The motives of an individual are just as important as his/her actions, and this is evident in Shakespeare's masterpiece, "Hamlet"; a widely praised and timeless play that is worthy of continuous critical study. ... Throughout "Hamlet," Shakespeare gives us sharp literary images of death, decay, rot, and corruption. Imperfection is innate to the human condition and it is exemplified in "Hamlet." ... The intense personal relationship of Gertrude and Hamlet is constructed in a form in which Hamlet's fixation is provided little context, allowing for the development of speculative interp...

• Word Count: 875
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Graduate

Shakespeare, in a way, is a brand. ... So, there's "monumentally brilliant" Shakespeare whose name is embedded in the realm of "historical genius"- and then there's Kyd. ... In distinguished plays such as Hamlet, one can see traces of Kyd's influence in aspects like that of the Machiavellian character Claudius, Hamlet's play within a play, and the most obvious of all, the fact that Hamlet, in and of itself, is a "Revenge Tragedy". Undoubtedly, Kyd is the one whom these contributions have been relatively attributed to in the world of academia an...

• Word Count: 1285
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Graduate

Hamlet and Laertes, two of the three main/prominent young men in Hamlet (Fortinbras being the third) are each other's foil characters. This element created by Shakespeare helped the readers better understand the depth and mystery of their characters as they are indirectly compared and contrasted throughout the play. ... Therefore, one can note from the beginning that Hamlet is a man of thought while Laertes is a man of action. ... Only in this situation did Hamlet act very Laertes-like, which is usually very unlike his character. ... This attribute of Hamlet makes him trick Laertes into ...

• Word Count: 777
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate

Literary and historical scholars agree that women did not enjoy political, economic, or social parity with men during Shakespeare's time, and this historical reality is important to keep in mind when analyzing the variety of female characters in the plays of Shakespeare. ... Nevertheless, the careful reader notices a curious trend in many of Shakespeare's plays: many of Shakespeare's female characters exercise a rather great deal of delicate forms of power and influence, and often do so in unusual and even subversive ways that challenge traditional gender roles. ... Some of the ...

• Word Count: 2208
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate

For example, Shakespeare's London was a direct representation of life in Jacobean/Elizabethan England in terms of the ideology inflicted upon the characters and expressed through the text. Religion formed a central structure and set of rules for members of the state to follow, as is reflected throughout much of Shakespeare's work. The downfall of the perturbed son of a "murdered" king is complicated by the religious implications involved in Hamlet's death. ...

• Word Count: 1406
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate