Impossibility of Certainty in Hamlet

The Impossibility of Certainty in Hamlet â€Å"Doubt is that state of mind where the questioner faces no single answer nor the lack of one, but rather a choice between a pair of alternatives. † – Harry Levin in The Question of Hamlet It is appropriate that William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is regarded as the Bard’s greatest dramatic enigma, for misunderstanding is the unavoidable condition of Hamlet’s quest for certainties. Not only is Hamlet bewildered by puzzling visions and by commands seemingly incapable of fulfillment, but he is also the victim of misinterpretation by those around him.The dying Hamlet urges the honest Horatio to â€Å"report me and my cause aright To the unsatisfied†, because none of the characters except for Horatio have caught more than a glimpse of Hamlet’s true situation (V. ii. 371-372). We as an observing audience, hearing the inner thoughts and secret plots of almost every significant character, should remember that we know vastly more than the play’s characters. In Hamlet, we cannot pretend that we are unaware of what happens next or how it all comes out  essay writer prank. This is Shakespeare’s richest source of dramatic irony.However, the characters are faced with rival options: to revenge or not to revenge, whether a Ghost comes from heaven or from hell. It is this doubt, this hesitancy in the face of two possibilities, that is central to Hamlet at every level. Hamlet is a play of misunderstanding and impediment. Its central theme is the elusiveness of knowledge and certainty. From the very first scene, the play establishes uncertainty through the interrogative dialogue between Barnado, Francisco, Marcellus, and Horatio: Barnardo: Who’s there? Francisco: Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself Barnardo: Say, what, is Horatio there? Horatio: A piece of him. (I. i. 1-24) Having established a mood of fear and uncertainty, the apparition of the Ghost causes Horati o to declare â€Å"It harrows me with fear and wonder† (I. i. 51). This antithetical placement of words heightens the paranormal and eerie setting of the play. The â€Å"portentous† Ghost acts as an omen for what is to come (I. i. 121). The seemingly extravagant monologue where Claudius appeals to his subjects to accept the validity of his marriage to Gertrude hints that the new King is putting on a facade. Read more about Dramatic CriticismClaudius uses many oxymoronic phrases to try and reconcile the death of Old Hamlet and Claudius’ subsequent marriage to Gertrude such as, â€Å"With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage† (I. ii. 12). This rhythmically balanced but significantly dissonant sentence serves to highlight that there is something suspect and â€Å"Rotten† in the state of Denmark. Claudius further enforces the idea that nothing can really be trusted. Similarly, the relationship between the actions and internal thought processes of human beings is evident in the scheming Polonius.Polonius is also a man with little integrity capable of great deceit. He tells his son Laertes, â€Å"To thine own self be true† (I. iii. 84). But later Polonius enlists Reynaldo to spy on his son, stating, â€Å"Your bait of falsehood take this Carp of truth† (II. i. 70). This metaphor and the oxymoronic placement of â€Å"falsehood† and â€Å"truthà ¢â‚¬  exemplify the presence of duality in the play. He dismisses Reynaldo saying, â€Å"You have me, Have you not? † (II. i. 75). The uncertainty and lack of trust within the play is reflected in the chiastic syntax of this sentence.Polonius is distrusting of his own servant. The allusions to ancient Greece and Rome throughout Hamlet further support the ideas of duality and deception. Hamlet, in a simile, compares his father to Claudius like â€Å"Hyperion to a Satyr† (I. ii. 144). Hamlet later has the Players recite lines referring to the â€Å"ominous horse† of Troy (II. ii. 479). Polonius makes a reference to Brutus’ betrayal of Julius Caesar (III. ii. 109-110). All three of these references contribute to the duality and deception evident in the play.A Satyr is only half a man, the Trojan horse is heralded as one of the most treacherous and deceitful means of conquest, and Julius Caesar is murdered by people he thought were loyal to him. David Beving ton notes in his commentary on Hamlet that the name Claudius stems from two words. The first is the verb claudo, meaning â€Å"to imprison†. The second is the adjective claudus, meaning â€Å"disabled, wavering, or uncertain† (Bevington). It goes without saying that a character whose name literally means â€Å"uncertain† highlights the theme of doubt that is apparent through the whole play.The arrival of the Players and their presentation of â€Å"The Murder of Gonzago† in Act 3 also demonstrate duplicity within the text. Hamlet modifies the play within a play to have it reflect the murder of his father. This dramatic device conjures up the notion of appearance versus reality. The duality of Claudius, Polonius, and Hamlet demonstrate the lack of certainty and absolute truth within the play. The perpetual search for meaning and questioning of the established order within the play reflects the unattainability of truth and certainty in greater society.Hamlet ’s numerous soliloquies of self-questioning and self-loathing paint an image of a man overcome by excruciating self-observation. Morris Weitz notes that Hamlet’s speeches show signs of existentialism (â€Å"How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world†, I. ii. 137-138), relativism (â€Å"For there is nothing good nor but, but thinking makes it so†, I. ii. 268-270), and moral subjectivism (â€Å"Vicious mole of nature†¦in their birth†¦wherin†¦they are not guilty since nature cannot choose his origin†, I. iv. 27-29).Although the Greek Sophists had dabbled in these concepts, and Socrates had once said, â€Å"The only thing I know is that I know nothing†, this questioning of the societal and philosophical norms of the time was revolutionary and unparalleled (Weitz). The King at the time of Hamlet’s publication was James I, who had affirmed the â€Å"Divine Right of Kings† to rule. At a time when the sovereignty of the Monarchy reigned supreme, Hamlet’s questioning of the afterlife, (â€Å"To be, or not to be†¦what dreams may come†, III. i. 64-74), lamentation at the inequality n the world (â€Å"Th’ Oppressor†¦that patient merit of the unworthy takes†, III. i. 79-82), and rejection of the superiority of Monarchs (â€Å"Our monarchs and outstretched heroes the beggars’ shadows†, II. ii. 282-283), is a testament to the elusiveness of certainty and truth in the play. The themes of duality and deceit and the search for meaning and order are central to the essential message of Hamlet that certainty is unattainable. This duality makes up the entire structure of Hamlet, proving that, â€Å"A double blessing [truly] is a double grace† (I. iii. 58). Works Cited Bevington, David M. Introduction.Twentieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet ; a Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1968. 1-12. Print. Levin, Harry. â€Å"Interrogation, Doubt, Irony: Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis. † The Question of Hamlet. New York: Oxford UP, 1959. 48+. Print. Weitz, Morris. Introduction. Hamlet and the Philosophy of Literary Criticism. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1964. Vii-Xiii. Print. Bibliography Bevington, David M. Introduction. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet ; a Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1968. 1-12. Print. Levin, Harry. Interrogation, Doubt, Irony: Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis. † The Question of Hamlet. New York: Oxford UP, 1959. 48+. Print. Weitz, Morris. â€Å"Hamlet: Philosophy the Intruder. † Shakespeare, Philosophy, and Literature: Essays. Ed. Morris Weitz and Margaret Collins. New Studies in Aesthetics 10. New York: Lang, 1995. 17-33 Weitz, Morris. Introduction. Hamlet and the Philosophy of Literary Criticism. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1964. Vii-Xiii. Print. West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption. † Readings on Hamlet. By Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 1999. 106-11. Print.

Moving to Another Country Essay

Tradition is existing knowledge. A tradition is a group of related ideas that have lasted for a long time. In some cases people have spent that time trying to improve the ideas. We’ll call that a dynamic tradition because it changes over time. In other cases, the focus has been on keeping the tradition exactly the same over time. We’ll call that a static tradition because it does not change. Although these approaches are contradictory, some traditions are mixed. Dynamic traditions are important because they contain some of our best knowledge. Today, they contain only the best ideas any participants have thought of in the whole history of the tradition. I don’t mean they are perfect, but if they missed a good idea, it was despite people’s efforts, not intentional. They do a pretty good job of gathering the best ideas, and keeping those around, and discarding ideas that are discovered to be mistaken. The reason dynamic traditions are especially valuable is the sheer amount of thought, criticism and error correction that has gone into them from many people. Just because traditions contain valuable knowledge doesn’t mean they are always right. Sometimes they aren’t. I shouldn’t defer to traditions just because a lot of smart people didn’t see any way to improve them further. I should defer if I don’t see any way to improve them further. If I make up a new idea, and I don’t see any way to improve it further (in 20 minutes of thought), then it’s not particularly reliable. I could easily have missed something. With a tradition, perhaps thousands of people put in twenty minutes of thought, and some others put in years, so even if I don’t see any way to improve things, and even if I don’t know much about the subject, it has an advantage over just making something up myself. All the knowledge in traditions can be intimidating . And no one has time to carefully and critically go through all the details of all the traditional knowledge they use. That’s OK. But one should bear in mind two things. First, if something goes wrong — if there seems to be a problem — then relying on tradition isn’t good enough. It’s not working, and you’ll need to tweak something or find another tradition. And second, a thoughtful person should critically evaluate some traditions. It’s your choice which, but everyone ought to be good at something and have the experience of trying to improve some knowledge. Everyone should put some serious thought into some area. There isn’t much point to life if I don’t seriously think about some parts of it. In the case of a disagreement, an  appeal to tradition is invalid. The tradition might be wrong and someone thinks it is. To address that disagreement, I have to consider their criticism of the tradition, any alternative ideas they have, and any arguments in favor of the traditional idea, and then try to work out what is true. Traditions containing people’s best ideas of the past won’t always be the best ideas anyone thinks of in the future. The biggest value of traditions is they can often give useful ideas that are not controversial, or starting points which partially solve problems. In a disagreement, although we can’t say, â€Å"This is true because a lot of smart people didn’t see anything wrong with it, and who are you to say they missed something?† the fact that something is a tradition is not irrelevant either. Dynamic traditions have, over the years, faced a lot of criticism. They often already include explanations of why common criticisms of the tradition are mistaken. Major traditions have existing literature that provides arguments and ideas on the subject. This literature can answer many disagreements, which are often made in ignorance. When we find something wrong with a tradition, if at all possible we should improve the tradition, not abandon it. We should seek a way to modify the tradition but also retain existing knowledge. To keep the most existing knowledge, our change should be as small as possible to solve the problem. If we were to start over from scratch, we may avoid the flaw we found, but we’re not perfect and our new ideas will contain other flaws. And new ideas won’t have the benefit of decades or centuries of people trying to find and correct flaws. We should consequently be respectful of tradition even as we find errors in it, and try to improve it with new ideas of our own. Static traditions are different. Although they’ve been around a long time, no one has been trying to find mistakes in them, so they aren’t very useful. Nor are they innocuous. Consider: why does the static tradition still exist? Why didn’t it disappear after its original advocates died? With a dynamic tradition, it’s passed on to the next generation because people find it useful, and teach it. A static tradition, too, must have some mechanism for being passed on. But it canâ€⠄¢t be that people voluntarily learn it due to its usefulness. Because it never changes, and never corrects errors, it’s not very useful. Instead, people must in some way be tricked or fooled into it, or indoctrinated, or forced, or brainwashed. Often they are pressured, and made  to feel bad, sinful or guilty if they do not follow the tradition. But controlling people’s emotions is difficult. Because people are creative and will try to defend themselves, it takes a lot of knowledge to reliably control or manipulate them. Where does that knowledge come from? Static traditions are not actually entirely static. The main ideas, doctrine or dogma is kept constant. But the way of passing it on changes. The more people try to preserve the tradition unchanged, and make sure it will last forever, the more creativity they put into mechanisms for transmitting the tradition to the next generation. All traditions face a selection effect. For a tradition to last, it has to be passed on from older people to younger people. But only so many ideas can be taught to the next generation. Children are only in school, and in their parents’ home, for so many years. The amount of ideas is large, but it’s limited. Only a certain amount of tradition can fit. Only the ones that are better at being passed on will make the cutoff. D ynamic traditions compete by being as useful as possible. Thus the selection effect pushes them to be better and better. They try to be true, and people like the truest ones so much that they teach them to children. Static traditions compete differently. They can’t compete with good ideas directly, so they use other approaches such as manipulating or controlling people. In short, in some way they disable the person’s creativity so he doesn’t realize the tradition is low on useful truth content, and doesn’t think of alternative ideas against which a static tradition can’t compete. The selection effect for static traditions makes them worse, not better. Any static tradition that fails to create a permanent blind spot in the person runs a serious risk that one day he’ll realize it’s not a great tradition and doesn’t have a lot of useful knowledge. And if he realizes that, whether he ever changes his mind or improves himself, what he won’t want to do is teach it to his kids. There will never come a time when his children have some problem or qu estion, and he thinks if he teaches them this tradition it will help them, since he knows it is not useful. Traditions are important because they contain our best knowledge collected over the years. But they can also be dangerous. Static traditions that induce blind spots in people and are useless at everything except getting themselves taught to children. It is up to us to consider which traditions are which.

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words - 1

Strategic Management - Essay Example The intention of this study is the Gulf Agency Company as a worldwide leading supplier of delivery, logistics marine, and solutions tasks in the world market. Since the company started its operations, it has expanded its region coverage to many worldwide customers through the provision of valuable and quality products and services. It is a world number one provider of significant shipping and marine industries in all geographical regions. The GAC provides the promises formulated on the mission statement of the company through the provision of the services that combine expertise and experience within the shipping, logistics and the company solution and marine fields. Great flexibility about the company approach methods used to strategic planning and the concepts of mission, objectives, and goals provide valuable information that gives the overall implementation guidelines about crucial elements of strategic action planning. The strategic of the GAC Company will analyze the goals using three different levels: 1. Strategic is the highest level of the organization, responsible for identifying the company goals and functioning strategic planning. In this level, we will aim at long-term goals. 2. Tactical or middle level is the middle level is responsible for linking the strategic and operational levels, defining tactical goals, and performing tactical planning on the selected goals. 3. Operational or low level is the basis of the planning and is associated to the actual accomplishment of tasks. In this level, operational planning defines the goals of the company. Formulating the Goals To accomplish strategic planning, the method used is the Balanced Score Card (BSC) that describes strategies and manages its execution, linking goals, action, and indicators. The BSC recommend an analysis of goals based on the performance indicators using the four perspectives: Financial Customer Internal Business process Learning and Growth To achieve an established strategic planning we have to implement the strategies at a lower level of the company. This requires the dividing strategic planning into tactical planning that understand and the middle level. In the GAC Company, the tactical goals will recount to issues like shipping, marketing, and training of the staff members. The tactical goals relating to shipping indicate that the company needs to improve its shipping process and products in the market. Therefore, in analyzing of the GAC goals, we will focus on tactical goals related to shipping as the company improvement goals. The actions allow the execut ion on the operational level that is operational processes and products. In the strategic planning, the company needs to define the company goals, the cost, and schedule and quality requirements of the company. In addition, it is vital to plan how to monitor and control the defined goals. In the GAC Company, the control of the goals depends on the shipping measures; thus, the company needs to plan how to measure their shipping processes and products. Defining and monitoring strategically aligned the GAC improvement goals. Figure 1: Adapted from Babar, Product-Focused Software Process Improvement Depending on the defined indicators, it can be

Issues of Our Times International Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Issues of Our Times International - Essay Example In this paper I will be examining the MDGs in terms of success or progress, success stories and failures with the aim drawing the lessons learnt. In the MDGs the world identified eight major challenges facing nations of the world especially in the developing world and embarked on an ambitious plan to reduce if not eliminate them. Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger across the world, achieving universal primary education and promoting gender equality and empowering women for the f8irst three MDGs. Significant progress has been seen in this area as by 2012 the world targets had been achieved. Reducing the rates of child mortality and improving maternal health care are two goals that still require a lot of effort especially in the poorest nations. The last three goals i.e. ensuring environmental sustainability, fighting diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and others, and developing global partnerships for development are the other goals on which some remarkable progress has been made but more is required in order to meaningfully influence lives. On a larger perspective and basing on available statistics, there has been some significant progress overall but with the 2015 deadline just around the corner the world may miss on the targets in some of the goals. In the first goal of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, the goal was set at halving the proportion persons living on $1.25 and below around the world. The target was achieved in 2008 mostly as a result of rapid economic expansion in the emerging economies of Asia. Persons in extreme poverty as well as poverty rates have gone down in all regions and the working poor have reduced significantly. Attaining universal primary education as a target has also seen significant effort, enrollment stood at 90% in 2010 as compared to 82% in 1999. Though encouraging the rate is slow and the goal may not be attained by 2015.over a half of those children out of school are sub-Saharan Africa,

Anterograde Amnesia in 50 First Dates Movie Review

Anterograde Amnesia in 50 First Dates - Movie Review Example It is proposed that a regular facet of anterograde amnesia is damage to part of an extended hippocampal system that consists of the hippocampus, the fornix, the mammillary bodies, and the anterior thalamic nuclei (Mayes & Downes, 1997). This instigates deficit in the recall of episodic information. The film illustrates that Lucy’s head injury impaired a part of her brain, although details are not explicitly explained. In a review published in the Medical Journal in 2004, According to clinical neuropsychologist Sallie Baxendale (2004), â€Å"it bears no relation to any known neurological or psychiatric condition†. Although dysfunctions in different brain regions can result in anterograde amnesia, the contribution of individual structures and their relationships still remains a matter of uncertainty and debate (Mayes & Downes, 1997). The failure to resolve this central issue is partly due to lack of amnesic subjects with specific patterns of pathology. It may also be due to the complexity of the relationships between those regions contributing to amnesia.Anterograde amnesia â€Å"diminishes between ECT treatments and accumulates across treatments† (Squire & Chace, 1975). It is difficult to identify exactly the point at which new learning ability reaches normal levels. Patients with anterograde amnesia following bilateral ECT in a number of studies seem to have recovered by 6 months after treatment and there is no good evidence that new learning ability is still deficient at this time.

Explain the difference between a change in demand and a change in the Essay

Explain the difference between a change in demand and a change in the quantity demanded. List and discuss at least 5 factors tha - Essay Example Thus the factors that determine demand can broadly be categorized into two categories; price determinants and non-price determinants. Presence of these two distinct determinants of demand gives rise to two different but equally important concepts; change in quantity demanded and change in demand. 1. Change in Quantity Demanded. A change in quantity demanded refers to the variation in consumers’ demand of a commodity due to a change in its price, other factors remaining constant. Thus, the only factor that causes a change in quantity demanded is price. In case of change in quantity demanded there is upward or downward movement along the same demand curve. The change in quantity demanded is depicted in fig 1. As the price falls from p to p1, the quantity demanded increases from q to q1 and there is movement along the same demand curve from A to B. A ‘fall’ or ‘increase’ in quantity demanded due to the change in price is also termed as ‘contraction ’ or ‘extension’ of demand. Fig 1: Change in Quantity Demanded 2. Change in Demand. A change in demand refers to an increase or decrease in demand that is brought about by a change in the other factors, except price. Thus a change in demand is a result of non-price determinants coming into force. ... Unlike, change in quantity demanded, a change in demand entails a shift in the demand curve; either to the left or to the right of the original demand curve. The change in demand is depicted in fig 2. There is an increase in demand when the demand curve shifts from D1 to D2. On the other hand, decrease in demand occurs when the demand curve shifts from D1 to D3. Fig 2: Change in Demand There are numerous non-price determinants of demand that lead to a change in demand. Some of these are discussed below: 2.1 Tastes and Preferences. Tastes and preferences play a pivotal role in shaping the demand for a product or commodity. In fact, the endeavor of any marketer of goods or services is to alter the tastes and preferences of the consumers so that they like the product that is being sold. The tastes and preferences of consumers are affected by numerous factors like advertising, promotions, cultural environment, government reports etc. For example, if the findings of a government funded re search study suggest that ingestion of carbonated drinks like Coke or Pepsi may be harmful to the human body, people may refrain from drinking these products and this may lead to a decrease in demand. 2.2 Prices of related products. There exist products in the market that may be substitutes or complements to the product in question. It is reasonable to expect that the prices of these related products have a bearing on the demand of a particular product. It is worthwhile to mention that if the price of a substitute changes, the demand for the product under consideration moves in the same direction as the change in the substitutes price. For e.g. in case the price of Coke increases, quantity demanded of Pepsi, a

The Turning Point of Tet 1968 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Turning Point of Tet 1968 - Essay Example Startled at such an unexpected idea, I felt uncomfortable and I began thinking of declining the proposed agreement to appoint me for the post yet seeing that it would be an awkward moment to do so and that the majority are not quite drawn to encourage someone else for it, I gave in. In the process, however, I discovered that the type of work assigned to me allowed flexibility that if I knew how to manage time and energy wisely, I could adjust my level of productivity within a range of efficiencies depending on the work amount, my available relevant skills, as well as my ability to delegate tasks to others. This is the point at which I recognized having the capacity to think strategically. Even with my current non-military organization, knowing that everybody is focused on individual assignments and that my fellow teammates normally maintain a passive attitude in examining my activities, I gain the leverage of controlling my behavior toward workload. By ‘strategic thinking’, I could execute around the essentials of concentrating my efforts on situations that call for my knowledge and capability at the optimum so that the fulfilment I earn would serve as my drive for the next projects. In this manner, I often yield the chance of being able to reserve time and energy on human relations which enable me to address general interests and win the confidence of many to whom I have been able to delegate some jobs. Due to the bond of trust established, it becomes much easier to communicate with people and have them naturally seek grounds for understanding schemes for the committee which I carry out under my own terms. Moreover, I could detect strategic thinking in the course of spontaneously developing the trait of ignoring negative impressions attached with temporary unpleasant acts or intentions. With your own understanding of what cooperation and support you need from others involved, what do you need from others in their roles to accomplish your own work