This section contains 928 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
Hamlet's Women
Summary: Analyzes William Shakespeare's tragic play, Hamlet. Evaluates Hamlet's attitude toward women. Maintains that he is overwhelmed by the deception that he faces.
In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet spews extremely harsh words against his mother Gertrude and his love, Ophelia. Some people may claim that these venomous statements mean that he is misogynistic, but, in fact, Hamlet's anger towards Gertrude and Ophelia stems not from their sex but from their betrayal. Throughout the play, Hamlet viciously attacks more than just the women; he has contempt for every person that betrays him and his father. After he recognizes the magnitude of Claudius' deceptions, Hamlet describes Claudius as a "Bloody, bawdy villain! / Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless / villain!" (Hamlet, II, ii, 607-609). Later, when Hamlet kills Polonius, he feels no remorse and calls the corpse a "wretched, rash, intruding fool" (Hamlet, III, iv, 38). Additionally, he has no compassion in his heart for those "adders fanged" (Hamlet, III, iv, 226), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and coldly arranges their deaths. Hamlet is cruel to the extreme to all...
This section contains 928 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |