Hamlet Essay Examples - Free Argumentative Topics for Research Papers

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Revenge in William Shakespear’s Hamlet

To obtain revenge is to cause harm or injury in return for a wrong committed (“Revenge 474”). To pursue justice is to ensure the condition of being morally correct or fair (“Justice”). William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark portrays explicit circumstances of betrayal inevitably leading to vengeful desires and progressive developments of insanity in Hamlet, the protagonist of the play. Hamlet undoubtedly values revenge over justice as depicted through his desires to inflict pain and suffering upon […]

Hamlet’s Revenge in a Shakespeare’s Play

In “Hamlet”, a play written by Shakespeare, there are many things that point to one of the main themes, which is revenge. Their also is many characters that can be compared and contrasted to Hamlet and revenge, but the one character that has the most prominent comparisons is Laertes. Hamlet and Laertes try to avenge their father’s deaths and it contributes to one of the main themes in the play which is revenge. By attempting to avenge their fathers’ deaths, […]

Foreshadowing in “Hamlet”

In the book Hamlet, there are multiple motifs present. Motifs are a recurrent image, word, object, phrase, or action that helps the reader understand the main theme or ideas the author is portraying in books. One motif that appears the most is about weeds, growth, flowers, nature. This motif correlates and puts an emphasis on the bibles Garden of Edan and shows its connection of Claudius killing King Hamlet to Abel being murdered by his brother Abel. The theme of […]

Is Hamlet a Revenge Play

During the Elizabethan era, revenge plays were all the rave. A play that’s main plot is purely a quest for vengeance. It begins with a hero who has been wronged and feels the need for revenge. These themes drive the plot. Typically, in the end, the hero kills the one who has wronged him and ends up a casualty in their own ploy. Hamlet is no exception to this. It falls into the footsteps of the classic revenge tale. It […]

The Theme of Revenge in Hamlet

The Chinese proverb, “if you seek revenge, digs two graves,” perfectly explains the mood as well as the events of William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet. The theme of revenge dominates the play because most of the characters are “out to get” those who wrong them by luring them to their death. In the initial stages of the play, the ghost of King Hamlet appears to Hamlet and makes a confession with regards to King Claudius elucidating, “Revenge his foul and most […]

Feminism in Hamlet and Oedipus the King

Gender roles are an essential role in society. These roles have been placed in society since the beginning of time. The term gender is socially created and divides society to categorize men and women. For centuries, women have fought to get equal rights, and today, they are still fighting for equal civil rights. From the right to vote for birth control, women have always been trying to show their own independence in order to gain their freedom of rights. As […]

The Psychoanalytic Approach to Shakespeare’S Hamlet

Prince hamlet from the movie adaptation of hamlet by Kenneth Branagh. This will compare Prince Hamlet’s actions in the movie to the criteria needed to classify Prince Hamlet with Bipolar Disorder. All his actions and vocals will be analyzed to determine if so. Does Prince Hamlet Have a Bipolar Disorder After watching Hamlet for the first time, it was apparent to me that something was off about the prince that wasn’t just simply him faking and it only became more […]

Why did it Take Hamlet so Long to Avenge his Father’s Death?

The story began with castle battlement in Denmark. This is where the guards observe the dead king’s ghost who is the father to the hamlet. For most people Hamlet delay is frustrating, and though people feel sympathy for Hamlet due to his struggle on his suicidal despair, the audience views Hamlet as being the procrastinator. Based on the audience interpretation of the situation, Hamlet is considered to know what he was supposed to do but ended putting it using different […]

Claudius is a Machiavellian Leader

Machiavelli explicitly expresses methods of how to be an efficient ruler throughout The Prince. According to Machiavelli, a ruler must do what is necessary in order to maintain power and prevent being overthrown. The most notable characteristics of a Machiavellian leader include avoiding flatterers, to be feared rather than loved, choice of secretaries, keeping people faithful, and how to rule after power is obtained by wickedness. He focuses on ways power is gained and how one may maintain authority as […]

One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest Vs Hamlet

A tragic hero is a character who possesses or withholds heroic qualities, but overall has flaws that leads to their eventual downfall. As Aristotle once stated, A man doesn’t become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall. In the following works, two tragic heroes are present which lead to events which impact supporting characters and the plots of the writings. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey and Hamlet by William Shakespeare can […]

Why is the Procrastinating Prince

The Procrastinating Prince For centuries, Shakespeare has perplexed his audience with the puzzling issue that Hamlet poses. Taking it upon himself, the duty of exacting revenge on Claudius for murdering his father, Hamlet swears that he will swiftly act. Then, he seemingly neglects his vow to his father, wasting multiple opportunities, in spite of the ghost reappearing before him to remind of his task. Even after escaping from his trip to England, Hamlet seems to have no intention of taking […]

What is a Human Life Worth?

What is a human life worth? To you? To your family and loved ones? The value of a life can be assessed through personal, emotional, and monetary standpoints. Apple CEO Steve Jobs gave an inspiring speech to the Stanford graduating class of 2005 when he told 3 stories each containing valuable lessons on the importance of life and death from a personal standpoint. Other people like Hamlet, a character in one of Shakespeare’s famous plays, looks at life from a […]

What does being Alive Mean?

What does being alive mean? I think being alive means going through challenging times and learning from them, maturing throughout your life time to ultimately come to terms with death. I value my family, and the time I spend here on Earth. Life is short. We cant predict what will happen tomorrow. No one surely knows what happens after death. So, value life by enjoying your time on Earth, keep your family close, and forgive. Hamlet values the battles people […]

Life is an Attitude

As humans, we assign value to many things. Life, just happens to be one of those things. But not everyone sees the value of life in the same way. The value of life comes from within each and every one of us individually. In excerpts from different viewpoints such as the contemptuous outlook on life of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, to Roger Ebert and Steve Jobsr’s positive outlook on life and death, audiences everywhere are shown why one should value their […]

Feminism and Gender Roles in Old Literature

It is no secret that women have always been looked down upon in society throughout the years, it has been going on for many decades now and is not a shock to anyone. There are even stories written in old literature portraying just how strong the use of feminism and gender roles are, two very important critical lenses, by showing the women’s roles, personalities and fate in the tales being told. Many people actually think that feminism doesn’t exist,and women […]

Shakespeare’s Techniques in Hamlet

Passionately recommended by a majority, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is deemed credible, intricate, and intellectual by readers of all professions. In fact, not only is Hamlet said to be Shakespeare’s greatest work, but it is often titled the greatest playwright of all time as well. Intermittently, however, do people recognize the fundamental flaws of the play. Hamlet’s lack of character development, sloppy structure, and an odd similarity to another Elizabethan tragedy—The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd— all prove that Hamlet does […]

Hamlet’s Character

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet can be characterised as a curious individual as he goes through a adventure of getting revenge for his father and making sure nobody knows his plans. In Act 3 Scene 1, As Hamlet is about to meet Ophelia, he goes into detail about his vision on life and death by using a lot of diction to add a deeper expression on his words to show more of a curious perspective for Hamlet as he uses […]

The Origin of Hamlet

The origin of Hamlet is believed to date back to the death of his son Hamnet in 1596 of an unknown illness, and it is thought to be a prominent factor in leading Shakespeare to write Hamlet. To go along with this, early in 1601 (the year he released Hamlet), he lost his father. The grieve that he felt from the death of his child and father left him in a state of sorrow which led him to write this […]

A Reflection of Mankind in Hamlet

Hamlet Analysis William Shakespeare’s Hamlet provides a deep analysis into the lives of the play’s characters and how their actions reflect mankind. The play is centered around a young prince, Hamlet, who learns of a tragic event that will impact his life immensely. Hamlet’s father has died and his uncle, Claudius, has married Hamlet’s mother and now occupies the throne as king of Denmark. Upon Hamlet’s arrival to Denmark to mourn the death of his father, he encounters what appears […]

Was Hamlet Crazy?

Shakespeare’s Hamlet’ is a complex piece of literature in its entirety. In fact, the story is so multi-fauceted that it is almost open to interpretation, which many scholars argue that this was actually Shakespeare’s intention. Nonetheless, a variety of points of views come to mind as the story unfolds, accompanied by an even broader variety of themes. For instance, pieces of the plot and the way in which they were articulated demonstrate perspectives such as traditional revenge trajety, Fruedian elements, […]

Uncertainty in the Hamlet’s Story

Literary composers often employ different tools to emphasize on their primary purposes. Writers often use the tools to meet their requirements and make a play appear dramatic or tragic. William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, is one of the most prominent works of its time. Similar to its pioneers, the play is a tragedy that follows drama in the kingdom of Denmark. The main characters have constant conflict with themselves and one another. Shakespeare uses certain aspects of uncertainty to emphasize on […]

To Be, or not to be Speeches

The To be, or not to be (3.1.64) speech, in Hamlet portrays Hamlet’s thoughts about suicide and avenging his father’s death. Although you receive this message while reading the play, the way a performer acts it out tells more about Hamlet’s character and (possibly) foreshadowing of the play. Laurence Olivier, Kenneth Branagh, and Mel Gibson all perform this speech, but have very different styles of approaching it. How each actor performs this speech creates different meanings to the words and […]

Tale of a Danish Prince

“Hamlet,” is a tale of a Danish prince bestowed with the burden of hashing plans to punish his dad’s homicide once his ghost appears before Hamlet and uncovers that he was dead by his very own blood. To Hamlet’s disgust, his uncle, Claudius, has purloined Hamlet’s place as King by marrying the prince’s mother, Gertrude. In Hamlet’s look for the reality, he makes the fatal error of stabbing Polonius, the King’s authority. Polonius’ death causes his female offspring, World Health […]

Hamlet’s Hesitation

Inside and outside: But I have that within which passeth show, these but the trappings and the suits of woe(Shakespeare I. ii .85). None of his clothes, weeping or sighs can display what he truly feels inside deep distress of losing his beloved father and swallowed jealousy of his uncle Claudius’s claim to the throne and forcibly occupying his beloved mother. Hamlet is constantly described as having an Oedipus complex, This can be defined as, the association of the idea […]

Hamlet – a Revenge Story

Hamlet, arguably one of William Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, is a classic revenge story that centers around a crestfallen Danish prince who struggles against himself to avenge the murder of his recently deceased father. Scheming the revenge requested by his father’s ghost, Hamlet finds resistance from non but his very pensive and thoughtful self. The play’s tone and language parallel the inner mind of its protagonist: dark and introspective. Hamlet ???s character however is three dimensional and is more complex than […]

“To Be, or not to Be”: what does it Mean?

Villa enters, talking attentively and distressingly to himself about the topic of whether to submit suicide to end the agony of experience: “To be, or not to be: that is the issue” (Act III,Scene I, Line 58). He says that the agonies of life are with the end goal that nobody would readily bear them, then again, actually they fear “something after death” (Act III, Scene I, Line 80). Since we don’t recognize what’s in store in existence in the […]

Deceiving Character of Claudius

Deception is a common theme portrayed throughout many works of literature. It is either detrimental or benevolent: it can be brought upon others or, most often, self-inflicted. In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Claudius is one of the most deceiving characters as he murdered his own brother, married Gertrude, and then attempted to conceal his actions in order to secure his throne. Claudius represents how people can turn against you to obtain what they desire, however, in the end, they are truly […]

Hamlet and his Life

Hamlet is a man with a lot of goals to meet, but he overthinks everything too much. Every chance he gets to pursue his goal, he overthinks it causing him to not be able to act accordingly. Hamlet contemplates killing himself but finds himself unable to. Hamlet proves his inability to act when he procrastinate on killing Claudius over and over again. He did not kill him while Claudius was praying. He finds it hard to act on killing his […]

Hamlet’s Mysterious Love

William Shakespeare wrote a multitude of plays with complicated love stories, and Hamlet is no exception. Throughout the play, Hamlet is claimed to be many things; a murderer, a madman, and a lovesick fool. In Shakespeare’s plays, love itself is considered a disease which is why Polonius, Laertes, and Claudius scheme behind his back to battle his madness, among other things. A subplot in the play of complicated theatrics is the love story of Ophelia and Hamlet. One wonders, did […]

Revenge Cause more Harm than Good

Revenge is defined as “a desire to do harm in return for a wrong; returning evil for evil; vengeance” (Webster Dictionary). Revenge is very powerful and, in most instances, can cause more harm than good. Sadly, it is something people will encounter in their everyday life. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, several of the characters feel the need to get revenge on others in order to to restore their family honor. Revenge plays a huge role in the character development of […]

About Hamlet
Originally published : 1603
Author : William Shakespeare
Setting : Denmark
Genre : Shakespearean tragedy
Original language : Early Modern English
Characters : Ophelia, Claudius, Polonius, Hamlet, Laertes, Horatio, MORE

Argumentative Essays on Hamlet

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