Symbols
and allusions:
1.
In Hamlet both the Garden of Eve
and the snake were mentioned.
Act
1 scene 5: "Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard,
A
serpent stung me-so the whole ear of Denmark
Is
by forged process of my death
Rankly
abus'd-but know, thou
noble
youth,
The
serpent that did sting thy father's
life
Now
wears his crown.'
By using the reference to the
Garden of Eden, Old Hamlet is viewed as a good man, who is a victim of a
horrible murder, committed by the act of his brother. When the ghost first tells
Hamlet about his murder he uses images of the Garden of Eden. Old Hamlets
kingdom is like unto the Garden of Eden because it was his paradise.
Claudius was portrayed as the evil one for killing his brother; therefore, he
was the equivalence to the devil because he stripped the paradise of the garden
from old Hamlet and exposes the kingdom’s weaknesses.
2.
Act 1 Scene 2 (139-140): "So excellent a king, that was to this
Hyperion to
a satyr. So loving to my mother"
After Queen Gertrude remarries, Prince Hamlet makes
his feelings for his mother very clear when he compares the late King Hamlet to
Claudius. This simile shows Hamlet's high regard for his father as well as his
extreme hatred for Claudius, his father's brother and murderer. Shakespeare compares
his deceased father to Hyperion, the Greek sun god, and Claudius to a satyr, a
Greek mythic combination of man and goat. This comparison shows Hamlet's true
feelings for Claudius since satyrs are often associated with lust and
promiscuity. Also comparing his father to Hyperion shows, Hamlet does not just relate
his father to a titan, but also the source of light and with that brings hope
and happiness.
3. Act 1
Scene 2 (105): "from the first course"
Hamlet
refers to the story of Cain and Able. This famous bible story of Cain and Able
consists of a noble man turning on his brother and murdering him
out of jealously. The relationship between Claudius and King Hamlet is an embodiment
of the Old Testament's story of Cain and Able. Shakespeare uses the story of
Cain and Able to portray similarities between the relationship of Hamlet’s
uncle and blood father. The word "course" serves as a pun which is related
to the word "corse", an outdated spelling representing the word
"corpse" throughout the Old Testament.
Carli: the allusion about the serpent was the first allusion that really stuck out to me as I was reading too. Referring to his uncle as the serpent is really powerful and one of the biggest insults I think you could give. There's a lot of Greek mythology just in Act I too. It's constantly referring to Hercules and a bunch of other gods and goddesses.
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