Feminist Theory and Ophelia Daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, lover of Hamlet, Ophelia, from William Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, Hamlet, could be examined through a feminist lens. Feminist criticism analyzes the representation of women through a traditionally male dominated society, it’s concerned with the ways that literature reinforces or undermines the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women (The OWL at Purdue, “Feminist Criticism”). The assumption in feminism
murdered. He entreats Hamlet to avenge his death, but to spare Gertrude, to let Heaven decide her fate. In his relentless confusion, he questions the Ghost's honesty. What if the Ghost is not a true spirit, but rather an agent of the devil sent to tempt him? What if killing Claudius results in Hamlet's having to remember his memories for all eternity? Hamlet agonizes over what he perceives as his weakness because he cannot stop himself from thinking. Words paralyze Hamlet, but the world he lives
play Hamlet by Shakespeare, the protagonist Hamlet experiences the distortions of love and trust after his return to Denmark. Hamlet whole-heartedly believed that his mother Gertrude was truly in love with his father, King Hamlet. However, in less than one month after King Hamlet’s death, Gertrude remarries Claudius, her husband’s own brother. Upon the hasty marriage of his mother and his uncle, Hamlet feels betrayed by his mother and is absolutely desperate over her unfaithfulness. Hamlet then
Shakespeare’s Hamlet, as well as in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. They consider the female characters in these plays as essentially two-dimensional characters that serve only to help develop their male counterparts' characters. I, however, argue that Gertrude and Ophelia in Hamlet and Linda in Death of a Salesman may be interpreted as prominent characters. I will make my case for this position by examining key comments and actions of each of the three women. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet,
for any story, because without an antagonist, there is no conflict. In this essay, I will be analyzing the antagonists in the plays Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. The antagonist in Much Ado About Nothing is Don Jon, the half brother of Don Pedro who is the noble Prince of Aragon. Claudius is the antagonist in Hamlet. He recently became the King of Denmark after his older brother was mysteriously killed. One might assume both of these antagonists would have more similarities
gift of the gods, the most subtle of all the modes of speech. It is an armour and a weapon; it is a philosophy and a perpetual entertainment; it is food for the hungry of wit and drink to those thirsting for laughter…” In both William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince of Denmark and Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale, irony, satire and other forms of comedy are used to provide humor and entertainment. Even though these works are not defined as comedies, by adding in moments of humor
Shakespeare’s works Othello and Hamlet with archetypal qualities that are shared between main characters of the stories. Some of these qualities include being deceitful, loyal, or vengeful. However, though both pieces contain references to similar characteristics such as deceit, loyalty and trust, or vengeance, these qualities do not always appear in the same types of characters or in the same form of action in the plot. Both Iago in Othello and Hamlet and Claudius in Hamlet portray manipulative qualities
as physical illness, even though they are far less common. This is proven to be true for Hamlet in the well-known Shakespearean play, “Hamlet”, as well as for Jason in Susan Vaught’s novel, Freaks Like Us. Hamlet struggles with bipolar disorder while coping with the loss of his father and his mother’s betrayal. Jason, a teenager with schizophrenia, struggles to see clearly due to the voices in his head. Hamlet and Jason struggle with different psychological disorders, but both face challenges because
theory of their own. According to them, Polonius unable to pay off his sons debts decides to sell his daughter’s body to the witches. Ophelia’s brother was apparently about to retrieve her body to sell it while he was interrupted by Hamlet. The Tiv elders say that Hamlet did not have the noble intentions of stopping someone from disturbing his lovers body but to stop someone from selling it and reaching his chiefly status. Thus it was the struggle for power that killed everyone instead of the passion
bipolar disorder (bipolar disorder 10). Hamlet and McMurphy both experience mental illnesses that cause them to go insane, and causes them to do many skeptic actions. In the tragic novel Hamlet, Hamlet suffers from bipolar disorder. His moods fluctuate very easily from him saying “Hello Beautiful” (Shakspeare 143) to Ophelia, to then saying, “I didn’t love you.” (Shakespeare 143). Hamlet's mood instantly changes, and it never remained the same. During this time, Hamlet shows signs of being suicidal, when