Hamlet An Existential Tragedy - 1878 Words

The concept of tragedy has always been praised for its ability to connect to an empathetic audience. This cathartic element present in tragic plays is an emotional response that many individuals constantly seek for the purpose of self-identification. Interestingly enough, one of the biggest questions of humanity pertains to the nature of their existence. As the debate over the meaning of life ensues, the notion of existentialism has been birthed to help individuals understand what their life’s meaning is. Although recently fathomed, this philosophy can be seen across a wide array of literary works that astonishingly predates the conception of existentialism itself. Individuals can identify specific elements that they empathize with and that inexplicably creates a cathartic moment in which the writer anticipates. More importantly, the idea of existentialism is seen in almost all of the great tragedies and rightfully has a direct correlation. In the tragedy, Hamlet, William Shak espeare incorporates the existential elements of the absurd, nothingness, and freedom into the events and characters allowing for an emotional response from the audience. To begin, the element of logical reasoning and its subjective weakness on the human mind becomes exposed to the audience from the start. The play begins with the sighting of the Ghost amidst the castle grounds and further leads to the confrontation between this same apparition and Hamlet. At the peak of their conversation, theShow MoreRelatedHamlets Existential Crisis1429 Words   |  6 Pageslooking at Hamlet, one could say that William Shakespeare put the play together as a very cathartic tragedy. The emotional result of dealing with so many deaths brings on a plethora of emotions which are not usually felt in a typical play. Hamlet begins not with the normal prosperity and good fortune as do most tragedies, but with a more stifling and depressing sort of mood (Tekany 115). However, something else could be said about this play as well. The play centers on Hamlet and his existential characteristicsRead MoreThe Human Condition and Ideologies in Hamlet by Willliam Shakespeare1522 Words   |  7 Pages Hamlet Texts reflect their context and paradigms but transcendental texts that explore aspects of humanity can resonate through time and remain relevant and accessible to audiences. William Shakespeare’s introspective play, Hamlet, explores the complexity of the human condition by reflecting ideologies such as justice, loyalty and morality. Although these deeply human ideas ensure the plays resonance, they are somewhat secondary to the depths of Hamlet’s human struggle. These thematic concernsRead MoreWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet As A Traditional Revenge Tragedy1380 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the world’s most renowned plays, one which has stood the test of time over the course of 400 years, finding relevance even today. A complex and sophisticated work, Hamlet is a masterful weaving of the myriad of components that make up the human experience; it delicately touches upon such topics as death, romance, vengeance, and mania, among s everal others. Being so intricate and involuted, Hamlet has been interpreted in countless fashions since its conceptionRead MoreComparision Of Hamlet With Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead1306 Words   |  6 PagesRosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (R and G†¦) by Tom Stoppard is a transformation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet that has been greatly influenced due to an external contextual shift. The sixteenth century Elizabethan historical and social context, accentuating a time of questioning had specific values which are transformed and altered in Stoppard’s Existential, post two-world wars twentieth century historical and social context. The processes of transformation that are evident allow the shifts in ideasRead MoreThe Tragedy Of Hamlet By William Shakespeare1131 Words   |  5 PagesTragedy, according to American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, is a drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorro w, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances. In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, tragedy is no short supply. Shakespeare takes the reader on a journey of epic proportions through the struggles and conflicts, internal andRead MoreThe Libation Bearers and Hamlet1308 Words   |  6 PagesThe Libation Bearers and Hamlet Many of Shakespeare’s plays draw from classical Greek themes, plot and metaphors. The tragedies of Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides and Homer have themes like royal murders, assassinations by near relatives, the supernatural, ghostly visits, and vengeful spirits of the dead- themes which reappear in Shakespeare’s tragedies with a difference. Shakespeare’s tragic hero Hamlet and Aeschylus’s Orestes have a great deal in common. Both the plays are set in a time when theRead MoreThe Libation Bearers and Hamlet1302 Words   |  6 PagesThe Libation Bearers and Hamlet Many of Shakespeare’s plays draw from classical Greek themes, plot and metaphors. The tragedies of Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides and Homer have themes like royal murders, assassinations by near relatives, the supernatural, ghostly visits, and vengeful spirits of the dead- themes which reappear in Shakespeare’s tragedies with a difference. Shakespeare’s tragic hero Hamlet and Aeschylus’s Orestes have a great deal in common. Both the plays are set in a time whenRead MoreEssay about Tom Stoppards Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead1471 Words   |  6 PagesTom Stoppards Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Tom Stoppards Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, a humorous piece of self-reflexive theater that draws upon Shakespeares Hamlet as the source of the story. The actual device of self-reflexive theater is used so well in Stoppards play that it reads like the love child of a play and a compelling critical essay. The play is academic yet conversationally phrased and it deepens our understanding of the original play but also criticizes itRead MoreComparing Shakespeares Hamlet and Stoppards Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead876 Words   |  4 PagesHamlet is undoubtedly one of the most well-studied and remembered tragedies in all of history. Renowned for its compelling soliloquies and thought-provoking discussions about life, death, and love, the play takes a very serious look at the topics it presents. Based on this famous work is another tragedy, known as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. In this work, which is interwoven with the original, the namesake characters bumble about in the immense world, over which they have no control. WithoutRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Hamlet 1030 Words   |  5 Pageslabel Shakespeare an existentialist, his works heavily involve recurring themes and characteristics of an existential nature, and Hamlet was no exception. Hamlet as a revenge tragedy was unconventionally brilliant in its multifaceted portrayal of moral, intellectual and obligatory confliction, resulting in significant psychological consequences. I would now like to acknowledge the reception of Hamlet by esteemed German writer and politician Johan Wolfgang von Goethe. You might be familiar with Goethe’s