Hamlet Case

Composed in the early 17th century, Shakespeare's revenge tragedy Hamlet is a play based on Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, who was given the duty of avenging his father's death. The play presents a variety of provocative ideas, which influence the audience's response and their understanding on the play as a whole. These include the pervading atmosphere of corruption, deceit and a supposed dominance that men had over women. Shakespeare portrays these ides through effective use of dramatic and language techniques such as characterisation, contrasts and parallels and irony. As Hamlet is a flexible play, which endures these specific and personal interpretations, the text bears equal importance and relevance in contemporary society through the plays great and provocative ideas, prompting a deeper understanding.

The Elizabethan context of Shakespeare held a strong approach to the notion of deceit, a powerful and provocative idea explored throughout the play. Claudius is characterized to be a total embodiment of deception. Such representation is achieved in the symbolic account of King Hamlet's death in Act, scene 5, "Tis given out that sleeping in my orchard, a serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark is by a forged process of my death...". Shakespeare utilises biblical allusion, evoking the fall of man, in order to illustrate Claudius' deceitful nature. He is symbolically represented as the snake in the Garden of Eden. Consequent of Claudius' duplicity, the Danish Kingdom is permeated with deception, made evident through the metaphorical portrayal of deceit as a contagion pervading the court, "Tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature...possess it merely". Furthermore, deceit's contagious nature is clearly demonstrated when Laertes, a character of nobility, succumbs to Claudius' plot of deception against Hamlet, "My lord, I will be ruled the rather is you could devise so...that I might be the organ. It warms the very sickness in my heart...". The motif of sickness conveyed by Laertes as he joins Claudius' deception is a powerful concept of the play. Through this provocative idea of deceit explored through the play, Shakespeare presents characters with authentic conscience and all audiences, regardless of context can recognise the plays portrayal of human imperfection. Thus the characterisation of Claudius prompts the audience to understand and respond to this central idea.

Shakespeare's use of characterisation through the female characters in the play represent the provocative notion of extreme dominance that men had over women during the Elizabethan era. This is conveyed through Gertrude's polarising nature and she lacks independence, and is heavily influenced by the men present in her life. This positions us to see her hunger for power, which was perceived in the beginning due to her immediate