Hamlet - Act 1, Scene 4 Flashcards
“Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn’d” / “Be thy intents wicked or charitable”
Anaphoric Repetition / Tri-partite of antithesis
Creates a sense of ambiguity surrounding the ghost due to the contrast created. Shows the ghost’s intentions are unclear whether it is perceived to be good. Trying to understand the ghosts intentions.
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”
Motif of corruption, nature is seen to be decaying
AO3 : BODY POLITIK - emphasises the corruption and Machiavellian of Claudius.
“List, list, O List! If thou didst ever thy dear father love”
Repetition. Manipulative trait from the ghost. Paradoxical and ironic considering the ghost has sinned and is asking Hamlet to commit the ultimate sin to avenge him.
“May sweep to my revenge”
Proleptic Irony. Initial reaction is one of obligation. Symbolic of Hamlet’s harmartia. Later ironic as he doesn’t act upon it emphasising his procrastination.
“A serpent stung me” / “The serpent that did sting thy fathers life”
Hellish imagery / Biblical allusion to the garden of Eden in the book of genesis. Presents Claudius as evil. The repetition of “serpent” emphasises the corruption of Claudius and the setting of Denmark is compared to Eden.
“Let not the royal bed of Denmark be a couch for luxury and damned incest”
Metaphor. Emphasises the corruption of Claudius.
AO3 : Body Politik.
“O most pernicious woman!” / “O villain, villain, smiling damned villain!”
Repeated opostrophe / exclamatives. Shows Hamlets loss of control and how he is unhinged. Presents his mother as duplicitous. Presents his fixation on his mother.
“These are but wild and whirling words, my lord”
Alliteration. Emphasises how Hamlet is becoming gradually more unhinged and untamed (perceived).
“Antic disposition”
Shows Hamlet to be planning ahead. Acts in strange ways to hide his intentions (clever). Wants to uncover Claudius’ secrets.
“Drinking, fencing, swearing, quarrelling, drabbing”
Asyndetic listing. The listing of dishonourable traits shows the male hypocrisy and the difference between male and female representation. Parallels Ophelia where she cannot abjure to anything that may dishonour her. Shows the double standards at the time.
“What was I about to say” / “I was about to say something”
Archetypal Shakespearean fool. Seen as verbose and idiotic. His words are unnecessary and extensive to show he is trying to be perceived as intelligent but rather comes across as foolish.
