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Assignment 3 - Hamlet
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Assignment 3 - Hamlet
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1The Shakespeare Industry
28 September 2020
1321 words
Assignment 3
Describe the relationship between Hamlet, his father, and the ghost of his father.
At the beginning of the play, Hamlet appears to speak highly of his father.
Upon comparing his father and Claudius with each other; he compares his father with
Hyperion and Claudius with a Satyr (Shakespeare I.ii.139-40). The comparison of his
father with a god from Greek mythology suggests that he must have thought highly of
him. The ghost of Hamlet’s father tells Hamlet later in the play that “the serpent that
did sting thy father’s life / Now wears his crown”, in other words, he tells Hamlet that
he has been murdered by his brother Claudius (Shakespeare I.v.39). Hamlet is then
urged by his father to avenge his death. Hamlet mentioned in the scene prior to this that
“[the ghost] com’st in such a questionable shape” (Shakespeare I.iv.43). This quote,
along with the delay in the murder of Claudius and the play that is performed to
confirm Claudius’ guilt, could suggest that Hamlet may have doubted his father’s
words despite thinking of him highly.
Describe the relationship between Hamlet and his mother.
Hamlet seems to be very angry at his mother for betraying his father by
marrying Claudius so quickly after his father’s death (Shakespeare I.ii.156-7). Hamlet
notices later how cheerful his mother has been since his father died and it pisses him
off that she moved on so fast with the murdered of his father nonetheless (Shakespeare
III.ii.113-4). Two scenes later, Gertrude is oblivious to what she has done for Hamlet
to treat he the way he does; she is afraid he has gone mad when she sees him talking to
, 2
the ghost. Luckily, Gertrude eventually seems to believe that Hamlet is trying to help
her by warning her of Claudius’ crime. In the final moments of the play, Gertrude
seems to want to help Hamlet as she wants to see him win (Shakespeare V.ii.264-5).
The anger that Hamlet shows once his mother has been poisoned indicates that in his
final moments, he still cared about her (Shakespeare V.ii.303-4).
Describe the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia.
Ophelia is a character that has no agency whatsoever; she does not speak out
against anything, even when she is treated poorly by Hamlet. In the first act of the play,
she and Hamlet spend a lot of time together, and Ophelia seems to trust Hamlet. Later
in the play, Ophelia helps her dad spy on Hamlet, but once Hamlet finds out, he yells at
her that she is a “breeder of sinners” and tells her to go to a nunnery (Shakespeare
III.i.120; III.i.132-4). Hamlet is consistently mean to Ophelia accusing her of enticing
men (Shakespeare III.i.139-42). Furthermore, Hamlet’s melancholy is more present in
his mind, which leads to it taking over his love for Ophelia.1 Hamlet makes it even
more complicated for Ophelia when he kills her father; that is the moment when she
snaps and eventually commits suicide because of her worsening mental health.
Describe the relationship between Hamlet and Horatio.
Horatio and Hamlet were close friends and were both students at the University
of Wittenberg (Shakespeare I.v.142-3). Horatio is the one who knows Hamlet better
than anyone. Hamlet respects and thinks highly of Horatio; Hamlet describes Horatio
as someone who is not passion’s slave; Horatio is in control of his emotions, which
contrasts hamlet who uncontrolled and acts out of emotion.2 Horatio is very loyal to
1 Hoenselaars. “Hamlet and the Critics.”
2 Hoenselaars. “Hamlet and the Critics.”
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