Romanticism in Hamlet - Essay Example

?Client’s 15 November “GHOST: Revenge his foul and most unnatural murther. HAMLET: Murther? GHOST: Murther most foul, as in the best it is; But this most foul, strange, and unnatural.” (Act 1, sc. 5, p. 49) Hamlet is a very intriguing play and the play is based around the story of revenge which gets delayed. Claudius is the protagonist in the play and Hamlet plays the role of a tragic hero in the play. He gets many chances to kill Claudius but he delays avenging the death of his father, Hamlet gets possibly the finest opportunity when Claudius is seen to be praying in the play but Hamlet does not kill him there, this prolonging of revenge shapes up the play very well and it is easily the highlight of the play. The impulsive nature of Hamlet is another very interesting aspect of the play. Had Hamlet killed Claudius earlier in the play, the play would have lost its charm, the delay in Hamlet’s revenge is one of the biggest factors that intrigues the readers. Let’s now take into consideration the character of Hamlet, as discussed earlier, it can be easily made out that Hamlet was an impulsive person. His Father was the king of Denmark and he was killed by Claudius, who has now become the king by marrying Hamlet’s mother. A ghost tells Hamlet that his father was murdered by King Claudius and this allegation was later proved. Based on this assumption that Claudius killed his father, Hamlet decides to take revenge of the death of his father. Hamlet’s rash actions go on to decide his fate. In the sense that he succeeds in killing King Claudius but prior to this Hamlet ends up killing innocent old man by the name Polonius. Hamlet decides not to kill Claudius while he was praying; this causes an unnecessary delay and only goes on to make the readers believe that the actions of Hamlet were very Impulsive. To conclude with the character of Hamlet it can be said that since revenge was his sole aim, no one could have predicted the future and there are risks involved when a person seeks revenge, so it is fair to say that the death of Hamlet was not surprising as a reader and he pretty much deserved it. This is purely based on the fact that anything can happen when one seeks revenge. After reading the play we get an impression that seeking revenge destroys everything, just like it destroyed Hamlet’s life and also the life of his family members. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth shouldn’t be followed; the choice is up to the individual to choose. If a person goes Hamlet’s way then undoubtedly it will lead to devastation on the contrary if a person analyzes the situation and then with a cool head decides not to seek revenge is sure to get better results and life is all about getting better results. Revenge is a very dangerous motive but a very powerful one which destroys everyone involved in the dangerous process of seeking revenge. This tragedy of Hamlet is certainly one of its kinds and Hamlet’s intension to take revenge causes the other characters in the play to suffer and this is one of the features of a tragedy. There is a certain element of madness also in the character of Hamlet; he goes so crazy behind avenging his father’s death that he forgets all the other things in life. His lover goes insane and kills herself but he still does not get affected by the same and goes on an unprecedented quest to avenge his father’s death. To conclude it is very fair to say that the character of Hamlet had only one thing in mind, revenge and the same ruined him and all the other characters in the tragedy. Romanticism in Hamlet Hamlet is one of the favorite characters for the romantics because he lived a very bemused life. The complexities in his life were of interest to the romantics, psychological complexity and personal intensity were both present in the life of hamlet which is probably why he is arguably the favorite character of the Romantics. "We love Hamlet even as we love ourselves."  - Lord Byron, in The Romantics on Shakespeare, Penguin, London, 1992. p.337.” (Does Hamlet Delay?) Romantics instantly related to the psychological turmoil faced by Hamlet, incest also takes place in the tragedy when Hamlet marries his mother and this was just the tip of the iceberg. Avenging the death of his father proved even more tumultuous, these psychological conflicts fascinate the Romantics and make Hamlet an instantly hit. Part 2 The hour begins on a very tragic note, Virginia Wolf was a great writer who committed suicide and the novel opens with the suicide of the great lady, she had a very bad past. She was consistently abused by her half-brothers and experienced great trauma in her life. She was a very brave woman who fought against a lot of emotional trauma but when it became too much to take she decided to drown herself in a river, with her death a great writer also passed away. Virginia Wolf was suffering from a mental illness which used to return from time to time, she felt that she had no cure for the illness and decided to end her life. She put stones in her pocket and the current generated by the waves did the rest. The quotes mentioned by Cunningham directly refer to the life of Virginia Wolf and The Hour is a novel which portrays the life of the great writer in Virginia Wolf. Insanity is a very important theme in the novel; Virginia Wolf loses her insanity and decides to take her life away. Many times we come across situations which are very difficult to tackle but we must not lose hope and fight every challenge and we must try and come on top, it is difficult but not implausible. Many people have survived the most difficult of all challenges and there is no reason as to why human beings cannot fight and come out on top when they face extremely difficult situations in their life. The quote also talks about the mornings and how we love them, in real sense it means Virginia Wolf loved mornings and looked forward to penning down her thoughts and writing something very inspiring which would be enjoyable to read and which would inspire other people to greater things in life. Dalloway plays a very important role in the Hours; the stream of consciousness is also a very important part of the novel. Virginia Wolf had already decided that Dalloway, her very important character would commit suicide this was perhaps another reason as to why she herself chose to end her life and drown in the river which was very close to her house. The state of mind is another very important theme in the novel, some traits displayed by human beings may result in others branding them insane and unfit to live in the society, we get to see that Virginia Wolf holds back and chooses to refrain from displaying her natural traits which goes to show that she presented herself as someone very different from what she originally was. To conclude it is very fair to say that the novel presents three female protagonists who had different problems, it also goes to show how they suffered and how they could not overcome and persevere. Part 3 “Begone! I will not hear you. There can be no community between you and me; we are enemies. Be gone, or let us try our strength in a fight in which one must fall’ (103). No kinship is plausible between Victor and the monster, the monster who was created by Victor ruined his world and then Victor goes all out for revenge in search of the monster. He realizes that he made a huge mistake by giving life to the monster; Victor fails miserably in controlling the monster and the monster ends up completely destroying his world. No kinship of any sort is ever plausible between Victor and the monster. The mental imbalance of Victor and the monster is arguably the biggest similarity between the two. Victor had a childhood which he thought was absolutely perfect and flawless, his creation on the other hand had no childhood this led to the several murders of Townspeople and the monster was pronounced crazy. The apple never falls far from the tree and the same applies to Victor and the monster that he created, both had several similar qualities and more of these similarities will be discussed in the following parts of this paper. It is an open secret that Victor and the monster were both incorrigible, the quality of being spoiled is another very huge similarity between the two. When Victor got a baby sister for his present he completely ignored her upon creating the monster and similarly when Victor deprived the monster of a bride the monster went absolutely berserk and started killing innocent people, he even tried to sabotage Victor’s life this clearly goes to show that both were completely spoiled and acted like a child who has been deprived of what he wanted. The vengeful attitude of both Victor and the monster is another very striking similarity which the two share on the novel. “When I reflected on his crimes and malice, my hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation. I would have made a pilgrimage to the highest peak of the Andes, could I when there have precipitate.” (Chapter 9, p.104) The dark side of the monster comes to light when Victor upsets the apple cart by depriving him of his future-wife; the enraged monster causes damage beyond repair. The monster goes a step ahead on this vengeful journey and kills Victor’s future-wife, Victor in turn goes on a quest to find the monster and destroy him, and this clearly shows that both were extremely vengeful. “I, not in deed, but in effect, was the true murderer. Elizabeth read my anguish in my countenance, and kindly taking my hand, said, "My dearest friend, you must calm yourself.” (Chapter 8, p. 73) The novel clearly shows that children will greatly be influenced by their parents; they will learn what is being taught to them by their parents. Victor made the monster vengeful and instilled in him all the unwanted qualities which was why the monster went on a destructive spree killing people and causing damage beyond repair. The real monster in the novel is Victor; he tried to play the role of God but was not quite as successful as he perhaps wanted to be. The monster destroys his world and he goes on a vengeful journey, these events clearly prove that the apple never falls far from the tree. Works Cited Does Hamlet Delay? (2011). Characters on the Couch. Web. Retrieved From: Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and PaulWerstine. New York: Washington Square- Pocket, 1992. Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1984. Bibliography Form and Meaning in Drama : A Study of the Greek Plays and of Hamlet; H.D.F. Kitto; Methuen & Co Ltd 1956 Read More