius’s guilt regarding the death of his father. He insists on directing The Mousetrap because he needs to know the truth. Let’s take a deeper look to learn Shakespeare’s reasoning for including this crucial plot point.

📌 When did the play first appear in Hamlet?

The Murder of Gonzago first appears in Hamlet in act 2, scene 2. This is a key moment for Prince. He is looking for evidence of Claudius’s guilt before following through with the task of avenging his father’s death.

It comes up again in act 3, scene 2. At the start of the scene, Hamlet instructs the players before their performance. Then, he meets with Horatio, speaking with him about the need to keep an eye on Claudius as he watches the play.

📌 What’s the Play within the Play about?

The Murder of Gonzago , or The Mousetrap , follows a similar storyline to the recent events in Hamlet’s life. The play has a deliberate repetitive quality, enabling the reader to focus on the main plot point. It works as a tool to draw our attention to the interactions between Hamlet, Claudius, and other characters.

Why Does Hamlet Stage the Play?

Hamlet insists on directing the play to detect whether or not his uncle is guilty of murder. In The Mousetrap , he creates a death scene with all the characteristics of his father’s death. It works as a trap to catch the conscience of Claudius in his reaction to the death scene.

Another key reason Hamlet decides to direct the play is to shame his mother. “Mouse” is Claudius’s pet name for Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. Hamlet named the play The MouseTrap as it combines this pet name with the obvious “trap” that he is enacting.

Besides the scene with the murder, the play is intended to get a reaction from Gertrude. At one point, Hamlet even asks her how she likes the play. The goal is to force his mother to confess her crime, recall her promise to her late husband, or at least show signs of guilt or shame.

With these two key underlying motivations, the play acts as a symbol of guilt and betrayal. It allows Hamlet to gain clarity regarding Claudius’s guilt, and Claudius to become certain that Hamlet seeks revenge.

What’s the Role of The MouseTrap?

The play is meant to confirm whether Hamlet’s father’s ghost was telling the truth. This is why it is so important to Hamlet to get a reaction from Claudius. He needs to know whether or not to trust the ghost and whether or not to avenge his father’s death.

That’s why Horatio’s presence in the scene is important. He’s the only character Hamlet can trust. He has already told Horatio about the ghost’s revelation and his suspicion that his uncle killed his father. He asks Horatio to keep an eye on Claudius during the play and look for clues that he is guilty.

It turns out, Claudius’s response is all the confirmation Hamlet needs that his uncle killed his father. Right as Lucianus pours poison into the Player King’s ear, Claudius stands up angry and shaken. He exits, along with the rest of the crowd, and Hamlet is happy knowing he can trust the ghost’s revelation and act with confidence as he plots his revenge.

Thanks for reading the article! That’s all we can say about symbolism in Hamlet . For information about other aspects of the play, check the links below.

• Hamlet, Entire Play — William Shakespeare, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, created by Jeremy Hylton
• Hamlet Themes: Weeds and Flowers — Hamlet Navigator, Shakespeare Navigators
• Hamlet Symbolism with Examples and Analysis — Literary Devices
• Ophelia’s End: Does She Give out Flowers? — The Riddles of Hamlet by Simon Augustine Blackmore, Shakespeare Online
• Hamlet Full Text, Original Text Of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Modern Translation — No Sweat Shakespeare
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Hamlet is full of references to the wide gulf that often exists between how things appear and how they really are. From Hamlet ’s own “craft[ed]” madness to Claudius ’s many schemes and plots involving Polonius , Ophelia , Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern to the very foundation of Denmark’s political stability (or lack thereof), things within Elsinore castle are hardly ever as they seem. Hamlet ’s characters’ collective desire to make sense of the difference between what’s real and what’s not drives them to deception, cruelty, and indeed even madness. In acting mad, Hamlet succeeds in driving himself mad; in pretending to spurn Hamlet’s affections, Ophelia actually creates a searing rift between them; in trying to ignore the fact that her new husband murdered her old one, Gertrude forgets the truth and abandons her moral compass. Ultimately, Shakespeare makes the slightly metaphysical argument that the desire to determine which aspects of a person’s character or actions are “real” or intentional actually serves to expose the fact that there is, perhaps, sometimes no difference between what is real and what is perceived; the identities people perform and the choices they make, even in jest, become their realities.

Throughout the play, many of the major characters find themselves confounded by the gulf between how things appear to be and how they really are—even as they themselves engage in subterfuge and masquerades in repeated attempts to present themselves other than as they are, or deliberately mislead one another. Hamlet is the most egregious example of this behavior—he pretends to be mad in order to confuse the members of court at Elsinore and make them believe he’s crazy or blind to what’s going on at the castle, so that he can more sneakily investigate Claudius and come to a conclusion about whether or not his uncle really did murder his father. In his attempts to pass himself off as mad, Hamlet spurns, denigrates, and verbally harasses Ophelia and his mother, Gertrude; entangles two of his old school friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in a wild goose chase that leads to their deaths; and berates, offends, and condemns Gertrude as he attempts to ascertain her complicity (or lack thereof) in King Hamlet’s demise. Even as Hamlet deceives those around him in an attempt to save his own skin, he worries incessantly about the guises others adopt to survive at court. He lambasts Ophelia—and, by proxy, all women—for wearing makeup on their faces, accusing them of presenting themselves other than as they are. He makes fun of Polonius’s wormy, fawning obsequiousness to the king and queen, even though he knows it is the job of courtiers and councilors to serve the monarchy. He calls out Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as players in his mother and uncle’s plot to get to the root of his own (false) madness, even though he knows they, too are at the mercy of royalty, unable to refuse the demands of their rulers. Hamlet’s constant anxiety about being lied to, or merely shown a version of reality that runs counter to the truth, is the subject of several length monologues and soliloquies—but ultimately, Hamlet’s endless inquiries into the morality of constructed appearances lead nowhere: at the end of the day, he is complicit in his own worst fears.

Other characters who bring into question the gulf between appearance and reality include the ghost of Hamlet’s father, Hamlet’s mother Gertrude, Polonius, and Ophelia. The ghost of Hamlet’s father claims to be the late King Hamlet—but Hamlet himself has reservations about the ghost’s true nature which are further called into question when the ghost appears to Hamlet a second time inside of Gertrude’s chambers. Gertrude claims to not be able to see the ghost, allowing for several possibilities: the ghost may indeed be a figment of Hamlet’s own imagination, or Gertrude may be pretending not to be able to see the ghost for fear of admitting to her complicity in his murder (or simply her indifference to marrying his killer to retain her own political position). The ghost itself tampers with the denizens of Elsinore’s ideas about “reality,” inspiring awe and fear in Horatio, Marcellus , and other watchmen and sentinels. Gertrude, meanwhile, appears innocent and ignorant of her husband’s murder—but she may, in reality, be affecting innocence just as Hamlet affects madness as a cover for a darker motive. Polonius, too, is guilty of presenting a version of himself that runs counter to the truth of who he is: he makes claims about himself and offers advice that contradict his own actions, such as when he tells Laertes “to thine own self be true,” contradicting his own behavior as a fawning courtier loyal to the whims of his superiors, or when he claims that “brevity is the soul of wit” before embarking on several lengthy, long-winded monologues. Ophelia claims to be pure, honest, and undesirous of Hamlet’s sexual or romantic attention—and yet their interactions seem to suggest that she and Hamlet have a long (and lurid) history, making her desperate attempts at purporting her purity all the more pathetic when seen through Hamlet’s eyes. Ultimately, Hamlet, who has been pretending to be mad for so long, drives himself to the edge of sanity, adopting a kind of nihilism when it comes to questions of life and death, morality, and reality itself. Gertrude, who pretends to be an innocent victim, becomes one when she unwittingly drinks poisoned wine intended for Hamlet. Polonius, who sacrificed his moral compass in service to a corrupt crown, is held up as a tragic loss for the court after his death, revered and mourned by the king. Ophelia, who denied her love for Hamlet in an attempt to appease her father, is buried as a virgin, in spite of the play’s suggestion that she was not pure when she died. All of these characters become the things they once merely pretended to be—and the line between appearance and reality grows blurrier and blurrier as the play progresses.

Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most complex plays, noted throughout history for its ambiguous moral center, deep existentialism, and deft exploration of appearance versus reality. As Shakespeare shows how fine the line between appearance and reality really is, he transforms the play into a cautionary tale about the dangers of adopting behaviors, traits, and ways of moving through the world that obscure or corrupt the truth of who one really is.

Appearance vs. Reality ThemeTracker

Appearance vs. Reality Quotes in Hamlet

Seems, madam! Nay, it is; I know not “seems.”

This above all—to thine own self be true; And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

O, villain, villain, smiling, damnèd villain!

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief.

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.

What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form, in moving how express and admirable; in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god: the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals—and yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?

What’s Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, That he should weep for her?

The play’s the thing, Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.

To be or not to be—that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And, by opposing, end them.

Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me…

Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me! You would play upon me, you would seem to know my stops, you would pluck out the heart of my mystery… ’Sblood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe? Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me.

My words fly up, my thoughts remain below; Words without thoughts never to heaven go.

CLAUDIUS: What dost thou mean by this?

HAMLET: Nothing but to show you how a king may go a progress through the guts of a beggar.

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio—a fellow of infinite jest… Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table on a roar?

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Hamlet Symbolism

Symbolism in hamlet.

Weather is another important symbol in Hamlet. It shows that the bad weather is the sign of worse situation coming ahead and good weather points to good times. However, in the first scene, Shakespeare has shown that the weather is frigid and foggy in which the ghost of Old Hamlet appears. This confusing and ambivalent weather is signifying the same situation coming ahead. Hamlet is confused like the situation that is hazy and unclear. Therefore, the good or bad weather is the sign of good or bad times in the play.

The Mousetrap

The Mousetrap is the play titled as The Murder of Gonzago, which has been staged in Hamlet. Hamlet has given directions to the players and written parts of the speech delivered by the queen. The title ‘The Mousetrap’ shows that the purpose of Hamlet to insert his own ideas in the play to force his mother to confess her crime, recall her promise to her late husband or at least show signs of guilt. It is also interesting that almost all the characters in this short play are based on the real characters who are watching them on the stage. Therefore, the story is symbolical for the trap laid by Hamlet to catch the real culprit.

Fencing swords in Hamlet have been used in the final scene during the duel between Laertes and Hamlet. The fencing swords point to the approach of the end of Hamlet’s quest and resultant deaths. The fencing sword is a sign of a person having courage , bravery and the will to exact revenge. As both the characters engaged in fencing swords have some cause, and also have their honors at stake, they come to fight a duel in which both are killed. Therefore, fencing swords symbolize violence and deaths in the play.

Although there are two gravediggers, one of them is not only a good player of words but also a good philosopher. His responses to the questions posed by Hamlet show that he knows how death makes all equal in the graveyard. He also knows that he has dug graves of everyone who died. When digging Ophelia’s grave, they also point out to Hamlet that it doesn’t matter whether somebody has committed suicide. Their presence signifies that deaths make all people equal in spite of their positions.

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Imagery of Corruption & Decay

Imagery of corruption & decay in hamlet.

The imagery of corruption recurs throughout the play.

Different meanings of corruption

• The term can refer to moral corruption (e.g. Claudius’ murder of his brother), sexual corruption (e.g. what Hamlet sees as his mother’s incestuous lust) or physical corruption (e.g. the process of rot and decay which Hamlet confronts in the graveyard scene).

"Too sullied flesh"

• Hamlet’s first soliloquy opens with the wish that his “too sullied flesh” will dissolve away.
• He sees his own body as corrupted or tainted ( “sullied” ) by the incestuous marriage of his mother and uncle.
• This imagery links to the metaphor of the “unweeded garden / That grows to seed” and becomes overgrown with “things rank and gross” .

Hamlet links love & corruption

• For Hamlet, afflicted by “melancholy” , all living things become corrupt.
• This includes the love between man and woman: Hamlet chides his mother in A3S4 that she has set a “blister” on “the fair forehead of an innocent love” , the imagery suggesting the spread of a sore from a sexually transmitted disease.

Metaphor: sickness of Denmark

• This imagery of corruption and decay is also used to suggest that the whole state of Denmark is sick.
• Laertes tells Ophelia that “the sanity and health of the whole state” depends upon Hamlet and, throughout Act One, various characters voice ideas about a sickness taking hold in the Danish state (e.g. Marcellus’ fear that “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” ).

1 Introduction

1.1 Introduction & Background to Hamlet

1.1.1 Introduction to Hamlet

1.1.2 The Literary Tradition of the Hamlet Story

1.1.3 Introduction to the Settings in Hamlet

1.1.4 Introduction to Social Issues Raised

2 Plot Summary

2.1 Act 1: Key Events & Ideas

2.1.1 Act 1, Scene 1

2.1.2 Act 1, Scene 2

2.1.3 Act 1, Scene 3

2.1.4 Act 1, Scenes 4-5

2.2 Act 2: Key Events & Ideas

2.2.1 Act 2, Scene 1

2.2.2 Act 2, Scene 2

2.3 Act 3: Key Events & Ideas

2.3.1 Act 3, Scene 1: Key Events

2.3.2 Act 3, Scene 1: Key Ideas

2.3.3 Act 3, Scene 2

2.3.4 Act 3, Scene 3

2.3.5 Act 3, Scene 4

2.4 Act 4: Key Events & Ideas

2.4.1 Act 4, Scene 1

2.4.2 Act 4, Scenes 2-3

2.4.3 Act 4, Scene 4

2.4.4 Act 4, Scene 5: Key Events

2.4.5 Act 4, Scene 5: Key Ideas

2.4.6 Act 4, Scene 6

2.4.7 Act 4, Scene 7

2.5 Act 5: Key Events & Ideas

2.5.1 Act 5, Scene 1: Key Events

2.5.2 Act 5, Scene 2: Key Events

2.5.3 Act 5, Scene 2: Key Ideas

3 Character Profiles

3.1.1 Hamlet's Speech & Mind

3.1.2 Hamlet's Heroic Status

3.1.3 Hamlet's State of Mind

3.1.4 Hamlet's Indecision/Action Taking

3.2 Claudius

3.2.1 Claudius' Crime

3.2.2 Changing Impressions of Claudius

3.3 Gertrude

3.3.1 Mystery & Hamlet's View of Gertrude

3.3.2 Gertrude's Character

3.3.3 Gertrude's Relationship with Hamlet

3.4 Ophelia

3.4.1 Ophelia

3.5 Polonius

3.5.1 Portrayal of Polonius & Treatment of Ophelia

3.5.2 Polonius' Spying & Death

3.6 Laertes

3.6.1 Laertes' Popularity & Relationship with Ophelia

3.6.2 Laertes' Character Traits

4 Key Themes

4.1 Regicide in Hamlet

4.1.1 Regicide in Hamlet

4.2 Madness in Hamlet

4.2.1 Madness in Hamlet

4.3 Guilt & Punishment in Hamlet

4.3.1 Guilt in Hamlet

4.3.2 Punishment in Hamlet

4.4 Settings in Hamlet

4.4.1 Physical Settings & Historical Setting of Hamlet

5 Writing Techniques

5.1 Structure

5.1.1 Structure of Hamlet

5.1.2 'Play Within a Play' Structure

5.1.3 Play-Acting Motif

5.2.1 Soliloquy

5.2.2 Comedy

5.3 Imagery

5.3.1 Imagery of Corruption & Decay

5.3.2 Imagery: Healing, Performance & Costume

5.4 Language

5.4.1 Word Usage & Hendiadys

5.4.2 Questions & Classical Allusions

6.1 Social & Historical Context

6.1.1 Elizabeth I & Succession

6.1.2 Cosmic & Social Hierarchy

6.1.3 Renaissance & Emergence of Humanism

6.1.4 Regicide

6.1.5 The Reformation

6.2 Literary Context

6.2.1 Seneca Tragedy

6.2.2 The Revenge Tragedy

6.3 Performance & Textual History

6.3.1 Performance History of Hamlet

6.3.2 Textual History of Hamlet

7 Critical Debates

7.1 18-19th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.1.1 Introduction to Critical Debates

7.1.2 18th Century Commentary on Hamlet

7.1.3 Romantic Commentary on Hamlet

7.2 20th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.2.1 Freudian Response to Hamlet

7.2.2 Other Early 20th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.3 Feminist Readings of Hamlet

7.3.1 Introduction to Feminist Criticism

7.3.2 Feminist Readings of Hamlet

7.3.3 Presentation of Ophelia

7.4 Marxist/Political Readings of Hamlet

7.4.1 Introduction to Marxist Criticisms

7.4.2 Marxist Readings of Hamlet

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Imagery: Healing, Performance & Costume

--> directory In Shakespeare weaves the dominant motif of disease into every scene to illustrate the corrupt state of Denmark and Hamlet's all-consuming pessimism. Images of ulcers, pleurisy, full body pustules, apoplexy, and madness parallel the sins of drunkenness, espionage, war, adultery, and murder, to reinforce the central idea that Denmark is dying. To Hamlet the very air he breathes is "a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours." Hamlet himself is a victim of a deep melancholy that results in fits of mania, and, until very late in the drama, he rots with a diseased will, unable to take the necessary action to revenge his father and save his country. The following is a collection of passages in which we find such imagery. Please click on the scene for explanatory notes on each quotation. ____ Virtue itself 'scapes not calumnious strokes: The canker galls the infants of the spring, Too oft before their buttons be disclosed. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. So, oft it chances in particular men, That for some vicious mole of nature in them, As, in their birth--wherein they are not guilty, Since nature cannot choose his origin-- By the o'ergrowth of some complexion, Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason. And curd, like eager droppings into milk, The thin and wholesome blood: so did it mine; And a most instant tetter bark'd about, Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust, All my smooth body. For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a god kissing carrion. the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours. But I am pigeon-liver'd and lack gall To make oppression bitter, or ere this I should have fatted all the region kites With this slave's offal: bloody, bawdy villain! Make you a wholesome answer; my wit's diseased: but, sir, such answer as I can make, you shall command. And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought. My mother stays: This physic but prolongs thy sickly days. Such an act That blurs the grace and blush of modesty, Calls virtue hypocrite, takes off the rose From the fair forehead of an innocent love And sets a blister there. Look you now, what follows: Here is your husband; like a mildew'd ear, Blasting his wholesome brother. Sense, sure, you have, Else could you not have motion; but sure, that sense Is apoplex'd. Do it, England; For like the hectic in my blood he rages, And thou must cure me. Not where he eats, but where he is eaten: a certain convocation of politic worms are e'en at him. Your worm is your only emperor for diet: we fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots: your fat king and your lean beggar is but variable service, two dishes, but to one table: that's the end. To my sick soul, as sin's true nature is, Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss. Her brother is in secret come from France; Feeds on his wonder, keeps himself in clouds, And wants not buzzers to infect his ear With pestilent speeches of his father's death. Two thousand souls and twenty thousand ducats Will not debate the question of this straw: This is the imposthume of much wealth and peace, That inward breaks, and shows no cause without Why the man dies. For goodness, growing to a plurisy, Dies in his own too much. But, to the quick o' the ulcer:-- Hamlet comes back. I' faith, if he be not rotten before he die--as we have many pocky corses now-a-days, that will scarce hold the laying in--he will last you some eight year or nine year: a tanner will last you nine year. and is't not to be damn'd, To let this canker of our nature come In further evil? Mabillard, Amanda. . . 15 Jan. 2014. ______________ . Not all insane people are confined in madhouses any more than all criminals are now behind prison walls. But what is a criminal?" Haven McClure. More to Explore From a disease standpoint, Shakespeare was living in arguably the worst place and time in history. Shakespeare's overcrowded, rat-infested, sexually promiscuous London, with raw sewage flowing in the Thames, was the hub for the nastiest diseases known to mankind. Here are the worst of the worst. Hamlet's madness is an act of deception, concocted to draw attention away from his suspicious activities as he tries to gather evidence against Claudius. He reveals to Horatio his deceitful plan to feign insanity in 1.5: "To put an antic disposition on." contains more disease imagery than any other play, followed by . The imagery in is less subtle. An example can be found in Thersites' conversation with Patroclus: Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Hamlet — Hamlet Symbolism Analysis Hamlet Symbolism Analysis Categories: Hamlet About this sample Words: 682 | Published: Jun 14, 2024 Words: 682 | Page: 1 | 4 min read Table of contents The play within a play, the motif of disease. Cite this Essay Let us write you an essay from scratch 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours Get high-quality help Dr. Heisenberg Verified writer Expert in: Literature + 120 experts online By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email No need to pay just yet! Related Essays 2 pages / 721 words 3.5 pages / 1584 words 2 pages / 1083 words 5 pages / 2287 words Remember! This is just a sample. You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers. 121 writers online Still can’t find what you need? Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled Related Essays on Hamlet In William Shakespeare's renowned tragedy, "Hamlet," madness takes center stage as one of the most intriguing and complex themes explored throughout the play. From the feigned insanity of the protagonist, Prince Hamlet, to the [...] In William Shakespeare's renowned play, Hamlet, the protagonist's character development and actions drive the narrative, captivating audiences for centuries. Through a deep analysis of Hamlet's character, one can uncover the [...] The play Hamlet by William Shakespeare has always been known for its complex characters and intricate plot. One of the most debated aspects of the play is the murder of Polonius by Hamlet. Polonius was a trusted advisor to King [...] Hamlet is one of the most famous plays written by William Shakespeare. The play has been widely discussed and analyzed for centuries, and it is considered a masterpiece of literature. It addresses several central ideas that are [...] In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, suicide is an prevalent and all-consuming theme throughout the play. Beginning with the murder of his father, Hamlet is the main character who contemplates the thought of suicide many times [...] Literary techniques evoke images, emotion and in the case of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” teach a lesson. The dominant literary technique ongoing throughout “Hamlet” is the presence of foils. A foil is a character who, through strong [...] Related Topics By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails. Where do you want us to send this sample? By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy. Be careful. This essay is not unique This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before Download this Sample Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper. Please check your inbox. We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together! Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less! We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy . Instructions Followed To The Letter Deadlines Met At Every Stage Unique And Plagiarism Free An Analysis of Imagery in Hamlet How it works During the play Hamlet, Shakespeare cleverly and carefully constructs imagery that writhes in the reader’s mind and keeps them second guessing everything and taking nothing at face value. Nearly every character goes through at least one significant change throughout the story. At times, each character may seem pure and good and at other times, the same character is a corruptible, vengeful human being. Shakespeare repeatedly uses imagery of a poison creeping through Elsinore, infecting everyone, and also, images of painting, so nothing is as it seems. The careful combination of these two sets of imagery creates an aura of mystery that captivates the reader and fills them with intrigue. Shakespeare starts his imagery of a diseased poison creeping through society early on, in Hamlet’s soliloquy in which he compares the kingdom to an unweeded garden. The images of poison are much more easily invoked when a real-life poison is used in the story. Since poison was used to kill King Hamlet, and eventually Claudius, Gertrude, Prince Hamlet, and Laertes, the reader has poison on the mind. The poison seems to be oozing through everyone, beginning with Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius. His mom, his advisor Polonius, his friends Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, his girlfriend Ophelia, and eventually himself, seem to be corrupted and using base methods to accomplish their goals. Every character in this play shows that they are capable of evil and underhand methods and this transformation oozes slowly through the characters as a poison seeps through the blood. Things are not always what they seem to be, and this becomes a harsh reality for Hamlet in the play. In his mind, people seem to be fake, just as if they were painted over. Ophelia, his girlfriend, was spying on Hamlet, at the request of her dad. His friends, Guildenstern and Rosencrantz were also hired to spy on him. People seem to be painted to be disguised from who they really are. This idea of acting is reinforced when the players come to town, and the acting in the plays is similar to the real life saga being lived out in the kingdom. In this play, everyone, including Hamlet, seems to be putting on a pretense to fool other people. When these two distinct imageries are used in tandem, Shakespeare creates a brilliant, intriguing effect. The final scene is the epitome of this combination. Laertes seemed to have his morals corrupted when he decided to kill Hamlet through treachery. He was corrupted by the evil poison and his motives were painted over. Laertes acted as Hamlet’s old friend challenging him to a friendly duel. As Laertes’ death became imminent, the poison and facades were stripped away and he came clean. Hamlet was shocked by his ulterior motives and was also stunned by finding out everyone’s false pretenses. Towards the end of the play, every character seems diseased and painted, and this interesting combination causes miscommunication among the characters and leads to the death of several characters in this tragedy of blood. Hamlet is a brilliantly crafted play. Evil appears good, good appears as evil, and everyone seems to have both good and evil within them. The true motives of everyone seem disguised in this play, and everyone appears to be out for themselves. In this tragedy, almost every character undergoes transformations. Sometimes these changes are a tangible corruption, or merely a perceived change in attitude through the putting on of pretenses. Hamlet clearly shows how all human beings have the capacity for both good and evil. Cite this page An Analysis of Imagery in Hamlet. (2023, Feb 06). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/an-analysis-of-imagery-in-hamlet/ "An Analysis of Imagery in Hamlet." PapersOwl.com , 6 Feb 2023, https://papersowl.com/examples/an-analysis-of-imagery-in-hamlet/ PapersOwl.com. (2023). An Analysis of Imagery in Hamlet . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/an-analysis-of-imagery-in-hamlet/ [Accessed: 25 Aug. 2024] "An Analysis of Imagery in Hamlet." PapersOwl.com, Feb 06, 2023. Accessed August 25, 2024. https://papersowl.com/examples/an-analysis-of-imagery-in-hamlet/ "An Analysis of Imagery in Hamlet," PapersOwl.com , 06-Feb-2023. [Online]. Available: https://papersowl.com/examples/an-analysis-of-imagery-in-hamlet/. [Accessed: 25-Aug-2024] PapersOwl.com. (2023). An Analysis of Imagery in Hamlet . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/an-analysis-of-imagery-in-hamlet/ [Accessed: 25-Aug-2024] Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade Hire a writer to get a unique paper crafted to your needs. Our writers will help you fix any mistakes and get an A+! Please check your inbox. You can order an original essay written according to your instructions. Trusted by over 1 million students worldwide 1. Tell Us Your Requirements 2. Pick your perfect writer 3. Get Your Paper and Pay Hi! I'm Amy, your personal assistant! Don't know where to start? Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert. short deadlines 100% Plagiarism-Free Certified writers You are using an outdated browser. This site may not look the way it was intended for you. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience and security. London School of Journalism Tel: +44 (0) 20 7432 8140 [email protected] Student log in Search courses English literature essays, shakespeare: hamlet - corruption is an incurable disease. Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole With juice of cursed hebona in a vial, And in the porches of my ears did pour The leperous distilment [The Ghost of Hamlet's father] An incidental comment from a minor character lays down, in the opening moments of Shakespeare's Hamlet , the theme which is to pin together all its aspects. Francisco the guard says, 'I am sick at heart.' [Act I. Sc. I, 29]. Francisco's sick melancholy is in keeping with the atmosphere of corruption and decay which permeates the play; unexplained, difficult to define, but with a clear component of dread. And, typically, his expression of misgivings is misinterpreted, perhaps even underestimated. Barnardo, seeking palpable reasons for Francisco's distraction, asks whether Francisco has had a quiet watch. Perhaps he wonders if the ghost has disturbed Francisco, but whatever is ailing Franciso remains secret, simply becoming a part of the anxious atmosphere. We are constantly reminded of the pervading atmosphere of decay through the imagery used in the play. It is a significant point that the ghost, the only character that could arguably be termed an outside observer, and who is certainly qualified to make some form of prophetic judgement, should be one of the prime sources of imagery of decay, poison and rotting. A graphic description, especially since only moments before the ghost had instructed Hamlet not to pity it! Throughout the play we can trace a progression of corruption, that leads to death, through 'disease' in the characters of Polonius, Claudius and Hamlet. Polonius is perhaps the most obviously corrupt character in Hamlet . His corruption has occurred long before the play begins; the progression is in the extent to which it is revealed to us. From this courteous, almost comically long-winded member of the court, emerges a personality that is first dominating (as he instructs Laertes: 'These few precepts in thy memory/ Look thou character.' [Act I, Sc. iii, 63]), clearly abusive towards Ophelia: then meddling and subversive, as he sets spies on his own son, and finally irredeemably and ultimately fatally corrupt and subversive, as he schemes and plots around Hamlet. His death - physical corruption - is a precursor, signifying to the audience the ultimate fate of all those characters exhibiting signs of corruption. Polonius may be the most obviously corrupt character, but the centre of evil of the play's plot and of the kingdom is Claudius. When Marcellus states, 'Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.' [Act I, Sc. iv, 90], it could be interpreted that he is speaking of a threat of war, but when looked at as symbolic, nothing could better sum up Claudius' corrupting effect on the kingdom which is brought on by his unpunished crime. His evil deeds carry him to the throne and pollute the people around him causing chaos, sorrow and death. The image of rotting along with the released odour permeating far and wide symbolizes the infectious quality of sin. The suggested transformation of a beautiful human into a disgusting, purposeless mass symbolizes the effect of sin on the human soul. Hamlet himself strives to separate his noble qualities, which we have seen throughout the play, from the circumstance and treachery against which he has struggled, and in which he has been entangled. As a prince Hamlet cannot not rule, but he too has become corrupted, not in mind, but by history, by becoming the focus of the ancient revenger's dilemma. Any action he takes will be morally dubious. Not taking revenge will reduce him and make him unfit for rule by his own standards, and taking revenge will do the same. Though Hamlet retains our sympathy at the end of the play, he has murdered five people and caused the suicide of one. But Hamlet can still decide Denmark's future, by effectively appointing a successor. Thus, the corruption dies with him; all the inevitable justice is carried out; and Hamlet's legacy remains. From a morally dubious situation, Hamlet is able to wrest an honourable death, and the chance of stability for the future of his country. From the fates of Polonius, Claudius and Hamlet we see that corruption originating from 'disease' leads to death. Hamlet and Polonius' emotions clouded their judgement and led them to their death. Furthermore we see that those who killed others in the play were motivated by the stagnant disease that infected their minds and bodies. Hamlet, for example, was overcome by the disease and unintentionally killed Polonius, mistaking him for Claudius. Killing another character was clearly not the correct path to solving problems; there was no clear judgement behind rash behaviour that included secrecy, lies, deceit, and murder. Corruption such as this could only lead to death. As an aside, we can note that Fortinbras was an intelligent young man who made his mark through the play quietly and honourably because he was a character whose mind was never infected with the 'disease'. A stagnant disease, with no cure, that inevitably leads to death: corruption. © Rob Moriarity October 2001 Aristotle: Poetics Matthew Arnold Margaret Atwood: Bodily Harm and The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood 'Gertrude Talks Back' Jonathan Bayliss Lewis Carroll, Samuel Beckett Saul Bellow and Ken Kesey John Bunyan: The Pilgrim's Progress and Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales T S Eliot, Albert Camus Castiglione: The Courtier Kate Chopin: The Awakening Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness Charles Dickens John Donne: Love poetry John Dryden: Translation of Ovid T S Eliot: Four Quartets William Faulkner: Sartoris Henry Fielding Ibsen, Lawrence, Galsworthy Jonathan Swift and John Gay Oliver Goldsmith Graham Greene: Brighton Rock Thomas Hardy: Tess of the d'Urbervilles Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter Ernest Hemingway Jon Jost: American independent film-maker James Joyce: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: Will McManus James Joyce: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: Ian Mackean James Joyce: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: Ben Foley Carl Gustav Jung Jamaica Kincaid, Merle Hodge, George Lamming Rudyard Kipling: Kim D. H. Lawrence: Women in Love Henry Lawson: 'Eureka!' Machiavelli: The Prince Jennifer Maiden: The Winter Baby Ian McEwan: The Cement Garden Toni Morrison: Beloved and Jazz R K Narayan's vision of life R K Narayan: The English Teacher R K Narayan: The Guide Brian Patten Harold Pinter Sylvia Plath and Alice Walker Alexander Pope: The Rape of the Lock Jean Rhys: Wide Sargasso Sea. Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre: Doubles Jean Rhys: Wide Sargasso Sea. Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre: Symbolism Shakespeare: Twelfth Night Shakespeare: Hamlet Shakespeare: Shakespeare's Women Shakespeare: Measure for Measure Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra Shakespeare: Coriolanus Shakespeare: The Winter's Tale and The Tempest Sir Philip Sidney: Astrophil and Stella Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queene Tom Stoppard William Wordsworth William Wordsworth and Lucy Studying English Literature The author, the text, and the reader What is literary writing? Indian women's writing Renaissance tragedy and investigator heroes Renaissance poetry The Age of Reason Romanticism New York! New York! Alice, Harry Potter and the computer game The Spy in the Computer Photography and the New Native American Aesthetic 498 IMAGES Hamlet Essay on the Struggle to Find Meaning Hamlet essay Hamlet and Relationships Free Essay Example 19/20 Hamlet Essay on Imagery of Disease, Sickness and Decay Hamlet Essay Hamlet Sample Essay COMMENTS Imagery in Hamlet by William Shakespeare Imagery in Hamlet Essay. Back to: Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare uses dense imagery to reinforce the grand rhetoric with which he builds the world of the play Hamlet. Hamlet is one of the greatest works of Shakespeare because of its timeless thematic concerns. Elaboration on such themes is made possible by corresponding vivid ... Hamlet Imagery In the play, Hamlet thinks about the inevitability of death, using corporeal imagery to convey the bleak realization that everyone eventually decays in the ground. Beyond the play itself, however, this image has, in popular culture, become associated with theatrical performance more generally, a testament to the play's enduring themes and ... Imagery in Hamlet Imagery in Hamlet extends to the realm of war and fortifications, which serve as powerful symbols throughout the play. Shakespeare masterfully employs these images to convey themes of conflict, violence, and the precarious nature of human existence. In Act 1, Scene 1, the Ghost appears before Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo on the battlements ... Imagery in Shakespeare's Hamlet Imagery is used in Hamlet to highlight the theme of madness. Following Hamlet's killing of Polonius, Gertrude declares her son to be as Mad as the sea and wind when both contend Which is the ... Shakespeare's Use of Imagery in Hamlet Shakespeare uses imagery to emphasize the importance of the theme of betrayal, rather than simply mentioning that Hamlet feels betrayed. By doing so, the reader has a superior understanding of the magnitude of the theme and recognizes its significance. Later in the play, additional imagery is used to further the theme of betrayal, as Hamlet ... Imagery in Hamlet: Unveiling The Depths of Shakespeare's Masterpiece When it comes to Shakespearean literature, one cannot overlook the powerful role that imagery plays in conveying complex emotions and themes. In his renowned tragedy, Hamlet, Shakespeare employs vivid and evocative imagery to deepen the audience's understanding of the characters and their motivations. Symbols in Hamlet There‌ ‌are‌ ‌several‌ ‌symbols‌ ‌in‌ ‌‌Hamlet‌‌ ‌and‌ ‌metaphors‌ ‌that‌ ‌are‌ ‌worth‌ ‌mentioning‌ ‌when‌ ‌studying‌ ‌this‌ ‌play.‌ ‌The most important are: unweeded gardens, Ophelia's flowers, Yorick's skull, the ghost, and nature imagery. We will write a custom essay ... Appearance vs. Reality Theme in Hamlet The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Appearance vs. Reality appears in each scene of Hamlet. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis. How often theme appears: scene length: Act 1, Scene 1. Act 1, Scene 2. Act 1, Scene 3. Hamlet Sample Essay Outlines Sample Essay Outlines. PDF Cite. The following paper topics are based on the entire play. Following each topic is a thesis and sample outline. Use these as a starting point for your paper. Topic ... Themes Imagery Hamlet: Advanced What gives Hamlet its particular tone is that many of the most powerful images in this tragedy are pictures of disease and corruption. In the first moments of the play we hear that Francisco is sick at heart (I.1.9). Marcellus speaking like a Chorus is certain: Something is rotten in the state of Denmark (I.4.90). Hamlet Symbolism with Examples and Analysis Symbol #3. Skull. The skull in Hamlet is of Yorick, the court's jester. This skull is a symbol of death, decay and uselessness of a person after his death. It is a physical remnant of the dead person that is an omen of what he may have to face in the life hereafter. The skull makes Hamlet think about his own destiny and his own life after his ... Critical debates The imagery of Hamlet Hamlet: AS & A2 With Caroline Spurgeon ( Shakespeare's Imagery and What it Tells Us, 1935) a new approach emerged. She explored the role of imagery. In certain plays, there are large numbers of particular kinds of images. She identified in Hamlet: 'the number of images of sickness, disease … the idea of an ulcer or tumour, as descriptive of the unwholesome ... How does Shakespeare create suspense and use imagery in Hamlet? What's Hamlet features a strong current of suspense from the very first scene, with the watchmen nervous about the night and the appearance of the ghost. The scene takes place outside at night, making ... Imagery of Corruption & Decay This imagery of corruption and decay is also used to suggest that the whole state of Denmark is sick. Laertes tells Ophelia that "the sanity and health of the whole state" depends upon Hamlet and, throughout Act One, various characters voice ideas about a sickness taking hold in the Danish state (e.g. Marcellus' fear that "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark"). Imagery of Disease and Corruption in Shakespeare's Hamlet Imagery of Disease in Hamlet In Hamlet Shakespeare weaves the dominant motif of disease into every scene to illustrate the corrupt state of Denmark and Hamlet's all-consuming pessimism. Images of ulcers, pleurisy, full body pustules, apoplexy, and madness parallel the sins of drunkenness, espionage, war, adultery, and murder, to reinforce the central idea that Denmark is dying. Hamlet Symbolism Analysis: [Essay Example], 682 words Hamlet Symbolism Analysis. William Shakespeare's play Hamlet is renowned for its intricate use of symbolism to convey deeper meanings and explore the complexities of human nature. Throughout the text, various symbols emerge, each with its own significance and implications. This essay aims to analyze the symbolism in Hamlet and shed light on the ... An Analysis of Imagery in Hamlet Shakespeare starts his imagery of a diseased poison creeping through society early on, in Hamlet's soliloquy in which he compares the kingdom to an unweeded garden. The images of poison are much more easily invoked when a real-life poison is used in the story. Since poison was used to kill King Hamlet, and eventually Claudius, Gertrude ... Imagery And Imagery Of Shakespeare 's Hamlet 1015 Words. 5 Pages. Open Document. Shakespeare's Hamlet uses imagery as a means to develop the ideas that grow out of the representation of a thought. Shakespeare uses imagery as vivid or figurative language to represent objects, actions and ideas. The imagery of disease, poison and decay is used throughout the play by Shakespeare for a purpose. Hamlet Critical Essays One may smile, and smile, and be a villain' (1.5.109). Hamlet is determined to act without delay, and swears as much to his father. We know, however, that if this is all there is, this is going to ... Shakespeare: Hamlet English Literature Essays Shakespeare: Hamlet - Corruption is an incurable disease. Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole With juice of cursed hebona in a vial, ... We are constantly reminded of the pervading atmosphere of decay through the imagery used in the play. It is a significant point that the ghost, the only character that could arguably ... Studyclix Get everything you need to know about Women in Hamlet. Analysis, related quotes, theme tracking. Show all websites. The LC English course broken down into topics from essays to Yeats. For each topic find study notes, sample essays as well as past exam questions with marking schemes. Hamlet Henri Suhamy (essay date 1983) SOURCE: "The Metaphorical Fallacy," in Cahiers Elisabethains, No. 24, October, 1983, pp. 27-31. [ In the following essay, Suhamy asserts that the disease imagery in Hamlet elicits a variety of ... assignment homework phd report resume review speech thesis