Hamlet

A detailed Summary of Hamlet

There are numerous themes put forth by Shakespeare in 'Hamlet', one of his greatest tragedies. Many of these themes are relevant to life today. When man's social, political and ethical worlds are out of balance, bad things happen (at least in Shakespearean tragedies). In other words, natural illnesses or occurrences are symbolic of the illness in his thinking. This happens today and is also illustrated in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Similarly, man often sees supposedly abnormal occurrences in nature as symbols or warning about the breakdown of political, social or ethical systems. In Hamlet Act I, Scene I, Horatio says the moon "Was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse". He compares the forthcoming downfall of Rome with the pending destruction of Denmark. He takes natures happenings to be a sign of future misfortunes for the state of Denmark. Today, people still do the same thing. For instance, many religious groups take nature's destructive forces; (earthquakes, volcanic activity, etc.) to be signs of the planet's coming Armageddon.

Hamlet's timelessness can be seen through the themes that it portrays. Political, social and ethical corruption will never disappear. As long as man's nature remains the same, their will always

After his first murder Macbeth begins to feel a sense of empowerment in his own life and he starts to take charge of his own actions. The first evidence of this is when Macbeth kills Duncan's groomsmen without Lady Macbeth's permission or consent. Upon discovering her husband's unplanned murders Lady Macbeth is so shocked that she faints. Macbeth no longer needs Lady Macbeth to make his decisions for him, he has gained the power and control, but because she made him kill Duncan he can now kill more readily than he could have without her. This is evident as he plans the murder of Banquo and Fleance and hires the murderers himself without feeling any guilt or consulting his wife at all. Macbeth, however, with his new sense of control, refuses to submit to her command. He goes on with his plans to kill Banquo and later to kills Macduff's family.

Of course, Shakespeare uses the eternal struggle of good and evil to help further illustrate what is proper, moral behavior. In, Othello, one is presented with the classic battle between the deceitful forces of evil and the innocence of good. It is these forces of evil that ultimately lead to the downfall of Othello, a noble Venetian moor, well-known by the people of Venice as a honorable soldier and a worthy leader. Othello's downfall results in the murder of his wife Desdemona. Desdemona is representative of the good in nature. Good can be defined as forgiving, honest, innocent and unsuspecting. The evil contained within Othello is by no means magical or mythical yet is represented by the character Iago. Iago is cunning, untrustworthy, selfish, and plotting. He uses these traits to take advantage by slowly planning his own triumph while watching the demise of others. It is this that is Iago's motivation, the ultimate defeat of good by the wrath of evil. Not only is it in his own nature of evil that he suceeds but also in the weaknesses of the other characters. Hunger for power is again portrayed as a starting point for evil. amoral behavior. Iago uses the weaknesses of Othello, specifically jealousy and his devotion to things as they seem, to manipulate people into getting what he wants. From the start of the play, Iago's scheming a

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Approximate Word count = 1487
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English