Through an analysis of several important scenes and the actions of the characters involved, Shakespeare's message about the importance of both reason and passion becomes evident. ... Although Hamlet is not a completely irrational character, the ghost evokes enough emotion to stir Hamlet's soul and gear him towards murder. ... Hamlet writes endlessly to Ophelia, and the reader sees his character as a slave to the passion of love and feelings. ... The theme of irrationality and passion extend not only to Hamlet, but to other characters and side stories in the play. ... (1,2 102-10...

• Word Count: 1742
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

Hamlet's character is that of a weak soul whose emotions dominate him, driving his rash actions and behaviour in his need to separate right from wrong. This is evident in Act 1, in which Hamlet's love and passion for his father naturally positions him to be inferior to King Hamlet's apparition. ... Hamlet has been reinterpreted as a character in many different contexts. ... Following the Elizabethan interpretations of Hamlet, came the interpretation of Hamlet as an ultimately weak character, demonstrated in the dichotomy of his inaction and Fortinbras' portrayal as a stereo...

• Word Count: 1435
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Semiotics is a vital and key instrument in the analysis and understanding of performance, and the connotations surrounding it for a specific culture or social group. ... The notion of a woman's duty to her husband and family has been replaced by her duty to herself - thus forcing us to interpret the play and characters within it in an entirely different light. ... 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. ... The downfall of the p...

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