Term Papers on TWO CRITICAL IDEAS ABOUT HAMLET

Term Paper Title	TWO CRITICAL IDEAS ABOUT HAMLET
# of Words	982
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	3.93

TWO CRITICAL IDEAS ABOUT HAMLET

     Throughout many years there have been many critics who have criticized Hamlet

by William Shakespeare.  Some critics of Hamlet viewed the character Hamlet as being

evil, while others viewed the character hamlet as being good and healthy.  This essay will

discuss and explain two critical ideas, and whether I agree or disagree with the critics.

     In "The Embassy of Death: An essay on Hamlet," published in 1930 in the volume

entitled The Wheel of Fire, William Knight argues for "a striking reversal of the usual

commentary," namely that Claudius represents the human instincts, Hamlet the inhuman.

He argues that, "Hamlet is inhuman.  He has seen through humanity.  And this inhuman

cynicism, however justifiable in this case, on the plane of causality and individual

responsibility, is a deadly and venomous thing.  Instinctively the creatures of earth Laertes,

Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, league themselves with Claudius: they

are of his kind….But Hamlet is not of flesh and blood, he is a spirit of penetrating intellect

and cynicism and misery, without faith in himself or any one else, murdering his love of

Ophelia, on the brink of insanity, taking delight in cruelty, torturing Claudius, wringing his

mother’s heart, a poison in the midst of the healthy bustle of the court.  He is a superman

among men.  And he is a superman because he has walked and held converse with Death,

and his consciousness works in terms of Death and the Negation of Cynicism….Thus

Hamlet is an element of evil in the state of Denmark….Not till it has slain all, is the demon

that grips Hamlet himself: ‘The spirit that I have seen/May be the devil…’ It was."

Stating this another way is Hamlet is seen as an inhuman evil compelled by the devil, who

has impersonated his father’s ghost, to spread its poison throughout the state of Denmark

until all are destroyed.

     The criticism by Wilson Knight about the character Hamlet seems very untrue and

very disagreeable to me.  The reason why I disagree with Wilson Knight is because I

believe that the opposite is true, that Hamlet is human and Claudius is inhuman.  If the

statement that Knight made is true, than how do we explain the words of Hamlet when he

says "To be, or not to be" (Act 3, Scene 1)*.  This line states that Hamlet was considering

suicide, and how would a devils character or a evil person consider suicide?  An evil

person tries and kills others but does not destroy itself.  Another objection that I have to

Knights statement, is that I believe that Claudius is inhuman and evil and Hamlet is human

and a good person.  Claudius and all the people that leagued with Claudius, to me they all

seem evil characters because they were followers and friends of Claudius.  The reasons for

me stating that Claudius is an evil character, are because of  Claudiuses plan to kill Hamlet

in which he says "King o...

This is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Digital Term Papers. Please register below now!

Digital Term Papers has over 63,000 essays, term papers, and book notes online. Many paper sites will charge you hundreds of dollars for a single paper. Digital Term Papers only charges $14.95 for a one month membership with instant account activation!

Don't waste anymore time! Join NOW!!!

1 Month (automatic renewal) ($14.95)

3 Months (automatic renewal) ($29.95)

6 Months (one-time billing) ($39.95)

Pay by: