A Summary and Interpretation of Hamlet, by William Shakespeare

**This is another paper I did for school. This was written for British Lit my sophomore year at PBC.**

Summary. Hamlet is a tragic play composed in the years 1600 or early 1601, and published in the year 1603 (Spencer 307). Shakespeare opens the play with an immediate introduction to a ghostly figure stalking the palace grounds of Denmark. The ghost is the late King of Denmark. With numerous failed attempts of getting the ghost to speak, the men witnessing this sight wonder about the meaning of this visitation.
The ghost, the late king, is Hamlet’s father. When the apparition appears it had been two months since his death. At this same point, Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, marries the widowed queen. When Hamlet’s father died, Claudius took over the throne. Hamlet is found among his uncle, his mother, and a group of courtiers in the next scene of the play. The newly crowned king and Hamlet’s mother are convincing him to stay in Denmark instead of returning to school in Wittenburg. The reader gets a sense of Hamlet’s true feelings about the marriage once the crowd exits. He is troubled by his uncle and mother’s marriage, and refers to the union as incest (Ham.1.2.).
Hamlet’s thoughts are interrupted with the entrance of the men who witnessed the ghost’s appearance. The men then reveal information about the ghostly sightings to the young prince. When Hamlet hears about the apparition, he decides to confront it himself. He believes that this appearing of his father is a sign of bad things- “My father’s spirit in arms! All is not well; / I doubt some foul play: would the night were come! / Til then sit still, my soul: foul deeds will rise, / Though all the earth o’erwhelm them, to men’s eyes” (Ham.1.2.). It is in this confrontation that the ghost reveals to Hamlet’s ears that he was murdered by King Claudius- “Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother’s hand, / Of life, of crown, or queen, at once dispatched” (1.4.). Thus begins the main plot of Hamlet.
Throughout the rest of the story Hamlet fakes madness contemplating how and when would be best to kill his uncle who committed the murder. All believe he has gone mad. Ophelia, Hamlet’s love, is badly mistreated in the midst of his plot. He tells her- “You should have not believ’d [sic] me; for virtue cannot so inoculate / our old stock but we shall relish of it: I loved you not” (Ham.3.1.). He also tells her to go join a convent to refrain from marrying with the traitorous men of Denmark (3.1.). His fits lead him to conduct a play causing the conviction of his uncle. He also accidentally murders a man when confronting his mom about the incestuous, deceitful relationship between her and his uncle. Is it genius or really madness?
In the end, the theme of tragedy becomes a reality. Hamlet escapes death at the hands of his uncle by condemning two other men, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to their deaths instead of taking the blade himself. Polonius, Ophelia and Laertes’ father, was the man Hamlet accidentally killed in his fit. Ophelia then goes mad and accidentally kills herself in her insanity. Laertes returns to mourn his father’s death and ends up mourning his sister’s as well. He finds out Hamlet is the cause and challenges him to a duel. Hamlet’s uncle plots with Laertes on how to make the duel a permanent loss for Hamlet. This plot goes extremely wrong, however. The king plots to poison Hamlet by drink. Unfortunately, the queen drinks instead and agonizingly dies. Laertes dips the tip of his weapon in poison saying, “I will do’t [sic]: / And for that purpose I’ll anoint my sword. / I bought an unction of a mountebank / So mortal that, but dip a knife in it, / Where it draws blood no cataplasm so rare, / Collected from all simples that have virtue / Under the moon, can save the thing from death / that is but scratched withal. I’ll touch my point / With this contagion, that if I gall him slightly / It may be death” (Ham.4.7.). He does cut Hamlet to infect him, but a sudden twist of events causes Hamlet to also cut Laertes with the same sword. Laertes before breathing his last breath confesses the plot to Hamlet: “It is here, Hamlet. Hamlet, thou art slain; / No medicine in the world can do thee good; / In thee there is not half an hour of life. / The treacherous instrument is in thy hand, / Unbated and envenomed. The foul practice / Hath turned itself on me; lo, here I lie, / Never to rise again: Thy mother’s poisoned: / I can no more:-- the king, the king’s to blame” (5.2.). Before Hamlet dies, he takes his revenge by stabbing his uncle with the poisoned sword and forcefully causing him to drink the rest of the poison drink. Thus ends Shakespeare’s great tragedy- Hamlet.

Interpretation. Hamlet is indeed a great tragedy written by the hand of one of the greatest authors that ever lived. Spencer says "No comparable work of art has been so much discussed as this tragedy" (305). One would readily admit the greatness of this work. Shakespeare reveals the ideal of tragedy by utilizing and illustrating five main themes- the supernatural, revenge, madness, conscience, and divine providence. These various themes keep the reader interested in every scene.
The play begins with an air of tragedy by utilizing the theme of the supernatural. It begins gloomily with the quick introduction of a ghostly figure stalking the grounds of Denmark. The night is cold and dark. There is a slight fog rolling in. The ghost appears. He slowly and gloomily walks around the ground. The men spot him. He won’t talk- just stares. These images from the first scene so well decorate the rest of the play in tragedy. It is gloomy and dark. The supernatural world is at work. “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (Ham.1.4.).
The next utilization of theme to reveal tragedy is the theme of revenge. Hamlet is known as a revenge tragedy. The whole play centers on a Prince’s plot to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet is fulfilling his “sacred duty” to his father but plotting vengeance on his uncle as the ghost reveals in the beginning (Spencer 314). Revenge is the whole center of the play. Hamlet, as seen in another one of the plays themes, feigns madness in order to distract from his plotting revenge. His conscience, another theme, helps display the true purpose of the young prince- revenge. The whole entire play is the story of revenge for a death of a most beloved king and father.
Madness is another theme Shakespeare utilizes for his tragic air. The way Shakespeare uses this madness gives the air of tragedy. He has Hamlet fake madness in order to disguise the plot of revenge commanded by the ghost. Hamlet’s “madness” sends him to scare the people he loves- Ophelia and his Mother. Ophelia is mistreated in a fit. She is put out to trap Hamlet and he yells and rants about how he does not love her. His mother gets the brunt of Hamlet’s feigned madness in a confrontation in her bed chamber. He does inform his mother it is a fake madness, but the damage is already done. One, however, is assumed to not fall for his fake madness. Holzknecht claims Claudius did not accept the idea of madness. “Claudius and Polonius, in hiding, watch the encounter between Hamlet and Ophelia, with the result that Claudius is convinced that love is no cause of Hamlet's melancholy. He evens doubts that it is madness At all, scents danger to himself, and resolves that "madness in great ones must not unwatch'd go” (Holzknecht 334). Ophelia too goes mad, but her madness is not faked. She loses all her senses when her father dies by the hand of Hamlet. Her insanity leads her to death. Madness is used to severely hurt people emotionally and physically. Therefore, the theme of madness is an aid to tragedy.
The next theme to reveal tragedy is that of conscience. Conscience seems to be the undoing of the whole plot of both Hamlet and Claudius. Hamlet is uncertain about the ghost’s real message. He cannot kill his uncle if the ghost is really a demon. Spencer and Joseph point out the belief in demonic possession of humans and recently dead spirits during the time period of Hamlet (Spencer 315 and Joseph 32-35). He uses the play “Mousetrap” to catch the true conscience of the king. Joseph does an excellent job in showing this idea in his book, Conscience and the King. He argues the play is to catch the conscience of the king (Joseph 74). That is exactly what Hamlet does. The king’s conscience is also revealed in the midst of the play. He goes in a fit during the play showing his uneasiness. The next scene, Claudius is seen praying because of his guilt of his brother’s murder. He does indeed have a conscience. This is also where Hamlet hesitates taking his revenge because of Claudius’ prayers. Spencer says, “The Prince postpones his vengeance, not because he is weak, but because he is strong enough to wait till he can make it complete" (Spencer 315). The belief was that when one prayed and confessed they were clean and could go to heaven, but if the person was not confessed at the time of murder then he would go to hell (Spencer 315). Holzkneck claims that the play gives away each of the men’s secrets to the other (Holzknecht 335). Because Hamlet was successful in revealing the king’s conscience, his revenge was put off. Because Hamlet was too outright in the play’s design, the king now knows Hamlet’s mind.
The last theme in the outworking of tragedy is that of divine providence. The idea of divine providence is that each character gets what he deserves. Revenge is achieved and punishment is dealt. Hamlet plots during the whole play to conduct revenge against his uncle’s sin of murder. In order for this to be achieved, Hamlet has to kill his uncle but also ends up killing another man. Therefore, in the end he not only achieves his purpose in punishing his uncle, but he is too punished by Laertes. The queen gets her seeming punishment by also losing her life. Lastly, Laertes in his sinful plot dies as his punishment. So, another tragic event- everyone dies per divine providence. Something was at work to make this whole scene occur. Could it be God? Is His hand somehow at work? Whether Shakespeare was revealing God’s hand in this play or not is uncertain, but what is certain is each character seems to get a punishment of death.
Hamlet is a great play of tragedy. It has the supernatural, revenge, madness, conscience, and divine providence. The air of tragedy is all throughout the play thanks to the wise hand of William Shakespeare. It seems Spencer is correct in his reasoning’s of Hamlet’s popularity. He says- “this play has everything” (306). One of the greatest authors of all time created a masterpiece in his great revenge tragedy, Hamlet.



Works Cited
Spencer, Hazelton The Art and Life of William Shakespeare. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1940. Print.
Joseph, Bertram. Conscience and the King. London: Chatto and Windus, 1953. Print.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Lexington: Cricket House Books, 2010. Print.
Holzknecht, Karl J. The Backgrounds of Shakespeare's Plays. New York: America Book Company, 1950. Print.

The Millennial Kingdom

**This is my research paper I did for Biblical Interpretation 2 my sophomore year at PBC.**

The thought of Christ being in rule on earth is amazing. Even more amazing is the thought that all nations will know and understand who He is. Is it really possible that Phillipians 2:10-11 would come true? “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10-11). The Jews were offered this kingdom at another point in time, but they rejected it. This time will not be rejected when it comes to the dispensation of the Millennial Kingdom. This is the period of time in which Christ will rule on earth for one thousand years. Dr. Keith Bailey, a pastor and the editor of Christian Publications, calls this time period- “the most blessed age in human history” (Bailey 146 ).
Before one can discuss anything about a specific dispensation, one needs to understand introductory ideas on dispensationalism. Dr. Charles C. Ryrie, best-selling author of many theological books, gives excellent descriptions and definitions of dispensationalism in his book. Dispensationalism is the adherence to a literal hermeneutic or interpretation of the Bible, the separation of Church and Israel, and the doxological purpose of scripture (Ryrie 45-48). One of the key features in dispensationalism is the idea of different dispensations or ages throughout time (29-30). Each of these seven dispensations is classified by a test, failure, and a judgment (39-41). For example, the test in the beginning was to not eat of the fruit. The failure was the eating of that fruit. The judgment was expulsion from the garden (59). Each and every dispensation holds to this pattern. If a period in question does not have these three ingredients, then it is not a dispensation. The seven dispensations most dispensationalists hold to are innocence, conscience, patriarchal rule, human government, Mosaic law, grace, and kingdom (58-65). The kingdom is indeed the 1,000 year reign of Christ (64-65).
There are many different views about the Millennial Kingdom and the aspects of this time period. Dr. Bailey points this ideal out in his book, Christ’s Coming and His Kingdom. He also takes the time to mention at least two views. One view is the Amillenialist view which he describes as the belief that the current church age is the millennium. The other is the common view and it is that the millennium is a thousand years that will take place after Christ’s second coming (Bailey 146). The latter view is what most dispensationalists would hold to. It is believed that the Millennial Kingdom will start after the Battle of Armageddon (Bailey 145-46). Revelation 20:1 says, “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled:” (Rev. 20:1-3a).” This shows two key aspects of the Millennium. First, that Satan will be bound at the start of the Millennium which chapter nineteen says is the end of the battle- “And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh” (Rev. 19:21). It also shows what will happen at the end of the millennium- the loosing of Satan. The verse goes on to say- “and after that he must be loosed a little season” (Rev. 20:3b). Bailey says, “This [loosening] will test the profession of man” (Bailey 164). Another key aspect of the Millennium is that many will come to know Christ which Bailey alludes to in this quote. He also goes on to state this ideal (Bailey 164). A fourth key aspect of the Millennium is that Christians will be ruling with Christ during this time (Bailey 154). Bailey uses Revelation 5:9-10 to prove this ideal (Bailey 154). Lastly, an aspect of the Millennium is that this time of peace and ruling of Christ will be done through Jerusalem as the capital (Otis 59). In conclusion, Ryrie attest to the test, failure, and judgment of this age. The test is will God’s people accept and remain faithful. The failure is that some will still refuse him. The judgment is the Great White Throne preceding this time (Ryrie 64-65).
Many could attest to the Millennium as being a favorite dispensation. A lot could hold to the aspects mentioned before as contributors. The main reason is because many will come to know Christ because of his holy presence on earth. Otis, founder of a Christian ministry known as High Adventure Ministries, reiterates the acceptance of the kingdom and king by the Jews in his book (Otis 81-83). The fact that the hard-heartened Jews will accept Him seems amazing. The other fact that hard-heartened Gentiles also come to accept the Lord is also amazing. One could look at the world today and find this impossible- that’s what makes this ideal so amazing! Another reason this period could be a favorite is that there is so much uncertainty about this time period. Otis says, “It is a strange paradox that enlightened man, even at the turn of this millennium is so poorly informed about this looming age” (Otis 26). He gives a solution that many seem to fail to heed and even one who does heed could still be left with confusion because one does not take the time to really research the ideals. He says to simply look to God for the unknown (Otis 35-36). He states- “The Bible authenticates itself” (Otis 37). One could still be left with uncertainty, however. The key fact to remember is that there are some things one will never know until God directly reveals it. One final factor could be that this is indeed the last dispensation. There may be some that this ideal causing fascination and favoritism. After this dispensation, God’s creation can finally live at peace with Him as was his original purpose.
The Millennium is a fascinating time period. It is a dispensation where Christ will finally be in rule and where Revelation 20 will come true. There will be an end to the cycle of dispensations for this is the last dispensation. The ones who will accept Christ will finally accept Him and those that still reject will be cast off to their judgment. There may be confusion in dealing with this period but one thing is certain- it is a time looked to with great anticipation.




Works Cited
Bailey, Keith M. Christ’s Coming and His Kingdom. Pennsylvania: Christian Publications, 1999. Print.
KJV Reference Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994. Print.
Otis, George Sr. Millenium: The 1000 Year Reign of King Jesus. Oklahoma: Albury Publishing, 2000. Print.
Ryrie, Charles C. Dispensationalism. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1977. Print.

Getting Old

I joke constantly that I am old or getting old. I just celebrated my 20th birthday. Wow. I feel old. LoL. In all reality, 20 is not old. It's quite young, actually. I have purpose in my funny expressions, though. All I have to do is look around my church and "man! i'm old!" I see kids I taught or held as babies and preschoolers that are beginning their teenage years! What is this world coming to? LoL. It's amazing to think that people I was friends with or was associated with now have three year old kids. Time is an amazing thing. I also look down and see my brother who is only five years younger than me getting to drive and thinking logically. Wow. I can look back and start saying, "When I was a kid..." It amazes me. It makes me laugh. It makes me say things like I'm old when really I'm only 20. I love it. Now, although I can look and see all these people and events and say I'm old, I can also look ahead and say- "I'm young!" In reality, there is so much more I haven't been through. There are more lessons to learn, more kids to see grow up, more experiences to go through, and more heartache to face. I may have already experienced alot but it's not over. There is so much more. I am in fact just getting older. There are people that look at me and think I am dumb because they have been through so much more. I think I'm old now- let's look back in 20 more years and see what I think then. LoL. I love getting older. I love being "old" and look forward to getting to be "old."

Storms

Storms are all different. Some are sudden, some are short, some are long, and some are barelyrecognizable. You can have multiple storms at thesame time. Anything can be a storm to you. Confused?I'm not talking about weather storms. I'm talking about "Christian" storms. These are the times where a Christian's faith and loyalty are tested. I hate storms. More than the storm itself, I hate when I fail. I'm going through a couple of storms right now, but one is about to be my undoing. It's a five-year storm. I don't care anymore it seems. I'm tired of rollar coasters. I want to be right with God at all times. Thing is- this is impossible. My storm is helping drives these ideas along to where- i'm in Bible college, but there's no benefit. I'm not letting it benefit me. I came here to grow. I'm not. I want to be a good Christian- on my way to heaven, witnessing, doing right, and training to lead others. I'm so far from that. I know I'm a Christian. The Bible says, "Whosoever shall call upon the name ofthe Lord, shall be saved." I've done that. Thoughmy actions cause doubt- I've called, therefore I'm saved. Next problem- I don't feel saved. I know I love because I couldn't not love him and hate disappointing him. It wouldn't make sense. Just likeI hate hurting Matt because I love him. My idea is I hate hurting and I hate hurting him. I don't deserve his help and even if he does help me and I change it won't be for long- what is the point? My error- it is worse to be at odds with him my whole life than slipping up every once in a while. At the end, if I am at odds then I've done nothing for him with right motivations. If I strive to do right, and slip up- I'm just human. I need to get right with my Lord. I need to strive to serve him. Until I'm right with him, my storm will just get worse. I will continue to fail, continue to hurt, and continue to hurt others. Storms are torture, but a life apart from Him is far worse.

"I was sure by now God you would have reached down And wiped our tears away Stepped in and saved the day But once again, I say “Amen”, and it’s still raining
As the thunder rollsI barely hear Your whisper through the rain“I’m with you” And as You mercy falls I raise my hands and praise the God who gives And takes away
I’ll praise You in this storm And I will life my hands For You are who You are No matter where I am Every tear I’ve cried You hold in Your hand You never left my side And though my heart is torn I will praise You in this storm
I remember when I stumbled in the wind You heard my cry You raised me up again My strength is almost gone How can I carry on If I can’t find You
As the thunder rolls I barely hear You whisper through the rain“I’m with you” And as Your mercy falls I raise my hands and praise the God who gives And takes away
I lift my eyes unto the hills Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord The Maker of Heaven and Earth" (Praise You in this Storm- Casting Crowns)

WoL Testimony

this is a testimony i typed out for the Word of Life Ministry...

Word of Life has had such an impact on my life. God has used this program to mold and shape desires in me. My name is Kristina. I grew up for the most part of my life participating in Patch the Pirate Programs. In my fifth grade year my church decided they wanted to make a switch to the Word of Life Program. I was devastated. I loved the program we were already doing. For the first two years, I didn’t allow myself to enjoy the program. Once I entered the teens, however, this frame of mind changed. I loved Word of Life. I especially loved the Teens Involved Ministry. I have always loved competition and this gave me a chance to compete in areas outside of school. I was involved in each category I could be- drama, puppets, piano, poetry, choir, and eventually teaching. I had always wanted to be a teacher and Word of Life helped me begin building towards that goal and I saw I had a talent for it. I loved it. I am currently training at Piedmont Baptist College in Winston-Salem, NC. You’ll never guess what my major is—elementary education! I am going to be a teacher. This is not all, however. My youth pastor left in the middle of my senior year. I continued to participate in Teens Involved, but I, in effect, left the youth group to begin ministering in the gopher buddies program of Word of Life. This change also impacted my life. My freshmen year of college I joined back up with the gopher buddies as my ministry. This year was a great experience for me and God opened my eyes to the wonders of preschool age children. I am now, thanks to the Word of Life program, working to gain two degrees in a four year time-span. The first is still a Bachelors in Elementary Education, and the other is an Associates in Early Childhood Education. I accredit this decision to God’s working through the Word of Life ministry. I hope to continue working in this ministry for the rest of my life as I watch “my kids” be impacted for Christ as well.

My Teaching "Philosophy"

I have mentioned many times my goals and ideas about teaching or being a teacher. My reason for wanting to be a teacher is to inspire kids to make a difference in the world. In that, I can do my part making a difference in the world as well which is one of my main goals in my life. My salutatorian speech in high school was based on our class verse- "And having compassion, making a difference." This is how I look at teaching. I love kids. I am compassionate towards children. I want to make a difference in their lives. I can't prevent everything, but there are some things God can help me to prevent or just to be a help in my students' lives. My idea is to be a Christian school teacher. I have seen so many people come out of a Christian school and I seem to "scratch my head" in wonder at how these kids are the way they are coming out of a Christian school. In the end, it's not the school but the heart of the child. I know I can't change all, but if I can impact the hearts of some I'll feel as though I did accomplish something. I look forward to teaching. My teaching philosophy is simply- Have compassion and make a difference!

Summer '10

Sad to say but in about a week or so I will be heading back off to school. Well, who am I kidding? I'm not going "off" but I will be starting back. So, I wanted to go ahead and do my summer reflection now so that when I get even busier I will have done it still. LoL. Anyways. This summer has been crazy. I figured starting the summer that it would be alot different. I would'nt have that spiritual high like I did at camp those many years past. Well, I did have a spiritual high this summer. The Lord used a sin to get my attention. I will not share specifics because I am still so ashamed and you don't need specifics anyway. Just know that something I did God used in such a marvelous way that I did grow. Now, trick is keeping it up which I have slipped but I know he forgives me and I'm hoping to stay strong enough to do my part hoping my relationship with him will be stronger than ever by the end of first semester. In other words, New Years. I want my new years resolution this year to be, not necessarily to grow (which it will and should always be), but to stay strong. I'm tired of sinking down to the lowest of lows and then making a false resolution to grow. I want to be strong and become stronger instead of a sudden strong and then a sink. IDK if that makes sense and IDK what that has to do with summer. HaHa. Anyways. I have struggled and grown and learned all summer long. Healthwise I dealt with cyst which are still a problem but hopefully all will be ok. Grown as far as spiritual but am starting to slip so hopefully I can halt the slipping and get back to the growing. And learned as far as my job situation. It's been crazy so far financially this summer. My job has been no help and I'm farther away from buying a car than I was last summer. Mostly because I am indeed paying for my own college with a small monthly assistance from my father. It's not enough though, especially when your working 14 hrs a week when you could be pulling 40 hrs. But it's all good. It gave me the push I needed to get my name out to other companies and stores and even the registers..haha. So summer is ending but I want to leave on a positive note. I am trying to grow- PBC is calling. Chapels and multiple more opportunities to hear his word and learn more about Him. I am determined to become what He wants. It's gonna be hard, but I know if I strive to do my part He'll do his and help me. I'll miss the summer, but I look forward to what's ahead in a few wks although it does me, PAPERS!! haha.