Please enable JavaScript.

Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.

Hamlet - Revenge - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Protestants believed that ghosts were manifestations of the devil, and so this one may have been a 'demon tempting him to murder an innocent man' (Wiggins)
      - this is scaffolded by the fact that it was custom at this time for ghosts to appear to those who had wronged them, Claudius in this case. However, the ghost appears to Hamlet, implying he wishes to manipulate him
      - However, it is clear that Shakespeare aimed to subvert convention with his ghost
      - Catholics believed in Purgatory, which the ghost references when he mentions 'sulphurous and tormenting flames'
      - thus, they would have viewed the ghost as merely Old King Hamlet awaiting heaven
      - this divide in religious belief is exemplified through the use of binary opposition in religious lexis when Hamlet questions if the ghost is 'a spirit of health or a goblin damned'
      - the juxtaposition not only reflects the divide in the country at the time, but also the divide in Hamlet's psyche, as he is unsure whether to trust the ghost and commit revenge
      - thus, the ghost acts as a hinderance to his revenge, despite the fact that he is the reason for it
  - - - the murder is 'unnatural' as it goes against the Divine Right of Kings, as Claudius has disrupted the natural order by killing Old Hamlet and replacing him
      - this is emphasised by the use of biblical imagery when the ghost refers to his 'orchard', another type of garden, and to Claudius as a 'serpent'
      - this augments the severity of the murder, by linking it to original sin it is implied that the murder has had significant and long-lasting effects, and represents base sin, which is also shown when Claudius refers to his sin as having the 'primal eldest curse upon't' as it is 'a brother's murder'
      - such long lasting effects could also refer to the theory of body politic at this time, as the king was considered a microcosmic element in the kingdom, and if he was diseased or corrupt this would spread throughout the land
      - this is why the ghost appears, and why 'something is rotten in the state of Denmark' according to Marcellus
      - all of this contributes to the view of the murder as 'unnatural', amplifying the need for swift revenge
      - the murder is also said to have put the time out of 'joint', suggesting it has caused great disorder
      - this would have resonated with contemporary audiences, as Elizabethan times were characterised by 'spiritual, intellectual chaos' (McRae), with the illegitimacy of Claudius' reign relflecting contemporary concerns with who could follow Elizabeth
      - Shakespeare reflects English issues through the lens of Denmark, making the cause for revenge all the more relatable and relevant
- - - - 'how weary, stale, flat and unprofitable'
        
        the use of asyndeton here emphasises hamlet's lack of hope at putting the time back in 'joint'
      - by the end, though, Hamlet has become perfect for the job, not through over-thinking, but through self-development
      - this is especially resonant due to the fears of spy networks at this time, headed by Elizabeth's adviser Cecil. Perhaps represented in the play by Polonius
      - by becoming a good avenger, Hamlet has restored order and decreased corruption
      - it was a time of 'intellectual, spiritual chaos' (McRae)