why is hamlet a play that deals with a loss of innocence? please reply asap....thank you

-- Johnny chau (lilxspud@aol.com), January 30, 2000

Answers

Caus Willy used drugs.

-- Bill Spear` (foo@bar.com), April 04, 2001.

I suspect Willy isn't the only one.

-- mikken (mikken@neo.rr.com), April 05, 2001.

It seems to me that from the moment we as audience first meet Hamlet, we are seeing him not as he once was. He was, according to Ophelia and Claudius, the ideal brilliant, charming, intelligent, gifted, thoughtful, courteous, popular Renaissance prince (where are those guys now? :) ) But his upbringing was sheltered and his education idealistic (eg. man is a wonderful creature striving to be like God, nature is wonderful, death is a long way off, women are loyal and honest) . With his father's death and the events which follow, H's bubble of innocence is burst and from all white everything becomes all black and foul for him. He then struggles through the play to (to use a cliche) face up to and accept reality.

-- catherine england (catherineamer@hotmail.com), October 05, 2001.

this play represents innocence because of the character of Ophelia...she is a sweet, innoccent woman who, not by her will, is forced to live a life with men who prey on her innocence. Eventually she can not even think for herself, and is constantly controlled by the men in her life...Polonious, her father...Laertes, her brother, and Hamlet...her lover.

-- nikki (banana_baby10@hotmail.com), December 09, 2002.

What do you mean when you say she's innocent? What tells you she is innocent? How do men prey on her supposed innocence? Why do you think she doesn't think for herself? How do Laertes and Hamlet control her? Do you mean 'lover' in a physical sense: because if so, then her father hasn't controlled her?

-- catherine england (catherine_england@hotmail.com), December 15, 2002.