Brushing Up On Characters And Symbolism In Shakespeares Hamlet

Brushing Up On Characters And Symbolism In Shakespeares Hamlet

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Hamlet, Hamlet symbolism, Hamlet characters, book, analysis, william shakespeare, play,
Shakespeares Hamlet has so thoroughly been woven into Western culture that you probably cant go a week without hearing an allusion to it, whether or not you realize it. To be or not to be, on its own, has been the butt of enough jokes to last a couple of centuries. This is one of Shakespeares tragedies, so its unsurprising that a lot of what people remember has something to do with mortality. Lets take a look at some of the most famous bits and pieces of Hamlet, and see what about them you might have forgotten.

The play is all about Hamlets indecision regarding what to do when his father, Hamlet, Sr., is murdered, and his mother Gertrude marries Hamlets uncle Claudius about five minutes later. When his fathers ghost visits at the very beginning of the play, Hamlet finds out that it was Claudius who killed his father. At least, the ghost says hes Hamlets father, but theres definitely speculation as to whether Hamlet is just imagining this spooky figure, in his confused, depressed time of grieving. Either way, the ghost sets things in motion by giving Hamlet a push in the direction of vengeance, and it takes the whole rest of the play for him to sort things out.

Theres no bigger fish in Hamlet symbolism than the skull of Yorick, the jester that Hamlet knew in his youth. This is the picture of Hamlet that shows up on everything associated with the play a thoughtful, troubled man in black, holding a human skull. Incidentally, this isnt something that people do every day. Unless youre forensic expert, youve probably never even come near a human skull (at least one thats no longer part of someones head). That skull had a tongue in it, and could sing once, Hamlet morbidly observes. Because of this strangeness, the image of Hamlet holding Yoricks skull would probably stick in our minds even if it werent held there by the weighty symbolism that comes from Hamlets reflections on death.

Another well-known image from the play is the drowning of Ophelia, daughter of Polonius and potential match for Hamlet. You might have forgotten that this doesnt even happen onstage rather, Gertrude tells us about what happened. From the sound of it, Ophelia wasnt in her right mind when she was floating around in the river, but actually singing songs and not fighting to get out of the water. What might have made Ophelia go mad? Well, for one thing, she doesnt get a chance to really do anything for herself during the whole play. She has to do what Polonius says because shes unmarried and hes her father, and she has to take a lot of abuse from Hamlet because hes a marriage prospect. Of all the unfortunate Hamlet characters (after all, most of them die) Ophelia might be one of the worst off.

A ghost, a skull, and a suicide (or what looks like one): thats a lot of death for one play, especially one thats so ingrained in common knowledge. Lucky for us, though, theres a lot more to it, and Hamletdoesnt seem in danger of dying out any time soon.

About the Author:
Shmoop is an online study guide for English Literature like William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet symbolism and Hamlet characters. Its content is written by Ph.D. and Masters students from top universities, like Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, and Yale who have also taught at the high school and college levels.



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