Hamlet Literary Analysis

The flow of the play serves an important role in bringing out important literature elements and themes the most important being retribution and seeking revenge, fate, loyalty, ambition, deception, and indecision. Based on the content of the entire play, the paper below will present a clear and precise analysis of the major literary concepts of the play among them being characterization, the plot setting, metaphors, symbolism, narration, irony, genre, and other literary concepts of the play. The Plot Setting, Narration, and Genre of Hamlet The plot of the entire play is based on a ghost, revenge, uncontrolled behavior of Hamlet, the death of Ophelia’s father and Ophelia, and finally the duel. Some weeks after the death of Hamlet’s father who was a king, her mother is remarried to Claudius and Hamlet is not happy with his stepfather and how quick his mother remarried.

A ghost that resembles Hamlet’s father is observed at the Elsinore Castle’s walls. Since Claudius wanted Hamlet to lose, he poisoned Laertes’ sword and also poisoned glass of wine to be given to the winner in case of Hamlet’s win. Laertes died himself after cutting and informing Hamlet about the poisoning. Before dying, Hamlet forced Claudius into drinking the poisoned wine and selected Fortinbras who was his friend as his heir. Duel emerges as Claudius, Laertes, and Hamlet dies from a single poisoned sword (Nalisnick and Henry 759). In the concept of narration, Hamlet is narrated in the objective 3rd person viewpoint or point of view. Direct characterization is based on defining the character based on the direct behaviors since the play lacks a clear narrator.

Characterization has based the words and actions of the characters (Desmet 15). Briefly, Hamlet who is Denmark’s Prince is a protagonist who is also the son of Gertrude. Hamlet is cynical, bitter, melancholy, and a young, thoughtful and reflective university scholar that is filled with hate out of his uncle's scheme to kill his father and the sexuality of his mother. He is hesitant and indecisive as he works with the desire to know the truth before taking any actions (Desmet 21). Poison in the play symbolizes death, revenge, deceit, corruption, and betrayal. The ghost that resembles Hamlet’s father inform him that; “Upon my secure hour, thy uncle stole, with the juice of cursed hebenon in a vial, And in the porches of my ears did pour” (Act 1, Scene 5).

This statement shows that Claudius killed the king in using poison that symbolized betrayal and greed and corrupt power. Poison is used at the end of the plan of killing Hamlet though it ends up killing the Gertrude who is a symbol of betrayal. Afterlife and betrayal are symbolized by Yorick’s skull. She grants the Gertrude and Claudius daisies that represent lies and deceit as they both betrayed and lied to the king and the people of Denmark. Violets are given to Horatio to symbolize faith and trust. However, Ophelia did not know that Horatio is the only person that Hamlet trusted at that point (Shakespeare, Scene 4. Act 5, 178-182). Metaphors and Personification in Hamlet Metaphors and personification are highly utilized in the play.