Archetypes in the Play Hamlet - Essay Example

Archetypes in the Play ‘Hamlet’ An archetype in literature is a typical personality, a situation, or an action that seems to represent such universal patterns of the human nature. It is also known as a universal symbol, maybe a theme, a character, a symbol, or a setting. Many of the literary critics make opinions that archetypes containing a recurring or common representation in a certain human culture or the completely human race shape the function and the structure of a particular literary work. The root or cause of an archetype is the humankind’s collective unconscious or the experiences shared by a culture or a race. These experiences include survival, struggle, birth, life, love, death, and religion. When Hamlet learned about his father’s demise and that Claudius is a snake of the Garden of Eden that slithered his way into the heart of Gertrude, he said, …Sleeping in my Orchard, a serpent stung me” (I.V.35). “The serpent that did sting they father’s life now wears his crowns” (I.v.39-40). The lines stated above relate to Eve in the Bible and how she listened to the Serpent’s words and made her cursed which led her to death. In the beginning, Hamlet’s Eden is Denmark where he has comfort but later on refers to Denmark as similar as being in a prison (II.ii.236) The statement shows the manner in which Claudius has not been taking good care of Denmark but has been a king in title only. According to Hamlet, Claudius was one of the worst things that happened to Denmark for the lack of correct leadership the guard’s work is to protect the country from any form of innovation, instead the guards are either asleep or drunk. Hamlet says, “…tis an unweeded garden, that grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature/ Possess it merely” (I.ii. 134-136). Later on in the speech, it is clear that the disgust Hamlet has towards the world results from the disgust he feels at the fact that his own mother is sleeping with his biological uncle. He laments that one should not spread the compost or manure on the weeds to make them better in ranking (III.iv.151-152). Hamlet warns his mum to stop committing the sin before the (Eden) or country falls apart because of the king of the wicked king. Hamlet as a play is autumnal and there are some indirect references relating to the autumn season (III.iv.151-152). Hamlet’s death occurred during the end of the autumn season. As the play continues, the recurrence of death gets more prevalent and corresponds to the plays slow segues into the season of winter. Winter in the play has a connection with the un-weeded garden and the manner in which Claudius is causing falling apart of Denmark and corrupted with death. The main characters finally die at the end of the play and this be connected to the winter. The white snow that comes during the winter season has a relationship with play because white of the snow can be regarded as purity and this implies that death is purity. Of all those characters that died in the play, they found purity value in their deaths. In the pay, physical objects are rarely used to symbolize thematic ideas. In the first scene of Act V, one of the most important omissions is the skull of Yorick that Hamlet notices in the graveyard. As Hamlet speaks to the skull and about the king former jester’s skull, he fixates on the inevitability of death and the disintegration of the body. Hamlet recommends the skull to get to the chamber of his woman, and tell her to paint it a thickness of an inch and in favor, she has to go. Hamlet insisted from the statement above that there is nobody who can make it to avoid death (V.i.178 – 179). Hamlet traces the mouth of the skull and says that there hung the lips that he could have kissed but he does not know about them. He indicates his fascination with the physical consequences related to death. The consequences idea is a very significant motif in the entire play because Hamlet makes comments frequently about the human body’s final decay. He notes that worms will consume Polonious body and worms will eat up even the bodies of the kings. In addition, the dust from Alexander the Great’s decayed body might be utilized to stop a hole in a barrel of beer. Hamlet shows his dilemma and gives the audience a meet head-on view of what goes through someone’s mind, who is definitely considering committing suicide. He thinks to himself about whether it is noble for the mind to undergo suffering resulting from the arrows and sling of the outrageous. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or even take any response towards the lots of troubles. Hamlet goes ahead to think that opposing the troubles is hard but sleeping or death is a better solution (III.i.56-). At the beginning of the play, Francisco says that it is bitter cold and he is sick at his heart, Francisco’s statement has a correlation with the archetype of poison and disease in the entire Denmark. Later on, the guards see the ghost and know that the appearance of the ghost is likely to cause misfortune. The king says that the death of their brother is an effect to the disjoint of the state and the out of frame (I.ii.19). The king means that Denmark by using “Our State” and describes the structure of Denmark as a structure out of frame or chaotic. After Hamlet is seen trailing after his father’s ghost, it is said that, there is something decayed in the State of Denmark (I.iv, 24). The statement not only emphasizes on the archetype but also foreshadows the terrible things that arise from the ghost encounter. “For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a god kissing carrion” (II.ii.181-182). The statement implies that the sun has the ability to create life and can make a disease to destroy that life. In the middle of Hamlet’s first soliloquy, hamlet says that defenselessness, is as good as being name a woman He says so to express the disgust he feels towards the speed that his mother went from the grave of his father to the bed of his uncle. In the closet scene of the play, Hamlet expresses his enraged amazement to his mother that she exchanged a good husband for a bad husband. Hamlet complained that her mother’s marriage was as brief as the love of a woman. He said the words aloud referring to his mother and Ophelia. Hamlet meant that his mother’s love towards him was very brief and her marriage to Claudius was sooner than expected. Hamlet tries to revenge to Ophelia for returning his letters to him and does not portray love towards him because of her father, Hamlet feels his heart is betrayed by Ophelia. Human beings have had troubles in issues to do with love as long as they exist. Love has the capability to change into hate and hatred can be as passionate as love. The problems in love are intense in teenage years when young people begin searching for their love partners. In the play, Hamlet’s love for Ophelia is put to test and the dull part results from the disillusionment of Hamlet towards human kind because of indiscretions from his mother. On the other hand, Ophelia faces destruction in her life because of losing Ophelia, madness makes her commit suicide, and Hamlet finds himself in a situation to deal with loss of his love. The play has covered quite a number of the above discussed archetypes which is a good representation of the behaviors and characters in human race. Work Cited Guerin, Wilfred L. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. Print. Read More