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Analysis Pages

The Renaissance: The 15th-century Renaissance brought with it a new interest in the study of human experience and awareness. Hamlet was written in the early 17th century around 1600 or 1601 and first performed in 1602. By this time, the Renaissance had spread to other European countries, and ideas about our ability to fully understand the human experience became more skeptical. Scholars and artists purported that the human understanding of the world was based on appearance, and that it was only with great difficulty (if at all) that humans could see beyond these appearances in order to see the "real." Shakespeare's Hamlet explores this struggle. Characters constantly face difficulty in finding the truth about others, whether it be their intentions, their true characters, or even their sanity.

Protestant Reformation: The main action of Hamlet takes place in Denmark, a largely Protestant nation at the time of the play's composition. Though Roman Catholics believe in a state of purgatory-where souls go after death to atone for wrongdoings-the Protestants broke with a number of Catholic teachings, including the existence of purgatory, in the Protestant Reformation. This may explain why Hamlet is hesitant to accept the ghost's claims that he is tormented until his life's crimes are "purged" away.

Historical Context Examples in Hamlet:

The verb "illume" means to light something up. It is an uncommon variation on the more familiar verb "illuminate." Shakespeare wrote during a linguistic stage called Early Modern English, which lasted from around 1500 to 1700 CE and was characterized by the Great Vowel Shift, which saw the pronunciation of most English vowels changing. Middle English, which can bee seen in works like Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, is far less recognizable to modern readers. Shakespeare is one of the defining literary figures of the Early Modern English era and his works have had a lasting impact on the formation of Modern English conventions as well.

Sinead, Owl Eyes Contributor

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Julius Caesar was a famed Roman Emperor and the subject of Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name. Caesar was killed on March 15th, 44 BCE, when the Senate, unhappy with his bid for power, orchestrated an assassination with the help of his friend and protégé, Brutus. This line refers to what happened after Julius Caesar was killed, as the Roman Empire descended into turmoil and civil war.

Sinead, Owl Eyes Contributor

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Actors in Shakespeare's company, or any of the acting companies of his era, would have had access to their part and nothing else. Only the first two or three words of the previous speaker's lines preceded their own.

These words became known as "cue words" and the rolls each actor's part were printed on were called "cue scripts."

Source: Carr, David and Ben Crystal. *The Shakespeare Miscellany. *New York: The Overlook Press, 2005. Print.

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Elsinore is the English spelling for a real place, known in Danish as Helsingør. It is located in the northeastern corner of Zealand, one of the larger islands in Denmark, and is home to about 50,000 people. Shakespeare's Hamlet takes place in Elsinore in the late 1500s, although the oral tradition inspiring it is older and was first written down around 1180.

Scott Locklear, Owl Eyes Contributor

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Analysis Pages

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Analysis Pages The Renaissance: The 15th-century Renaissance brought with it a new interest in the study of human experience and awareness. Hamlet was written in the early 17th century around 1600 or 1601 and first performed in 1602.

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"Maddening Endurance" Post-modern Images of Ophelia's Madness

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Abstract "Mythologized over time, Ophelia has attained the status of a cult figure [...] to such an extent that she has become a cliché" (C. Solomon Kiefer). After an excursus on the development of Ophelia's literary myth, my paper will focus on the

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Everything you need to know about the writing style of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, written by experts with you in mind.

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What is a Literary Device?

A literary device is a technique used by a writer to convey a message. William Shakespeare used many different literary devices in his plays, and this lesson will discuss some examples found in Hamlet. This lesson discusses:

Repetition

In written works, repetition is defined as the repeating of words for emphasis. An example of repetition in Hamlet is found in the following lines, both said by the character Hamlet:

Hamlet: I humbly thank you; well, well, well.

Hamlet: Words, words, words.

These two quotes use a repetition of a single word three times for emphasis.

Another literary device, the metaphor, or a comparison between two things (that does not use 'like' or 'as'), is also found in the play. In Act III Scene I, Hamlet says:

Hamlet: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?

In this quote, Hamlet compares his troubles to a sea. This tells us that Hamlet sees his troubles as vast, large, and seemingly endless, much like a sea. Another example is found as well:

Hamlet: who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns

In this metaphor, Hamlet compares death to an undiscovered country. This comparison tells us that Hamlet sees death as something unknown or foreign.

Similes and Anadiplosis

Simile

Similes, comparisons using the words 'like' or 'as,' can also be found in Hamlet:

Hamlet: A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she follow'd my poor father's body,
Like Niobe, all tears

This quote compares Queen Gertrude to Niobe, a character from Greek mythology. The gods killed Niobe's children and she wept bitterly, unlike Queen Gertrude who did not seem to show much emotion for the death of her husband, Hamlet's father.

Hamlet is not the only character to speak using similes. At one point, Claudius uses one, saying:

Claudius: His beard was as white as snow

In this quote, Claudius is talking to himself about Hamlet's father, who he murdered. He compares the beard of Hamlet's father to snow because of its white color. Even Gertrude uses them:

Gertrude: These words, like daggers, enter in mine ears

Hamlet's cruel words to his mother are more than she can bear. Gertrude compares the words to daggers because they hurt her feelings like daggers might hurt her body.

Anadiplosis

A less common literary device, the anadiplosis, may also be found. Anadiplosis is when a writer ends a phrase with a word and starts the next phrase with the same word. Hamlet says:

Hamlet: To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream

One phrase ends with 'to sleep,' and the next phrase begins with the same set of words: 'to sleep.' This literary device creates a flow and connection between the two phrases.

Anaphora and Alliteration

Anaphora

Anaphora, repeating the same word at the beginning of each phrase, is present in the play when Polonuis speaks:

Polonius: Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.

The word 'doubt' is repeated at the beginning of each phrase, except for the last phrase. The point of this literary device is to repeat the things to doubt to build correlation, and then emphasize in the last line that his love cannot be doubted.

Alliteration

A more common device, alliteration, or the repetition of the same sound or letter in words, is found in too many instances to count throughout the play. Some of these examples include:

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literary devices used in hamlet - video & lesson transcript | study.com

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Literary Devices Used in Hamlet - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

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A literary device is a technique used by a writer to convey a message. William Shakespeare used many different literary devices in his plays, and this lesson will discuss some examples found in Hamlet. This lesson discusses: In written works, repetition is defined as the repeating of words for emphasis.

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Hamlet

The Prince of Denmark, the title character, and the protagonist. About thirty years old at the start of the play, Hamlet is the son of Queen Gertrude and the late King Hamlet, and the nephew of the present king, Claudius. Hamlet is melancholy, bitter, and cynical, full of hatred for his uncle's scheming and disgust for his mother's sexuality. A reflective and thoughtful young man who has studied at the University of Wittenberg, Hamlet is often indecisive and hesitant, but at other times prone to rash and impulsive acts.

Read an in-depth analysis of Hamlet.

Claudius

The King of Denmark, Hamlet's uncle, and the play's antagonist. The villain of the play, Claudius is a calculating, ambitious politician, driven by his sexual appetites and his lust for power, but he occasionally shows signs of guilt and human feeling-his love for Gertrude, for instance, seems sincere.

Read an in-depth analysis of Claudius.

Gertrude

The Queen of Denmark, Hamlet's mother, recently married to Claudius. Gertrude loves Hamlet deeply, but she is a shallow, weak woman who seeks affection and status more urgently than moral rectitude or truth.

Read an in-depth analysis of Gertrude.

Polonius

The Lord Chamberlain of Claudius's court, a pompous, conniving old man. Polonius is the father of Laertes and Ophelia.

Read an in-depth analysis of Polonius.

Ophelia

Polonius's daughter, a beautiful young woman with whom Hamlet has been in love. Ophelia is a sweet and innocent young girl, who obeys her father and her brother, Laertes. Dependent on men to tell her how to behave, she gives in to Polonius's schemes to spy on Hamlet. Even in her lapse into madness and death, she remains maidenly, singing songs about flowers and finally drowning in the river amid the flower garlands she had gathered.

Read an in-depth analysis of Ophelia.

Laertes

Polonius's son and Ophelia's brother, a young man who spends much of the play in France. Passionate and quick to action, Laertes is clearly a foil for the reflective Hamlet.

Read an in-depth analysis of Laertes.

The Ghost

The specter of Hamlet's recently deceased father. The Ghost, who claims to have been murdered by Claudius, calls upon Hamlet to avenge him. However, it is not entirely certain whether the Ghost is what it appears to be, or whether it is something else. Hamlet speculates that the Ghost might be a devil sent to deceive him and tempt him into murder, and the question of what the Ghost is or where it comes from is never definitively resolved.

Read an in-depth analysis of the Ghost.

Horatio

Hamlet's close friend, who studied with the prince at the university in Wittenberg. Horatio is loyal and helpful to Hamlet throughout the play. After Hamlet's death, Horatio remains alive to tell Hamlet's story.

Fortinbras

The young Prince of Norway, whose father the king (also named Fortinbras) was killed by Hamlet's father (also named Hamlet). Now Fortinbras wishes to attack Denmark to avenge his father's honor, making him another foil for Prince Hamlet.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

Two slightly bumbling courtiers, former friends of Hamlet from Wittenberg, who are summoned by Claudius and Gertrude to discover the cause of Hamlet's strange behavior.

Osric

The foolish courtier who summons Hamlet to his duel with Laertes.

Voltimand and Cornelius

Courtiers whom Claudius sends to Norway to persuade the king to prevent Fortinbras from attacking.

Marcellus and Bernardo

The officers who first see the ghost walking the ramparts of Elsinore and who summon Horatio to witness it. Marcellus is present when Hamlet first encounters the ghost.

Francisco

A soldier and guardsman at Elsinore.

Reynaldo

Polonius's servant, who is sent to France by Polonius to check up on and spy on Laertes.

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A list of all the characters in Hamlet. Hamlet characters include: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Polonius, The Ghost, Laertes.

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Struggling with the themes of William Shakespeareâ€™s Hamlet? Weâ€™ve got the quick and easy lowdown on them here.

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Hamlet - William Shakespeare - Author Biography

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Our Reading Guide for Hamlet by William Shakespeare includes Book Club Discussion Questions, Book Reviews, Plot Summary-Synopsis and Author Bio.