Shakespeare's Hamlet has often been considered one of the most intriguing and problematic plays of the English language. Among the many questions that Hamlet raises, lies the subject of whether or not Hamlet actually becomes insane. Using extensive evidence from the text and scholarly criticism, it can be efficiently argued that Hamlet does indeed maintain his sanity throughout the entirety of the play. By analyzing the character of Hamlet, the major theme of appearance versus reality in the play
disastrous mortal disease known as Black Death spread across Europe in the years 1346 to 1353. The frightening name, however only came several centuries after its visitation. Chronicles and letters from the time describe the terror wrought by the illness. As the great Renaissance poet Petrarch wrote, ‘O happy posterity, who will not experience suck abysmal woe and will look upon our testimony as a fable.’ (14th century). Using specific references, The Black Death has undoubtedly served as the superior
The Gothic is the study of the otherness; the unseen. It disturbs us as it is associated with anxiety, chaos, darkness, the grotesque and evokes images of death, destruction and decay. (Steele, 1997)According to Catherine Spooner in ‘Contemporary Gothic’ 2006, “The Gothic lurks in all sorts of unexpected corners.” It is incredibly broad - superstitions, the uncanny, the monstrous, the forgotten past, the Gothic feminine - to name but a few are all elements which combine to form this theme. The Gothic