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High School Book Reports
Hamlet
Grade Level: Junior / Grade: A
Critical Analysis of Hamlet
Biography of the Author
According to church documents, William Shakespeare was baptized on April 26, 1564 in Stratford, England (Dunton-Downer 9). This gives support for the claim that Shakespeare was born on St. George’s day, on which day he would subsequently die 52 years later (Lamb 2). Stratford was a small, rural town in England. To have written so passionately about nature, Shakespeare must have explored the fields and forests surrounding Stratford (Dunton-Downer 9). In Ophelia’s madness, she sings about simple and natural objects as “grass-green turf” (4.5.31), “a stone” (4.5.32), “mountain snow” (4.5.36), “sweet flowers” (4.5.38), and “showers” 4.5.40). Gertrude also uses poetic language about nature as she explains Ophelia’s death (4.7.166-182).
After Shakespeare completed secondary school, his father, John Shakespeare, was no longer financially stable, and young William was unable to move on to an Oxford or Cambridge University (Dunton-Downer 10). On November 28, 1582 Shakespeare was given permission to marry the older by eight years, Anne Hathaway (Dunton-Downer 9). Six months later, Susanna, their first child, was baptized; and a year and a half later, their twins, Judith and Hamnet.
From 1585 to 1592, there is an unknown part of Shakespeare’s life known as “The Lost Years”. Various traveling theatre-groups visited Stratford during these years. Shakespeare may have traveled to London with one of these companies to become an actor, then gradually became a playwright and gained attention (Lamb 3). These are the same type of traveling actors that Rosencrantz & Guildenstern send to Elsinore (2.2.296-297). There is not much known of Shakespeare until in 1592, Robert Greene, a university educated, failing playwright competitor wrote about Shakespeare saying, “For there is an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his ‘Tiger’s heart wrapped in a player’s hide’ supposes he is a well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you, and, being an absolute Johannes Factotum, is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country.” This makes the inference that Shakespeare was building a successful reputation for himself and had earned enough status to rouse Robert Greene’s envy (Lamb 4). In 1594, Shakespeare joined the Lord Chamberlain’s Men with his focus on playwriting comedies and history plays. Shakespeare returned to his family in Stratford when his only son, Hamnet died in 1596. In 1599, the opening of the Globe Theatre transformed Shakespeare’s career (Lamb 4). There is a hidden reference to the Globe Theater in Hamlet, “Remember thee? / Ay, thou poor ghost, whiles memory holds a seat / in this distracted globe. Remember thee?” (1.5.95-97)
In 1600-1601, Shakespeare’s first breakthrough masterpiece Hamlet is suggested to have been brought with the death of his son Hamnet in 1596, his father’s death in 1601, Shakespeare’s 40th birthday, and for forsaking his family in Stratford that brought this new form of writing (Dunton-Downer 14). When his eleven-year-old son Hamnet died, it may have provided a deeply intimate basis for Hamlet (Dunton-Downer 333). It disturbs the distant relationship between father & son and any unfinished grieving he had. As Polonius gives Laertes fatherly advice as he prepares to go away to France, it is possible to think that these are words that Shakespeare may have wanted to share with his own son before he died (1.3.58-80). Shakespeare died on St. George’s Day in 1616. He is now buried beneath Holy Trinity Church, where he was baptized as a child.
Hamlet is the story of a Danish prince avenging his father’s death.
From: Act 3 Scene 1
"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. To die, to sleep -
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to - 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep -
To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life,
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of disprized love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th'unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sickled o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action."
Theme Analysis: Madness
Hamlet feigned madness and remained sane in an order to avenge his father’s death. Throughout the entire story, Hamlet is under control and uses the guise of madness to fool everyone else. He did not imagine the Ghost; it is real. From the start, Hamlet’s intention was to make everyone else think he is delusional. This front was Hamlet’s strategy to kill Claudius.
Marcellus, Barnardo, Horatio, and Hamlet all saw the Ghost themselves. Hamlet did not imagine the Ghost. The message the Ghost gave Hamlet was true. Claudius did murder the King, and was getting away with it. Hamlet verbally announces to Horatio that he would “put an antic disposition on” (1.5.172). His intention is to make everyone else think he is delusional. This is the image he creates for himself during his brutal verbal assault of Ophelia (3.1.131-155). He senses, and even hopes that Polonius and Claudius are listening so they can think he’s mad.
The wordplay that Hamlet uses with Rosencrantz & Guildenstern, Claudius, and Polonius are intentional puns that hold true meaning and are sometimes used to taunt. Polonius admits that Hamlet’s comebacks are rational, “How pregnant sometimes / his replies are! A happiness that often madness hits on, which reason / and sanity could not so prosperously be delivered of” (2.2.203-205). In the company of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern, Hamlet often speaks with his intentional madness but also with sober accents and uncensored truth (Brown 163). In Horatio’s presence, Hamlet always conducts himself in a sane and rational manner. Hamlet’s use of clever comments and wordplay guilts Claudius’ conscience and provokes reactions.
During Hamlet’s conversation with Ophelia, while being spied upon, he purposely complicates questions and answers. His words are that of a pretended madman. Hamlet denies that he ever gave her gifts; he stomps on Ophelia’s prayers; he attacks the defenseless girl who was once so close and so open to him (Brown 167). He again acts madness yet still speaks some truth, “I did love you once. / Indeed my lord you made me believe so.” (3.1.114-115). Although, Claudius is not convinced that Hamlet is mad, “…what he spake, though it lacked form a little, / was not like madness…” (3.1.156-164); even with Polonius’ long-winded examination of Hamlet’s madness (2.2.85-149)
Feigning madness allows Hamlet to display his disruptive pretense of being mad and express the horror he feels of his mother’s hasty remarriage in front of the entire court, “…for look you how cheerfully my mother looks, and my father / died within’s two hours / … / O heavens! Die two months ago, and not forgotten yet? / Then there’s hope a great man’s memory may outlive his life half a year…” (3.2.104-130). Madness allows Hamlet to mock his rival, express his own bitter sense of treachery, taunt the king and speak in irony, “At supper. / At supper? Where? / Not where he eats, but where a is eaten / ... / A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and / eat of the fish that hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm. / My mother. Father and mother is man and wife, man and wife is one flesh, and so, my mother” (4.3.17-53) (Brown 173).
Proof of Hamlet’s sanity is Hamlet’s admittance to it. One admittance is in Gertrude’s bed chambers, “That I essentially am not in madness, / But mad in craft” (3.4.188-189). Another admittance occurs to Laertes before his duel, “Was’t Hamlet wronged Laertes? Never Hamlet. / If Hamlet from himself be tane away, / And when he’s not himself does wrong Laertes, / then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet denies it. / Who does it then? His madness. If’t be so, / Hamlet is of the faction that is wronged, / His madness is poor Hamlet’s enemy” (5.2.205-211). Here he speaks as if his madness had been real and pardons him from all responsibility.
Hamlet always believes in his sanity, he never questions his madness. Hamlet is conscious of his intentions at all times. He uses wordplay, taunting, and metaphors to convince his enemies that he is mad. Hamlet doubts his inability to act and questions his desire to die. Nevertheless, he always remains confident in his sanity.
Character Connection: Hamlet to Winston Smith (1984 by George Orwell)
Winston Smith and Hamlet are lonely characters whose lives are filled with corruption and tragic endings. Scandals and corruption in government are issues that try to be resolved. Hamlet and Winston Smith have only one companion and confidant that supports them in their endeavors. Both of their stories end tragically and nothing good comes out; only death and ruin.
Scandals and corruption in government are issues that try to be resolved. Hamlet’s uncle murders his own brother to usurp the throne, “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life / Now wears his crown” (1.5.39). This is a horrible act; a murderer has no place as King in any country. The Queen then marries her late husband’s murderer and brother. Incest is a detestable deed. A queen that commits this sin has no place in royalty. She sets a bad example for her people. In 1984, murder, deceit, and brainwashing are used to keep secrets hidden and to pretend that the known in unknown. Any act of treason, whether big or small, is grounds for torture and execution in Oceania’s government, “It is intolerable to us that an erroneous thought should exist anywhere in the world, however secret and powerless it may be. Even in the instant of death we cannot permit any deviation” (Orwell 227). If one is even guilty of “thoughtcrime”, they are incarcerated and exposed to their worst fear to conform their thoughts, “In your case, the worst thing in the world happens to be rats…They will leap onto your face and bore straight into it.” (Orwell 253-255). These governments are scandalous and should be reformed.
Hamlet and Winston Smith have only one companion and confidant that support them in their endeavors. Hamlet’s only true, loyal, and honest friend is Horatio “Give me that man / That is not passion’s slave, and I will wear him / In my heart’s core, ay in my heart of heart, / As I do thee” (3.2.61-64). He is the only one that Hamlet shares his plots to avenge Claudius. Horatio keeps Hamlet’s secrets and never betrays him. As Hamlet dies, Horatio swears to tell Hamlet’s story and not keep the events secret. At first, Winston Smith is a lonely character, with no one that he can partner with and overthrow Oceania’s totalitarian government. Until one day, Julia is able to communicate to Winston her illegal love for him, “That was above all he wanted to hear. Not merely the love of one person, but the animal instinct, the simple undifferentiated desire: that was the force that would tear the party to pieces” (Orwell 111). After finally corresponding enough, the two meet in an isolated location and become partners in “allcrime”. At the conclusion though, Winston is separated from the only one he loves, Julia, “‘Julia! Julia! Julia, my love! Julia!’” (Orwell 250).
Both stories of Hamlet and Winston Smith end tragically and nothing good comes out; only death and ruin. Hamlet is finally able to avenge his father’s death by killing Claudius. But for Hamlet, no benefits were reaped. Hamlet’s mother dies right before him. She drinks from a poisoned cup that was meant for him. The love of Hamlet’s life dies. Ophelia goes mad and all hope is lost for the relationship that Ophelia and Hamlet could have shared. Hamlet himself is slain; he avenges someone else’s death by losing his own, “I am dead, Horatio. Wretched queen adieu… / …Horatio, I am dead, / …Thou livest; report me and my cause aright / To the unsatisfied” (5.2.312-319). In 1984, Winston and Julia hope to fight through torture. Unfortunately, it is too much to endure. They betray each other and are allowed to reenter society, although there is nothing else to live for. Pain, loss, and heartache are all the Winston is left with, “The long-hope-for bullet was to enter his brain…Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose” (Orwell 265-266).
Winston Smith and Hamlet are lonely characters whose lives are filled with corruption and tragic endings. These sad stories are depressing and acknowledge the ills of life. Government is corrupt and filled with scandal. Few people can be trusted, and ultimately, these stories end in the character’s demise.
To What Extent is 1984 A Commentary to Modern Society in the United States?
1984 is not a commentary to modern society in the U.S. The United States is a free country. Its citizens are guaranteed freedoms such as speech, thought, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Oceania’s totalitarian government grants no freedom to its people. Even to think of committing a crime, expressing yourself or your opinion is grounds for execution or torture. This is so that conformity is maintained. All feelings of love, passion, and creativity are destroyed.
Society in the United States does not seem to be moving into any type of totalitarianism. Every era of time brings more tolerance. In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment granted suffrage to women. Prior to this, equality had finally become true among all races and ethnicities. Society has shifted the fundamental principles our country was founded upon. Immoral practices that were initially condemned are now becoming part of freedom of choice. Homosexuality, abortion, and profanity are quickly becoming mainstream. These are lifestyle choices that do not conform to patterns of conduct established by America. In the past, society would have looked down on these actions, but now society as well as the government recognizes these actions as freedom of choice. The U.S. is a country run by individuals working for their happiness and freedoms.
The totalitarian society seen in 1984 has established a pattern. Anyone that does not follow this pattern is wiped out. Even if obedience comes with negativity, it is not enough. To the “Inner Party”, it is intolerable for any flawed thought to exist. They feel that human beings are not fit to govern themselves. Unlike the U.S., any actions or thoughts of freedom, rising up, expressing love or joy is eliminated. Oceania’s totalitarian government rules everyone so that conformity and power of the government is maintained.
The United States government and Oceania’s government are nothing alike. One is free and the other is far from it. George Orwell’s intention was to warn against totalitarian governments in 1984, but that problem has not risen in modern society.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. Hamlet: Poem Unlimited. New York: Riverhead Books, 2003.
Brooke, Tucker. Essays on Shakespeare and Other Elizabethans. United States of America: Archon Books, 1969.
Brown, John Russell. Shakespeare: The Tragedies. New York: PALGRAVE, 2001.
Dunton-Downer, Leslie, and Alan Riding. Essential Shakespeare Handbook. 1st ed. New York: DK Publishing, Inc., 2004.
Lamb, Sidney. Cliffs Complete Hamlet. New York: Hungry Minds, Inc., 2000.
O'Toole, Fintan. Shakespeare Is Hard, But So Is Life: A Radical Guide to Shakespearean Tragedy. London: Granta Publications, 2002.
Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1983.
Andrews, Richard and Rex Gibson. Hamlet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
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