On Shakespeares "Hamlet" - past and present, memory and forgetting

Dossier / Travail , 2008 , 9 Pages , Note: 2,0

Philologie Anglaise - Littérature

Remembrance is the key factor to every person’s past life. So one can agree with Hammersmith in that without memory, which actually develops through remembrance, all our former experience vanishes and seems never to have existed. The only thing remaining is the ‘Here and Now‘, the single moment we experience something. Past and present do not have any further significance for our lives (cf. JSTOR trusted archives for scholarship). In his play Hamlet, William Shakespeare represents characters who seemingly have a past and whose lives are strongly influenced by this. In Hamlet ‘Shakespeare appears to have given exceptional care and thought to the problem of dramatizing the past’ (Alexander, 1971: 38). Through various techniques which will be discussed and developed in this essay, he gives his characters a whole life consisting of a past, which influences their present and, even more strongly, their future actions. This essay will show how Shakespeare manages to combine past and present without disturbing the common time-related order of the play. In addition, I will show how Shakespeare’s audience is informed about all the crucial events it has to know in order to understand what is happening on stage, although past and present time are presented in an uncommon way.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Remembrance and the Past in Hamlet
• The Ghost of Hamlet's Father
• The Dumb Show
• The Role of Memory in Hamlet's Actions

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This essay examines how William Shakespeare dramatizes the past in Hamlet, focusing on the play's exploration of memory, forgetting, and the collision of past and present. It analyzes how these elements shape the characters' actions and influence the unfolding of the plot.

• The significance of memory in shaping individual identity and actions
• The role of the past in influencing present events and shaping the future
• The use of dramatic devices to convey past events and their impact on the characters
• The interplay of memory and forgetting in the context of revenge and justice
• The historical and cultural context of the play, particularly in relation to Elizabethan beliefs about ghosts and the supernatural

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The essay begins by exploring the significance of memory in understanding the past and its influence on present actions, drawing on the concept of remembrance as a key factor in shaping our lives. It then delves into the opening scene of Hamlet, where the ghost of Hamlet's father appears, informing the audience about the political situation in Denmark and the events that have shaped the present. The ghost's appearance serves as a crucial device for introducing the past and its impact on the characters' futures, particularly Hamlet's.

The essay further examines the use of the dumb show as another dramatic device for revealing the past. The play within the play, with its depiction of the murder of the old King Hamlet, provides a powerful visual representation of past events and their influence on the present. The essay explores how this scene highlights the collision of past and present, as young Hamlet chooses to have the murder reenacted on stage.

Finally, the essay discusses the role of memory in shaping Hamlet's actions. It explores how Hamlet's memories of his father's murder, fueled by the ghost's revelations, drive his quest for revenge and shape his complex psychological state. The essay also considers the role of forgetting and how it can be used as a tool for escaping the past or suppressing painful truths.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The key themes and concepts explored in this essay include: memory, forgetting, past, present, future, revenge, justice, ghost, apparition, dumb show, dramatic devices, Elizabethan drama, historical context, Hamlet, Shakespeare.

• Université: University of Stirling
• Cours: Author, Reader, Text
• Note: 2,0
• Auteur: Eileen Waugh (Auteur)
• Année de publication: 2008
• Pages: 9
• N° de catalogue: V164886
• ISBN (ebook): 9783640802876
• ISBN (Livre): 9783640802777
• Langue: anglais
• mots-clé: dramatization, remembrance, Denmark, audience, future, dramatic collision, Elizabethan Age, dump show, melancholy, King Hamlet, ghost