The word "green" may seem an unusually common-place word to choose for this topic. Its etymology is ancient, and by the time of Shakespeare it had accumulated several meanings beyond simply referring to a color. It is through these meanings that Shakespeare used the otherwise-innocent word to push the theme of maturity that underlies Hamlet.

The first use of the word "Green" in Hamlet comes fairly early, as part of Claudius' introductory monologue: "Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's death / The memory be green..." (I.ii.1-2). Claudius here is clearly using the word "green" to signify "full of vitality; not withered or worn out" (OED, 2nd ed., s.v. "green," 6). This seems to be an appropriate sentiment, as Hamlet is still mourning his father; thus the memory is full of vitality.

However, if we assume the word "green" to be important in this context, we must question why it was used, rather than "fresh" or "new" or any number of more frequently used synonyms. The answer lies in another sense of the word: "unripe, immature, undeveloped" (OED, 2nd ed., s.v. "green," 8) Although Claudius cannot realize it, Hamlet's grief over his father's death has not yet ripened; that will begin at the instigation of the Ghost. Nor is this the only reference to a plan ripening; Claudius himself, later on, will refer to his designs for Hamlet as such: "I will work him / To an exploit, now ripe in my device..." (IV.vii.61-62). However, more broadly, this use of the phrase refers to maturity; while the audience cannot know it at this early point, Shakespeare has given the first hint as to this major theme of the play.

The sense of "green" as "immature" shows up soon after with the word's second use, this time from Polonius to Ophelia: "Affection, pooh! You speak like a green girl / Unsifted in such perilous circumstance." (I.iv.101-102) Polonius here is comparing Ophelia's girlhood to an unripe plant, which will grow (be "sifted," as it were) through future circumstances. Curiously, here, as with the earlier use to refer to Hamlet's grief over his father, the maturity promised by the phrase "green" will in fact be cut short—Hamlet's grief shall be forced to immediate action by his own forthcoming death, while Ophelia's life in general shall end soon after that of her father. As is appropriate; after all, what does "ripened" to a fruit mean, other than its immediate plucking?

Indeed, the promise of something being "green" seems to have thus far taken on an ominous air; nor is this reading discouraged by its next use, sung by the crazed Ophelia:

He is dead and gone, lady,
He is dead and gone.
At his head a grass-green turf,
At his heels a stone.

Ophelia, here referring to Polonius' grave, makes the only literal use of the word "green" in the entire play. Yet even literally, it should register as curious that a word that has heretofore only been used to describe the young is all of a sudden used to describe the grass on one's grave. Here Shakespeare confirms our earlier reading of "green" being connected to an ending.

The phrase shows up one more time in the story, this time as an adjective: "...we have done but greenly / in hugger-mugger to inter him." Here, again, is the phrase "green" given to mean naivety, as well as to refer to something which has ended badly; by secretly burying Polonius, Claudius has earned not just the anger of the people, but also the ire of Laertes. Thus has every use of the phrase "green" been to signify not just freshness, but also immaturity, with the promise of a maturity that will never quite come: a fair summation of Hamlet itself if ever there was one.

Conscience, 1: Inmost thought; mind, 'heart'. 2: The internal acknowledgement or recognition of the moral quality of one's motives and actions; the sense of right and wrong as regards things for which one is responsible; the faculty or principle which pronounces upon the moral quality of one's actions or motives, approving the right and condemning the wrong.

The characters of Hamlet demonstrate a wide range in the qualities of their consciences, both in comparison to each other and within a single character over the course of the play. Each man is driven by his conscience, his actions dictated by his sense of what is right or wrong. Unfortunately, the conscience can also be used as a tool of manipulation to control the actions of others. Each of the three main men in the play has a different sense of morality, and the ways in which these differences are manifested and interact with one another are responsible for setting the course which the play must follow.

Claudius, the new king of Denmark and Hamlet's uncle, has a questionable conscience from the beginning of the play. He has secretly murdered his brother in order to become king, and has also married his brother's widow, which at this time was considered incest. Despite the uncertainty in the king's moral status, Hamlet decides to set a trap to prove Claudius's guilt by "trapping" his conscience. In the aftermath of Hamlet's trap, both the reader and Hamlet himself are forced to reevaluate the status of Claudius's conscience. After his anger has subsided, Claudius admits to himself that he feels guilty for what he has done and questions whether he was right in the way that he fulfilled his ambition. He calls to the angels for help and is kneeling in prayer when Hamlet appears, intending to take his revenge. This forces a reevaluation of the character of the king; if he prays for forgiveness, he must be concerned about his conscience and desires it to be cleansed.

Hamlet seems, at first, to have a more noble conscience than that of Claudius. When he contemplates suicide, it is his conscience that he blames for his cowardice, his inability to follow through on the idea; his morals will not let him die willingly while his father's death waits to be avenged. Hamlet is also more reluctant to kill than his uncle, promising to do no harm to his mother and refusing to kill Claudius in prayer. Although he blames this refusal on his desire to avoid helping Claudius go to heaven, it still reflects favorably on his conscience in the mind of the reader. It raises some question when he so willingly abuses his uncle's conscience in order to achieve his goal, but Hamlet's conscience generally remains unquestioned until he begins his descent downward into madness by killing Polonius and hiding the body. From that time forward, however, the quality of Hamlet's conscience continues to decline; after killing Polonius, he willingly sends his friends to their death in England. He shows no remorse until the final confrontation with Laertes, and that is for the death of Ophelia as a consequence of Polonius's murder rather than for the act itself.

The third and final character who demonstrates a definitive conscience is Laertes. Unlike Claudius and Hamlet, Laertes remains constant throughout the play and does not drastically reverse the assessment of his morals in any one scene. He is angry over the murder of his father, but is provoked to revenge only when the king offers a plan for him to kill Hamlet without fear of punishment. As Hamlet manipulated the king's conscience to reveal his guilt, so the king uses Laertes's conscience, which tells him that his father deserves to be avenged, to coerce him to kill Hamlet. His moral sense returns during his duel with Hamlet and he admits that it is against his conscience to poison his opponent, perhaps explaining his inability to score a touch on Hamlet despite what we know of his prowess with a sword. The good quality of his conscience serves, in the end, to aid Hamlet in finally finding the ability to carry out his revenge. After he has wounded Hamlet, Laertes warns him of the poison and the king's plot, provoking him to kill Claudius before it is too late for him to do so.

Without each character's specific and unique conscience to steer his actions, Hamlet would have been a drastically different play. Had Claudius not felt guilty for his brother's death, Hamlet could not have proven him guilty and his revenge would have been abandoned. Similarly, had Claudius not been so moved by his conscience and had not knelt to pray, or had Hamlet been more inclined toward murder, Hamlet would have killed the king much earlier, cutting the play short and avoiding the deaths of so many others. Should Hamlet's conscience have allowed him to commit suicide, the play would have been over before it began. Finally, if not for the ultimate virtue of Laertes's conscience, Hamlet's revenge would have never been completed and both his father's death and his own would have gone unpunished. In a play so shaped by the choices of its characters, conscience takes a role as the ultimate deciding factor in its outcome, and the general immorality of the main characters brings about a culmination that causes the deaths of the major players in its creation.

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the word kin has significant value, considering the depth in which blood ties play a role in the play. Sometimes these blood ties are far too close, leading to both death and disdain. Prince Hamlet sets the tone for this theme in the play, with his very first lines, "A little more than kin and less than kind." (1.2. 65) When Hamlet speaks these words, he is implying that the marriage of Gertrude and Claudius is incestuous. Hamlet is disgusted by this, as well as the fact that the marriage occurred so soon after the death of his father. Claudius is now is uncle and stepfather, as well as his father's murderer. By saying that the "kindness" is lacking, the reader sees that Hamlet will always hate his uncle, no matter what.

The word kin means "family, race, blood-relations." (OED 2nd ed., s.v. "kin" 1) Family can be construed as through blood or through marriage. To Hamlet, Claudius is family two times over. Kin can also be defined as "The quality, condition, or fact of being related by birth or descent; kinship, relationship, consanguinity." (OED 2nd ed., s.v. "kin" 4) Through this definition, Hamlet is describing his relationship with Claudius as being "less than kind." Notice that the above quote is the first time the reader is introduced to Hamlet. It is a quote filled with angst, melancholy, anger, and disgust. Considering that these emotions describe the mood of Hamlet throughout the play, this line is pivotal in the introduction of Hamlet.

Another definition of kin is "large natural group or division of animals or plants, having presumably a common ancestry." Through this definition, Hamlet could be describing Claudius as a completely different race, perhaps one more bestial, considering Hamlet's belief that the marriage is incest.

Kinship in the play is typically tragic. Every single kin of Hamlet is dead at the end, including himself. For Polonius and his kin, Polonius is killed by Hamlet, Ophelia commits suicide, and Laertes is killed by Hamlet. In the end though, Fortinbras praises Hamlet and his deeds. This is important because Fortinbras' father conceded to Hamlet's father, and only in death do both of their kin join sides.

War is an inevitable product of civilization. Throughout history wars have been waged at different times and at different locations. Yet one thread travels between all of them, young men fought bravely and without question for their countries. This unquestioning resolution has ended the lives of countless soldiers; it travels by one name, duty. One literary work that embodies man's determination to fulfill his oath is a Shakespearian play, of world renown. This play is known simply as Hamlet. To achieve the true breath of meaning behind Hamlet one must deconstruct a pivotal word. Using the Oxford English Dictionary in relation to the word duty, one is able to grasp Shakespeare's full meaning.

As all great works of man the Oxford English Dictionary hold multiple meanings for the same word. The primary definition of the word duty is "the action and conduct due to a superior" (OED 2nd ed., s.v. "duty," 1a). This representation of "duty" is paramount within the play Hamlet. Early within the play King Claudius praises Hamlet for mourning his dead King "Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet, / To give these mourning duties to your father;" (1.2.87-8). The focal point of the play is a King demanding revenge on the man who killed him "If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not. / Let not the royal bed of Denmark be / A couch of luxury and damned incest. / But howsoever thou pursuest this act, / Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive / Against thy mother aught" (1.5.81-6). Through devotion to his king and superior Hamlet fulfills his duty and seeks revenge.

As a well crafted gem the Oxford English Dictionary has multiple facets. This polished gem holds yet another definition for the word duty, "action, or an act, that is due in the way of moral or legal obligation" (OED 2nd ed., s.v. "duty," 4a). Using this as a template, Shakespeare's Hamlet reveals even more complexity. Having seen the ghost of their dead King, Hamlet's subjects feel it is their responsibility to inform Hamlet "as I do live, my honoured lord, 'tis true, / And we did think it writ down in our duty / To let you know of it" (1.2.221-3). Their ethical code upheld Hamlet's men prove their worth.

In order to fully comprehend Shakespeare's Hamlet one must use the Oxford English Dictionary. The quintessential dictionary for its time the Oxford English Dictionary is a compendium of multiple meanings. The term duty had been used by soldiers and scholars for generations, but it took Shakespeare to perfect the term. Having served his King and completed his duty Hamlet dies "Bear Hamlet like a soldier to the stage, / For he was likely, had he been put on, / To have proved most royally; and for his passage, / The soldiers' music and the rites of war / Speak loudly for him" (5.2.340-4).

The word "obey", though found only eight times within the play Hamlet, is nonetheless, important. As a verb, "obey" can be defined as, "to comply with or perform the bidding of; to do what one is commanded by (a person); to submit to the rule or authority of, or be obedient to (a person, institution, etc.)"(OED, 2nd ed., s.v. "obey," 1c). The act of obeying seems to be one of the driving forces that lead the actions, which help to define Hamlet as a revenge tragedy, rather than just a tragedy.

Prince Hamlet though surely mad with grief over his father's death, seems also troubled over the decision to obey his father's ghost or not. He questions the validity of the ghost itself, while also struggling with the idea of murder. It seems that the revenge is not so much on the part of Prince Hamlet himself, but more the desire to obey the former king of Denmark, is father.

The act of obeying also sets motion to the role that Ophelia takes in the play. Ophelia is pressured to either obey her father or her own love for Hamlet. Polonius said, "From this time, daughter, / Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence" (1.3.120-121). Ultimately warning her to stay away from Hamlet, Ophelia is then forced to decide whom and what she is most aligned to. Being a woman in Shakespeare's time, it was the norm for a woman to keep quiet and follow under the rule of her father. To her father, Ophelia decides, "I shall obey my lord"(1.4.136).

The act of obeying is a catalyst for much of the decisions in the play. The need for characters to obey both their family, country leaders, moral indignation is what lead Hamlet himself to be so morally torn and melancholy. Even Queen Gertrude is forced to obey when aiding in Claudius' desire to send Hamlet away or even at times keep him around. To obey is an action. It is a decision that some weigh more heavily than others. The inner turmoil of Hamlet stems from this indecision to obey or not. That obeying is for his father, his country, and himself.

The title of this essay comes from 5.2.330 in Hamlet where Fortinbras urges Horatio to tell the story which we as audience have just heard. These lines of the play bear special significance because it is one of the moments where the work is strangely self-conscious. In the same way Fortinbras wants this tale to be told in "haste," Shakespeare uses the word "haste" throughout the play to give a sense of urgency to the narrative which is not entirely self-evident. Unlike Titus Andronicus for example, Hamlet is not crammed with action and violence but rather is a long, brooding, and some might say self indulgent play. It is as if Shakespeare is using the word "haste" to create tension, or to at least highlight tension, in a drama that he unfolds very deliberately. By my count the word appears in some form sixteen times in the play which gives one reason to believe that its repetition is more than coincidental.

Obviously "haste" has great importance in the play's themes. Gertrude's hasty marriage after the death of King Hamlet as opposed to Hamlet's prolonged mourning is the initial driving force of the drama. This is then furthered by Hamlet's hesitation or scrupulous deliberateness in his pursuit of revenge being set in opposition to the "hasty" court of Claudius. In 1.2.39 Claudius (in his first appearance) is first associated with haste as he says "let your haste commend your duty." Again the same association is made with Claudius in 2.2.3-4 as Claudius says to says to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern "The need we have to use you did provoke/Our hasty sending." Of course the word is used by many different characters in many different contexts but, thematically, the "o'er-hasty marriage" (2.2.57) is emblematic of "some strange eruption to our state" (1.1.68). From there this "haste" illustrates the general tension of the drama in a variety of contexts.

The word haste itself had essentially the exact same meaning in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as it does today. In fact the word has maintained the same meaning since its first catalogued usage in the fourteenth century. What is most interesting about the etymology of the work is its negative connotations such as in the common proverb "haste makes waste." One particularly interesting proverb from 1621 reads "Acts done in haste, by leisure are repented" (OED, 2nd ed., s.v. "haste" 6). This immediately makes one think of Hamlet's deliberate revenge of Claudius and his hasty marriage. Or simply the definition "Such quickness of action as excludes due consideration or reflection" speaks to Hamlet in that Hamlet's hesitation is undoubtedly due to "consideration or reflection" (OED, 2nd ed., s.v. "haste" 2). Under this definition in the Oxford is the phrase "Hast and choler are enemies to all great actions" from 1645. This particular negative connotation of "haste" is interesting in that it is seen as ignoble. Hamlet's pursuit of revenge and, at the same time, what is "nobler in the mind" creates the tension through which his character develops (3.1.59). If haste was seen in a more negative light in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries than we might appreciate today, Hamlet's hesitation maybe would have been better understood.

The play Hamlet is one that deals with many characters using other characters for their own purposes. There is little regard for one another and the characters do what they need to get by. For this reason the word "play" is a word of great significance. "Play" is a word that sums up the entire characters' actions in Hamlet.

In 1596, the definition of the word "play" is very similar to what we have today. For Shakespeare the word meant, "To carry out or practice (an action); to perform or execute (a movement)" (OED 2nd ed.s.v."play"13a). This definition that we have is why we refer to "playing" a game of basketball or "playing" catch. But when Hamlet says, "'Sblood, do you think that I am easier to be played on than a pipe?" (III.ii.339-340) the word is used in a different sense. Here we have a pun.

In the given scene Hamlet suggests to Guildenstern that he thinks Hamlet is a fool and that he can use Hamlet for his own purposes, which are to please King Claudius. The pun is that Guildenstern is going to carry out an action (see definition) although the meaning of "play" refers to the action of executing a sport or instrument, not a person. This scene is a great example of the significance of "playing" in the play Hamlet.

Although the word isn't used very frequently in the play, "play" describes the actions of more characters. For example, Claudius "plays" Laertes into doing what he wants, killing Hamlet. This "playing" can be seen in when Laertes tells Claudius, "let [Hamlet] come. It warms the very sickness in my heart that I shall live and tell him to his teeth, 'thus diddest thou'" (IV.vii.53-54). Claudius (who thought Hamlet was on his way to England to be executed) is quick to say, "what would you undertake to show yourself your father's dead son in deed" (IV.vii.95-98) where Laertes replies he would cut Hamlet's throat.

Another example of characters being "played" by another character is how Claudius uses Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to get to the bottom of Hamlet's problems. Although Rosencrantz and Guildenstern admit that the king and queen have sent for them they do not realize how much in over their heads they are. Claudius appeals to the side of people that likes to be needed. When the two arrive to Elsinore Castle Claudius greets them by saying "the need we have to use you did provoke our hasty sending" (II.ii.3-4). Most people like the feeling that they are needed and Claudius uses this to his advantage (which ultimately leads to the death of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern).

Hamlet is a play of deception. The various characters use each other to reach their own goals. No one in the play is completely genuine because they have their own agendas.

Immediately preceding line 107 in Act 1, scene 1 of William Shakespeare's play, The Tragedy of Prince Hamlet of Denmark, a stage direction informs the reader that a ghost, ostensibly of the late King Hamlet, father to the prince Hamlet, has appeared to Marcellus, Barnardo, and Horatio for the second time in the play. Horatio, in the middle of a soliloquy, breaks off and attempts to arrest the ghost of the King uttering, "Stay, illusion" (1.1.108). This is the only time in Hamlet that the word illusion is used. It cannot be pure chance that this word, with connotations in the early 17th century of "deceptive or illusive appearance, statement, belief, etc." (OED 2nd ed., s.v. "illusion" 3) is used in reference to the most honest character in the play.

Hamlet, notified by Horatio of this odd occurrence, confronts the ghost of his father in Act 1, scenes 4 and 5, wary of deception and trickery from this "spirit of health or goblin damned" (1.4.21). He does not know whether he is to trust that this apparition is the spirit of his father or if this costume is being used by something more sinister. The courageous Hamlet, however, decides to hear what the ghost has come to tell and in Act 1, scene 5, he is rewarded for his good judgment. Far from being "deceptive," this ephemeral shape of Hamlet's father reveals the treachery and deceit that ended his life and precipitated the crowning of his uncle as king and the subsequent marriage to Hamlet's recently widowed mother. The major "illusion" in the play is the legitimacy of Claudius and Gertrude's marriage and reign. Their "deceptive...appearance," cloaked in regicide and prevarication, which does not end with the taking of King Hamlet's life, is the real "illusion" and tragedy of the play.

To some extent, the importance of speech in Hamlet is self evident. Information that would be apparent in more visual media, such as film, must be transmitted to the audience through declamatory statements: Polonius' "O, I am slain!" in 3.4.23 presents an ideal example. If the audience cannot see for itself whether a character is dead or alive, one must assume that little else of the play's matter can be left to chance. It is surely no coincidence that the word itself, "speak," is spoken more often – 62 repetitions – in Hamlet than in any other Shakespeare play. One might argue that it is precisely because the characters speak so freely, making Hamlet the longest of Shakespeare's plays, that Hamlet holds this distinction. Even given this objection, only in a few of Shakespeare's plays does the word approach the ubiquity it enjoys in Hamlet, and in many of his works, speak is only rarely spoken.

As hinted at above, it is in part because Hamlet is such a lengthy play that the word appears so many times. It is also such a lengthy play, however, because Prince Hamlet's possibility for action is so often subverted by speech. He himself accomplishes this by his seemingly compulsive need to speak, even on the need itself:

Why, what an ass am I? Ay, sure, this is most brave,
That I, the son of the dear murdered,
Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,
Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words (2.2.560-63)

Likewise, other characters frequently disrupt Hamlet's revenge through speech, as in 3.3 when King Claudius attempts a lengthy confession. Hamlet, nearby, is dissuaded from killing Claudius on the spot due solely to Claudius' effort.

Other performative speech acts feature throughout the play. Perhaps most interestingly, Hamlet requires an oath of Horatio and Marcellus in 1.5, in which they are required to speak in order to swear not to speak: "Never to speak of this that you have heard,/Swear by my sword" (1.5.161-2). Conversely, it is demonstrated that speech and performance are often divorced by circumstance, as when Hamlet repeatedly swears oaths of revenge, but delays the act itself until his hand is forced in 5.2. He does so first indirectly in 1.5, referring to his father's commandment to revenge delivered at line 25 ("Revenge [my] foul and most unnatural murder."): "And thy commandment all alone shall live/Within the book and volume of my brain" (102-3).

This distinction between word and deed mirrors a division in the very meaning of the word speak, which at the time of Hamlet's production, was in use both as verb and noun (OED , 2nd ed, s.v. "speak, n" and "speak, v"). In Hamlet, however, Shakespeare entirely ignores the noun usage, electing instead to deploy the word entirely as action. Every reference in the play uses the verb form. In many cases, this deployment of the word as a verb produces or disrupts "speak" itself (to deploy the noun form). A wide variety of characters command others to "speak" or "speak not" at various points in the play: Horatio to the ghost (1.1.62), Gertrude to Hamlet (3.4.105-107), and Claudius to Gertrude (4.1.37), to name a few.

This frequency of the verb form of speak in Hamlet, coupled with its usage, constitutes it as a technology of agency in the context of the play. This is particularly important in light of the significance of ears as access. Gertrude draws this simile explicitly in 3.4.105-6: "O, speak to me no more,/ these words, like daggers, enter in mine ears." As Gertrude's protest suggests, however, such access can be limited. Earlier in the play, Bernardo describes Horatio's ears as fortified: "And let us once again assail your ears,/ That are so fortified against our story" (1.1.39-49). These images recall the instigating action of the play, King Hamlet's murder, wherein Claudius "...in the porches of [King Hamlet's] ears did pour/The leperous distilment" (1.5.68-69).

What are we to make of this equivocation between word and deed? It is worth considering that by the end of the play, the locus of injury visited on the body is no longer the ear, but the fencing wound and the mouth. Speech, by this late hour, is invested in the realm of politics rather than violence. Even as Hamlet dies, he declares: "But I do prophesy th'election lights/On Fortinbras. He has my dying voice" (5.2.297-8). By the closing lines of the play, the military has assumed a political role due to its ability to speak through ceremony: "The soldiers' music and the rites of war/Speak loudly for him" (5.2.343-4). This is a significant contrast to Titus Andronicus, for example, in that Fortinbras has achieved his conquests elsewhere, and it is implied he is to be elected. In Titus Andronicus, Lucius marches on Rome itself at the head of an army of Goths.

This succession of electoral process over conquest may speak to a generalized anxiety in Elizabethan England regarding more literal questions of succession. If indeed Hamlet displays an interest in performative speech acts, it may be an effort to display such speech as a viable alternative to the violent sectarianism that characterized previous succession. The peaceful return of the military and its enlistment in a ceremonial role may suggest such a hope, but the final line, "Go, bid the soldiers shoot" (5.2.347) , delivered by Fortinbras, closes the play with a reminder that while speech may serve as a desirable alternative to violence, speech itself can not only incite violence, but be violent itself.

1: Coriolanus is nearest Hamlet in this regard, with 'speak' appearing 52 times. In a more in depth analysis, one might examine the connections and disjunctions between plays in which this word is featured prominently and those in which it is rare. According to Shakespeare Searched (http://shakespeare.clusty.com), there are 18 plays in which 'speak' occurs on five or fewer occasions, and 16 in which it appears more than 20 times. Only The Comedy of Errors (15), Henry VI, pt 1 (19) , and Romeo and Juliet (8) fall between these ranges.

Hamlet contains one of the most recognizable passages in all of English literature. Hamlet's "to be or not to be" has been looked at and analyzed countless times. However, for one to really attempt to wrap the mind around this eloquent set of words, one must look at the words that are used. There are no "filler" words that are merely there to take up space and make the play longer. Each word is there for a specific reason. One word that resonates a few times in Hamlet's famed soliloquy is "sleep." There are a few ways of reading this speech, and approaching this word. However, there is one interpretation that may not be very common, yet it is quite compelling.

The first and most common definition for the word sleep is "The unconscious state or condition regularly and naturally assumed by man and animals, during which the activity of the nervous system is almost or entirely suspended, and recuperation of its powers takes place; slumber, repose" (OED, 2nd ed., s.v. "sleep," 1a). When taken in the context of Hamlet's speech, it is clear that this is not what is meant by the word. Hamlet seemingly uses this word in direct relation to death. He says:

To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come (III.i. 62-68)

This would be the most logical interpretation of the word, mainly because Hamlet uses it right after he talks about death. Yet, there still may be more behind the word. Another definition of sleep says that it is "A state of inactivity or of sluggishness (in persons or things)" (OED, 2nd ed., s.v. "sleep," 4b). This sense of the word seems to fit Hamlet perfectly.

Hamlet constantly puts off his objective. He wants to avenge his father's death and kill Claudius, but he hesitates throughout the entire play. He has his chances, but does not act on them. Hamlet is extremely sluggish. He makes excuses, and has to have the perfect circumstances to kill Claudius, but they never seem to come about. The fact that the phrase "To die, to sleep" is used twice in a matter of a few lines should not be overlooked. To die is to be in a state of inactivity. Hamlet can be put into this category. He is inactive when he should act. The only time he really acts without changing his mind is when he kills Polonius. He could not see who was hiding behind the curtain spying on him, but he decided to act anyways. It was not the person he expected, but this would fit Hamlet as a character. He would rather put his revenge up to chance (he thought it might be Claudius behind the curtain, but obviously it was not), than to act and kill Claudius when he was right in front of him. Hamlet is in a state of inactivity, but when he does choose to act, he fouls up. This "sleep" ultimately does cause Hamlet's death. Even though Claudius is killed, Hamlet has waited too long to act, which led to his own demise as well. Hamlet let everything build up to the climax where the duel took place, and all of these plans were already set in motion. If Hamlet chose to act when he had the chance, all of this would have been avoided.

As for the timeline with this particular definition, there are early references in the 13th century, but then there is nothing until the early 1700s. This is the closest to Shakespeare's time. This says that "1718 Freethinker No. 83, Many..begin to slumber in their Manhood; and drop into a sound Sleep in their Age" (OED, 2nd ed., s.v. "sleep," 4b). Hamlet could possibly be seen as this "man." He starts off in a slumber, not completely awake of asleep. This is where the ghost of his father appears to him. Then as the play progresses, Hamlet falls into a deeper "sleep." He finds himself unable to act when it is needed. His body is trying to wake him up, but his mind will not let him act. By the time he has decided to wake, it is already too late. He has already been doomed to take a much longer sleep.

Of the 30,000 odd words that appear in Hamlet, the word noble appears seventeen times. It is certainly not the most common word, which, naturally, is 'good' (besides of course 'the', 'and', etc.) rather it sits right in the middle of the imaginary word frequency chart. The first mention of the 'noble' comes from the decidedly ignoble Queen Gertrude, who says to Hamlet, "Do not forever with thy vailed lids / Seek for thy noble father in the dust" (1.2, 70-71). Noble, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, means "Of a person or people: illustrious or distinguished by virtue of position, character, or exploits. Now only as passing into senses," and "Of a deed or action: illustrious, renowned, celebrated," (OED, 2nd ed., s.v. "noble," 1a, 1b). The dictionary further describes it as "Of a person or people: illustrious or distinguished by virtue of rank, title, or birth; belonging to a high social rank, esp. one recognized or conferred by a sovereign or head of state," (OED, 2nd ed., s.v. "noble," 2a).

The curiousness of the second statement comes from the definition of noble as a person 'distinguished by...birth'. This, no doubt, is one of the dilemmas Hamlet struggles with. His father, an undoubtedly noble man by way of virtue and deeds, and his uncle and mother, certainly ignoble people when their deeds are taken into account, are all considered 'noble' by right of birth. Hamlet, too, is 'a noble' a noun which the OED defines as "Of birth, blood, family, etc." (OED, 2nd ed., s.v. "noble," 2b). As much as Hamlet struggles with his identity crisis, the question of nobility is most certainly prominent. In one of his speeches, Hamlet proclaims:

So, oft it chances in particular men,
That for some vicious mole of nature in them,
As, in their birth--wherein they are not guilty,
Since nature cannot choose his origin--
By the o'ergrowth of some complexion (1.4, 18.7-18.11)

Hamlet here describes his birth as something he cannot possibly be guilty of. It is not his fault his was born to 'nobility' and therefore expected to exude the virtue the nobility is expected to have. He goes on to say:

[these men] Shall in the general censure take corruption
From that particular fault: the dram of evil
Doth all the noble substance over-daub
To his own scandal. (1.4, 18.19-18.22)

Here he laments that the smallest scandal can turn the public opinion against anyone, and any noble deed they may have done would be instantly forgotten as the "dram of evil" clouds the virtue. The question Hamlet is dealing with is this: why should he bother being noble when the people may hate him despite his efforts? He wonders how his uncle and mother can get away with such treachery, and still be considered 'noble' people, only by birth. When talking to his noble father, the ghost, Hamlet senior refers to his son as noble, and indeed, after this, many people begin to regard Hamlet as a noble person. Hamlet the Ghost's request to be avenged, and his referral to Hamlet as 'noble,' which, in a way, passes the label of noble, so frequently used to describe Hamlet senior, on to Prince Hamlet. Indeed, most of the uses of noble following this utterance are referring to Prince Hamlet. The Ghost of King Hamlet, in his naming of Hamlet as noble, seems to imply that Hamlet can only be noble if he fulfills the Ghost's request. This of course probably causes Hamlet to question nobility, as in the above passage.

Furthermore, the OED shows one of the historical meanings of noble is "(of a part of the body) important, essential to life," (OED, 2nd ed., s.v. "noble,"). The former King Hamlet, oft referred to as noble, is like an essential body part to the kingdom, as well as to his family. He is severed from the land, from life, and the kingdom and the royal family suffers for it. In one sense Hamlet can be seen to have lost his head, lost his mind, a phrase indicative of madness. Hamlet can surely be see as the noble heart of the kingdom, for he certainly displays copious amounts of passion and emotion. Indeed, shortly after Hamlet's death, Horatio's lament seems utterly appropriate: "Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince, / And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest." (5.2, 302-303). Horatio's eulogy, branding Hamlet as noble even in death, allows Hamlet to retain immortal nobility. Perhaps death was the best choice for Hamlet, for there was no other way he could obtain unblemished nobility, free from the threat of the aforementioned 'dram of evil'.

"Play" can function as a verb or a noun, making its meaning specific to the context of use. According to the Oxford English Dictionary the use of "play" in both parts of speech implies a form of action or movement:

Noun: " Exercise, brisk or free movement or action; Active bodily exercise or movement; brisk and vigorous action of the body or limbs, as in fighting, fencing, dancing, leaping, etc" (OED, 2nd ed. s.v. "play," 1, 1a).

Verb: "Senses relating to movement, exercise, and activity; To exercise or occupy oneself, to be engaged with some activity; to act, operate, work. Now only as passing into other senses" (OED, 2nd ed. S.v. "play," I, 1).

However, the more modern use of the word is somewhat different. The noun form of "play" is used to concretely define the product of various bodies acting, or playing, on the verb in a theatrical presentation. Although "action" is still the root of the words meaning, it is more commonly used to imply re-acting, or re-presentation; to "play a part" one must have that part to replicate and, similarly, a "play" cannot be written without something to re-enact. The relationship between noun and verb is significant in relation to the plot of Shakespeare's play and Hamlet's language because their meanings overlap:

"I'll have these players Play something like the murder of my father...The play's the thing Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King" ( II.ii. 571-582).

Here, Hamlet's language appears to designate the word "play" to describe the action of "playing" differently from the object of "play." However, "play" works through a double meaning beyond the separation of two parts of speech. "The play's the thing" references the presentation of "The Mousetrap," a play with the same plot as the story of King Hamlet's death, but also points at the action of playing out, or re-enacting, a specific history, to "catch the conscience" of King Claudius.

Yet, the King's conscience is already caught in the play through the act of playing out his part, and consequently this line works through both functions of "play." This is significant because the relationship between noun and verb form is somewhat ironic and is presented in Hamlet's speech as a thematic pun that speaks of acting and re-acting. The play that Hamlet refers to is contained within the play where Hamlet, himself, is a player. In this sense, Hamlet's role is doubled as he plays himself in Shakespeare's play but also watches the town crier act out that role in "The Mousetrap."

This overlapping of "play" perfectly mirrors the ambiguity of the word; Hamlet's actions and re-actions serve to blur the boundary that should separate noun and verb. This is also similar to the ambiguity title Hamlet's title, which is both the name of the final piece, and the main character whose part is played from beginning to end. Shakespeare's Hamlet is about crossing boundaries and I find it significant that the language of the "play" also crosses boundaries of meaning.

In Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the term 'speak' is used to represent agency and definitive action. It is possible that one of the reasons why the play is so long and drawn out is that Hamlet is "giving it an understanding but no tongue" (1.3). This is to say that Hamlet mulls over the nature and justifications of revenge rather than making any definitive action. Speak becomes an action, speaking gives Hamlet agency in which to act. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word 'speak' is defined as "to utter or pronounce words or articulate sounds; to express one's thoughts by words" (OED, 2nd ed s.v. "speak"1 a ). Within the context of the play, it seems that Hamlet is only genuinely speaking when he is alone, and not speaking in front of other characters: "but break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue" (1.1 158). This occurs when Hamlet notices Horatio, Marcellus, and Barnado approaching him. This can be compared to when Hamlet instructs the players to "speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you" (3.2 1) because it calls into question his ability to act on his own, just as Hamlet is imposing a speech for his players, so is the ghost of Hamlet's father imposing an action on him. The capability of any of the characters in the play to act on their own is questioned, and implies the possibility that they are being manipulated from above (by forces such as fate and the playwright's pen). Another definition in the Oxford English Dictionary for 'speak' is defined as "to take effect legally, to be valid" (OED, 2nd ed. s.v. 6 b). This is to say that speaking is part of the participating in a community. Polonius' speaks to Ophelia, the word "voice" is defined in the margins to be 'vote,' (1.3 23) which seems to mean that speak and speech is an action, an exchange between people, and an expression of the state.

Have you ever purged your vegetable cabinet of potatoes because they are rotten? According to the Oxford English Dictionary in such a context, rotten takes the meaning of a vegetable that is "in a state of thorough decay." While such a definition is fitting of the vegetable, rotten can also take a meaning of a much bigger scale. As spoken by Marcellus In Act 1, scene iv in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." A very famous quote from Hamlet, the word rotten takes on a much different meaning that quote possibly is an underlying theme in Shakespeare's most famous tragedies.

As aforementioned, when used to describe vegetables, rotten can mean decay. While this definition partially suits rotten in this context, it means much more. Marcellus, a faithful guard to the royal thrown, speaks "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" as he and Horatio discuss they should follow Prince Hamlet and the ghost of his late father into the unforgiving night. The use of rotten perhaps does not take any meaning unless one is aware that the deceased king was killed by his brother Claudius, who did so to take over the thrown of Denmark. Now the other meaning of rotten can come into place- as stated in the Oxford English Dictionary, rotten can mean "morally, socially, or politically corrupt." The dictionary coincidentally cites this very quote as an exemplify of the definition "1602 SHAKES. Ham. I. iv. 90 Something is rotten in the State of Denmarke," proving that such a definition was used in the early 1600s.

The quotation is given its true meaning by the use of rotten. The quotes use of rotten refers to the idea that the ghost of King Hamlet is an apocalyptic omen for Denmark. In a morally, socially, AND politically corrupt action, King Hamlet was poisoned by his brother Claudius, as he wished to become king of Denmark, and take marriage to queen Gertrude. The ghost of Hamlet's father, asks of Hamlet to avenge him. Whether the ghost is truly that of his father, or the devil in the form of his father to deceive him and convince him to murder, does not matter, for the specter is a symptom of the rotten deed committed by Claudius. This morally rotten action was also politically rotten, as Claudius then became ruler of Denmark.

Rotten refers to the moral lawfulness of King Claudius and the wellbeing of the state of Denmark as a whole- a state that is unfortunately rotting away, as Hamlet himself references many a time, as he refers to Denmark as "an unweeded garden" where "things rank and gross in nature." (Act 1, scene 2). As it appears, Denmark is the pot [...]

In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the young Prince Hamlet of Denmark is plagued by the sight of the ghost of his father, the late king. Shakespeare's use of the sense of sight in Hamleturges the audience to think about why the eye is so important to this play. Although the eye is known as the organ through which a person sees things, it had a deeper meaning during the time that Shakespeare was composing Hamlet. The word "eye" can be defined as "attributed to heaven, the sun, etc" (OED, 2nd ed., s.v. "eye," 1b). The eye can see further than merely what is in front of it; the eye can be a mirror into the soul. The word "eye" being attributed to something heavenly suggests that the human eye can see into the spiritual world as well as the temporal one. For Hamlet, the eye is important because he sees his father's ghost with it and afterwards becomes mad with the idea of revenge. The supernatural theme in Hamlet propels the idea of the eye being more than an organ used to see earthly things. The eye can also be one's foe because something can be more than what meets the eye.

Prince Hamlet is wracked with grief because of his father's death and his mother's hasty marriage to King Claudius. Through his grief, he tells Horatio that he thinks that he saw his father at his mother's wedding. When Horatio questions where, Hamlet responds "In my mind's eye, Horatio" (I.ii.186). Here, Hamlet shows that he sees more than what is on earth. He sees his father's spirit in his mind. The placement of the eye being in the mind puts the idea of sight in a much more spiritual light than merely a method of identifying people and objects. At one point in the play where Hamlet is about to kill King Claudius, he holds back because he sees Claudius praying. The power of this spiritual sight makes Hamlet refrain from taking Claudius' life. Hamlet sees more than Claudius in the praying position, he sees Claudius' soul going to heaven if he kills him while praying.

After Hamlet's father requests to be avenged, Hamlet becomes mad with the idea of revenge. His vision becomes blurred because he can't see which path he should take. His mind's eye is confused about how exactly he should take revenge on King Claudius. The thin line between the spiritual and earthly world that is presented with the entrance of King Hamlet's ghost parallels the thin line between what Hamlet is seeing in the real world and what he is seeing with his mind's eye. The difference between these two worlds becomes difficult to recognize when one is seeing something that may not necessarily be real. Hamlet says to Rosencrantz, "I have an eye of you" (II.ii.283). Hamlet believes that he has a grasp on what he sees but he later proves through his indecisiveness that he doesn't. Even though he is watching the every move of the characters around him, what he is seeing is more complex than what it seems.

Because of the complexity of the eye, Shakespeare shows that one cannot merely see things; they have to absorb and analyze them as well. The question of reality that the eye presents makes the idea of visions and illusions much more complex in Hamlet. The eye sees both the spiritual and earthly worlds and neither of those visions can be relied upon completely. Prince Hamlet's ghostly visions show that the mind can play tricks on us. The line between what he sees and what he thinks he should see, not in terms of objects but in terms of decisions and sentiments, becomes blurred and ultimately drives him mad.

Almost every individual has a childhood memory of faking sickness to get out of school. But what exactly does it mean to be sick? Do you need to be in ill health or suffering from an incurable disease to be considered sick? In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the word "sick" occurs in multiple locations and also creates multiple uses. For the characters in Hamlet, sickness is not a physical condition, but a manifestation of mental and moral emotions that often display outward signs of illness. The word "sick" however, takes on multiple meanings; as it applies to both individuals and the body politic throughout the play.

The first use of the word "sick" is seen early in the first act, as Francisco claims that he is "sick at heart" (1.1.7). This is the first indication of the condition the country of Denmark is in, as they experience a conversion of power from one ruler to another. Francisco's remark not only shows the uneasiness the citizens feel about the change, but it also foreshadows the disease that is beginning to permeate through Denmark. As the soldiers remain on watch, they observe a supernatural experience, as the former king appears to them in ghost form. Horatio concludes that the appearance of the ghost "bodes some strange eruption to our state" (1.1.68). They then go on to compare the situation in Denmark to the events that occurred prior to the death of Julius Caesar. Horatio explains that the moon "was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse," and the rare occurrence of the ghost is symbolizing an omen for disastrous events in Denmark(1.1.106.13). Through the allusion to Caesar, the audience is shown that the sickness is a result of foul actions and these wrongdoings are leading to sickness in the body of Denmark.

The audience is soon clued to the fact, that Claudius, not a snake, is responsible for the death of King Hamlet. The information supports that the word "sick" reflects "spiritual or moral ailments; corruption through sin or wrongdoing" and not a physical condition or disease (OED 2ed., s.v. "sick," 2e). King Claudius' moral integrity has been tarred; not only by the murder of his own brother, but by his incestuous union to his "sometimes sister" (1.2.8). Hamlet believes that even "Heaven's face...Is thought-sick at the act" (3.4.46,49). Since Claudius is now King, his diseased actions begin to poison the crown; causing "something rotten in the state of Denmark" (1.4.67). After the performance of the play-within-a-play, Claudius realizes that he has been found out. Although he believes that his "offence is rank," his arrogance leads him to believe that he can still possess those things that he committed murder for, as long as he "[tries] what repentance [he] can" (3.3.65). Hamlet, however, reminds the audience that repentance only "will but skin and film the ulcerous place/ Whilst rank corruption, mining all within,/ Infects unseen" (3.4.138-140). Because of this, King Claudius' foul actions will always affect not only himself, but the country he is ruling. By the end of the play, the country of Denmark is in a state of distress; Polonius is dead, Ophelia has gone mad and committed suicide, and the citizens have begun revolting at the call of Laertes. Although King Hamlet's death can be seen as the catalyst for sickness, the poetic language of corruption and disease points to the fact that Claudius is responsible for this "eruption to our state" (1.1.68).

Through the poetic language of sickness, disease and death, it is clear that the corruptions of King Claudius led to the disasters that occur in Denmark. However, a closer reading into the individual mind of Claudius, may illustrate an elevated complexity of the word "sick." Although we know that King Claudius' is "sick" through his moral actions; being "sick" can also represent being "deeply affected by some strong feeling of repugnance or loathing" (OED 2ed., s.v. "sick," 4a). For Claudius, these strong feelings of loathing are directed towards Hamlet, his nephew; who "like the hectic in [Claudius'] blood he rages" (4.4.67). By examining the word in different contexts, one is able to see the poetic repertoire of Shakespeare; proving that words are like icebergs, sometimes only part of the meaning is readily visible.

It is very interesting that Hamlet's dilemma about being or not being is one of the most disagreed upon question of English literature. Hamlet caries a heavy heart through the whole play and it guides as well as shows in his speech and actions. That very same melancholy often leads to the other question about the protagonist's madness. In the act three scene one Hamlet says:

And, by opposing, end them? To die, to sleep—
No more—and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to—'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished!To die, to sleep.
To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come.(III.i.62-68)

Clearly there appears to be a play on death and sleep in this section of the text. However it is not cleared until later in the same section where Hamlet says:

To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country from whose bourn
No traveler returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? (III.i.79-84)

I believe that the essence of Hamlet's reflection isn't about living or dying but that he is looking for a way to come in between life or death. He definitely is displeased with the "grunts and sweats" of a weary life but he is however dreading the uncertainty of after death. I believe that the repetition of the word "Sleep" by Shakespeare is to indicate that desire Hamlet has to be in peace. Sleep can be defined as: "The condition of being quiet and peaceful; complete absence of noise or stir."(OED, 2nd ed sv "Sleep,"4 c). Like most people in a great state of melancholy Hamlet is just seeking the absence of noise and torments. One could say that his actions definitely don't support this theory however it is important to remember that Hamlet was ask to avenge his father by that last one's ghost therefore he isn't completely acting from his own desire. I believe that Hamlet does want to revenge his father but he also wishes he could find his quiet peaceful place. Earlier in the play Hamlet doesn't want to murder Claudius because he is praying and he thinks that he might be sent to heaven if he kills him then. I bring that up because King Hamlet is killed in his sleep which could in a way send him to that quiet peaceful place. Perhaps Shakespeare like Hamlet had uncertainties about death and certainly like everyone suffered hardships in life and this is why he brings up the desire for a peaceful place through Hamlet.

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the action of the play all centers on seizing power and control. Because of this, the uses of the word usurp takes on an important role in the meaning of the play. Usurp appears twice in the play, in Act One spoken by Horatio and in Act Three spoken by the player Lucianus. Each appearance gives significant insight into Hamlet.

The plot of Hamlet revolves on character's usurping others. Before the play begins Claudius has seized his brother's crown and wife leading to Hamlet's desire to take justice after encountering the ghost, and Old Hamlet has defeated Old Fortinbras after he seized Danish lands. As a result, during the play Fortinbras backslides on the previous agreement and again usurps the land his father could not hold. Finally, in killing Polonius with Laertes away, Hamlet has usurped their power over Ophelia and driving her to madness. All of the conflict in the play is the result or the instigator for one character to usurp a possession or status from another, which is why usurp is such a fitting verb for the play. The OED basically has two uses for usurp during Shakespeare's time. That is, "To appropriate wrongfully to oneself (a right, prerogative, etc.)" (OED, 2nd ed. s.v. "usurp," 1) and similarly, "To seize or obtain possession of (territory, land, etc.) in an unjust or illegal manner; to assume unjust rule, dominion, or authority over, to appropriate wrongfully" (2). The only difference between each is the latter concerns material possessions while the former relates to personal position relative to another.

The significance usurp has in the play beyond its presence in the plot is shown in how Shakespeare uses the word. Its first appearance is in the opening scene as Horatio questions the ghost of Hamlet. He calls out, "What art thou that usurp'st this time of night" (1.1.44)? It is well established that the opening of Shakespeare's plays typify what is to come. In this case, it the ghost appearing in the night where it does not belong foreshadows usurpation in the play. In the same passage Horatio makes an allusion to past battles fought which are the cause of Fortinbras' current desire for revenge. Finally, the lack or response from the Ghost to the question echoes Hamlet's questioning nature.

There is great importance in who speaks usurp in the play. Horatio says it once, as does the player Lucianus in the play with a play. Horatio stands out in the play because he never lets circumstances change his allegiance to Hamlet and because he is respected for his rational thinking. He is Hamlet's man from start to finish. Most importantly, he survives the play and sets things right for Denmark, and he is an outsider to the numerous father-son revenge dualities of the play. Horatio's significance as a character emphasizes the worth put into his use of the word usurp in a play revolving around usurpation.

The use of usurp in the final line heard from The Mousetrap shows again how important it is. Here is where Hamlet will be able to decide his course of action against his uncle, and right as the murder is recreated onstage the player Lucianus says, "Thy natural magic and dire property / On wholesome life usurp immediately" (3.2.237-238). Here it not only reinforces how usurpation is central to the play but it is a catalyst for Hamlet to reclaim the position Claudius took away from his father. The fact that the scene is contrived by Hamlet emphasizes the truth in theatre.

Though only spoken twice, the word usurp is everywhere in Hamlet. The way Shakespeare includes it in the text highlights both its importance and the significance of the two speakers using the word. It echoes the cycle of revenge and the nature of characters in Hamlet.

The word desperation in act I scene IV seems particularly significant in the terms of the scene as well as the play as a whole. There is specific attention called to this word during Horatio's lines when in comes to describing Hamlet's demeanor. The word desperation stuck out because of the power it contained within the context of this particular scene and then later when going back and rereading the play this word was even more suggestive in terms of the play as a whole. As one reads and becomes more engulfed in Hamlet and his story becomes more complex his reasons and desperation for revenge become more prominent.

When Horatio speaks to Hamlet using this word desperation it is with a tone of concern. Horatio is worried for Hamlet's safety and fears that the ghost will "draw you into madness" (I.iv.55). When Hamlet discovers that the ghost is truly his dead father the previous King of Denmark he commands Hamlet to "revenge his foul and most unnatural murder" he becomes consumed with desperation to avenge his father's death (I.v.28). Following this meeting with the ghost Hamlet becomes obsessed and desperate concerning his father's revenge, his duplicitous uncle, and his mother's marriage to the new king.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition for desperation is an act of losing all hope or despair leading to recklessness or desperate state of mind in which, on account of the hopelessness one is ready to do any violent action, regardless of the consequences (OED, 2nd ed., s.v. "desperation" 2c) This definition is exactly descriptive of the actions of Hamlet in the play he is willing to do anything and everything to avenge his father's death regardless of the consequences or who gets hurt.

The Oxford English dictionary states the word desperation is used as early as 1366 by Chaucer but also cites the use of the word by Shakespeare from 1602. The OED cites the specific passage in which Horatio uses the word desperation in terms of suicide, early within the play.

The very place put toys of desperation,
Without more motive, in every brain
That looks so many fathoms to the sea
And hears it roar beneath (I.iv.56-59).

Hamlet's desperation for revenge and respect for human life climaxed in act III scene IV in the queens chambers. When during an argument Hamlet mistakes Pilonius for the King and stabs him through the curtains. When the Queen asks him what he has done Hamlet replies "a bloody deed—almost as bad, good mother, as kill a king and marry his brother (III.iv.27-28)." This scene shows and utter disregard for human life and a complete obsession only with vengeance.

Hamlet's desire for revenge became so desperate that he would not kill his uncle Claudius the King while he was praying for fear he would go to heaven. Hamlet becomes too consumed with revenge to concentrate on anything else he becomes mad with it. He drives his love Ophelia away and becomes desperate for revenge that he destroys not only everything in his path but also himself.

Love throughout history, has caused the greatest of ecstasies and the worst of sorrows. "Neglected love," (3.1 191) as referred to by Polonius, can be the most frustrating and maddening kind of love for anyone to experience. Shakespeare's Hamlet suffers from the unrequited love of Ophelia; add the revelation of his father's murder, and this is enough to drive anyone crazy.

Love is a verb, defined as "To have or feel love towards (a person, a thing personified) (for a quality or attribute); to entertain a great affection, fondness, or regard for; to hold dear" (OED 2nd ed. s.v. "love," 1 A). We hear of Hamlet's love in conversations between Ophelia and her father Polonius, and separately with her brother Laertes. Both men question Hamlet's love for Ophelia, thinking it a symptom of mourning over his father's death. Laertes says: For Hamlet and the trifling of his favour,/ ...Forward not permanent, sweet not lasting,/ The perfume and suppliance of a minute,/ No more...Then if he says he loves you,/ It fits your wisdom so far to believe it/ As he in his peculiar sect and force/ May give his saying deed,/...Then weigh what loss your honor my sustain/ If with too credulent ear you list his songs,/ Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open/ To his unmastered importunity (1.2 5, 7-8, 25-27, 29-32). Polonius shares Laertes's concern for Ophelia's chastity and asks that she disregard Hamlet's love, and cut him off from any contact with her. His father's ghost revealing the murder to Hamlet, and then demanding that Hamlet seek revenge on his behalf worsens his madness. Polonius blames himself for this; however, allowing Ophelia to receive him does not make Hamlet feel any better. I believe Hamlet sees an irresolvable conflict between loving Ophelia and taking his father's revenge.

Hamlet denies his love for Ophelia when she confronts him. Hamlet says: "I did love you once/...You should not have believed me, for virtue cannot so/ inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you/ not" (3.1 116, 118-120). He gives reasons Ophelia should not love him, ranting: "I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more/ offences at my beck than I have thoughts to put them in, / imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in. What should/ such fellows as I do crawling between heaven and earth? We/ are arrant knaves all" (3.1 125-129). The news of his father's murder has driven Hamlet to this response, which we learn later is not true. Hamlet is desensitized of his love for Ophelia through her neglecting him, and his own brooding anger over his father's murder. To express his love to Ophelia now would be a distraction from his father's desire for revenge, so he pushes her away. Pushing her away, and Hamlet's subsequent murder of Polonius cause Ophelia's own depression and eventual death.

Love has its fingerprints all over the developing plot of the play. Hamlet is torn between love and loyalty towards his father, and his love for Ophelia. Hamlet cannot both take revenge for his father and show his love for Ophelia, both are all-consuming actions. Hamlet broods upon this conflicting decision until the final scenes of the play. Only in the elimination of the possibility for shared love with Ophelia could Hamlet enact his revenge, even though love is at the center of both conflicting actions.

The way things seem and the way things are do not always correlate. As a matter of interpretation, however, the way things seem can be construed as actuality when one chooses to accept them as such. Moreover there may be a host of explanations for the appearance of a thing beyond that which is most palpable.

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the appearance of the word "seem" in the opening act serves to foreshadow an ongoing schism between appearance and actuality that is a major theme within the play, and one of the major internal conflicts experienced by its protagonist and namesake.

The word first appears in a heated dialogue between Prince Hamlet and his mother regarding the appropriateness of his solemn demeanor following his father's untimely death. His mother, Queen Gertrude, asks "why seems it so particular with [him]" (I.ii.75).

In isolation the question seems direct and benign. It is Hamlet's response which lends thematic significance to the word:

Seems, madam? Nay, it is. I know not 'seems'.
'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good-mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forced breath,
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected haviour of the visage,
Together with all moods, shows of grief
That can denote me truly. These indeed 'seem',
For they are actions that a man might play;
But I have that within which passeth show—
These but the trappings and the suits of woe. (I.ii.76-86)

Simply put, those external symbols which "seem" to denote the underlying reality—in this case Hamlet's emotional state—do not do justice to its complexity. This statement foreshadows the ambiguity of knowing that is a central theme in the play. More specifically, however, Hamlet's words espouse his own inquisitive, analytical and carefully deliberate nature even in the face of emotional strain. In order to comprehend the authority of the word "seem" in this context, one must first consider its definition, particularly during Shakespeare's era.

The interpretation of the word "seem" has changed little since the 17th century. At that time, "to seem" could also have meant "to have a semblance or appearance" (OED, 2nd ed., s.v. "seem," II). Thus something that "seems" a certain way only does so in terms of outward appearance, to which the underlying reality may bear no resemblance. Moreover a façade, no matter how much it resembles reality, is still a façade. This ambiguity drives Hamlet's interpretive process.

Even in the face of his beloved father's apparition, Hamlet questions the authenticity of the way things seem:

Be thou a spirit of health or a goblin damned,
Bring with the airs from heaven or blasts from hell,
Be thy intents wicked or charitable,
Thou com'st in such a questionable shape
That I will speak to thee. I'll call the Hamlet, (I.iv.21-25)

It is this potential schism between the way things seem and the way things are which drives the plot forward, as the reader becomes privy to an ever expanding array of realities which contrast their surface appearances.

In Shakespeare's Hamlet the reader is immediately introduced to the cold and darkness of midnight, a word and time of day that is shrouded in mystery. This association with the darkest hour creates an eerie feeling that will be felt for the entirety of the play that would have been lost if not for the introduction of this enchanting hour.

When the play opens the word midnight is not specifically stated but is instead stated as "Tis now struck twelve." (1.1.5) This is followed by "Get thee to bed, Francisco" (1.1.5) so that the reader is aware of the difference in the time of day, that this is twelve-midnight not twelve-noon. This hour is important to the beginnings of the play because midnight is also referred to in many cultures, and especially at the time of Shakespeare, as a time of day when witches, ghosts, and ghouls ran amuck on the earth, haunting the living. The reader sees this occurrence in the very first scene of the play: "Enter the Ghost [In complete armor, holding a truncheon, with his beaver up]" (1.1.37-38) The ghost enters is the dead king, in his battle armor, wanting to send a message to his son, Hamlet. Had this scene occurred at another time of day, the messenger would not have been a ghost as the harbinger of darkness because the witching hour would not have been upon them.

An important element of this scene is that the dead king is shown in his full battle regalia as though he too is preparing to fight the Norwegians that the guard are standing watch for. This is particularly important to the idea of midnight because of the significance of the hour with regard to the Norwegians, who are from the "Land of the midnight sun." At this hour when darkness would have been over the whole of Denmark, in the summer the Norwegians would have had sunlight at midnight and therefore it is most important to watch for their attack as the enemy would not have known it was night when they left their homeland. However, as the play occurs during what the reader is led to believe is the winter the Norwegians would have been cast into darkness for the entirety of the day and therefore any hour is midnight and the play itself is set to the dismal hour.

The Oxford English Dictionary provides another definition of midnight that is applicable to the play of Hamlet: "Intense darkenss or gloom; a period of intense darkness." When the play opens, the king has died and the succession is uncertain at this time, as Hamlet was away, and when he returned he appeared to be quite crazed. When the dead king speaks to Hamlet the reader learns that it would through murder that he was killed and the beloved King is cast to purgatory on earth until he can have his son avenge his death. The play itself is a tragedy and the closing scene is one of death and destruction that pairs well with the darkness and gloom associated with this definition of midnight. The ambassador sums up the scene perfectly: "The site is dismal" (5.2.312). Dismal is a synonym of gloom, reiterating the association through the play with the darkness and gloom of midnight.

This play would have been performed during the broad daylight when England was at the end of a golden age, and the succession of the throne was also a question because the queen had no heir. However, this does not make the importance of the midnight hour any less important to the setting of the play, to create a feeling of doom and gloom that has defined Hamlet.

When one analyzes the work of William Shakespeare, whether it be a comedy or a tragedy, it is interesting to note how a single word can invoke a strong meaning to the overall theme of the play. In Shakespeare's play, Titus Andronicus, the word "hands", which appeared over 80 times, was vital to characters in the play through both events and the plot as a whole. Shakespeare's, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, focuses on another word that is important to the plot of the play: serpent.

"The serpent that did sting thy fathers life Now wears his crown." (1.5.39-40) is stated by the Ghost of Hamlet's father, the former King of Denmark, as he is speaking to his son. The official definition of serpent during the early 1600's is, "a symbol of jealousy, envy, malice or wiliness," (OED, Online, s.v. "serpent" 3a). The word 'serpent' can be traced back to The Bible where it is found in the first book, Genesis, and stands for temptation, treachery and deceit. Shakespeare takes this same denotation and incorporates it in his play. By calling King Claudius a "serpent" the ghost is describing the evil and treacherous demeanor of Hamlet's uncle. By killing his brother, Hamlet, and marrying his sister-in-law, Gertrude, Claudius has gained an enormous amount of power over the country of Denmark, and has satisfied his lustful desires.

When analyzing this through the eyes of serpent, a connection is seen between power, sex and the serpent. In The Bible the serpent deceives Eve and has her eat from the tree of knowledge, essentially he is the reason for pain and suffering in the Christian tradition. The power of the serpent to bring these elements into the world is unmatched by any except for a king. By killing his brother and keeping the truth hidden, he has used deceit to gain power, just as the serpent has in The Bible. King Claudius is also in search of sex and his lustful desires can be seen through his marriage to Queen Gertrude. The snake, which has previously been compared to Claudius, was seen as a phallic symbol by many different civilizations for centuries prior to the writing of Hamlet. From early representations of the ancient Egyptians to Christian Tradition and even to Sigmund Freud, serpents are constantly viewed as being a phallic symbol. Since Claudius fulfills his lustful desires through deceit and treachery, it becomes apparent why Shakespeare described him, as a serpent.

Further analysis of the use of serpent in Hamlet notes an interesting parallel between the serpent and its poisonous qualities. While all serpents are not poisonous many of them are venomous and they use this as a form of defense against those that threaten them. Claudius was jealous and envious of his brother Hamlet because of the power that he held over Denmark. Claudius's greed and will to dominate brought out these serpentine qualities in him, and like a serpent he poisoned King Hamlet and married Queen Gertrude so that he was in control, and others would be envious of him.

By looking at a single word describing a single character in Shakespeare's Hamlet, the play opens up to its readers in a broader sense. Not only is the play read on a denotative level, but the depth and meaning of each word must be understood to fully comprehend and appreciate what is being said in the text. By looking at the word serpent in a historical context we can see how and why Shakespeare used this word to describe King Claudius, for both his lustful and deceitful qualities.

The word 'dream' appears 135 times throughout the collection of William Shakespeare's work. It is seen 12 times in Hamlet alone, so it is quite clear that the word held importance to the author. It is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as both a noun and a verb pertaining to the use of imagination, when used either asleep or awake, to create visions in one's head. It is also said to represent aspirations and desires. The word 'dream' stands for so much in Hamlet, beginning with the ghost. At times King Hamlet's ghost is seen by others (the guards), and then later in the play, it ceases to exist for anyone but Hamlet. This demonstrates the evolution and correlation of Hamlet's distraction in creating his own (day) dreams, as well as portraying the dead King in 'dream' form. Looking at examples like this, as well as the placing and purpose of the word 'dream' throughout the play, can lead readers to see such a seemingly simple word in all a new light.

The word is most often used in Act 2, Scene 2 (seven out of the 12 times), which is by no means coincidental. The scene starts off with King Claudius persuading Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to examine Hamlet's insanity. He states, "What it should be, more than his father's death, that thus hath put him so much from the understanding of himself, I cannot dream of:" (II.ii.10). It is very strange that he should choose to say that he can not dream of cause of Hamlet's insanity when he, of all people, should be the closest to understanding it, he being is the causation of it all. This symbolizes the dream that King Claudius has created for himself that he will successfully get away with murder.

Not long after, when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern confront Hamlet, Guildenstern says, "Which dreams indeed are ambition; for the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream" (II.ii.271-272), and Hamlet responds, "A dream itself is but a shadow" (II.ii.273). This dialogue between the two says much more than it seems. Hamlet is confessing that his airiness or madness is but a cloak hiding his true desire for revenge. He conveniently uses the word 'dream' here to demonstrate his passion and obsession with revenge. At the end of this scene, Hamlet devises a plan to trap his uncle in the latter's own guilt by setting up a play with similar circumstances to King Hamlet's murder. It is important to note that Hamlet uses a play to express this because a play is in many ways dreamlike.

It is also interesting to note that after Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy, the word 'dream' is never again mentioned. It is last used when Hamlet is considering what may come in the afterlife, and the unknown of dreams in death, "To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; for in that sleep of death what dreams may come" (III.I.73-74). It seems as if this turning point in his life forces him to shift out of the realm of dream and more into reality, so to speak, (or full fledged insanity) in order to carry out his burden of revenge.

The use of the word 'dream' in Hamletstands for so much more than just a vision. It represents so much of him, from the initiator (the ghost), to the evidence (the play), to his transition into full-revenge mode and thus plays a key literally and literal role in William Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Damned: 1. Condemned, judicially sentenced. Obs. 2. A. Theol. Doomed to or undergoing eternal punishment; condemned or consigned to hell. 3. absol. as n. pl. The souls in hell, 'the lost' (OED, 2nd ed.).

Hamlet incessantly questions his own identity and plausible purpose in the world and, at the same time, is acutely aware of the roles and supposed purposes of those individuals around him. With a sense of keen observation and a counteractive need to search for answers within and outside of identifying himself in the world, Hamlet becomes an influenced character, no matter the situation. It so happens, Hamlet finds out the truth of the tragic circumstances of his family's past, and becomes wholly involved in a plot of revenge. Upon his father's apparition appearing to him, Hamlet is enveloped in attempting to comprehend ideas of individual placement and earthly purpose.

Moreover, he looks upon fate and revenge as a form of resolve, as if Hamlet himself exists to right the wrongs of his family's previous fate—except for the fact that a type of predestined damnation comes into play. With his father being dead and his mother involved in a quasi-incestuous relationship, Hamlet is trapped. He discards the idea his family is doomed—is subject to damnation. He must do this. How else can this man search for answers, revenge the past, and move forward. He must break the cycle. But, his damnation is only heightened in his killing Polonius, the death of Ophelia, and the subsequent bloodbath that ensues at the conclusion of the play.

Hamlet refers to the uncertainty of the ghost being that of his father and states "If his occulted guilt/Do not itself unkennel in one speech,/It is a damned ghost that we have seen" (Act 3, Scene 2: 80-83). Hamlet utilizes the word in what seems an alternative to the relation between his family and eternal damnation. Yet, it is within the same realm of thought.

Hamlet's referral to the possibility of the ghost being "damned" insinuates the ghost resides, or is doomed to, hell. Moreover, Hamlet refuses to realize the haunting truth of his insinuation. Whether the ghost was authentic or not, it was full of vengeance, injustice, suffering, and furry. It was a ghost from hell. Hamlet's father was living in purgatory, knowing the undignified truth, seeking justice—justice that could only be resolved if he was still alive. Otherwise, he only heeds the power to continue his damnation, to invite others into his past, to place them in his realm of personal damnation—just by arising from the depths, offering his son a chance to find purpose, and unsettling the waters that were, quite possibly, doomed from the start.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines "shadow" as "comparative darkness, esp. that caused by interception of light; a tract of partial darkness produced by a body intercepting the direct rays of the sun or other luminary" (OED, 2nd ed., s.v. "shadow," 1a). In Shakespeare's "Hamlet," the shadow of his father's death looms over Hamlet throughout the play. In the first act, Horatio and Marcellus bring Hamlet to see the ghost. The scene begins with an argument about the time of night:

Hamlet: What the hour?
Horatio: I think it lacks of twelve.
Marcellus: No, it is struck.
Horatio: Indeed? I heard it not. Then it draws near the season
Wherein the spirit held his wont to walk. (I.iv:3-6)

They are unsure of whether it is before midnight, or if midnight has already passed. It is confusion between the previous night and the start of a new day. Dark (night) and light (day) are pressing against one another, fighting for dominance. King Claudius has left Hamlet in the dark, so to speak, keeping him from the knowledge of his father's true cause of death. Here, the ghost of his father meets him at midnight to, in a sense, bring light to the situation, and inform Hamlet of the truth of his murder. Hamlet himself becomes cast in shadows. In accordance with the OED's definition of "shadow," Hamlet himself is the "body intercepting the direct rays of the... luminary," the luminary being the information from his father's ghost. While his father's ghost has given him a clearer understanding of what transpired, this "light" or knowledge casts greater shadows because now Hamlet is further burdened with the task of avenging his father's death, a plan of action about which he remains indecisive for most of the play.

Later in the play, Hamlet discusses ambition with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

Rosencrantz: Truly, and I hold ambition of so airy and light a quality that it is but a shadow's shadow. Hamlet: Then are our beggars bodies, and our monarchs and outstretched heroes the beggars' shadows. (II.ii: 254-7)

Ambition lacks substance in the same way that a shadow does. It is intangible and not often constant; as Rosencrantz says, it is "airy." Furthermore, as Hamlet alludes to, ambition is corrupted at the hands of a monarch. The ambition itself is a light, but cast upon a ruler, it creates a dark shadow of misuse of power. This calls to mind his uncle, the new King Claudius, consumed with ambition and greed that drives him to kill his own brother in order to assume control of the throne.

The definition of ghost according to the Oxford English dictionary is; The spirit, or immaterial part of man, as distinct from the body or material part; the seat of feeling, thought, and moral action. The depiction presented in the Shakespeare play Hamlet is accurate to that definition. A more in-depth analysis of this would be to understand what role the ghost plays in the overall theme of the play. The Ghost in the play is Hamlet's father, and his role is critical in understanding Hamlet and why he seeks revenge and his assessment of life itself. The fact that his father is haunting him, persuading him to pursue vengeance defines the theme of the play. Revenge is a reoccurring premise and the characters Hamlet and Fortinbras are set to avenge their father's deaths. The reader is left not sure if Hamlet is really seeing his father or if he really is insane. The ghost is symbolic of Hamlet's duty and confusion about his obligation to his father and his own will to live.

The theme of revenge is one of nobility and honor. As two characters in the play decide to avenge their father's death, the idea of loyalty is presented. The difference between the characters Hamlet and Fortinbras is the presences of their fathers. While Fortinbras seeks revenge automatically, Hamlet is aided by his father's ghost. This is significant in the characterization of the two men because they foil the other in their attempts at revising honor. The question arises; Is one more noble for automatically avenging his father, or does one need motivation from his father's memory?" Hamlet's conversation with his father begins with him saying; "Whither wilt thou lead me? Speak. I'll go no further."(I.v.5) This excerpt shows how Hamlet is telling his father to lead him but he must first speak. So in order for him to take on his duty as his father's son he must be told to do so. The ghosts' presences in the play is to set forth action, guiding Hamlet in the direction of revenge.

Hamlet has another connection with the ghost. As the play progress, Hamlet appears to be conflicted with his position on life and death. He seems to be either suicidal or indifferent to living. "I do not set forth my life at pin's fee, and for my soul, what can it do that, being a thing immortal as itself." (I.iv.46-48) This excerpt presents how Hamlet does not cherish his life. He does not value his existence and so approaching his father's ghost does not faze him. He seems to not care if he lives or dies which makes him connect with the ghost. Like the ghost, he is in limbo between life and death and by avenging his father both Hamlet and the ghost are going to either life or death. The ghost's spirit will be freed and Hamlet will be choosing to make a decision toward life. Even though Hamlet dies in the end, he still seems to value his life in the end.

The ghost is a significant part of the play, representing not only the King's trapped soul, but also Hamlet' characterization. The connection Hamlet has with the ghost is one of duty and loyalty. Hamlet connects with his father because of the ways in which they both are trapped, but in the end, they are in a way free. Hamlet is free from his confusion of life and death, and the king 's spirit is freed.