Hamlet the Idol

There is a library of information that I could derive from Hamlet as it is rich in information that is important for everyone. The way Hamlet acts symbolizes each and every one of us. The way Hamlet speaks symbolizes what we want to say. What Hamlet does symbolizes what we wish we could have done. Hamlets tragedies and solutions symbolize our obstacles and goals.

Hamlets verbal interaction with other characters allows for there to be a story. Initially Hamlet is a spoiled brat succumbing to the wants of a mother and a step father. He then transitions into smart-aleck teen that knows everyone’s motive. Then into a pompous adult that is blood thirsty. Many of these changes that we see within Hamlet alone reflect the human being. As soon as a problem hits us across the face we sulk in misery waiting for it to go away. Then we find some information to lead us out of the darkness. Until, Eureka, we find the solution to all of our problems. Then we second-guess ourselves, but we just blow it off and do it anyway. Then we become all high and mighty and know that the outcome is ours. But wait a minute there is one last thing we didn't see coming…then we are dead (at least figuratively.) We didn't think the plan thoroughly enough and we've failed.

College apps are similar, we are stunned by the amount of work we need to do, so we wait. It is finally a week before they are due, that is when we start right? Wrong, we don’t get accepted because we didn't invest the time we had into these applications. Now we are stuck at the community college down the street as our friends are making huge strides for themselves because they thought it out.

Hamlet’s use of tone and diction allows him to manipulate many of the other characters. “Dost thou hear me, old friend; can you play the Murder of Gonzago?” Hamlet uses this instance with one of the players to get him to add a part to the play. The player doesn't question such royalty and does so. Hamlet uses the Player as a pawn to provoke King Claudius and the kingdom at the play so that Claudius’s secret becomes exposed. This is genius manipulation of not just an actor but the manipulation of an entire kingdom. Especially because he already has everyone thinking he is crazy over Hamlet Sr.’s death, nobody will even suspect that Hamlet planned this. This is the plan that was never hatched, by you and me. Hamlet is the envy of many; nobody has the guts or manipulative skills to control and entire town.

This leads me to conclude that Hamlet is an image for what many strive to be or not to be. In the eyes of some he is a monster and in the eyes of others he is a total genius.

The Performative Utterance

William Shakespeare  utilizes one of the basic human conditions as the underlying them in “Hamlet.” This idea is called the performative utterance; this concept outlines the instance when someone literally speaks their destiny. Hamlet is a great example of this when he speaks in his soliloquies not only do we get his inner feelings but we also get to see what his words end up causing. Hamlet is not the only to show such phenomenon, it has even happened in my life.

                Hamlet’s use of soliloquies allows the audience to see into his mind and thought process, and we see an intelligent master of words out for revenge. But because Hamlet expresses who he is basically we literally get him.  In act 3 Hamlet’s famous soliloquy exemplifies Hamlet’s use of murder to get revenge and how he is starting to question his motive but at the end he basically is sure that he is going to kill Claudius after Hamlet says, “With this regard their currents turn awry.” Hamlet means that after this everything is basically going downhill and will only get rougher. By this notion the reader can only infer that Hamlet is probably going murder Claudius indefinitely. This also shows that Hamlet uses the performative utterance by showing Hamlet’s internal feelings by speech and later putting his words into action.

                In my life I have encountered this almost as personal irony. The moment I bring up something that I verbally say and is not just a thought in my mind. It happens.  It can be positive or negative but it happens. Freshman year I talking to my friends and I told them that I was going to probably end up pulling an all-nighter on the Odyssey Project and fall asleep in a class. Well, that happened exactly. On another instance I was motivated to get an A in Mrs. Byrne’s class I even told her at the beginning of the semester, after this I had a drive to work hard in her class to raise my grade to an A. No matter the task it is important to acknowledge your course of action and to literally verbalize it and it increase the chances of it occurring, likewise don’t verbalize the negative.

                Whether it is Hamlet, you, or I; the performative utterance is around everywhere. The verbalization of a sentence directed at oneself is what can bring a huge positive or the demoralizing negative. Words are more important than the casual lingo, as they act with a sort of gravity that can attract such a variation of instances to oneself.