Essay, Research Paper: Hamlet Foreshadowing

An example of foreshadowing is when Hamlet’s father came to him as a ghost to inform him of his murder, this caused a rage within Hamlet that foreshadows his revenge. This revenge led to the death of his uncle, mother, and himself. It also created Hamlet’s wild behavior, and caused him possibly to become insane..
Another example is Hamlet’s sudden unusual behavior toward Ophelia, which foreshadows a fatal outcome for the two lovers. His treatment toward Ophelia was so horrible and devastating that it caused her great pain. After the death of her father she went crazy and ended up killing (drowning) herself.
I also liked the quote by Marcellus “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” (I, IV) My interpretation of this quote is the smell of death is in the air. This is an evil or tragic death. Which leads the reader (audience) to believe that someone is going to die. In the case of Hamlet, many people died a tragic death.
Another worthy quote is in (II, II) When Hamlet says, “A dream is nothing but a shadow.” I feel that Shakespeare is saying that sometimes it’s hard to determine the difference between what is real and not real. Your dreams are merely a shadow in your mind.
The most obvious between Gertrude and Ophelia is their love for Hamlet. But if you look deeper into the two women, it is as if they felt they couldn’t survive without a man in their lives. Ophelia needed the love of Hamlet and her father. Without both of their love she went insane. Whereas, Gertrude felt she needed the love of Hamlet’s Uncle Claudius . She knew that it bothered Hamlet, her being married to the man that killed his father. Her need for the love of a man destroyed her son and everyone around him.


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