ESSAY: What I find valuable in "Hamlet" as a text.
Shakespeare's "Hamlet" can be interpreted in many ways, depending on how context is perceived and what we personally find valuable in the text. In my evaluation of the text, I particularly find valuable the element of evil as seen in the actions and words of Claudius. I believe him to be the personification of evil, and this is valuable as I can see characteristics of Claudius that are present in modern-day society. I also value the behaviour of Hamlet and what he has to struggle to deal with; going through dramatic changes in his lifestyle and the whole thought process in grieving the loss of his father. .
Claudius, who Hamlet considers a very bad man, shows us his true mind twice, and we see a struggle between his hunger for divine grace and his need to keep his wife's love. Claudius in the context of today, would represent someone such as Saddam Hussien. He feels no remorse in the killing of the innocent, and continues on as per usual. Claudius had the respect of the people and many followers, who even though were oblivious to what he had done, still did not question the death of King Hamlet. I find this a valuable part of the text as it communicates to me the importance of the higher power in that time. It relates to today's world where evil is alive and kicking, and the people in power are still influenced by greed and the hunger for winning. An example of this is how Claudius, after successfully murdering the King continues on, marrying the King's widow. This could be likened to the acts of someone such as Bin Laden, who after planning the attack on the U.S., continued to plan acts of terrorism because of the excitement in beating the U.S.
When Hamlet is forced to deal with his father's sudden death he feels the impact of the change to his life. We begin to learn of his depressed state from the early stages of the play, through various speeches and soliloquy's.
I hunkered down at the edge of the forest, looking up the long hill at the mead hall lights. I could hear the Shaper's song. I know longer remember exactly what he sang. I know only that it had a strange effect on me; it no longer filled me with doubt and distress, loneliness, and shame. ... They are always trying in vain to find out what is wrong with him. ...
I am going to talk to you about some ideas in this book which I have found helpful in thinking about experiences of sickness--my own and others-- and in thinking about experiences of 'story',--as storytelling, as fiction and fact that I have read about in books. ... "What's the story?" ... We also need to consider how much patients telling the stories of their sickness gives valuable--ie 'healing'--feedback to themselves, and to what extent the listeners learn valuable information about the experience of sickness and healing. 2. ... Hamlet gets sick in the head and hi...
Freud's theory of the Oedipus complex and of its frequent effect of psychical impotence, of which Paul is a classic victim, offers a valuable key to a coherent understanding of the novel and the way in which it is structured. ... I could let another woman but not her. ... At the end of the chapter, Paul echoes Hamlet, another exemplary Oedipal victim, when he tries to persuade his mother not to sleep with his father. ... Miriam, in her similarity to Gertrude, represents the woman Paul can only love by repressing desire, so why does Lawrence find it necessary to include the episode in whi...