Throughout Acts I and II, Shakespeare employs a great deal of rhetorical devices, especially figurative language, allusions, and prosody.
"A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she followed my poor father's body,
Like Niobe, all tears:- why she, even she-
O God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason,
Would have mourn'd longer- married with my uncle..." (lines 147-151, page 1598)
By using a mythological allusion to Niobe, Shakespeare is able to more easily explain the situation surrounding the death of Hamlet's father and his mother's remarriage.
Find an example of such devices and explore how it helps to further develop the character or situation. How is it used? What is its purpose?
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11 comments:
"I find thee apt,
And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed
That roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf
Wouldst thou not stir in this" (1.5.31-34).
At this point in the play, Hamlet is confronted by the ghost of his father and they are discussing the reasons that Hamlet must avenge his unnatural death and hence the broken link in the chain of being. The Ghost alludes to the Lethe River, which in Greek mythology, was the river of forgetfulness. By referencing this, the Ghost essentially implies that Hamlet would have to be forgetful if he did not feel the burning desire to kill Claudius for what he has done.
By referencing the river, Shakespeare makes a very emphatic point without having to use lyrical language or explicitly state its meaning.
Great choice of passage! I really enjoy your connection to mythology and the implication it brings to the meaning of the work.
Although this allusion is not verbally made by Shakespeare in Hamlet, I think that it can be easily implied that King Hamlet, who is killed, can be related to the mythological Julius Caesar and how he was asassinated.
This relation to another well-know figure can help the reader understand the situation better. This allusion to greek mythology can also imply that there will be someone in relation to Hamlet who will be thirsty for revenge.
"My father's brother, but no more like my father
Like I to Hercules: within a month:
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,
She married. O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not nor it cannot come to good:
But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue" (Lines 152-159, page 1598).
At this point in the play Hamlet is distressed by the fact that after such little time, his own mother has married his uncle and committed these "incestuous" acts (Line 156). Hamlet starts out by stating how different Claudius and King Hamlet are. He further proves his point by explaining that they are as similar as Hamlet is to Hercules - not one bit. By alluding to the supernatural Hercules, Hamlet uses mythology to convey the completely contrasting personalities of the two brothers.
Also at this point in the play, Hamlet alludes to his knowledge to Claudius' corruption. He states "But break, my heart; as i must hold my tongue" (Line 159). Hamlet is heart broken over his father's death, and does not agree with his mother's actions so soon and especially with his own uncle. But, he states, he must refrain from giving his opinion in respect for his mother and with fear of Claudius.
Much like Meera's quote, this allusion to mythology allows Shakespeare to appropriately convey his point without directly stating what he is trying to say.
Both of you posted some very insightful comments! Channing, I really like how you pulled something that wasn't necessarily stated in the text and made a historical tie-in. Ashley, your analysis of Hamlet's words is dead on. You chose a great passage and picked it apart. Well done!
"So excellent a king; that was, to this,
Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and Earth!" (1.2.139-142).
In Scene Two of Act I, we learn the extent of Hamlet's envy and rage in his father's death, and more importantly, in his mother's swift marriage to Claudius. He compares his own father's rule to Hyperion, the ancient God of the sun, to that of his Uncle's, a satyr. A satyr is a mythological half-human, half-goat creature. He was the attentdent of Bacchus, the God of Wine. Thus, Hamlet is essentially referring to his Uncle as a worthless drunkard, overshadowed by far to his own Father's supreme rule.
I am in accord with Meera and Ashley. He doesn't( Shakespeare doesn't) want to outright state what he's trying to convey with these allusions. However, more people in Shakespeare's day were familiar with Mythology than are today. The joke/jab is obvious to anyone familiar with Mythology.
"My fate cries out
And makes every petty arture in this body
As hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve.
Still am I called. Unhand me, gentlemen.
By heaven, I'll make a ghost of him that lets me!" (1.4.91-95)
In this quote, Hamlet has just seen the ghost of his father. He wants to speak to it, but his friends attempt to hold him back in fear for his safety. However, Hamlet claims that he is not scared, and that his courage is "as hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve" (93). Here, Shakespeare is alluding to one of the beasts that Hercules had to slay as one of his twelve labors. This allusion allows Shakespeare to show the readers Hamlet's resolve, instead of telling them straight out, making Hamlet's statement more effective.
In addition to a mythological reference, Shakespeare also uses a pun on the word "ghost". Hamlet has just seen a ghost, and he threatens to turn anyone who tries to hold him back into a ghost. This adds a moment of humor to the otherwise dramatic situation.
"Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast,
With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts,-
O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power
So to seduce!" (Page 1608).
This quote was within the ghost's long speech to Hamlet about Hamlet's uncle, Claudius', treachery. By comparing the uncle to a "beast" it is made even more clear to the audience that what Claudius has done makes him more into a wild animal than a human: his hunger for power led Claudius to kill his own brother. By mentioning witchcraft and Claudius' power to seduce the "most seeming-virtuous queen," it is implied Claudius is meddling with dark magic as well as his primitive instincts in his blind, brutal attempts to become all powerful.
"The graves stood tenantless and the sheeted dead
Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets:
As stars with trains of fire and dews of blood,
Disasters in the sun; and the moist star
Upon whose influence Neptune's empire stands
Was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse"
(1.1.115-120)
Horatio utters these words when he has seen the ghost of King Hamlet. He thinks that the ghost is some sort of omen for what is to come. Neptune, god of the sea, will reap havoc on the land and bring dark days to Denmark. King Neptune is almighty and cannot be stopped by human force. Horatio makes a reference to how this "doomsday" is inevitable (115). Horatio believes that the ghost is a precursor to war. As we find out later in the story, a war is not what causes the disaster. The deaths are actually caused by deceit and revenge. This passage foreshadows the deaths of the royal family.
Shakespeare creates this reference to Greek mythology to make the situation seem more foreboding. A human being is meek compared to a Greek god/goddess. The allusion adds even more of a dramatic tone to the already tense scene.
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