M.K.BHAVNAGAR UNIVERSITYDEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

Name : Gohil Devangiba A.M.A. Semester – 1

Roll No. : 16Paper No. : 1 (The Renaissance

Literature)Topic : Symbols in the play ‘Hamlet’Submitted to Department of English

INTRODUCTION According to Paul March Russell, “Symbolism is the expression of one object (an emotion, feeling or intuition) in terms of another (a color, a landscape, a person) that suggests an analogy between the two.” In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Symbolism is used to offer an enhanced and hidden meaning of certain parts in the text.The use of symbolism can be see in Shakespeare’s Hamlet through the use of poison, Ophelia’s flowers, Yorick’s skull, which serves to show that death is inevitable.

POISON Poison play a crucial role in the Hamlet. Poison is a symbol of disloyality, curruption, dishonesty, death and vengeance.Poison proves the theme of death because many of the characters die from it.King Hamlet says to hamlet, “...Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole with juice of cursed hebenon in a vial, And in the porches of my ears did pour...” (I.V. 61-63)

OPHELIA’S FLOWERS

In Act 4, Scene 5, Ophelia appears to have gone mad after the death of her father.

Ophelia carries many different types of flowers and begins to give certain flowers to different to different people.

she gives the rosemary to Leartes, which is a symbol of remembrance. she also gives pansies to Leartes , as they represents a symbol of thoughts.

she gives fennel and columbines to king Claudius. fennel represents flattery and columbines represents having no faith in marriage.

Ophelia gives daisies to both king Claudius and queen Gertrude, which represents deceit and lies.

Lastly, Ophelia give the violets to herself.

YORICK’S SKULL

Yorick’s skull in Act 5, Scene 1 represents the after life and theme of death

Hamlet’ character develops through this symbol. Hamlet questions how the Jester Yorick can be in the same place

as Alexander the great when he says, “as thus: Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust,

the dust is earth, of earth we make loam, and why of that loam, where to he was converted, might they not stop a bee-barrel”

(V.I. 209-213) Yorick’s skull is a physical symbol of the inevitabity of death. Hamlet literally ages in this scene. Yorick’s skull reminds Hamlet of Ophelia’s death. Ellen Rosenberg says in Death in Hamlet’ “ The human condition, however that is, the idea that all who live must eventually yields to death encompasses larger questions than those posed by the quest for vengeance.”