Madness and Insanity in Shakespeares Hamlet Essay example -- The Melan

The Melancholy Hamlet  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   William Shakespeare’s tragic play Hamlet is an exercise in the study of melancholy. Let’s explore the in’s and out’s of this aspect of the drama in this essay.    Gunnar Boklund gives a reason for the highlighting of the melancholy aspect of the protagonist in Shakespeare’s Hamlet in his essay â€Å"Judgment in Hamlet†:    In the tragedy of Hamlet Shakespeare does not concern himself with the question whether blood-revenge is justified or not; it is raised only once and very late by the protagonist (v,ii,63-70)and never seriously considered. The dramatic and psychological situation rather than the moral issue is what seems to have attracted Shakespeare, and he chose to develop it, in spite of the hard-to-digest and at times a little absurd elements it might involve. . .(118-19).    Imagery is a factor in the melancholy. The imagery in Othello â€Å"enhances the strain of melancholy in Hamlet by dwelling on sickness and decay [. . .]† (Levin 14). The initial imagery is very bleak and depressing: â€Å"The story opens in the cold and dark of a winter night in Denmark, while the guard is being changed on the battlements of the royal castle of Elsinore. For two nights in succession, just as the bell strikes the hour of one, a ghost has appeared on the battlements, a figure dressed in complete armor and with a face like that of the dead king of Denmark, Hamlet’s father† (Chute 35).    Horatio and Marcellus exit the ghost-ridden ramparts of Elsinore intending to enlist the aid of Hamlet. The prince is dejected by the â€Å"o’erhasty marriage† of his mother to his uncle less than two months after the funeral of Hamlet’s father. There is a social gathering of the court, where Hamlet is present,... ...ess, 1999. Rpt. from Introduction to Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Philip Edwards. N. P.: Cambridge University P., 1985.    Levin, Harry. General Introduction. The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1974.    Mack, Maynard. â€Å"The World of Hamlet.† Yale Review. vol. 41 (1952) p. 502-23. Rpt. in Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism. Rev. ed. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. New York: Oxford University P., 1967.    Rosenberg, Marvin. â€Å"Laertes: An Impulsive but Earnest Young Aristocrat.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Masks of Hamlet. Newark, NJ: Univ. of Delaware P., 1992.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html No line nos.      

Movie: The Power of One Essay

The director John G. Avildsen has made the concert scene memorable from the film â€Å"The Power of One† which was set in apartheid time in Africa by using many visual and verbal techniques such as lighting, music and dialog that support all the suggestions that the scene makes. These techniques make this scene and film memorable. During the concert scene Peekay conducted a group of non-white African prisoners to sing for the commandant. Peekay was proven to be smart and determined in this scene because he translated the guards speech to the prisoners incorrectly to encourage the tribes to unite. The Guard told Peekay to translate â€Å"†¦sorriest prisoners in all of Africa!† but Peekay translate it to â€Å"Let us be one under the African Sky†. The prisoners sang a song about the guards â€Å"they run this way, they run that way, they are afraid, they are cowards..† in Zulu. Sergent Boreman cornered Peet and made him tell what the words to the song meant and then beat him to death because he was aggravated about what the prisoners were singing. Peekay got to Peet in time for him to say his last words: â€Å"All the tribes as one, thanks to you rainmaker†. A visual technique which made the concert scene memorable was lighting. The dark dim lighting suggested that the conditions of the prison were harsh. An example of this is when Geil Peet is beaten to death by Sergeant Boreman, the lighting was harsh, artificial and spot lighten which made Boreman look evil. The lighting gives the audience clues about the dark emotions experienced by Geil Peet in this scene. Another technique used in this film is the music during this scene. There were only two types of music, the piano and the background singing of the African prisoners which suggest a lot of things, for example the prisoners singing from different tribes could suggest co-operation and equality between tribes and the singing in Zulu meant that the commandant and Sergeant and guards could not understand what the tribes were singing about the guards being cowards and afraid. â€Å"Alyea Olyeah mon!† is what one of the prisoners was shouting out. Peekay in this scene translated the commandants speech incorrectly which gave the prisoners encouragement to bring honor to  their tribe. The dialog also made this scene memorable in this film. The dialog was very moving and powerful. The speeches were moving because the verbal and visuals at each part of the scene were supporting each other to create something beautiful even though Geil Peet was dieing in Peekay’s arms saying â€Å"†¦ rainmaker† the over narration when Geil dies is also moving â€Å"†¦for a brief moment he was a freeman†. This suggest that Peet had a hard life before if he was a freeman just before he died. The actual English speech of the commandant suggest that he hated all black people and thought that whites are superior which also suggest racism. I believe that this film â€Å"The Power of One† is a bold, strong and moving film and many memorable and important scenes like the concert scene. The Director John G. Avildsen has attempted to recreate what apartheid was like in Africa and I strongly believe that this film has captured that image.

Nature of Evil in Othello - 1704 Words

The Nature Of Evil In Othello The Nature of Evil in Othello William Shakespeare’s Othello uses different and unique techniques in his language to express the nature of evil throughout the play. Verbal twists and the characters most importantly stress the act of evil. Iago, most of all is portrayed as the â€Å"villain† or â€Å"protagonist in the play. Shakespeare uses this character to set the basis of evil. Each plot point is spiraled further into tragedy due to the nature of Iago and his manipulative language towards the other main characters. Corruption overcomes the Venetian society as Iago uses his crafty skills of deceit. The plan to have Othello turn against the ones he loves is the perfect example of evil’s nature. The power struggle is†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Divinity of hell! When devils will their blackest sins put on, they do suggest at first with heavenly shows, as I do now.†(II, iii, 348) This is the first quote that it is evident Iago is jealous. He is the voice of jealousy in its entirety, giving way to the evil deeds that drive the play. There is a counter argument to the fact whether Iago is truly â€Å"evil.† In Richard Grant’s, Studies in Shakespeare, describes the dual aspects of the character of Iago, whose external demeanor is characterized by warm sympathy for his friends and apparent trustworthiness among his peers, but whose real and inner nature is amoral, heartless, and entirely self-interested. The fact that Iago was the youngest out of the group of characters, Grants theory on Iago’s evil nature is that he adapted it by consciously adopting it. â€Å"Brave, and a good soldier, he was also of that order of ability which lifts a man speedily above his fellows. His manners and his guise were of a dashing military sort; and his manner had a corresponding bluntness, tempered, at times, by tact to a warm-hearted effusiveness, by the very tact which prompted the bluntness.† [Grant: Studies in Shakespeare, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1886, pp. 258-79] Grants theory can twist the minds of what Iago has always been thought of to be. The typical villain is taken as something else in this scenario. Being in the military, in is in Iago’sShow MoreRelated The Nature of Evil in William ShakespeareÂ’s Othello Essay1656 Words   |  7 PagesWilliam ShakespeareÂ’s Othello uses different and unique techniques in his language to express the nature of evil throughout the play. Verbal twists and the characters most importantly stress the act of evil. Iago, most of all is portrayed as the “villain” or “protagonist in the play. Shakespeare uses this character to set the basis of evil. 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