There is often an indistinctive discrepancy between actuality and what tends to be an illusion of actuality. This concept of deception is often captured by many authors, who establish characters and implement facades that hide their true...

Compared to his contemporaries, William Shakespeare is undoubtedly the most appreciated and widely-read playwright of the Elizabethan Era. Among his most popular plays is Hamlet, a tragedy detailing young Hamlet’s struggle to avenge his father’s...

The nature of humankind has been highly explored in literature and film throughout the ages. Whether it be through deception of reality or through over-analyzation of every possible outcome, human thought has been approached in various forms....

William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is widely regarded as one of the English language’s greatest plays. It captures the attention of audiences like few other plays can, and it has held their attention for over...

Aristotle, in his 335 BCE work of dramatic theory, Poetics, wrote several observations on the nature of ancient Greek theatre and poetry, and also gave his opinions about the qualities he thought theatre and poetry ought to have. Poetics was...

Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be” speech in 3.1.56-90 of William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is perhaps the most famous section of dialogue in the English language. It has been quoted an innumerable number of times in all...

In it’s traditional sense, the natural world can serve to act as the utter antithesis of the man-made human world. It is possible to consider them to both be their own microcosms, circulating in their own introspective cycles, however, it may be...

The psychoanalytic concept Oedipus complex refers to the emotions and psychosexual desires during the phallic stage in the developmental process, which a boy child possesses towards his mother creating a parallel sense of rivalry towards the...

The act of betrayal is often explored in literature. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet explores the act of betrayal between not only Queen Gertrude and the late King Hamlet, but also their son Prince Hamlet. Gertrude’s hasty remarriage to Claudius...

Recurring physiological manifestations of sin and madness as illness are crucial in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. They frame the state of Denmark as a sick body, with Hamlet chasing a virus, attempting to eradicate it before the body keels over. As the...

“When we make a decision we are ‘killing’ our options[...]We are choosing to decide and this feels like a loss.” Business coach Andrew Cussons gave this explanation for “Why People Struggle to Make Decisions.” Shakespeare’s Hamlet heavily preys on...

The purpose of this essay is to discuss Shakespeare’s intention in using medical detail within his plays. The use of medical allusion is a frequent occurrence in Shakespeare’s works, touching upon a wide variety of topics in the sphere of physic;...

Many scholars have adopted a feminist approach when examining Ophelia’s madness in “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare. A popular interpretation is that Shakespeare uses Ophelia’s insanity to empower her in . After spending the majority of the play...