Friday, October 29, 2010
Questions 7 and 9
Diction and figurative language are strong aspects of Shakespeare writing that truly develop and craft characters of depth and personality. For example in Act II Scene VI, figurative language really gives a view into who Hamlet is and what drives his revenge. It also serves to force the reader to question the rationality and state of mind of Hamlet. For instance, Hamlet speaks very strongly in describing his revenge like a "beast". He gives bloody and gruesome images of the death of his father and the remarriage of his mother. These grotesque images set the stage for Hamlet's further actions and paint a more vivid picture of who Hamlet is.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Hamlet, I am your Father: Analysis of Claudius' Speech Patterns
Often the struggle for an individual who obtains power illegitimately is to convince the public that it is legitimate. In the classic Shakespeare work Hamlet, the character Claudius attempts to do just that. After acquiring power by killing Hamlet's father and taking the royal seat of Denmark, King Claudius attempts to prove the legitimacy of his power through his outward appearance to his loyal subjects. Claudius puts up a rouse, pretending to very objective towards the death of the former King and even goes as far as to marry the old queen to solidify his position as the new King. All of King Claudius' speeches and relations with other characters in the play identify Claudius as a man desperate to conceal a dark past in order to guarantee autocracy in the state of Denmark.