1. Satyr/Hercules/Nemean Lion
These 3 are Greek mythology allusions. The satyr is used to describe the relationship between his dead father and his uncle. Since a satyr is less than a God and the King is the "satyr", Hamelt is saying that his father was greater than his uncle will ever be. He is using the same concept when speaking of Hercules except he is then comparing his self to his father. His reference to the Nemean Lion is about the courage he had because the Nemean Lion was a monster that went up against Hercules.
2. Julius Caesar
Horatio compares the omen of the ghost as the omens that happened before the assassination of Julius Caesar. He sees the ghost as being an omen to violence and turmoil for Denmark. This has to be foreshadowing in some sense.
3. Religious Allusions
The story of Cain and Abel is an allusion to what we know so far in Hamlet. Cain wanted to kill his brother, more than likely of jealousy, just as the King killed his brother. It has not yet been revealed why the King killed his brother.
Personal Reaction: After going over the story in class I began to understand the story much better. Reading through the 1st time I could not really understand what was happening and did not know who the characters were. I predict that the ghost is not truly the old king and that it will deceive everyone causing the tragedy in the end.
I agree with your perdiction about the ghost not being the real king. I also agree with the religious allusion of Cain and Able, the fighting between two siblings for power is a recurring theme I think through a lot of literature.
ReplyDeleteI really like your Cain and Abel allusion too. I also kind of wonder what exactly will happen for Claudius, because we know how well that turned out for Cain in the bible (he got banished and cursed by god). Because of Shakespeare's other tragedies, we know this one wont end well for anybody. But I defiantly predict it will be a a horrible ending for Claudius.
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