The use of language plays a huge role in Shakespeare's play Hamlet, because the language ties in directly with the thoughts of the characters. Not only do we as the audience get to see how they spoke to one another, but we were also given the chance to see how they spoke to themselves. Through Harold Bloom's concept of "self overhearing", we were given insight to Hamlet's innermost thoughts and struggles. When Hamlet promised himself that he would get revenge for his father's death, he not only created an expectation but he created a fact in the world. Hamlet has a lot of power in his words and thoughts.
Sometimes it appears that his thoughts get in the way for Hamlet. He over analyzes everything and becomes so indecisive that he ends up making irrational decisions that come back to hurt him. An example of this is when Hamlet doesn't kill Claudius when he has the chance because he is praying. He goes back and forth wondering if it is a worthy revenge and if he will go to heaven. He ends up not doing anything at that moment, which later leads Hamlet to kill Polonius by accident on a whim. Another example of how language has a huge affect on Hamlet is when he faked his madness. The language Shakespeare used showed Hamlet's diverse character and how he could use his words to manipulate people for his own benefit.
Hamlet's use of language makes him very different from epic heros such as Beowulf. The writing style in Beowulf was almost predictable to me, whereas in Hamlet the uses of irony and plot twists keeps us guessing until the end. Hamlet was somewhat of a mystery and harder to figure out. He seemed to change his mind a lot and different layers of his thought process were revealed as the play progressed. When I first read Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy, I viewed him as someone who couldn't make up their mind. Someone who was debating suicide and whether living with the struggles he had was better or worse than facing what was after death. -"To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death; And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?"
Later, I realized that Hamlet had already planned the play to test Claudius's reaction. He might have been thinking about suicide but he wasn't really considering it. This showed me Hamlet's level of intelligence and how cautious and wise he was with his decisions.
Hamlet's life was mainly driven by his conscience and morals. He relied on his faith as a guide for many things. When he was sent to England and saw those men in war dying, Hamlet reconsidered his motivation. He was killing Claudius for a noble cause in his mind. He needed to get revenge and Claudius deserved death. Hamlet was willing to die if he achieved what he felt like he owed to his father. This was different from Beowulf because his motivation was honor and fame. Beowulf was inspired by the challenge of killing Grendel, where Hamlet was never really given an option, it was more of a requirement.
In a way Hamlet and Beowulf are similar. They both represent qualities of bravery, independence, and loyalty but in different ways. By the language used we can see that Hamlet over thinks a lot of his actions. Beowulf acts a lot faster. He knows what he needs to do and he doesn't hesitate. People could argue that Beowulf was an honest man but Hamlet wasn't. I can understand this perspective because Hamlet did decieve a lot of people and make them believe he was crazy. Beowulf was very simple and clear in his speaking. It was obvious to everyone that he wanted fame and recognition for his accomplishments, but he did a lot of great deeds. Beowulf was easy to figure out because when he spoke it didn't require too much analyzing. It was pretty obvious where he stood, which made Hamlet more complicated to read but also more interesting in my opinion.
Sometimes it appears that his thoughts get in the way for Hamlet. He over analyzes everything and becomes so indecisive that he ends up making irrational decisions that come back to hurt him. An example of this is when Hamlet doesn't kill Claudius when he has the chance because he is praying. He goes back and forth wondering if it is a worthy revenge and if he will go to heaven. He ends up not doing anything at that moment, which later leads Hamlet to kill Polonius by accident on a whim. Another example of how language has a huge affect on Hamlet is when he faked his madness. The language Shakespeare used showed Hamlet's diverse character and how he could use his words to manipulate people for his own benefit.
Hamlet's use of language makes him very different from epic heros such as Beowulf. The writing style in Beowulf was almost predictable to me, whereas in Hamlet the uses of irony and plot twists keeps us guessing until the end. Hamlet was somewhat of a mystery and harder to figure out. He seemed to change his mind a lot and different layers of his thought process were revealed as the play progressed. When I first read Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy, I viewed him as someone who couldn't make up their mind. Someone who was debating suicide and whether living with the struggles he had was better or worse than facing what was after death. -"To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death; And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?"
Later, I realized that Hamlet had already planned the play to test Claudius's reaction. He might have been thinking about suicide but he wasn't really considering it. This showed me Hamlet's level of intelligence and how cautious and wise he was with his decisions.
Hamlet's life was mainly driven by his conscience and morals. He relied on his faith as a guide for many things. When he was sent to England and saw those men in war dying, Hamlet reconsidered his motivation. He was killing Claudius for a noble cause in his mind. He needed to get revenge and Claudius deserved death. Hamlet was willing to die if he achieved what he felt like he owed to his father. This was different from Beowulf because his motivation was honor and fame. Beowulf was inspired by the challenge of killing Grendel, where Hamlet was never really given an option, it was more of a requirement.
In a way Hamlet and Beowulf are similar. They both represent qualities of bravery, independence, and loyalty but in different ways. By the language used we can see that Hamlet over thinks a lot of his actions. Beowulf acts a lot faster. He knows what he needs to do and he doesn't hesitate. People could argue that Beowulf was an honest man but Hamlet wasn't. I can understand this perspective because Hamlet did decieve a lot of people and make them believe he was crazy. Beowulf was very simple and clear in his speaking. It was obvious to everyone that he wanted fame and recognition for his accomplishments, but he did a lot of great deeds. Beowulf was easy to figure out because when he spoke it didn't require too much analyzing. It was pretty obvious where he stood, which made Hamlet more complicated to read but also more interesting in my opinion.
No comments:
Post a Comment