Andrew Forcione
Mrs. Erblat
12/10/19
History 9
The Hamlet
Over recent decades, Shakespeare’s writing and work have been very significant and relevant to this day. His work has changed theater forever and has influenced others to write like him. Shakespeare’s work still has a big impact to this day and his work is still being read and played around the world. Schools are still reading the works of Shakespeare due to all the lessons and themes he has in his works. Shakespeare’s writing is still significant and relevant to this day for many reasons.
Shakespeare has many famous and significant works/plays but one of the most notable ones is called The Hamlet. The Hamlet is known as the second most famous play by Shakespeare and is behind the play “Romeo And Juliet”. Hamlet is a very significant play that reflects many themes and lessons that are used in today’s society. The Hamlet, written from about 1599 to 1601, is a play set in Denmark. This is far from a comedy play and is actually a tragedy/sad play. This is a tragedy about the Prince Hamlet, who seeks revenge upon his uncle Claudius. This is because Claudius murdered his brother, Hamlet’s father, in order to seize the throne and also married his wife and Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. The whole objective of the story is Claudius poisoning King Hamlet. Hamlet has many characters and there is so much that it would be too long to identify all of them. However, there are many main ones that serve a big significance in the play. One main character in the play is Prince Hamlet who is the Prince of Denmark. Prince Hamlet is the protagonist. In the play, the Prince is a very significant and important character who signifies a lot. He signifies a brave and young prince who is the son of King Hamlet. He shows his braveness throughout the play when he has to avenge the murder of his father. The complete opposite of Prince Hamlet is the antagonist in the play which is King Claudius. Claudius is another main character in the play who signifies a lot and is a key part of the play. Claudius is a morally weak villain who values power and material things more than he values others and he is trying to conflict with Prince Hamlet to question his existence in life. Out of all the hundreds of characters in Hamlet, these are by far the most significant characters because they are the protagonist and antagonist and they go against each other in the play. The significance of the characters shaped the play and created a suspenseful play. Based on all the significance of the play, schools around the world are still reading Hamlet and are performing them in theaters. We still read it in school because the themes and lessons taught in the book are still relevant to this day and can teach us how to live life.
Hamlet has many important and significance themes/lessons that teach us prominent ways on how to live and how to deal with situations that are complicated and horrendous to deal with. One main reason why we still read it in school is that we still feel inspired to ponder the purpose of life and to always think about what we are doing and if it’s bad, what would be the consequence. We use this play today to teach people to explore life and how your actions can bring consequences. One main theme that is present in the play is revenge. Revenge is a major theme that is all over the whole play when Prince Hamlet wants to get revenge over Claudius who murdered his father, The King. Today the theme of revenge is significant to this day but getting revenge on someone doesn’t necessarily mean a good thing. However, getting revenge over a person who did bad on you can sometimes be a good thing. Another main theme that is significant to the play is appearance vs. reality. During the play, this theme is present when Claudius and Hamlet are thinking in the future and are thinking about things that would never happen. Today the theme of appearance vs. reality is very significant because it teaches you how to think about things and how they appear and how they really are in reality. We must stay in reality and not look at things differently based on what they are.