hamlet is one craxy jabroni

TITLE: Hamlet's Split Personality: The Emotionally Unstable vs. The Rational Façade

INTRO: Concealing emotions within oneself can tend to mask one’s true character with a false projected image that is only a mere representation of the person. In Hamlet, Shakespeare introduces Hamlet in rather depressing circumstances as he is just coping with the death of his father. Hamlet appears to be more honest when he is with himself rather than when he is surrounded by others. Shakespeare presents this difference in Hamlet to further develop his character and demonstrate his lack of self expression. As revealed in Hamlet’s soliloquies, he is much more truthful and speaks his mind. Through these isolated settings, Hamlet also appears mentally unstable. Without these scenes with Hamlet alone, the reader would only know the other, more concealed, side of him. Evident in his interactions with King Claudius and his mother, Hamlet does not express his full opinions and seems reserved. Therefore, although Hamlet’s speech with others and with himself may appear to be similar, close examination reveals that Hamlet’s speech is more honest with himself which, in effect, works to fully develop both sides of his character.

1ST BODY: Hamlet’s speeches when he is alone show the reader his deranged and emotionally unstable side due to his inner turmoil from his father’s death. In his first soliloquy, Hamlet expresses his disapproval of Claudius and his mother. This is the first instance where the reader sees the more emotional side of Hamlet. Not only does his tone change, but he also uses more figurative language to convey his emotions to the reader: “How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, seem to me all the uses of this world!” (1.2, 133-134). Shakespeare uses hyperbole to exaggerate Hamlet’s speech and to indicate a more dramatic tone in his voice. This use of overstatement contrasts with his seemingly flat tone of voice when conversing with others. Hamlet displays his full range of emotion when with himself and does not hesitate to censor any of this thoughts. Furthermore, Hamlet proves to possess these two characters at the end of his first soliloquy when Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo walk in: “It is not nor it cannot come to good: But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue” (1.2, 158-159). When others come into Hamlet’s presence, he becomes reserved and becomes a completely different person. As the play progresses, Hamlet seems more mentally unstable in his soliloquies. His personality seems more split and he appears to be self-loathing. After Hamlet tells the First Player he wants to add in a couple lines to a play to expose Claudius, he immediately blames himself and questions his morality: “With this slave’s offal: bloody, bawdy villain! Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!” (2.2, 507-508). Hamlet berates himself for seeking vengeance on the King. Shakespeare uses plosive consonants to emphasize Hamlet’s infuriated tone. Moreover, this speech is permeated with rhetorical questions which further displays Hamlet’s split personality persona. Hamlet is truly a different person when he is alone, showing the effects of his father’s death on his character.

OUTLINE:

- Intro

- Hamlet's personality alone

- Hamlet's personality when around others

- Conclusion

figurative language in hamlet, cousin

Figurative language is the description of something comparing it to something else. It is the opposite of literal language and is usually used to describe traits about a character or setting. For example, in Hamlet, when the ghost is talking to Hamlet, he uses figurative language: "Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres, thy knotted and combined locks to part and each particular hair to stand an end, like quills upon the fretful porpentine" (17, Act 1 Scene 5). The ghost uses many similes and metaphors while describing Hamlet's eyes and hair. He describes his eyes like stars and his hair like the pins of a porcupine. This use of figurative language exaggerates his features while describing them at the same time.

setting, jabroni...

Setting provides the circumstances and base of a story to build around. The setting is important in creating a real atmosphere for the reader to delve into for a complete reading experience. An example of setting is in Pride and Prejudice when Austen is first introducing the Bennet family. Not only does she describe the type of house and community that they live in, but she also introduces the time of the story. With knowledge of the time period, the reader can suspect what kind of customs the society possessed then. Moreover, Austen speaks of the family's economic status and how much more poor they are compared to other families. So, setting is very important in creating the whole basis for a story.

hamlet v hamlet

Concealing emotions within oneself can tend to mask one’s true character with a false projected image that is only a mere representation of the person. In Hamlet, Shakespeare introduces Hamlet in rather depressing circumstances as he is just coping with the death of his father. Hamlet appears to be more honest when he is with himself rather than when he is surrounded by others. Shakespeare presents this difference in Hamlet to further develop his character and demonstrate his lack of self expression. As revealed in Hamlet’s soliloquy, he is much more truthful and speaks his mind. Without these scenes with Hamlet alone, we would only know the other, less open, side of him. Evident in Hamlet’s interactions with King Claudius and his mother, he does not express his full opinions and seems reserved. Therefore, although Hamlet’s speech with others and with himself may appear to be similar, close examination reveals that Hamlet’s speech is more honest with himself which in effect, works to fully develop his character.

hamlet vs. elizabeth

Hamlet and Pride and Prejudice differ in their characterization of characters and how they are introduced. In Hamlet, Hamlet is described through indirect characterization, showing how he is as a character through his actions and discussions with other characters. For example, we learn through his soliloquy, that he tends to hold back his emotions. Hamlet is having suicidal thoughts but we do not learn this until he is by himself and is more honest with himself. Austen uses direct characterization to introduce her characters but throughout the book, we learn more about the characters through direct characterization. Elizabeth at first is described directly about her traits and attributes but eventually we learn more about her through her interactions with others. For example, at first Austen introduces us to Elizabeth as a cynical person but throughout the novel we learn that Elizabeth has the potential to see the good in Darcy.

CHARACTER

Characters are the main proponents of a story and can have a range of different behavior and traits that develop the story. These characteristics are usually discovered through direct or indirect characterization. In Pride and Prejudice, though Austen may use direct characterization to initially introduce a character, she employs indirect characterization throughout the novel for the reader to learn more about the characters. For example, we learn that Elizabeth Bennet is a very outspoken and honest woman through her dealings with Darcy and her friends such as Charlotte. Moreover, Shakespeare uses indirect characterization in his works such as Hamlet as well. We learn that Hamlet tends to hold back his true opinions through the difference between his soliloquy and his exchanges with King Claudius and his mother. He is shown to be more honest when he is by himself and shows his true feelings.

Claudius & Hamlet

The difference between Hamlet's and Claudius' speeches are in their tone and language. Hamlet truly feels sad about his father dying which is shown in language. He uses phrases such as, "Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, that can denote me truly" which demonstrates that Hamlet is depressed. King Claudius' response to Hamlet shows that he is insenstive and unsympathetic towards their loss. His response is surprising becuase he thinks that Hamlet is overreacting even though they have both just lost a loved one. Cladius believes that Hamlet's mourning is a duty rather than just a simple grieving for a loss: "To give these mourning duties to your father". He wants Hamlet to move on rather than live in the past and grieve.

slam, dunk, and hook & fast break

A compare and contrast essay on Slam, Dunk, & Hook and Fast Break would be more successful using the element by element structure. Most topics are easier to write about using this structure because you are able to compare and contrast the two work throughout the essay. Moreover, this structure is easier on the reader because he does not have to try and remember the points brought up in the previous paragraphs. I would use the topics of imagery and style for my paragraphs in this essay. In Slam, Dunk, & Hook, the poet uses more metaphorical language to describe the events while the poet in Fast Break uses clearer and more descriptive language. The style in Slam, Dunk, & Hook is more choppy and the ideas are more spread apart. Fast Break flows much more than Slam, Dunk, & Hook and creates a graceful manner.

PLOT

The plot of a story is a series of events that describe what kind of things are happening and why. Plot is very important to the story as it has to make sense and be believable to its audience. It does not have to be realistic but the plot has to make sense. The plot usually goes through five main stages to develop: the exposition, the rising action, the climax, the falling action, and denouement. The exposition introduces all the necessary elements of the story such as the characters and setting. The rising action is the build up of events eventually leading to conflict. The climax is the peak of the story in which the action and emotion reaches their highest point. The falling action is the point where the conflict begins to be resolved. Finally, the denouement is when the conflict has been resolved and the story ends.

An example of plot is Pride and Prejudice. The novel begins by introducing the characters and setting the atmosphere for the rest of the story while beginning to create some early conflicts. This all builds to the climax which, I believe, is when Darcy proposes to Elizabeth for the first time because this creates the biggest conflict in the story between Elizabeth and Darcy and Elizabeth and herself. The falling action and denouement occur as Elizabeth begins to love Darcy which eventually ends in their marriage. Another example of plot is Death of a Salesman. Although the story is hard to follow because it is a collection of events from the past, it still follows the guidelines of plot. The climax being when Biff makes his father realize that they are both failures in the American dream.

Woodchucks and Traveling through the Dark

Both of the poems involve the topic of the death of animals but differ in their tone. The first poem, Woodchucks, has a harsher tone and a darker feel. Throughout the poem, the narrator describes the hunting and eventually killing of the woodchucks in a degrading way. The narrator treats these animals as objects of entertainment and doesn't think twice when he hunts them. The tone appears almost inhumane in the way the animals are being described: "the murderer inside me rose up hard." The narrator speaks of feeling like a murderer in a positive way which shows the dark tone of the poem. In the second poem, the narrator has to make a decision about what to do with an already dead deer. The tone of the second poem seems more appreciative towards nature and animals as the narrator chooses to do whats best for others' safety and the deceased deer. The narrator is more considerate and caring towards nature.

DW Harding

There are both aspects with which I agree on and disagree on within Harding's essay on Pride and Prejudice. I agree with Harden to a certain extent that Austen detests Mrs. Bennet to criticize the follies of society. Although Austen may not go so far as detesting Mrs. Bennet, she does use her as a means fo criticizing certain aspects of society. Harden states, "Consequently the proposal scene is not only comic fantasy, but it is also, for Elizabeth, a taste of the fantastic nightmare in which economic and social institutions have such power over the values of personal relationships". Harding is correct in his view that Austen is showing the fact that economic status has more value than personal relations in a marriage at the time. However, I disagree with Harden when he claims that Austen wrote in a satirical kind of tone to stay on good terms with her associates. I think he is analyzing her intentions a little too far and that Austen was only trying to show the faults of society in a subtly humerous kind of way instead of blatantly criticizing them.