Friday, January 17, 2014

What kind of symbols represent the theme of revenge in Hamlet? Any objects that represent revenge in Hamlet? I keep thinking about the skull......

The great news about this question is that depending upon
how you want to analyze the symbol, it can be suited for
"revenge."


Symbols:


  • Three

  • The
    number three and its multiples (6, 9, 12, etc.) is a number often used to represent the
    supernatural. It can be found throughout Hamlet The number three can also be found in
    many fairy-tales. Darkness is used throughout Hamlet to symbolize evil. Evil happenings
    occur at night, in the dark, and the characters often call out to the dark to cover up
    their evil doings. On the contrary, the light represents good, and
    heaven. RedWhiteWaterSleepThe idea that sleep is interrupted – whether through insomnia,
    sleepwalking, or nightmares – indicates that there is a stain on the conscious – a
    feeling of extreme
    guilt.

  • Darkness/Light

  • Red
    is the color of sin. It represents a stain on purity. Blood is connected to red, and
    blood is also a physical representation of guilt.

  • White
    is the color of purity. White is frequently used to represent innocence. It is often
    contrasted with red to show that the red is a stain on the
    innocence.

  • Water is used to cleanse. Deriving from the
    Christian idea of Baptism (the tradition of washing away
    sins).

  • Sleep, according to Shakespeare, is the “little
    death.” Each night, a person sleeps to erase the day. Shakespeare makes the connection
    between a day and a person’s life. The sun rises – a person is born, the sun is in high
    set in the afternoon – a person’s mid-life, the sun begins to set – a person has reached
    the end of their life, the sun sets and the day has become night – a person has died.
    When the day ends, we begin sleep – when life ends, we begin
    death.

  • Sleep also serves a secondary purpose – as
    rejuvenation for the next day. During sleep, our body fixes itself and rests so it has
    the capability to begin the next day. Sleep is a representation of peace. When a person
    can “sleep easy,” they have a clear
    conscious.

  • Dreams

  • Dreams
    play a role as a replay of the day. In dreams, truth reveals itself – one cannot hide
    from his/her dreams.

  • Flowers as
    Symbols

  • Rosemary: remembrance, normally associated with
    remembrance of the dead at funerals, but also remembrance between
    lovers.

  • Pansies: thought-French for thought is pensees;
    Pensar is "to think" in Spanish ; when we say someone is pensive we mean that the person
    is thoughful and contemplative.

  • Fennel: marital
    infidelity, cuckoldry

  • Columbines: flattery- insincerity
    culminating in dissembling and pretense (or) ingratitude,
    thanklessness

  • Rue: (also "Herb Of Grace") repentance (or)
    sorrow

  • Daisy: forsaken love, unhappy
    love

  • Violets:
    faithfulness

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