Hamlet Symbolism & Motifs (Lecture 4) PDF

Lecture 4 Hamlet Symbolism Symbolism means an artistic and poetic expression or style using figurative images and indirect ideas to express mystical ideas, emotions, and states of mind. The reader will find significant symbolism thought the play ‗Hamlet‘ which shows a va...

Lecture 4 Hamlet Symbolism Symbolism means an artistic and poetic expression or style using figurative images and indirect ideas to express mystical ideas, emotions, and states of mind. The reader will find significant symbolism thought the play ‗Hamlet‘ which shows a variety of connotations from situation to situation and context to context. Some of the most important symbols in Hamlet are discussed below. Yorick’s Skull In Hamlet, physical objects are rarely used to represent thematic ideas. One important exception is Yorick‘s skull, which Hamlet discovers in the graveyard in the first scene of Act V. As Hamlet speaks to the skull and about the skull of the king‘s former jester, he fixates on death‘s inevitability and the disintegration of the body. He urges the skull to ―get you to my lady‘s chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favor she must come‖—no one can avoid death (V.i.178–179). He traces the skull‘s mouth and says, ―Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft,‖ indicating his fascination with the physical consequences of death (V.i.174–175). This latter idea is an important motif throughout the play, as Hamlet frequently makes comments referring to every human body‘s eventual decay, noting that Polonius will be eaten by worms, that even kings are eaten by worms, and that dust from the decayed body of Alexander the Great might be used to stop a hole in a beer barrel. Symbol #1 Ghost The appearance of the ghost of Old Hamlet in the very first scene of the play symbolizes tough times are coming ahead. It signifies the presence of supernatural powers like the three witches of Macbeth. However, it represents the difficult times ahead for Hamlet as well as Claudius, making the revelation that Claudius is the murderer of Old Hamlet. Ghost also symbolizes the foreshadow of the upcoming the turmoil in Denmark as Hamlet prepares to take revenge against Claudius. It shows that the ghost is not a good but a bad omen for the state of Denmark as well as its ruler, Claudius. 1 Symbol #2 Flowers Flowers appear in Hamlet when Ophelia loses her mind. She starts distributing flowers to everybody she meets. She presents each flower, describing what it stands for and then moves to the next. The flowers show various features as she states that rosemary is for remembrance, pansy for thoughts and so on. Ophelia expresses her pain of the betrayal she felt by offering the flowers and describing what they symbolize. Her father‘s murder and Hamlet‘s taunt takes its toll on her. That is why the flowers symbolize her inner turmoil and also her faithfulness. Symbol #3 Skull The skull in Hamlet is of Yorick, the court‘s jester. This skull is a symbol of death, decay and uselessness of a person after his death. It is a physical remnant of the dead person that is an omen of what he may have to face in the life hereafter. The skull makes Hamlet think about his own destiny and his own life after his death. It implies how man finally returns to dust. The skull reminds Hamlet that even ―Imperious Caesar‖ is subject to death and decay. Death does not leave anybody intact or alive. Symbol #4 Weather Weather is another important symbol in Hamlet. It shows that the bad weather is the sign of worse situation coming ahead and good weather points to good times. However, in the first scene, Shakespeare has shown that the weather is frigid and foggy in which the ghost of Old Hamlet appears. This confusing and ambivalent weather is signifying the same situation coming ahead. Hamlet is confused like the situation that is hazy and unclear. Therefore, the good or bad weather is the sign of good or bad times in the play. Symbol #5 Graveyard 2 Although death is in the mind of Hamlet since the play starts, it becomes an important subject when he enters the graveyard. The gravedigger plays with words when responding to Hamlet‘s questions. He gives him the philosophy of life that all sort of skulls whether they are of the kings or beggars are lying there in the graveyard. He responds that all the dead persons are equal when they are stripped of their political statuses. Graveyard signifies a place where all are equal and the people working in the graveyards become insensitive to the positions and political status of the dead. Symbol #6 The Mousetrap The Mousetrap is the play titled as The Murder of Gonzago, which has been staged in Hamlet. Hamlet has given directions to the players and written parts of the speech delivered by the queen. The title ‗The Mousetrap‘ shows that the purpose of Hamlet to insert his own ideas in the play to force his mother to confess her crime, recall her promise to her late husband or at least show signs of guilt. It is also interesting that almost all the characters in this short play are based on the real characters who are watching them on the stage. Therefore, the story is symbolical for the trap laid by Hamlet to catch the real culprit. 3  Motifs Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text‘s major themes. Incest and Incestuous Desire The motif of incest runs throughout the play and is frequently alluded to by Hamlet and the ghost, most obviously in conversations about Gertrude and Claudius, the former brother-in-law and sister-in-law who are now married. A subtle motif of incestuous desire can be found in the relationship of Laertes and Ophelia, as Laertes sometimes speaks to his sister in suggestively sexual terms and, at her funeral, leaps into her grave to hold her in his arms. However, the strongest overtones of incestuous desire arise in the relationship of Hamlet and Gertrude, in Hamlet‘s fixation on Gertrude‘s sex life with Claudius and his preoccupation with her in general. Misogyny Shattered by his mother‘s decision to marry Claudius so soon after her husband‘s death, Hamlet becomes cynical about women in general, showing a particular obsession with what he perceives to be a connection between female sexuality and moral corruption. This motif of misogyny, or hatred of women, occurs sporadically throughout the play, but it is an important inhibiting factor in Hamlet‘s relationships with Ophelia and Gertrude. He urges Ophelia to go to a nunnery rather than experience the corruptions of sexuality and exclaims of Gertrude, ―Frailty, thy name is woman‖ (I.ii.146). Ears and Hearing One facet of Hamlet‘s exploration of the difficulty of attaining true knowledge is slipperiness of language. Words are used to communicate ideas, but they can also be used to distort the truth, manipulate other people, and serve as tools in corrupt quests for power. Claudius, the shrewd politician, is the most obvious example of a man who manipulates words to enhance his own power. The sinister uses of words are represented by images of ears and hearing, from Claudius‘s murder of the king by pouring poison into his ear to Hamlet‘s claim to Horatio that ―I have words to speak in thine ear will make thee dumb‖ (IV.vi.21). The poison poured in the king‘s ear by Claudius is used by the ghost to symbolize the corrosive effect of Claudius‘s dishonesty on the health of Denmark. Declaring that the story that he was killed by a snake is a lie, he says that ―the whole ear of Denmark‖ is ―Rankly abused....‖ (I.v.36– 38). 4