Presentation of Hamlet in Act 2 Scene 2 and 3 in William...

Presentation of Hamlet in Act 2 Scene 2 and 3 in William Shakespeares Hamlet It is hard to determine the intentions of William Shakespeare when he wrote Hamlet without looking at the social, historical and ethical context in which it was conceived. From the cover notes found within the Longman Literature edition, we can deduce that it is Shakespeares most well known play and, written during the year 1602, it was one of his later works. At this time, revenge was a very popular theme for plays and there is evidence if this in the vast number of plays about revenge that were written at the start of the seventeenth century. Throughout the play, Hamlet is shown as being a planner and this is†¦show more content†¦For example, Polonius would not have been killed because Hamlet would not have mistaken him for the king. Ophelia would not have committed suicide because Hamlet would have treated her better and Laertes would have no cause to fight Hamlet and lose his life in the process, and then Hamlet himself would have survived the tragic escapades found within the closing acts of the play. Hamlet can appear to be quite brutal and insensitive towards certain characters in the play, in particular, Ophelia, Polonius, Gertrude (his mother), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He does however, have a reason for his treatment of these people. In the case of the kings courtiers, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, they can be seen as plotting against Hamlet and being two faced in their treatment of him. There is evidence to support this in act three, scene three, when Guildenstern assures the king that We will our selves provide. Most holy and religious fear it is to keep those many bodies safe that live and feed on your majesty. This shows that they respect the king and understand it to be their religious duty to protect the general public from Hamlet. This is ironic, as Polonius will soon be dead to the sword of Hamlet. However, at the time that this play was written, revenge plays were very popular with audiences and playwrights alike and this would conceivably made theShow MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet Essay2474 Words   |  10 PagesWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet When first introduced to Hamlet he is a character full of pain and confusion, still mourning his father’s death, ‘But two months dead-nay, not so much, not two’.[1] The punctuation here highlights Hamlet’s anguish. 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