Essay Sample on Gender Difference in Death and Bereavement in Shakespeare

Introduction

The paternal authority as well filial roles are brought out through the theme of father and son relationship in the Elizabethan era is one of the great significance of Shakespearean scholarship. It the objective of every father that his son goes a milestone and surpass him, therefore ensure the honor and respect of the name of the family is carried on. Thus to avoid any occurrence of eventualities, the fathers have the role of giving advice to their sons by application of their gained experience in their entire lifetimes. The purpose of this is to make an attempt of study the complexity and compulsion ties between father and siblings in Hamlet by Shakespeare. The aim of this paper is to examine the problem and difficult procedure of developing a self-identity with its psychological and social conflicts that fit the period then, the Elizabethan time. It also gives solutions to the mode of change of the son creates problems to the concert's traditional family model alongside the existing time's philosophy. In the play Hamlet by Shakespeare, three father and son ties shall be assessed: Polonius and Laertes, King Hamlet and Prince Hamlet, and, Old Fortinbras and Fortinbras which lays the basis for the theme and attempts to explore the ambivalence of filial and the authority of the paternity by means of the revenge and father's death mourning acts. Laertes, Hamlet and Fortinbras problems channel the attitudes of Elizabeth on the power succession as well as submission through their won independence's forgery by their fathers' distinct voices.

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Laertes and Hamlet, both sons, have a disempowered feeling and otherwise marginalized by an existing obligation of the filial system to restore the images in the decree's pursuit of their fathers: "in all things, we will show our duty" (I, ii, 40). To compare this with the filial duty global command, they both make a choice to be in a mourning state as they develop their father's god-like images that reflect incorrect representations of their dead fathers. "Although Hamlet and Laertes attempt to avenge their fathers' deaths in accordance with the codes of their fathers' courts, it becomes evident that this pursuit of revenge is misaligned to the 'special providence' that Hamlet Identifies to Horatio before the duel and the Christian forgiveness that Hamlet and Laertes exchange in the moments before they succumb to their own deaths" (Drewry 1). Justin Dwery claims that "final act of forgiveness shows the son's discovery of his own philosophies rather than Continuing to follow the revenge codes set forth by the father" in his examination of son and father relationship (Drewry 1).

Laertes is finally advised by Polonius, "to thine own self-be true," which sounds as a strong statement as the first play's advice (I, iii, 81). This leads to an inquiry of the common, although perplexing, inquiry of all works done by Shakespeare; the true meaning of one's self. Later, the advice by the father is not heeded to by Laertes, who opts to clinch to Claudius, who shows vengeance as the allowed mourning forms which the court sanctions. "As a father, Polonius neglects his Responsibility because he does not command proper paternal authority, and his son feels obliged to establish his own command through revenge after Polonius' murder. Moreover, Laertes' perceived expectations of his father are completely nullified, as are his own actions against Hamlet. Both Hamlet and Laertes construct these false perceptions in a pattern that is similar to their idealizations of their fathers" (Drewry 2). An encounter with Hamlet with divine self-becomes even more palpable. In as much as, he is unable to gain again the father and son relationship physical possession, Hamlet discovers his father's voice in provided divine form. Hamlet says, "O, 'tis most sweet/ When in one line two crafts directly meet" (III, IV, 214-15). Claims are made by Justin Drewry that Hamlets understands the two "crafts" as the father in Christianity power and the father on earth who had assumed a heavenly position recently, which can be conquered to (Drewry 2).

Some researchers have made suggestions that the Laertes and Fortinbras's dramatic significance of, to their father's relation and to Hamlet was to act as a Hamlet's parallel and foil. There is confirmation this suggestion by Irving Ribner: "Fortinbras' situation is parallel to that of Hamlet. His uncle rules Norway, although he is the dead king's son and heir, and he feels the burden of restoring to Norway the lands that have been lost, just as Hamlet feels the burden of avenging his father" (Ribner 87). However Ribner lays emphasis on the parallelism aspect, there are stressing by Bradley on powerful character- for the dual Laertes and Fortinbras - disclosing their "possess in abundance the very quality which the hero seems to lack, so that, as we read, we are tempted to exclaim that either of them would have accomplished Hamlet's task in a day" (Bradley 70). According to Harold Jenkins's analysis, he makes observations from the responsibility of Fortinbras on attempts to undergo a transition as the plays works action itself out (Jenkins 95). Unlike other scholars, he does not consider Fortinbras to be a complete and consistent character. Jenkins has faith that the issue of Fortinbras' transformation has an advantage of small evaluation. And since both responsibilities of Fortinbras and Laertes will be discovered to have impinged each other, Fortinbras consideration must be comprised of even Laertes (Jenkins 95). Nonetheless, it is not arguable that the characters of Fortinbras and Laertes are different to those of Hamlet in many distinct ways, it can be concluded that all the three sons have compliments rather than opposition towards each other.

Conclusion

The play Hamlet by Shakespeare makes an emphasis of the centrality of the son on account of the father thus strives and struggles for the ideal of the father. He illustrates how it matters and the relationship between the father who is the king alongside the son as a prince when Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father Old King Hamlet, who had died an unnatural death and his mother remarried to his uncle in a month's time. The relationship matters as his father's ghost urge and seeks his son to take revenge against his death. On account of the implications of the history of Elizabethan culture power negotiation, it accounts for a significant impact that this specific father-son change would be discovered as a result of the effect of the inherent nature. Shakespeare makes illustration by understanding the problems and challenges in the society since life was very generally different for normal Elizabethans. He does this paying attention to the gender and status depicted socially, therefore portraying a strong reflection to cause transformation in a universal manner.

References

Bradley, A.C. Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. St. Martin's Press, 1956

Drewry, & Justin A. Hamlet's Fathers: An Analysis of Paternity and Filial Duty in Shakespeare's Hamlet. MA Thesis, North Carolina State University, 2004.Jenkins, H. "Fortinbras and Laertes and the Composition of Hamlet." Renaissance Studies in Honor of Carroll Camden, vol. 60, no. 2, 1974, pp. 95-108.

Ribner, I. Patterns in Shakespearian Tragedy. Methuen, 1971 https://repository.lib.ncsu.edu/handle/1840.16/68. Accessed 8 Feb. 2017

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Edited by Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen. The Royal Shakespeare Company, 2008.