Themes,+Motifs,+Symbols+of+Hamlet

Matt Zuber- Hour 3

[|Sparknotes' interpretations of the Themes, Motifs, and Symbols of Hamlet]

This page from the Sparknotes study guide of Hamlet can be very effective to us in developing a better understanding of the text. As we covered in class, Hamlet is one of the most complicated texts in history, for several reasons. What this Sparknotes page does is to clarify three very important matters: theme, motif, and symbols. In Hamlet, Shakespeare forces readers to pose questions about what they are reading. Many of these questions might go without explicit or direct answer. Because of this, it is important that we understand the theme of the play. This is important because understanding the themes can help us analyze and understand the meanings of actions and events throughout the play. We can also relate these interpretations and compare them to themes and ideas that still exist today. In addition to themes, it is helpful that Sparknotes provides us with an explanation of the play’s motifs. When themes can be complicated, drawn out, or hard to understand, motifs can point us towards the underlying ideas. The repetition of motifs helps identify their importance, as explained by Rabinowitz, and connect this importance to the purpose that William Shakespeare kept in mind. Understanding motifs helps us draw conclusions about several ideas in the text. Lastly, interpreting the meaning behind important symbols in the play gives us another direct connection to the several challenging ideas that make up the internal structure of Hamlet.