My Shakespeare/ Danish History essay

(insert crappy title here)

       I have chosen to showcase my second extended response for the Shakespeare project. I chose this piece because I feel that it is a representation of my best writing this year. The revisions I made to it mainly had to do with grammar and syntax, but I did add in some details. Mostly, I added in some more historical context for setting and themes/motifs/symbols, as the history of Denmark and medieval Europe in general explain, and put in place, the motifs and themes of the play.

The Piece

Here is the piece:

    “The play Hamlet is full of allegory, symbolism, and characterization,among other things. But some are more important than others. In the following paragraphs, the plot and story elements of Hamlet will be discussed.

    First is the setting. Hamlet is set in Elsinore, Denmark in the Late Middle Ages. Historically, Medieval Denmark was a bloody, brutal place, where incest, murder, and political double-dealing were the norm not just in Denmark, but in medieval Europe in general. Each of the three, Jylland, Fyn, and Sjælland, had its own petty king, straight up to when Hamlet takes place. So, King Hamlet was more like king of Sjælland than king of Denmark (a.k.a Danmark, Danemark)  This relates to the play in that everything that happens( murder, trickery, lots of murder, etc.) is right at home in Medieval Europe. Incest was common, among royals especially, as a way to keep their blood pure. Therefore, the incestuous overtones of Hamlet’s relationship with his mother would not be so hard to grasp in those (or even Shakespeare’s) times.

Now, for the characters and conflict. The main characters all had a part to play in the conflict, some more than others. For example, Claudius and King Hamlet were the closest to the conflict, as Claudius murdered the king. Claudius, being a deceitful politician, was able to cover it up. The ghost of King Hamlet tells his son, Prince Hamlet, that Claudius murdered him. Hamlet’s indecision will hinder him, but that will be discussed later. Gertrude, on the other hand, was very quick to decide to sleep with and marry the king, while utterly selling out Hamlet. Polonius was a rat, but not very intelligent. Ophelia was a interesting character. She has absolutely no agency. She cannot affect anything. Even when her lover, Hamlet, told her to “Get thee to a nunnery”(Act 3, Scene 1, line 131), she did not object. Maybe she knew she had no power, maybe she still loved him.

    Next, theme. One big theme throughout the play is the impossibility of certainty. This is best exemplified by Hamlet himself. Hamlet has a hard time acting on his decisions, and for most of the play is very uncertain on how and what to do to avenge his father. Another theme is death. Hamlet, after witnessing the graveyard and Ophelia’s body, really got into death, and how mysterious it is.

    Certain motifs within the play help thicken the plot. One of them is manipulation. A good chunk of the characters manipulate someone at least once during the play. Claudius, by far, is the king of manipulation. He manipulates Laertes into fighting Hamlet, and “persuades” Polonius to get Ophelia to spy on Hamlet. Hamlet used Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to escape death. Gertrude tries to gain favor and manipulate Claudius by sleeping with him.

Incest is another underlying motif. Many relationships between the main and major supporting characters are implicitly incestuous. For example, Gertrude, when King Hamlet died, immediately started sleeping with Claudius, her brother-in-law, which angered Hamlet. Hamlet’s own relationship with his mother has overtones of incest. Hamlet is always critical of his mother’s sexuality, which is not only implicitly incestuous, but also fuels his misogyny. His misogynistic tendencies stem from his anger at the fact that his mother, Gertrude, immediately started sleeping with Claudius. He even went as far as saying “Frailty-thy name is woman”(Act 2, scene 3) in regards to his mother and how she is dependent on the men she sleeps with.

Finally, about plot. In the plot, Claudius murdered the king, Hamlet by pouring poison in his ear. Some time later, the ghost of King Hamlet appears on the castle ramparts and tells prince Hamlet to take revenge on Claudius. Hamlet bides his time,while appearing insane, then puts on a fake play, meant to figure out Claudius’ complicity in the murder. Indeed, he stormed out. After a while, Claudius decided to send Hamlet to England and have him die, to rid himself of worry, like a true medieval politician. Luckily, Hamlet returns to Denmark via a pirate ship. Almost immediately after he arrives, he is invited to fight Laertes in a duel…”

About the Author

My name is Aidan U, and as a student in general, I feel confident in my work. I feel confident on accomplishing tasks and doing them well. As an English student, I feel that I have improved from last year. This year, I have been able to expand my horizons in terms of writing. I have learned how to write better fiction, and learned some techniques on how to write research reports. Overall, I believe that I have improved a lot this year in my writing capabilities and that I have extended my writing and reading horizons.