It hath the primal eldest curse upon’t,

A brother’s murder.”

-Claudius, (III.iii.36-38)

This quote by Claudius comes in the third act of the play, as he reminisces on his great misdeed of murdering his own brother for power. This quote is him confirming that he did indeed kill his own brother, and he knows it is a great sin. He goes on to pray for forgiveness, begging angels to help him repent. I chose this painting by Gauguin for a few reasons, including the obvious links of angels and religion. It connects to the struggle that Claudius feels in his heart, as the painting shows the struggle of men. The painting also shows Gauguin seeking answers to the big questions of life, just as Claudius is; what happens in the afterlife? What is the meaning of life? These questions are the basis for Claudius’ strife, and the inspiration for this painting.

In her fits of madness after her father’s death, Ophelia becomes one of the wisest and yet most nonsensical characters in the play. She speaks on the state of being, and what it means to exist in the now. We know who and what we are now, but we can never know what will happen in the future. The only certainty we can rely on is the promise of death, but even that is unexpected, like her father’s death. I chose Guernica because it too shows a promise of certainty. At the time the painting was made, the result of the aftermath of the bombing of Guernica was still up in the air. It was a precursor to World War II. We couldn’t have possibly known what horrors may or may not have followed. We know not what we may be. Yet, we can rely on one certainty - death. We cannot fathom what may happen, but we know what’s happening now, and that the bombing created a certainty of death. Nations focused on the possibilities of what may happen after, even with no certain outcome, instead of looking at the present and aiding Guernica and it’s people. Like Ophelia, Picasso criticizes the certainty of death and questions why we focus on the possible “will-be’s” rather than the current “what-we-are’s”.

For this quote I decided to choose the Impression, Sunrise painted by: Claude Monet. I interpreted this quote as meaning something like allowing the hurt to go rest while the more willing and able watch over them. I viewed this painting a bit differently to connect back to the quote from Hamlet. Overall this painting is very simple and light. I interpreted the sun as a light in the darker figures life, the darker figure could in this context represent the hurt/stricken, and the sun represents the one who will watch over them while they rest. Impressionism is left for the viewer to interpret, our own IMPRESSIONS, which is why I chose a painting from the Impressionism era.

In the grand scheme of things, I feel like this painting also connects to the story of Hamlet as a whole. Hamlet is a tragedy, it is emotional, and leaves a lot for you as a reader for you to interpret. The water is messy, with jabs of paint and muddy colors, just like Hamlet itself. You could also interpret the sun as Claudius watching Hamlet’s every move (the dark figure), and his authority figure as the “king” being high up (in the sky in this case).

I chose The Persistence of Memory to connect to this quote because the feelings and emotions evoked by the painting are exactly what Hamlet feels in this moment. In the quote, the ghost reveals to Hamlet of his death at the hands of Claudius, which shocks Hamlet. However, before this revelation, Hamlet had other things to worry about, such as continuing his role as Prince of Denmark, but after this, he sheds all of his other ideals and purposes, as they melt away like the clocks in the painting as Hamlet is consumed by his all-encompassing desire to avenge his father’s murder. For Hamlet, after understanding what he must do as a result of hearing the Ghost’s words, all other emotion, all other feeling, all other purpose melts away as he becomes hyper-focused on one thing, his filial obligation to avenge his father. This envelopment in one purpose and doing away with of all other passion from Hamlet is why I chose The Persistence of Memory, it perfectly captures and conveys that emotion of the envelopment in one singular purpose, as all the rest melts away in the heat of the moment. For its emotional connections, The Persistence of Memory is an excellent painting to connect to this quote from the Ghost of Hamlet’s father.

For this quote, I choose The Young Ladies of Avignon by Pablo Picasso to represent the situation between Hamlet and Ophelia. The quote comes from the part of the play where Polonius suggests that they send in Ophelia to talk to Hamlet and spy on their interactions to get a better idea of why Hamlet has been acting so strangely. As Claudius and Polonius plan to spy on Hamlet’s interaction with Ophelia, they are gaining different perspectives on the scene, much like this cubist painting attempts to capture. The geometric shapes of the painting help to capture how Ophelia is seen through different characters in the play. Hamlet sees Ophelia as a lover, while Claudius and Polonius just see her as a tool through which they can get more information out of Hamlet. The painting was very confrontational, and challenged the norm of academic art during the 20th century. This is similar to how Hamlet has been acting foolishly throughout this first part of the play and challenging social standards set by the kingdom, thus causing Claudius to want to spy on Hamlet to see what the matter is. The abstraction of the women in the painting is represented in the play through Polonius’s view of Ophelia, where Polonius continually shames his own daughter for loving the crazy Hamlet and even uses her as a pawn to spy on Hamlet. Polonius does not have the interests of Ophelia in his mind, and although common at the time the play was written, his actions toward Ophelia could be considered abstracted and against societal norms in current times, as represented by the cubist depictions of women in the painting by Picasso.

I chose this painting because I believe it reflects the tone of the quote. Prior to this quote Hamlet was reflecting upon human nature, this was then interrupted by the appearance of the ghost. Hamlet addresses it as his father and questions why he is here with so much uncertainty and some fright. We know that Guernica depicts a war scene which holds much fright and uncertainty to be seen. Seeing the visual of this painting puts the viewer into confusion when first looking at it then that confusion turns into fright once you are able to understand all of the horror violence that is depicted in the painting. This is very similar to how Hamlet reacted during this quote, he starts with questioning the ghost on what sport reflects good or evil. The following questions seem to have a fright behind them when he asks if he’s evil and how he is in such a state of being.

"But howsomever thou puruses this act / Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive / Against thy mother aught."

(The Ghost-- A1, S5, li. 84-86)

Painting:

Vision After the Sermon by Gaugin

I chose this painting to compliment the quote as both handle the dynamic of struggle. The quote from Hamlet comes from the very beginning of the play, where the Ghost (Hamlet's father) is speaking to Hamlet, telling him to avenge his late father's death but to do so with certain conditions- to keep singular focus and not to bring any harm to his mother. I think Vision After the Sermon fits entirely into the dynamic of Hamlet and his constant struggle. Here, his father warns him- but truly it foreshadows his desperate future, seen in Jacob wrestling the angel on the upper right corner of the work. Alike to Jacob, Hamlet wrestles his inner pain and scheming for revenge without getting distracted, as the people of the kingdom (and the play's audience!) simply watch his actions from the sidelines like the women in the painting. That same feeling of wrestling with understanding his life is felt by both Hamlet and Jacob, and Hamlet does indeed get stuck on this part of himself- he does get distracted. The very thing the Ghost warns of when he tells Hamlet to keep singular focus, we see in this painting as Hamlet continues his internal battle to carry out the wishes of the Ghost.

When churchyards yawn, and hell itself breathes out 

Contagion to this world. Now could I drink hot blood, 

And do such bitter business as the day 

Would quake to look on.” 

(Hamlet)

This quote by Hamlet was spoken soon after he confirmed that Claudius had been the one to kill his father. It is quite apparent that in this quote Hamlet is showing his vengeful nature, as he talks about doing “such bitter business as the day would quake to look upon” or in other words - doing something that is unsuitable for the daylight, such as avenging a murdered father. The line “and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world.” Is another line that shows Hamlet’s thoughts on Claudius, through these words, we can see that Hamlet thinks of his uncle, or more specifically the corruption he brings, as a disease to his kingdom. This quote is also spoken immediately after Hamlet is told by Polonius that his mother has called for him, with this context this quote can also be taken to show Hamlet’s rage for his mother, a rage that becomes apparent in scene four. 

I have connected this quote to Mark Rothko’s Black, Red and Black. This painting has a very ominous tone to it due to the color choice, it signifies how hamlet has let himself be overcome by rage and revenge, to the point to which the ghost has to come back and tell him to get himself back on track.

T’have seen what I have seen, see what I see.”

-Ophelia (III.i. 154-155)

The painting I selected for this quote is Guernica by Pablo Picasso. In this scene, Ophelia is being used as bait for Hamlet while Polonius and Claudius spy on them. Hamlet throws insults at Ophelia, berating her. Once he exits, she is in distress and despair at his words and actions, feeling despaired about seeing Hamlet like this, seeing him explode on her like this, “seeing what she have seen.” I compared this quote to Guernica by Picasso, a deep piece of the bombardment of Guernica, Spain, by Hitler during the Spanish Civil War. It depicts a scene of war and despair, one Picasso saw in his eyes. He made this painting for the Paris World’s Fair in representation of Spain. He made this piece and brought attention to the state of Spain and what happened in Guernica, making people “see what he have seen.” Both Ophelia and Picasso had seen this explosion, metaphorically and literally, through their eyes that the general public has not seen, and cries and begs for people to see what they have seen in their eyes. Ophelia cries about what she had seen from Hamlet, and Picasso paints what he saw in Guernica, then bringing said large painting to the Paris World’s Fair, forcing everyone to see his depiction of what he saw in Guernica, bringing attention to it. While Ophelia cries about what she had seen, no one had heard her, making this the only difference between the two. But they still cry and bring attention to the explosion they had seen, the crisis they had seen, the destruction they had seen to anyone who’d listen or see them.

This quote is taken from the scene in which Hamlet goes to follow the ghost even after being suggested not to by Horatio and Marcellus. Marcellus is saying that there is corruption in Denmark, and the ghost serves as an indicator of the coming instability as a result of Claudius taking over. The appearance of the ghost is a bad omen for what is to come. I chose Object by Oppenheim to relate to this because it represents how Denmark could be seen and also the feelings of Marcellus and Horatio in this scene. Object is a composition that immediately feels off when viewed. Fur on objects used to drink from is a contradiction of purpose that creates discomfort, much in the way the happenings in Denmark suggest something is not quite right with the kingdom. The kingdom of Denmark looks as if it should be a functioning kingdom much like the cup looks like it should could be used to drink from, but the new king of Denmark and the ghost suggest that something is wrong in the same way the fur blurs the function of the cup. The discomfort generated from the familiar yet unfamiliar composition of Object is representative of the feelings of Horatio and Marcellus in this scene as well, where the ghost seems to be their old king, but due to the circumstance and their fear, they believe it may be a devil leading them to bad happenings. The surreal oddity of the artwork and the feelings of uncertainty of the situation with the ghost are very similar.

I felt it appropriate to connect Hamlet’s words with Monet’s “Impression, Sunrise”. As Hamlet laments about the “special providence in the fall of a sparrow.”, one can compare his “providence” or “foresight” with Monet’s depiction of a foreboding sunrise before its peak height. While juxtaposing with the fallen sparrow of death as Hamlet faces his duel, and the rise of the sun that gives life, each measure of allegory depicts the concept of ever-moving time and the inevitable. Hamlet’s words “It it be now, ‘tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now;” and “the readiness is all”, can relate to the common Impressionist subjects of fleeting moments and constant movement while navigating throughout the present as Hamlet discusses the meaning of life and accepts the fate of what it may give him in the turbulent act.

“To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand.”

• Hamlet (II.ii.176-177)

One of the key recurring themes in Hamlet is honesty. Betrayal is rife in the story, and Hamlet himself harps on and on about the virtue of being honest, as he does here. Specifically, he is asserting with this statement that honesty is a very rare virtue in men, and he is criticizing that lack of honesty. Hamlet’s ideology on Truth (or at least what Hamlet says is his ideology on truth, as he is quite often a liar himself) closely mirrors Plato’s philosophies. Plato often discusses Truth in his writing, about the falseness of an image or painting and the value of truth in real life. Similarly, Jackson Pollock wanted to expose Truth in his paintings. Mostly from witnessing the horrors of World War II and the resulting belief that normal Western standards got America into the mess of war in the first place, Pollock sought to expose real truth in his paintings. Just like Plato, he believed that the image or recreation of an object in painting was in itself a falsity, as it is not real and will never be completely objective, no matter how accurately rendered. So Pollock chose to go in the opposite direction of reality and delved into completely abstract art. His pursuit of reality and truth in art is exemplified by his usage of action painting as a way to leave his honest mark of himself on the painting. This randomness and lack of refinement led his own being and personality to bleed through into his art, sometimes literally from his shoe prints or dropped cigarette butts. Autumn Rhythm Number 30 exposes his own reality and his own honest self, in Pollock’s opinion, more accurately than any photorealistic image ever could.

Mark Rothko - Orange & Yellow (1956)

Preceding this quotation, Polonius asserts to Hamlet that the bad actors involved in the tragedy of the kingdoms conspiracy should be “Use[d] according to their desert”; tried for their bad character and morality in the situation. Hamlet laments this statement, disagreeing by stating “who shall scape whipping?”; making a whitty joke from the corruption and moral degradation that he observes in everyone, even himself, around him. Hamlet here claims that these actors should not be used and tried based on what they “objectively” and “morally” deserve (as then no one will escape whipping), but rather based on the convictions of their own “honour and dignity”; Hamlets honor being the avenging of his fathers death. This quotation ties into Mark Rothko’s modernist paintings, in which there is no objective, true message to be synthesized from the work (the lack of the didactic). Instead, Rothko encourages the individual observer to derive their own meanings and emotions, born from the colors in the canvas. Both Rothko and Hamlet here assert that the true and the morally righteous will only return outcomes to the detriment of everybody involved, for this to be ignored in order to focus on the individual and their “merits and honour”.

This quote from act 3 of Hamlet is spoken by Hamlet to Guildenstern. Hamlet says this with the entry of the players and recorders, and he asks Guildenstern to play one of the recorders. He states that he cannot to which hamlet responds with this quote. The meaning of this quote intended by hamlet is to tell Guildenstern as well as Rosencrantz that he doesn’t trust them. Hamlet asks him to play a pipe, and when he cannot hamlet knows this. While knowing this, the question of “Do you think I am easier to be played than a pipe?” draws attention to hamlet’s distrust. Hamlet is asserting his own opinions in drawing metaphors for his relationships to others. Hamlet prefaces this quote with comparing his emotions to music, setting up this symbolism of the two men being pipe players, fiddling with Hamlets life. By concluding this with “you cannot play upon me” Hamlet strikes fear into Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, not just eluding to his knowledge of their actions against him but flat out stating that he knows and will not allow it whether they call him mad or not. This honesty in hamlet’s distrust and hate for those who stand in his way of avenging his father is also reflected in the painting “Vision after the Sermon” By Gauguin. This painting’s bright colors, especially the red, evoke stress or discomfort in the viewer like Guildenstern and Rosencrantz have in regards to Hamlet’s behavior. The arbitrary cropping as well adds into this effect because it allows the viewer to have a state of some confusion of what is happening, because the subject matter isn’t clear, as most characters feel about Hamlet turning mad. Gauguin doesn’t want viewers of this painting to be certain if the sight of Jacob wrestling the angel is true or if it is truely a vision. With many people praying over it as we see we can say it’s real as many people are seeing the vision but also it is unlikely to see in reality. This uncertainty of it is also reflected in this quote because Hamlet is claimed to be mad, but he isn’t cowering in it. Hamlet acts how his vision of his father’s ghost tells him to, similar to how the nuns pray on the vision in the painting. Hamlet sees this vision and in this quote is clearing obstacles out of his way of his duty to his father, which is reflect in how there’s a clearing for Jacob and the angel in the painting.

In this quote, the Ghost tells Hamlet how his brother, Claudius, killed him with poison. He describes the betrayal and his sufferings before sending Hamlet on his mission for revenge. The Ghost is horrified that he died before having the chance to confess his sins. This relates to “Vision After the Sermon” by Gauguin. This painting depicts Jacob wrestling with his inner struggle and questioning his purpose. His use of color theory evokes an emotional response to strengthen the symbolism. This painting holds clear parallels to this quote, as the ghost of Hamlet’s father is tormented by his death at his brother’s hand. He wrestles with his thoughts and questions his purpose regarding his inability to confess before dying.

A fellow of infinite jest…” 

-Hamlet 

I selected the painting Nocturne: Black and Gold (The Falling Rocket) by Whistler because I think it connected perfectly with the quote from Hamlet that touched on perspective and corruption. Hamlet, in the quote, is expressing his shock to his old childhood companion's skull in his hands. Yorick, was, as he said, “a fellow of infinite jest” meaning that he was always full of life with his tricks and laughter. Hamlet tries to wrap his head around the fact that a guy who was once so happy and living could now be reduced to a piece of bone. This plays to the idea of perspective and how it  alters Hamlet's perspective drastically. Just like The Falling Rocket does to the viewers. The painting is an altered perception of fireworks going off on a lake. Whistler's whole point was moving art into a more abstract approach, creating art that wasn’t manipulated for the viewers to grasp an external reality, but for them to experience the truths through color, forms, and textures. This effort for non manipulation ties back to Hamlet's quote by the sighting of his dead friend's skull causing him to think of the corruption his uncle Claudius has on his mother and the other people of the kingdom. He despises this corruption and aims to expose it as he avenges his fathers death, just like whistler does by exposing the true nature of fireworks- textureful, colorful, messy, and reflective over water. Although Whistler doesn't depict an exact copy of the scene, he alters your perspective to make you see and truly feel in your mind and soul, the reality of what’s going on. That is what Hamlet is feeling, the harsh truths of a happy friend now dead and a corrupted kingdom. 

“How is it the clouds still hang on you?”

-Claudius (I.ii.66)

From the timing of this quote, it makes Claudius seem impatient of the fact that Hamlet is grieving instead of assuring of his feelings. Because Claudius killed King Hamlet and framed it as a natural death, it’s obvious that he would want to move on from King Hamlets ruling and have himself and his citizens forget about the previous King completely. Seeing that Hamlet is still hung up on the sudden death of his father bothers him and leads Claudius to minimize the severity of the situation by trying to push away the grief (the clouds) he feels.

The painting I chose to use to accompany this quote is “The Persistence of Memory” by Salvador Dalí. I mostly chose to reflect on Hamlets grievances which would explain why he hasn’t yet moved on from his father’s death, and that would explain the quote. The title itself brings this meaning to having constant attention focused towards the past, the memories. The title could connect to Hamlets memories of his deceased father which would explain his solemn emotion. It could also explain Claudius’ rush to claim the throne and move on from King Hamlet to try and avoid any suspicion. The deceased king haunts both his brother and his son but for different reasons. Additionally, the word “persistence” creates a constant feeling of longing or dread which once more can relate to Hamlets grieving and Claudius’ guilt. The style being surrealist and the concept of time being present through the clocks further reflects on Hamlets state of mind. His father just died and instead of there being any proper grieving among the whole kingdom, everyone except Hamlet has seemed to move onto Claudius’ ruling and this new development could feel surreal for him, as well as lead him to desperately search for the ghost of his father. The quote creates this impatient and pushy feeling when Claudius asks HOW Hamlet is still upset instead of why, and it’s an example of the fast paced change that’s happening. King Hamlet only recently passed away, yet everyone except Hamlet has moved on, it demonstrates that to be able to properly grieve and heal from the loss you need to have the time to do it. Hamlet was given no time to grieve, with his feelings being pushed aside and even questioned, which would lead him to desperately look for the ghost and then later avenge his fathers death.

Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” -Act 1. scene 5. lines 23+25.

I chose starry night by Van Gogh because he viewed the world differently compared to other people. Starry Night is a depiction of how Van Gogh saw the world during the end of his life. Similarly, the ghost is a unique hallucination of Hamlet as his mind grew increasingly more disturbed after the death of his father. Hamlet’s mind was misunderstood, similarly to Van Gogh’s.

In this quote, Hamlet is merely a pawn of the ghost of his father, who is seeking revenge on Claudius. This path leads Hamlet on a downward spiral to his ultimate demise, similarly to the downfall of Van Gogh.

-Hamlet (III.i.119)

Hamlet says this to Ophelia in their conversation after his “to be or not to be” soliloquy. I believe a nunnery is a place where nuns gather. At this moment, Ophelia is being controlled by her father to manipulate Hamlet. Hamlet believes Ophelia will be safe from corruption in a nunnery. The second part of the quote is Hamlet telling Ophelia that if she remains under the control of her father, more corruption will spread throughout the kingdom. In this case, the “sinners” are those who are corrupt and Ophelia would be a breeder of sinners by allowing this behavior to continue and thus allow corruption to spread. The painting I chose was “Vision After the Sermon” by Gauguin. This ties into the quote because there are women praying and the same would be done at a nunnery. Jacob and the angel wrestling can be compared to the conflict between Hamlet and Claudius.

Starry Night, the post-impressionist painting by Van Gogh, reflects this quote because they both hold the same idea of fate. When he said these lines, Hamlet was explaining why he couldn’t sleep. In the first half of the quote he establishes that an individual’s future is predetermined by a divine force, and in the second half he points out that it’s human nature to fight against that force. This despair is represented in Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Depicting a beautiful night scene from the view of his window as an asylum inpatient, it could be assumed that Van Gogh is longing to be outside. The view includes a cypress tree, representing an unavoidable death. As part of the post-impressionist movement, Starry Night questions who is really in control of their own future. This Illustrates Van Gogh’s acknowledgement of the unwavering nature of fate that Hamlet speaks about. 

“Remember thee? 

Ay thou poor ghost, whiles memory holds a seat

In this distracted globe. Remember thee?”

This is Hamlet questioning what the ghost has just told him to do. “Remember you (thee)?” Hamlet is reflecting the ghost’s last words to him. Hamlet is saying “While my memory of you is in my mind [memory holds a seat], my mind is foggy/distracted [in this distracted globe].” At this moment, Hamlet seems to be questioning his ability to remember the ghost and to follow the commandment, there is a sense of uncertainty. I believe this quote connects to “Impression: Sunrise” by Monet. The painting features an ambiguous background. There are loose brush strokes, no real defined objects. The uncertainty of what the background really is feels similar to the uncertainty felt when Hamlet asks, “In this distracted globe. Remember thee?” The painting also features an isolated row boat. The isolation of this row boat reminds of Hamlet during the quote. At this moment, Hamlet could have felt very alone. He has just been tasked with avenging his fathers death all by himself, and he feels unable to tell anyone else. To me, the row boat represents Hamlet in this quote. The colors used in this painting also evoke emotions similar to those of the quote. To me, the colors evoke a sad, almost nostalgic emotion. This is similar to the overall mood/tone of the quote. Hamlet has just seen/spoken to his dead father’s ghost, it feels sad and a little nostalgic to when his father was alive.

This quote ultimately summarizes the corruption that is present throughout Hamlet. This corruption brings confusion, uncertainty, and chaos, which are also elements of Picasso’s Guernica. I chose this painting because Guernica encapsulates tragedy in a similar way that Shakespeare does within his writing in Hamlet. He fills the plot with a sense of impending doom and tragedy which can probably partially be attributed to the death of Shakespeare's 11 year old son, Hamnet, who passed within 10 years before the writing of Hamlet. The loss within family and community becomes familiar very quickly within the play. Denmark was in a state of preparing for war with Norway and by the end of Hamlet, the royal family had all passed, leaving the nation confused and vulnerable in a time of necessity for leadership with the approaching war. Similarly, Guernica highlights despair and loss as a result of Hitler bombing a civilian town and killing many people. I think the painting’s feeling of distortion and chaos mirrors Denmark being drowned by its own corruption. Both are filled with uncertainty as to what will happen next under the distorted veil strewn across the world.

You would play upon me, you would seem to know my stops, you 

Would pluck out the heart of my mystery, you would sound me from 

My lowest note to the top of my compass - and there is much music, 

Excellent voice, in this little organ, yet cannot you make it speak.

- Hamlet (III.ii.329-33)

          For context, Guildenstern is a school friend of Hamlet who is ordered by Claudius to spy on Hamlet. When Hamlet says, “Why look you now how unworthy a thing you make of me”, Hamlet accuses Guildenstern of treating him as a mere, unworthy musical instrument. When Hamlet says, “You would play upon me, you would seem to know my stops, you would pluck out the heart of my mystery, you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass”, it demonstrates how Guildenstern is trying to make Hamlet say anything at someone else’s wish. However, Hamlet states “and there is much music, excellent voice, in this little organ, yet cannot you make it speak” which portrays how Guildenstern is failing at his mission and how Hamlet will stay true to his voice and character. 

          I decided to connect this quote to The Broken Column by Frida Kahlo. A connection between Hamlet and Kahlo’s interpretation of her life in her self portrait is that they both went through many hardships. Hamlet’s quote demonstrates how he is being made out to be unworthy. Beforehand, Hamlet is going through many hardships since his uncle Claudius killed his own brother who is Hamlet’s father and since his mother remarried quickly to his uncle. Similarly, Kahlo goes through her hardships as well such as contracting polio at a young age, having a limp for the rest of her life, and getting into an accident at 18 which causes her to have many injuries and be in a body cast. In her painting, The Broken Column, Frida paints her reality. The nails all over her body symbolize that she will be in chronic pain for the rest of her life. The corset is there to show how her body is being held together. The artificial, broken spine is to represent how her own spine is broken. All in all, this painting represents how Kahlo’s hardships hurt her. This can be connected to Hamlet as Hamlet’s hardships also hurt him and cause him to show lots of emotions. Kahlo keeps her unibrow in her art because she will not conform to social standards. This is similar to Hamlet’s quote when he says that he will not let Guildenstern take away his voice, but instead, Hamlet will stay true to himself just like Kahlo stays true to herself. Although Kahlo has a very difficult life, she stayed true to herself and displayed her life in paintings. This again connects to Hamlet’s quote because no matter how unworthy people make him feel or how hard his hardships are, he will not let other people speak for him. 

Although Autumn Rhythm seems like an easy painting to make due to all the random lines, it’s actually quite complex, just like hamlet. The quote I received directly ties into complexity because it talks about traits that an ideal man should have that may not be easy to achieve. One main thing I’ve taken away between these two pieces is that nothing good and exemplary comes easy. For example, these paintings aren’t made in a couple of hours, they take thought and time. In comparison, a perfect man as hamlet describes also isn’t just natural. Hamlets complexity in this quote and play in general are extremely similar to a work of art on a canvas. Next, this painting by Pollock involves a very demanding pattern, kind of like hamlets description of a “good man”. Autumn Rhythms pattern is very obvious as it’s filled up the entire canvas with similar design. Even though Hamlet is quite specific in this quote with traits of an exemplary man, it doesn’t mean those are the only ways to be “perfect” as every good work of art has its own perfections and flaws. Finally, one last relations I made between both Hamlet and Pollock is that they aren’t afraid of change. In the scene Hamlet is super brave and relentless by the way he acted towards his peers. This relates to Pollock because this painting is more of an overall design with one pattern which is pretty bold as you don’t know what the final result will for sure look like. All these comparisons show similarities between Hamlet and Jackson Pollock in their respective ways.

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.“

—Hamlet (III.i. 56-60)

Within this part of the story, Hamlet has started to question whether he should go on and fight the “sea of troubles” or if he should look forward to death. To fight and endure or to die is the question that he is asking himself. Throughout the story, Hamlet continues to have deep inner struggles and doesn’t know how to act nobly without his emotions getting in the way. Within Gauguin’s painting, the bright colors and use of symbolism convey some of the same points that apply to Hamlet’s story.

The bright colors are supposed to emphasize aggression or strong emotions, both of which Hamlet experienced throughout his life. In his speech, he gets emotional because he is questioning his life and what he should do to avenge his father. Hamlet becomes aggressive with others around him, convincing them of his madness and breaking from rationality. I believe the colors in the Vision After the Sermon have the ability to convey this same feeling. 

Additionally, Gauguin includes several elements of symbolism in his painting. Jacob is a symbol of change and inner struggle to find a place in the world. After the death of his father, Hamlet’s life changes drastically and he faces many inner struggles, such as whether or not to endure as described in “to be or not to be”.

Hamlet wants to act nobly, but in the end, many end up dead as a result of his and Claudius’s actions. There was a lot of bloodshed and the kingdom was fragmented and lost. This applies to the era in which the modernist artists wrote in. War created division and fragmentation within society. The uncomfortable state of dissonance stimulated many people’s questioning of society both in the real world and in the state of Denmark from Hamlet. The parallels between Hamlet’s reality and ours of the past are connected in the way that war and loss threw everyone off balance. Artists such as the Post Impressionists were able to capture this fragmentation and paint it in a way that viewers could get a sense of the feeling. The apple tree in Vision After the Sermon highlights the split between actual and spiritual reality and the dissonance within ourselves and society. For Hamlet, this split occurred when he didn’t know if he should trust the ghost of his father. He asked if it was part of his own imagination or if the Ghost was real and spoke the truth about his murder. In “to be or not to be”, he also wondered if it would be worth it if he kept fighting, which demonstrates dissonance within his mind.

Overall, a deep emotional and psychological context is communicated through both Hamlet and Gauguin’s artwork. “To be or not to be” and “Vision after the Sermon” showcase inner struggle and emotions that accompany the questioning of ourselves and society.