Hamlet, Prince of Denmark - William Shakespeare – Tragedy at its Best
William Shakespeare is the 16th century’s greatest playwright and is said to be the king of all kinds of drama. He has written drama in various styles – be it romantic, tragedy or comedy. His ‘Hamlet - Prince Of Denmark’ is one of the most intricate, humane and intelligent tragedies in the history of English Literature. Shakespeare wrote this play in later years of his career between 1599 to 1601, and it was first performed in the year 1602. Even today, 400 years after its creation, this play is still one of the most performed and appreciated plays.
The Story
The story begins with a supernatural announcement from the ghost of King Hamlet, who reveals to Prince Hamlet that he was indeed murdered by his own brother and urges him to take revenge. While, in the background the perpetrator, his uncle, Claudius has married Hamlet’s mother Gertrude. This deeply affects Prince Hamlet. Though, he does not respond instantly, he erratically gauges the truth. Claudius realises that Hamlet suspects him and probably knows the truth and hence banishes Hamlet to England, on the charge of killing Polonius, the chief counsellor.
Universe plays a game, and though he knows his end is near, Prince Hamlet comes back to Denmark. This infuriates Claudius and he arranges a combat between Polonius’s son, Laertes and Hamlet. Eventually, Gertrude dies after drinking poison-laced wined destined for Hamlet, while Hamlet is also killed due to the wounds caused by poisoned sword, but he manages to kill both Laertes and Claudius before dying and hence takes his revenge.
The Existential Question
Shakespearean characters have a divinely countenance just like Greek tragedies where everything is extreme - from heroism to debauchery. We feel both fear and pity for Hamlet. We are both sorry for him and we are also disappointed at his extreme emotions. Also, these characters’ actions have a domino-like consequence. In the play, a character’s (Claudius’) action brings the ultimate doom of the entire royal family and many other close members and leaves a lasting impact on the audience.
Through Hamlet, Shakespeare comments on the quintessence of human existence. He displays through his characters, how far a human can go for his ambitions. For example, in case of Hamlet - the ambition is to take his father’s revenge, while for Gertude, the aim is to attain luxuries and status.
Hamlet, the protagonist of this tragedy announces an ultimate question about human existence that is “To be, or not to be”. The enigmatic prince, on his pursuit of revenge against Claudius, is continuously in doubt - doubt about the existence of ghost, the crime of his uncle, the character of his mother, the loyalty of his friends and most importantly the meaning of his life. This phrase has left a deep impression and is one of the most popular and widely quoted lines in English literature and has been used in numerous works of music, literature, theatre and films.
The Story
The story begins with a supernatural announcement from the ghost of King Hamlet, who reveals to Prince Hamlet that he was indeed murdered by his own brother and urges him to take revenge. While, in the background the perpetrator, his uncle, Claudius has married Hamlet’s mother Gertrude. This deeply affects Prince Hamlet. Though, he does not respond instantly, he erratically gauges the truth. Claudius realises that Hamlet suspects him and probably knows the truth and hence banishes Hamlet to England, on the charge of killing Polonius, the chief counsellor.
Universe plays a game, and though he knows his end is near, Prince Hamlet comes back to Denmark. This infuriates Claudius and he arranges a combat between Polonius’s son, Laertes and Hamlet. Eventually, Gertrude dies after drinking poison-laced wined destined for Hamlet, while Hamlet is also killed due to the wounds caused by poisoned sword, but he manages to kill both Laertes and Claudius before dying and hence takes his revenge.
The Existential Question
Shakespearean characters have a divinely countenance just like Greek tragedies where everything is extreme - from heroism to debauchery. We feel both fear and pity for Hamlet. We are both sorry for him and we are also disappointed at his extreme emotions. Also, these characters’ actions have a domino-like consequence. In the play, a character’s (Claudius’) action brings the ultimate doom of the entire royal family and many other close members and leaves a lasting impact on the audience.
Through Hamlet, Shakespeare comments on the quintessence of human existence. He displays through his characters, how far a human can go for his ambitions. For example, in case of Hamlet - the ambition is to take his father’s revenge, while for Gertude, the aim is to attain luxuries and status.
Hamlet, the protagonist of this tragedy announces an ultimate question about human existence that is “To be, or not to be”. The enigmatic prince, on his pursuit of revenge against Claudius, is continuously in doubt - doubt about the existence of ghost, the crime of his uncle, the character of his mother, the loyalty of his friends and most importantly the meaning of his life. This phrase has left a deep impression and is one of the most popular and widely quoted lines in English literature and has been used in numerous works of music, literature, theatre and films.
Freeditorial is an online library and book publisher, which offers readers with free e-books such as The Life of John Ruskin, Mystery of the Sea, The Patrician, Hamlet Prince Of Denmark, The Benefactress, Afterward, Youth of Becket, Number 70 Berlin and several other novels written by Thomas Hardy, Virginia Woolf, John Galsworthy, Edith Wharton, Charlotte Mary Yonge, William Shakespeare ( freeditorial.com/en/books/hamlet-pri ), Elizabeth Von Arnim, etc., to download or read online.
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