Hamlet Remix

        Actions speak louder than words. Whose to say they both can't take on the same degree of impact. The term performative utterance suggests that there is a division between what is said and what is done. When you read "Hamlet", by William Shakespeare, you find that the way Hamlet speaks constitutes action in itself. He is able to impact the characters and the plot of the play, by his use of words, actions and inability of self expression.

          After Hamlet's father died, Claudius and Gertrude thought Hamlet to be insane and far to overbearing to handle. Hamlet entered a state of melancholy, where he mopped around all day and didn't act like himself. They became very concerned and King Claudius resulted to Hamlet's friends asking, "And can you, by no drift of circumstance, Get from him why he puts on this confusion, Grating so harshly all his days of quiet, With turbulent and dangerous lunacy?" Hamlet's actions caused Claudius to become involved in Hamlet's life and his friends. Then, Hamlet became emotionally compromised when he killed Polonius, due to the fact he thought Polonius was Claudius. When Laertes found out that Hamlet's actions killed his father, he wanted revenge and death. Thus the plot moved forward because Hamlet stated "How now! a rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead!" because Polonius had no right to eavesdrop on him and his mother.

        When Hamlet confessed his love to Ophelia, Polonius became mad and refused her to talk to him. King Claudius suspected Hamlet to either be mad in the head or just mad in love, which caused the plot to thicken. Hamlet's words lead to his actions in many ways throughout the play. The biggest part in the play, is when Hamlet talks to his fathers ghost and his father tells Hamlet to kill Claudius to avenge his death. Hamlet's ending action was killing Claudius, even though he died in the process. When Hamlet was talking to Ophelia about how he loved her, he then started touching her and grabbing her. Hamlet's actions were the results of his words and vice versa. Some might have thought Hamlets was mad and had no right to his action, but they did not truly know what he was keeping sub rosa. Hamlet wasn't one to express himself with words out loud, causing his actions to seem rash and out of the blue.

         Therefore, words and actions go hand in hand with Hamlet and not does one oppress the other. Hamlet's words and actions furthered the plot of the play and changed characters in the process. To understand Hamlets actions, you have to listen to his words, because that's where he makes the most sense. What is apparent to the characters in the play, is only relevant to his actions, since the real truth of Hamlet's ways are in his mind and words.