themes

• order and disorder

  -disorder runs throughout play, reflecting court's corruption

  -Ghost as a symbol of disorder

  -order exists outside of court- Fortinbras

  -disorder in a personal context also- madness, breakdown of relationships

  • the court is in a state of disorder, only with the death of associated characters can order be restored
• madness

  -madness, real or feigned, has destructive consequences

  -madness is perhaps inevitable for victims of a corrupt court (Ophelia)

  -madness reveals the inner workings of the court

  • madness is a tool of freedom or entrapment that inevitably ends in tragedy
• death

  -death is an equaliser

  -death is a catalyst for action

  -pattern of death

  -ambiguity of death

  -desire to know and the impossibility of knowing

  -the only way of ending corruption

  -the consequence of unmanageable grief

  
  

  • in the play death is both a catalyst and consequence
• Thought vs action

  -H's inability to act has tragic consequences

  -revenge- whether acted on or not- is what causes tragedy

  -lack of balance- impulsive action vs overthinking

  -other characters' action draws attention to H's inaction

  
  

  • action is destructive and thought is dangerous
• Appearance vs reality


  -what begins as an act becomes real

  -appearances cannot be trusted in a morally/politically corrupt court

  -characters' true selves will be revealed eventually, one way or another

  • the identities people perform become their realities
• gender

  -male characters seek control over women in their lives

  -though having less social power, the actions of women spur on men's desire to take action

  -different expectations for men vs women

  -reclamation of female power (spec. through death)

  
  

  • play exposes the prejudices and disadvantages which narrowed down women's choices- women are products of their environment, forced to make difficult decisions to survive in a world designed for men
• Theatre

  -play follows and subverts conventions of the genre, revenge tragedy

  -metatheatre (play-within- a- play)

  -performance in the play- the roles that characters perform

  
  

  • the theatre of the play exposes the reality of the court
• religion

  -informs indecision and delay

  -ideas about mortality/existentialism

  -Ghost

  -Claudius' murder of OH- regicide, fraticide- corruption

  • religion both stimulates and impedes action
• Corruption

  -political corruption is both a cause of and caused by personal corruption

  -moral corruption is avoided by distance from central court (Horatio, Fortinbras)

  -moral corruption has destructive consequences (link to order/disorder)

  
  

  • corruption is central to the court and feeds into the corruption of those associated with it
• Loyalty and betrayal

  -loyalty is ultimately rewarded (Horatio)

  -loyalty is influenced by social expectation

  -betrayal- personal (relationships- R&G), political (C betrays the state by pursuing own ambition)

  -characters betray each other for their own gain

  
  

  • political/social interests feed into personal betrayal, making loyalty rare in a corrupt court
• Honour and revenge

  -conventions of genre- revenge tragedy

  -action does not determine honour (Horatio)

  -revenge and honour are interconnected

  -impulsive, violent action damages reputation

  -pursuing revenge is ultimately futile as it results in death and devastation

  -cycle of revenge- intersecting causing tragedy

  -difficulty of enacting revenge- moral questions

  
  

  • revenge is complicated by moral questions but the only possible ending
• personal vs political

  -pursuit of revenge is personal but has political consequences

  -focus on personal intrigues means Denmark is politically weakened

  -personal + political are intertwined (due to status of family)