Hamlet

Researched by, Jerome Mehrman

Author: William Shakespeare

Author’s Perspective

• Date- Elizabethan Era (believed to be written between 1599-1601)

• Perspective- Feudalistic Denmark (observed in setting and monarchy)

Opposing Forces

• King Claudius- creates a vendetta to expose Hamlet and his insanity

• Hamlet- determined to reveal King Claudius as his father’s murderer (Hamlet sr.)

• Denmark vs. Finland – Feuding countries over land disputes

Important Places

• Castle Roof- Hamlet and company’s first confrontation with the ghost of King Hamlet, setting Hamlet’s revenge plot

• Castle Lobby- King Claudius and Polonius observing Hamlet rant at Ophelia over their unrequited love

• Castle Chapel- Hamlet observes King Claudius confess the murder the Hamlet sr. while Hamlet jr. listens in the hallway

• Grand Dining room- King Claudius, frantic from guilt, leaves the dining room from Hamlet’s devious plot to expose King Claudius

• Queen Gertrude's Closet- Hamlet kills Polonius behind the tapestry causing Laertes to seek revenge on Hamlet’s life

Conflict

• Main Conflict - Hamlet with himself, vacillating revenge of King Claudius. Observed in critical monologue “To be or not to be” outside the chapel in the hallway

Illusion

• King Claudius- feels he has succeeded in obtaining the crown without having any interference.

• Queen Gertrude- feels she has made an appropriate relationship with her “brother in law” when in reality her husband has just died

Idealistic

• Ophelia- believes Hamlet wants a stable relationship when it reality he cannot come to terms with himself and takes his aggression out on the semblance of a relationship they share together.

Important Mistakes

• Gertrude’s Closet- Hamlet, in a fit of anger, hastily makes the decision to stab the person he suspects is Claudius hiding behind the tapestry in Gertrude’s closet. When in reality it is Polonius hiding behind the tapestry.

Villain

• King Claudius- functions as the villain because he has killed King Hamlet and married his wife to obtain the power over the kingdom.

Friendship

• Hamlet/ Horatio Friendship- Hamlet feels comfortable with Horatio and tells him of his plot to catch King Claudius for the murder of his father. Also Horatio supports Hamlet and truly believes he isn’t going mad and has also seen the ghost of his father

Family Relationship

• Hamlet/ King Claudius- Hamlet and King Claudius despise each other and want to kill each other

• Hamlet/ Queen Gertrude- Hamlet loves his mother and Gertrude loves Hamlet and Hamlet finally confront Gertrude for the wrongful marriage of her and Claudius further strengthening their love for one another

Human Value

• Hamlet- his indecisive attitude is a conflict with himself. Hamlet doesn’t know whether if it is right to kill King Claudius because of his religious background and respect for his mother’s happiness but he is torn because he wants to avenge and respect his father’s death.

Alienated

• Hamlet is alienated in society because of his controversial acts and vendetta against King Claudius.