Hamlet Style Analysis
Mallory L., Laura T., Sung N., Matt A.
What they said...
King Hamlet
King Claudius
Oh, I've done something awful. Heaven knows. The mark of Cain is on me; I murdered my brother. I cannot pray though I want to. My guilt is stronger than my intent. And I, like someone working both sides, am stuck in the middle not knowing what to do and neglecting both sides. Does this hand seem different for its covered in my brother's blood. Can't rain wash it away to be white. Isn't mercy for those who sin? Prayer is supposed to allows to be repent and prevent us from sinning. So I'll pray. My sin has already been committed but what prayer can I say, "forgive me for my murder"? That won't work because I'm still enjoying the repercussions: my crown, my ambition, and my queen. Can I be forgiven but keep the rewards? In the corrupted world, sin can escape justice and keep the prize. But this doesn't happen in heaven. There is no debate. We are bound to admit our actions and reasons. What happens then? What punishments follows? We're supposed to repent. What can't repentance do? But what happens when one cannot repent? O wretched self with a black heart. The more my soul struggles to be free from the sin, the more sinful it becomes. Help me angels. Make me pray and make my heart soft so that all can be well. My prayers go to heaven but my thoughts still plague me. Insincere prayers will never go to heaven.
Differing views of the crime
King Hamlet is most outraged over his wife. He is angry that his brother killed him for this but even more so at the queen for “declin[ing] [u]pon a wretch whose natural gifts were poor [t]o those of mine”. He is worried for Denmark, because he doesn't want “the royal bed of Denmark be [a] couch for luxury and damnèd incest” and that to be reflected as the image of the country. He is also very angry that he was killed in his sleep and left unable to repent. His brother was a coward for murdering him this way and does not deserve the queen or the crown. Claudius is only guilty because he fears God wrath. He understands his sin was awful but he enjoys “those effects for which [he] did the murder: [m]y crown, mine own ambition, and my queen”. He does ask forgiveness because he knows he will not get it. His prayers for forgiveness are meaningless because “[w]ords without thoughts never to heaven go”. King Hamlet leaves Hamlet instructions to avenge him and “bear it not”, while Claudius only goes through the motions of prayer.
Literary Devices
DICTION
King Hamlet's Soliloquy
Shakespeare chooses words such as incestuous and adulterate beast, to convince the audience of the depth of contempt for hamlet's uncle. Pointing to how he married his sister in law, and his deception without stating them in a way that just gives the situation, Shakespeare's diction says the same message with a complexity that gives the reader a better understanding the hate and contempt for the new king's actions that causes hamlet to feel so much hate towards his uncle.
King Claudius' Soliloquy
King Claudius' Soliloquy
Allusion
King Claudius' Soliloquy
IMAGERY
King Hamlet's Soliloquy
The image of thorns pricking her is to convey the just punishment Gertrude will receive according to the ghost, who admonishes her for her incestual actions and choice to level down. Shakespeare uses the image of leaving the queen to heaven and being stung to show that the queen will receive her just punishment, that even left alone, the queen will face her punitive fortune, so that the audience understands how inevitable the queens suffering is in the future.
King Hamlet's Soliloquy
King Hamlet's Soliloquy
METAPHOR
King Hamlet's Soliloquy
Metonomy
King Hamlet's Soliloquy
The hand represents the uncle's actions, the life the first king's life, the crown the position of king, and the queen the relationship and love the first king and the queen had, metonymy is used to represent many things in the phrase to emphasize the loss of the first king. Shakespeare utilizes shorter phrases that flow together to represent the many things that were taken from him so that he can include the king's vast loss in a simpler, continuous manner that still gives the reader whole message.
Simile
King Claudius' Soliloquy
This simile creates imagery in our minds to help us make a more vivid thought of Claudius wanting to be not guilty hence him saying to wash it. He also says he wants to be pure again because he feels that he has committed many sins. That's why he says white as snow. He wants to have heaven understand his situation and make him become as pure as a newborn baby. He can't ever be pure again because he is still enjoying the fruits of his sins which are his crown and his wife. Shakespeare uses the imagery of this section to illustrate Claudius’ hopes of repent.