Mod B: Hamlet Essay Feedback

[MrMcspicy]

Hi guys! This will be my first post on ATARnotes and I was wondering if you guys could give me some feedback for this essay

2015 Barker College Trial: Explore how Hamlet engages readers through its dramatic treatment of doubt.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet and its exploration of doubt has allowed for this tragic play to retain its enduring power. Through Shakespeare’s mastery as a playwright, the dramatic treatment of doubt and uncertainty is promoted within the protagonist’s confrontation with his mortal existence and perception of women, both of which intertwine to create a play which encompasses the very dynamics of humanity. Despite the passing centuries, Shakespeare’s piece continues to captivate his audiences and in turn, shatters contextual barriers to find resonance within our time.

In an exploration of doubt and how this entices his audience, Shakespeare’s skilful, intriguing creation of hamlet and his confliction with the idea of mortality and lack of certainty allows for the modern audience to deepen their appreciation for this play. This notion finds resonance within Mary Salter’s critique of Hamlet as being ‘prone to questioning and therefore aware of the larger moral implications of any act’. This is a play rich in antithetical ideas and this is consolidated through Hamlet’s confrontation with death as he rhetorically questions “to be or not to be” within his intricate soliloquy. He philosophises using metaphors that the living are at the mercy of “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” and the “scorns and whips of time”, concluding that dispatching oneself by “taking arms against a sea of troubles… opposing end them” is the only means of escape, yet his doubt and uncertainty- “conscience makes cowards of men”, impedes his ability to take action, thus confining him to earthly contemplation; “For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come?”. What began as a question of mortality ends in a contest of cowardliness, as can be seen when Hamlet uses a metaphor, paralleling the “dread of death” to an “undiscovered country” from which “no traveller returns” to symbolise his dismay towards his inability to grasp the physicality of one’s demise and his entrapment within a metaphysical crossroads between choosing death or continuing to live within the ambiguity of existence. In portraying his ponderings, Shakespeare reinforces that Hamlet’s doubt and tortured remarks are not simply signs of a weak and inactive will; rather, that it is the nature of humanity, whose solace is found only within a retreat into the sincerity of the self and the sanctuary of the mind. Thus, through Shakespeare’s dramatic treatment of the permanence of mortality and the ambiguity which entails it, he masterfully creates a piece which, despite contextual divides, continues to engage and resound with his modern audiences.

Additionally, Shakespeare’s intriguing construction of doubt towards women within this play is not only reflective, but also critical of the gender dynamics existent within Elizabethan society which in turn allows for the continued captivation of his audiences across time. Through Shakespeare’s use of hyperbolic, bestial metaphors such as “honeying and making love over the nasty sty” and “O’erhasty marriage”, Gertrude is depicted by hamlet as a whore- a character “stewed in corruption”. Here, Hamlet’s scepticism and thus, viciousness towards his mother as he exclaims: “frailty, thy name is a woman!” aligns itself with Neil Taylor’s critique that “Hamlet’s own misogynistic attitudes towards the women in the play is a reflection of the society of the play”. Whilst Polonius’ statement that “this be madness, yet there is method in it” is in reference to Hamlet’s “antic disposition”, one must not overlook the method within Ophelia’s own madness. There is a tradition of depicting Ophelia as a tragic romantic, completely powerless as is followed by Gertrude’s depiction of her death, an “envious sliver broke”, however, this is undermined and doubted by the contemporary audience upon examining Ophelia’s descent into madness in act 4 scene 5. Here, Ophelia presents “fennel and columbines”, “rue” and “violets” which “withered all when my father died”, all of which are symbolic of flattery, marital infidelity, repentance and faithfulness respectively. Whilst Ophelia lacks power as a woman, this act can be interpreted as an attempt to deliver her own form of judgement against the corruption and injustice in Denmark, yet doing so behind a mask of seeming madness. It is interesting, that whilst Hamlet continues to contemplate ‘to be or not to be’, Ophelia actively chooses ‘not to be’, by “wilfully seeking her own salvation” as “she drowned herself”. Here, Ophelia’s death is an assertive choice to free herself from depravity and depression of existence and this is perhaps, the only aspect of her life of which she has control. Hence, Shakespeare, through his dramatic treatment of doubt, deliberately positions his audiences to recognise his own denouncement of the gender dynamics which existed during his time of writing- enabling this play to remain embedded within today’s social fabric.

All in all, it is clear that through his dramatic treatment of doubt, Shakespeare and his masterful creation of Hamlet continues to entice audiences as an enduring construction on the myriad of frailties which lie at humanity’s core.