Aspects of Life in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark and Trifles Essay

Aspects of Life in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark and Trifles In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, the protagonist, Hamlet, has arrived â€Å"from his university studies to find Claudius, his uncle, ruling Denmark and married to his mother, Gertrude. Her remarriage within two months of his father’s death has left Hamlet disillusioned, confused, and suspicious about Claudius† (DiYanni 1394). These types of crimes do not only happen in a person’s imagination, or in a made-up play, but also in our society today. Our society is just as immoral as Claudius and Gertrude. On the other hand, in Susan Gaspell’s contemporary play, Trifles, women are strong in character, protective of one another, and in charge of the situation, unlike Gertrude. Therefore, both Shakespeare and Gaspell have similar aspects of portrayal of the role of women, murder, and loyalty; and different aspects such as incest, suicide, and revenge. First, in the play, Hamlet, the males are depicted as dominant, strong, and rational; and the females are portrayed by opposing traits such as passive, accepting, hesitant, frail, and emotional. For instance, Hamlet referring to his mother as â€Å"Frailty, thy name is woman!† (I.ii.146) means that women are images of weakness, that women are weak-minded, easily led, and have no strength of character. To Hamlet, his mother's action of remarrying so quickly after her husband’s death to her brother-in-law, is a proof of her frailty. In today’s society, people also marry within the family thinking that there is nothing wrong with this scenario. However, this aspect discussed in the play cause great controversy because many people think that as long as there is love it does not matter who a person marries... ...h ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. 1394. Driver, Tom. The sense of history in Greek and Shakespearean drama.2nd ed. New York: Columbia University Press. 1961. Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 5th ed. Ed. Robert DiYanni. New York: McGraw-Hill. 2002. 1616-26. O'Dell, Nick. â€Å"Same-sex marriages open door to consensual incest, polygamy.† 8 Oct. 2003. . Shakespeare, William. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 5th ed. Ed. Robert DiYanni. New York: McGraw-Hill. 2002. 1394-1496. Suicide Prevention Website. Texans for Gun Safety. 2003. 06 Apr. 2004. . The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments. King James. Barbour Books. Uhrichsville: Ohio, 2002.