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Summary How is identity presented in Hamlet?
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Hamlet: Identity Example Essay
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Example EssayHow is identity presented in Hamlet?
FORM LANGUAGE STRUCTURE QUOTES CONTEXT CRITICS
In William Shakespeare’s tragic play Hamlet, moral identity is presented as concealed, reflecting the
untruthful and corrupt state of Denmark whilst building on the leitmotif of deception. This may have
been a way for the playwright to explore the idea of appearance in relation to reality, which was a
theme common in Elizabethan plays, whilst also subtly condemning the plots against James I life,
who was the patron of his acting company. Shakespeare also presents social identity as precarious in
nature, as seen in the mental disintegration of Ophelia. Her madness in the climax of the play is
indicative of the shift from order to chaos that is conventional to tragedies, whilst also typifying
archetypes of female madness during the early 17th century, when the play was written and first
staged. Finally, Shakespeare presents identity as a burden to the high-ranking character of Hamlet.
Due to his identity as a King’s only son, he is duty-bound to avenge his father’s murder, which he
internally struggles with. Being bound by duty to avenge another is a convention of a revenge play,
which Shakespeare utilises to increase the presentation of the psychological burden of identity.
Shakespeare presents moral identity as concealed throughout the play, which is seen through the
character of Claudius. Literary critic Atlick believes that through ‘the cunning and lecherousness of
Claudius - evil has corrupted the whole kingdom of Denmark.' The idea of the corruption of one
affecting the whole court is typically found in revenge plays, in which Shakespeare further conforms
to the conventions of, as the villains of these plays are often characterised as devious, preferring
subtle methods of control such as poisonings. Claudius is revealed to have poisoned his brother during
his Act 3, Scene 3 prayer soliloquy, during the crisis of the play. The line ‘the primal eldest curse
upon - a brother’s murder’ is a Biblical allusion to the story Cain and Able, where the eldest brother
killed Able due to jealousy. To an Elizabethan audience, this crime would have been an integral part
of Claudius’ identity, as he committed not only fratricide but regicide. Shakespeare’s audience would
have been used to the concept of someone’s sins or crimes becoming a part of their identity as it was
still a common practice to brand criminals during the 16th and 17th centuries, with the branding being
visible to others on the cheeks or forehead. Yet, Claudius conceals this part of his identity for political
gain, claiming during the exposition of the play- Act 1, Scene 2- that ‘we with wisest sorrow think on
him together with remembrance of ourselves.’ The use of the plural ‘ourselves’ and we’ not only acts
as an attempt by Claudius to legitimise his rule by using the royal ‘we’, but also highlights how he
attempts to integrate himself with the grieving Denmark. Scoflield refers to Claudius as ‘morally
empty,’ yet the character attempts to hide this until his death in the denouement of the play, where
Horatio lives to expose the truth, whilst ‘young Fortinbras’ takes over as King. Thus, Shakespeare
presents the concealment of moral identity in his tragic play as corrupting, and as something which
will not remain concealed forever. This would have likely pleased James I, who was particularly
concerned with regicide after multiple plots against his life (most famously, the Gunpower Plot,
which happened just a few years after Hamlet was released), meaning that Shakespeare would have
been aware of how the moral concealment which accompanies plots of regicide would have been
viewed by his royal patron, and possibly constructed his portrayal of it to be condemning to please
him.
Shakespeare also presents societal identity as precarious, specifically for women. Mack (1999) wrote
that madness often takes hold of the tragic hero and is a divine punishment from God. Yet,
Shakespeare subverts this tragic convention by constructing ‘the chariest maid’ Ophelia to be driven
to madness after her father’s Act 3 murder, which strips her of her identity and status as a high-class
woman. Shakespeare achieves this by first building Ophelia’s character, which is revealed subtly
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