Warning: Use of undefined constant referer - assumed 'referer' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 102

Warning: Use of undefined constant host - assumed 'host' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 105

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 106

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 109
Hamlet - College Essay

Hamlet


In the play “” by William Shakespeare, Prince uses many double meaning phrases to speak his mind to the audience and the other characters in the play. "I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw" (II.ii.387-8). This is a classic example of the "wild and whirling words" with which hopes to persuade people to believe that he is mad. These words, however, prove that beneath his "antic disposition," is very sane indeed. Beneath his strange choice of imagery involving points of the compass, the weather, and hunting birds, he is announcing that he is calculatedly choosing the times when to appear mad. “ feigns insanity because it allows him to do ...

Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers

his madness is assumed. After the Ghost's first appearance to , decides that when he finds it suitable or advantageous to him, he will put on a mask of madness so to speak. He confides to Horatio that when he finds the occasion appropriate, he will "put an antic disposition on" (I.v.172). This Pg. 2 strategy gives a chance to find proof of Claudius' guilt. Although he has sworn to avenge his father's murder, he is not sure of the Ghost's origins: "The spirit that I have seen / May be the devil" (II.ii.610-11). He uses his apparent madness as a delaying tactic to buy time in which to discover whether the Ghost's tale of murder is true and to decide how to handle the situation. At the same time, he wants to appear unthreatening and harmless so that people will divulge information to him, much in the same way that an adult will talk about an important secret in the presence of a young child. To convince everyone of his madness, spends many hours walking back and forth alone in the ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.


Already a member? Login

are also fully convinced. They are 's equals in age but are far inferior in intellect and therefore don't understand that he is faking. However, although manages to convince these simple friends and Ophelia of his insanity, other characters in the play such as Claudius, Gertrude and even Polonius eventually see through his behavior. Claudius is constantly on his guard because of his guilty conscience and he therefore recognizes that is faking. The king is suspicious of from the very beginning. The reason Claudius is so reluctant to believe that Ophelia's rejection has caused 's lunacy is that he doesn't believe in his madness at all. staged the play to learn the truth about ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library.
Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports,
and research papers in 2 minutes or less.


CITE THIS PAGE:

Hamlet. (2005, December 16). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Hamlet/38088
"Hamlet." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 16 Dec. 2005. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Hamlet/38088>
"Hamlet." Essayworld.com. December 16, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Hamlet/38088.
"Hamlet." Essayworld.com. December 16, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Hamlet/38088.
JOIN NOW
Join today and get instant access to this and 50,000+ other essays


PAPER DETAILS
Added: 12/16/2005 12:39:25 PM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 1541
Pages: 6

Save | Report

SHARE THIS PAPER

SAVED ESSAYS
Save and find your favorite essays easier

SIMILAR ESSAYS
» Hamlet: Emotional States
» Psychoanalysis Of Hamlet
» Hamlet Research Paper
» Psychoanalyzing Hamlet: Freud
» Hamlet 4
» Hamlet - A Study Of Procrastin
» Hamlet And Comic Relief
» Hamlet: Notes
» Hamlet - Was Prince Hamlet Wack...
» Hamlet - Plot Summary
Copyright | Cancel | Contact Us

Copyright © 2024 Essayworld. All rights reserved