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Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries From Genuinely Interested Students 3.15.97: Top | Help
I am writing a paper on the symbol of decay in Hamlet. Of how
it's a symbol of mans total depravity. Or something along
those lines. I'm really struggling with it as it's an unusual
topic (so any help is greatly appreciated).My theses goes roughly like this:
The play of Hamlet is a cronical of decay, the spontaneous
generation of rot and corruption merely from the normal course of
man's nature. Shakespeare is able to use this symbol of decay on
two levels. One, to represent society and the evils that society
has struggled with since the beginning of time to set itself right
again. And two, the individual struggle that man has before himself
and his creator; that man is evil by nature, yet somehow we can
be reconciled to God. If man turns to himself and/or the world
to search for help and happiness, his life will begin to decay
at it's core, creating the masks of the court and the selfishness
of man's nature.
Posted by Mr. Ed on March 24, 1997 at 22:35:53
Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries From Genuinely Interested Students 3.15.97: Top | Help