In Hamlet's first soliloquy after the encounter with the ghost early in the play, when the ghost tells him that he must seek revenge, Hamlet quickly acknowledges his duty as a son. ... Hamlet's duty to the monarchy is to protect the King and Hamlet's role in society as a Prince is to show leadership, live an honourable life and ensure stability in the kingdom. ... And after we will both our judgements join In censure of his seeming. ... His revenge however is justified and he asks Horatio to report his "cause to the unsatisfied" so that society accepts Hamlet's act...

• Word Count: 1891
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

Although contextual values change, the basic human desire to seek answers to the fundamental questions of life has not, causing Shakespeare's play to speak in different ways. ... " after obeying the ghost's command to "...revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.... Hamlet's irrational and impulsive behavior coincides with A.P. ... Act 1, Scene 2 delves further into the complex characterization of Hamlet and the moral dilemma he is governed by, the death of the King and marriage of Gertrude and Claudius. ... This chaos strips away the appearances, established by the ...

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

The appearance of the ghost in the first act changes the fate that has struck Denmark with the sudden death of Old King Hamlet and turns the play into a revenge tragedy. ... Old King Hamlet was a warrior king who risked his life and fought for his country on the battleground. ... Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands which he stood seiz?... He is the one who reveals his fate to Young Hamlet with the order to revenge his death (see I.5.29). ... In the theology of Catholicism, there is a notion that between the stages of death and life after the death exists a purgatory of the soul...

• Word Count: 1577
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

At the very end, in that last communication between the artists bringing the work to life and the audience, there may still be some interpretation. ... This creates a very simple suspenseful ambience of uncertainty that will hold through to the end of the film. ... The film opens with a funeral for old king Hamlet. ... This could be Zeffirelli's way of suggesting that the queen had a high degree of culpability in the death of old King Hamlet. ... The theme of madness is accentuated once again at the close of the scene with Hamlet's first soliloquy. ...

• Word Count: 1694
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School