i would like to know what kind of imagery is in Hamlet? i know there is the imagery of disease and sickness, and imagery of green/gardens, but i'd like to know about some more imagery. thanx!

Daria

-- daria morgendorfer (happyaleks@hotmail.com), April 27, 2001

Answers

Offhand, I can think of all of the flower references with Ophelia. Also, check out the beginning with the guards and Horatio talking together. The bit about the cock on Christmas Eve and the dawn "in russet mantle clad". Oh - what about when Hamlet is grilling the three of them about the Ghost (pale or red?, a countenance more in sorrow than in anger, etc.). I always liked the bit with Hamlet and Gertrude (like a mildewed ear blasting his wholesome brother, fair mountain leave to feed and batten on this moor), hmmm, what about feeding? ...Like the owner of a foul disease to keep it from divulging, let it feed even on the pith of life ... but to sleep and feed, a beast... you could even tie that in to the "coldly furnished forth for marriage tables " bit.

Good luck.

-- mikken (mikken@neo.rr.com), April 27, 2001.

I learned that there are three types of imagery, military, madness and i can't remember the third.

-- Sam (freak_97@hotmail.com), November 24, 2002.

Animalic perhaps? Beasts, birds, satyrs and stuff, and maybe we can fit pagan gods in there too. Then there's disease as well - cankers and blastings and so on. I guess madness goes with that.

But yay, madness as imagery - this I like! ... thinking ... hmmm ... a metaphor for the natural variety and chaos of humanity, that never fits or obeys theories or rules? All the permutations of existence, and of dealing with it, that are possible?

-- catherine england (catherine_england@hotmail.com), November 28, 2002.