Harold Bloom Says The Genius Of Shakespeare Is That...

Harold Bloom says the genius of Shakespeare is that â€Å"Characters develop rather than unfold, and they develop because they reconceive themselves† (The Invention of the Human XVII). Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, shows the development of Hamlet within the land of Denmark. Hamlet goes through many changes throughout the five acts, but these changes are not entirely due to the events of the play, but rather to Hamlet’s confrontations with himself. He battles with his mind through soliloquys, he overhears himself speaking, and he always questions himself and the world because he is unable to accept any belief. It is not until the last act that he comes to any conclusion: an acceptance of fatalism, a philosophy that states that all events are†¦show more content†¦Hamlet is very aware of his own fate and the fate of all men: to die. He already knows of fatalism, but he cannot accept it. The thought of death perplexes and frightens Hamlet. But death, to Haml et, is not a choice to be made. â€Å"To be or not to be, that is the question†(3.1.57). â€Å"To be or not to be† is not a choice, it is a question and a question is a thought and thus a type of freedom, but death is an end, and thus â€Å"none of our own.† That death is not a choice and â€Å"the undiscovered country† can never be known in this life, no matter how much thinking Hamlet does, is what troubles Hamlet the most. It is as if he knows that following the course of revenge will lead him to his death and he cannot accept it. He wants to meet his fate but his thoughts delay him: Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, and thus the native hue of resolution is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought †¦ †¦ and lose the name of action. (3.1.84-89) Hamlet thinks of himself as a coward and looks upon himself lowly. He even describes â€Å"thought† as an act that makes one sick and irresolute. As a character who disdains thought, but nonetheless is always thinking, Hamlet is always at war with himself. His father gave him the heavy burden of vengeance and Hamlet feels inadequate and unready to meet this fate, at least for Acts I-IV, because he never acts, he only thinks and hesitates. Part of what makes Hamlet think so much is hisShow MoreRelatedEssay on Vengeance in Shakespeares Hamlet - The Theme of Revenge1162 Words   |  5 Pagesfather. He is brought to see him by Horatio and Marcellus, who saw the ghost yesternight (Shakespeare 1.2.190). During this exchange of words between the Ghost and Hamlet, the Ghost tells Hamlet, [s]o art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear. (Shakespeare 1.5.5). He is telling Hamlet to listen closely to what he has to say. Then he tells Hamlet to [r]evenge his foul and most unnatural murder (Shakespeare 1.5.23). 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Hamlet goes through many changes throughout the five acts, but these changes are not entirely due to the events of the play, but rather to Hamlet’s confrontations with himself. He battles with his mind through soliloquys, he overhearsRead More The Character of Iago in Shakespeares Othello Essay1865 Words   |  8 PagesThe Character of Iago in Othello      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   No one has ever failed to appreciate the skilled art with which Shakespeare has defined the characters of his plays; great and small alike, their distinctiveness, their dignity, their misery, and their integrity are captured and displayed.   In particular the depiction of certain characters in Othello have been universally acclaimed.   Identified by many scholars as one of Shakespeare great tragedies, along with Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear,Read MoreThe Ambiguity of Shakespeares Ambiguous Hamlet1894 Words   |  8 PagesAmbiguity of Hamlet  Ã‚        Ã‚   In Shakespeare’s dramatic tragedy Hamlet, the reader finds ambiguity of one type and another here and there throughout the play. 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Gunnar Boklund in â€Å"Judgment in Hamlet† sees the ghost as the character who introduces revenge into the play:    An equally familiar and somewhat more plausible argument may also be adduced to explain the significance of the Ghost: Shakespeare, like his fellow dramatists, did not personally regardRead More The Northern Lights2820 Words   |  12 PagesLights I hardly see how one can begin to consider Shakespeare without finding some way to account for his pervasive presence in the most unlikely contexts: here, there, and everywhere at once. He is a system of northern lights, an aurora borealis visible where most of us will never go. Libraries and playhouses (and cinemas) cannot contain him; he has become a spirit or spell of light, almost too vast to apprehend. Harold Bloom, Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human I don’t expect this