'Something Rotten in the State of Denmark.'

It is so hard to try and write an overall review of Hamlet as there are endless subjects and things to explain, but I will try and explain as much as I can. Also as we all know, there have been proffessers tryig to explain the play, all their loves and there are chronicles writeen about this play, so forgive me, because I am aware of missing out lots of themes.

As I am one of those 'sad' people that is obssessed with english Literature and absolutely love anything to do with english Literature, in my English Lit class, we all chose to do this and we all LOVED IT!

This is one of Shakespeare's most famous plays and through the popularity of 'revenge tragedies' at the time of the Elizabethans this play was another revenge tragedy, but left the audience...then and now....in amazement. With the history of revenge tragedies throughout time, with the original revenge tragedy called the 'Spanish Tragedy', this play, set aside all the others.

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The play itself, is AMAZINGLY COMPLEX so forgive me all those who have studied this play, that I may leave large quantities of subjects out.
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But before i go into the play, I just want to explain the background to this play, so it will put it into context. As everyone knows, William Shakespeare, has taken many ideas, from old stories, or those he has heard, bt its th way he writes them, that makes him a legend. He adapted the story of Hamlet from the old stroy of 'Amleth' which featured the troubled prince of Denmark. He also named him son Hamlet, so i think he loved the name as well! But as experts have discovered, there is the original play in this string called the 'Er Amleth' which everyone is still trying to trackdown.

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This play is about the prince of Denmark tackling the death of his father which was unnatural and abrupt. Hius mother, Gertrude, had married his UNCLE Claudis, which in those days was seen as incestous, adding to the tragedy.

However, at the first scene, the guards for the new king Claudius as accompanied by he Old HAmlet, Hamlets father, kitted out in armour and in 'warike form'. They describe him as:

'it harrows me with fear and wonder.'

So as they are tackling the fright of their life, Hamlet is inside with his uncle/new father and mother with them trying to justify, their:

'o'er hasty marriage.'

I mean, you ahve to see it from hamlets view. He loved his father so much, and his father doted on Gertrude so uch that Hamlet said Old Hamlet:

'wouldn't let the wind beat too roughly on my mothers face.'

(I'm sorry if some quotes are inaccurate, because I am adding in quotes from memory.')

They try to justify this and he is so disgusted with Claudius as he is this disgusting beast, in which he describes in comparison with his dead father as:

'Hyperion to a satyr.'

here Claudius is described as half human. The later in the play, Hamlet learns of the ghost, through his ONLY trustworthy friend Horatio. He meets the glost and he tells Hamlet all about his 'unnatural' death in which he was poisoned through the ear by Claudius. Haml;et listens, but as the Elizabethans had known, ghosts could take any shap or form, and this could be a lying bad ghost. So Hamlet hatches a plan, of the actors to see if he is telling the truth.

Through this, the question of Gertrude, has always been hard to answer. there are so many possibilities for her hasty marriage. It may have been:

1. She had an affair with Claudius
2. She didn't want to retire as Queen, because usually widowed Queens were sent to a nunnery in those times.
3.She was part of the murder.

But it is how the actors interpret it. Some plays, she has seemed guilty as sin, but in some she seems oblivious to any wrongdoing. However she is aware that her marriage is seen as hasty. After the play that is hatched to see if the ghost was telling the truth, itdoes show that Cladius is guilty.This leads to the delay of the revenge, in which is a huge subject in itself.

Then through this there is the issue of Ophelia which is hamlets girlfriend. Whether Hamlet pretends to be mad, or has slipped into insanity dies to his pretence, he is seen as a danger. However, Hamlet kills her father, due to his spying behind an arras which he thought was Claudius and he shuns Ophelia friom his love. This bit, she goes insane and laertes returns from France, which is ophelias brother and is as hot blooded as it comes, due his fathers death and his sisters madness, which later she drowns.

Throughout the play, Hamlet delays his rvenge, as this is what sets aside all the other evenge tragedy plays. Hamlet takes time to think and to mull over everything. he knows that sucide is the deadliest sin, as all the Elizabethans knew and on top of that, if he does avenge his fathers death, he will go to hell for murder. However, this appealed greatly to the Elizabethans because as they had none or little police force, justice was taken in your own hands. However, they were worried about the next world and not this one, so they knew what it was like to be Hamlet.

The 2nd revenge starts with laertes trying to kill Hamlet and Claudius prompting laretes on to kill hamlet. it ends up in a duel. laertes gets killed by his own poisoned sword, Claudius ends up poisoning Gertrude, thorugh his slef determination for surivial and hamlet is killed by the poisoned sword and then the whole Royal Family is wiped out with Cladius drinking the poisoningthat Gerturde drank, by hamlet forcing down his throat.

Then Fortinbras, Prince of norway, pops in and takes over.

It is a really sad play, but it is a wild and thoughful play about revenge tragedy which tackles so many subjects. It is also littered with so many sayings that we use to day for example:

'The Lady doth protest too much.'

It is amazing this play. But I recommend that it is a play that you will have to study and read, rather then just read it, because the amount of topics, themes, symbolism, subjects, language e.t.c.. is so much that you will only appreciate the complexity of this play, if you know what they are really all about!