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Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries From Genuinely Interested Students 3.15.97: Top | Help
Well, on one hand, Hamlet HAS to revenge his father. What kind of a ruler would he be if he knew who killed the previous king and did nothing? On the other hand, what kind of a Christian would kill his uncle, the King, on the word of a ghost...good Christians don't see ghosts (witness Macbeth)I don't think that anything he does - or doesn't do - is rooted in searching for justice but rather in trying to successfully play all of the conflicting roles he's being asked to play...
Appearance -vs- reality: I think that the appearance versus reality theme in Shakespeare has something to do with alternate points of view - everyone has their own version of reality - usually, we coexist quite nicely, accepting our role in another's reality because we need them in our own. But sometimes those realities come in direct conflict with one another - and then who is to say whose is the REAL reality?
On a less esoteric plane, appearance versus reality in Shakespeare also has to do with people acting one way in public and another in private. Which person is the "real" person - is Hamlet mad, or isn't he?
Posted by Lillith on March 24, 1997 at 17:52:39
In Reply to "Hamlet:justice, revenge?" posted by Katie on March 21, 1997 at 17:41:10
Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries From Genuinely Interested Students 3.15.97: Top | Help