Hamlet
The most influential writer in all of English literature, William Shakespeare was born in 1564 to a successful middle-class glove-maker in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Shakespeare attended grammar school, but his formal education proceeded no further. In 1582 he married an older woman, Anne Hathaway, and had three children with her. Around 1590 he left his family behind and traveled to London to work as an actor and playwright. Public and critical success quickly followed, and Shakespeare eventually became the most popular playwright in England and part-owner of the Globe Theater. His career bridged the reigns of Elizabeth I (ruled 1558-1603) and James I (ruled 1603-1625), and he was a favorite of both monarchs. Indeed, James granted Shakespeare's company the greatest possible compliment by bestowing upon its members the title of King's Men. Wealthy and renowned, Shakespeare retired to Stratford and died in 1616 at the age of fifty-two. At the time of Shakespeare's death, literary luminaries such as Ben Jonson hailed his works as timeless. Shakespeare's works were collected and printed in various editions in the century following his death, and by the early eighteenth century his reputation as the greatest poet ever
And thy commandment alone shall live within the book and volume of my brain It is also important to note that Hamlet is extremely melancholy and discontented with the state of affairs in Denmark and in his own family-indeed, in the world at large. He is extremely disappointed with his mother for marrying his uncle so quickly, and he repudiates Ophelia, a woman he once claimed to love, in the harshest terms. His words often indicate his disgust with and distrust of women in general. At a number of points in the play, he contemplates his own death and even the option of suicide. Whilst memory holds a seat in this distracted globe. Of Hamlet's wildness: so shall I hope your virtues Hamlet is of the faction that is wrong'd, The Prince of Denmark, Hamlet, has been courting her. The subject of whether or not Hamlet and Ophelia are in love has come up, but I believe (and am mostly backed up on this), that they were. It's not really in question, at least, that Ophelia did love Hamlet. Hamlet's love for her is only questionable because of his later behavior, but I believe that his outburts are almost more proof of his love for her - he is so upset at the suspicion that the girl he loves is agianst him, or spying on him, he becomes outraged and starts to lump her with his mother, whom he's already extremely angered with. May be a devil; and the devil hath power By stating that Hamlet could have controlled his fraudulent Ophelia has often been seen to be weak-willed, unwilling to show or act according to the way she feels. Aside from the threatening dominance of her father, we wonder why she does not want to participate in helping Hamlet overcome his madness? One must note that her knowledge of the situation is shallow, and not as all encompassing as the audience. She has no knowledge of the Ghost's appearance to Hamlet, or of Claudius's murder, or Hamlet's need to feign madness. All she does know, according to her father, is that Hamlet is mad because of her rejection. Such a realization must place a tremendous burden on an innocent girl like her. And it is thus in order that she can render Hamlet some help to overcome his madness does she readily participate with her father by telling him of Hamlet's appearance to her in her chamber, showing him Hamlet's letters, and by allowing their conversation to be heard. These things she does out of her love and concern and because she has no one else to turn to for help.
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Nurse Ratched, Chief Bromden, Gertrude Ophelia, Rosencrantz Guildenstern-but, Madness Hamlet, Patrick McMurphy, Answer Question, Cuckoo's Nest, Oration Dignity, Hamlet Claudius, nurse ratched, chief bromden, hamlet's madness, cuckoo's nest, flew cuckoo's nest, throughout play, flew cuckoo's, father's death, electroshock treatments, hamlet hamlet, randle mcmurphy, electro shock therapy, billy bibbit's mother, hamlet's mother gertrude, frailty thy name,
Approximate Word count = 10820
Approximate Pages = 43 (250 words per page double spaced)
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