1. Themes

2. Misogyny- dislike/ distrust of women Mortality Revenge Certainty THEMES OF HAMLET

3. Hamlet becomes extremely cynical, even neurotic, about women Shattered by his mother's repugnant decision to marry Claudius so soon after her husband's death he perceives to be a connection between female sexuality and moral corruption. MISOGYNY- DISLIKE/ DISTRUST OF WOMEN “Frailty, thy name is women” “Get thee to a nunnery”

4. Hamlet is obsessed with the idea of death Symbols of death; the ghost and Yorick's skull The question of his own death plagues Hamlet as well, as he repeatedly contemplates whether or not suicide is a morally legitimate action MORTALITY

5. In his famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy, Hamlet philosophically concludes that no one would choose to endure the pain of life if he or she were not afraid of what will come after death, and that it is this fear which causes complex moral considerations to interfere with the capacity for action. “TO BE OR NOT TO BE”

6. Since death is both the cause and the consequence of revenge, it is intimately tied to the theme of revenge and justice Claudius's murder of King Hamlet initiates Hamlet's quest for revenge, and Claudius's death is the end of that quest REVENGE

7. In his famous short story “The Cask of Amontillado” Poe’s main character, Montressor, claims that in order to get “real” revenge, one must fulfill 3 criteria. One must make oneself known as an avenger on the revengee. One must punish and get away with it. One must NEVER feel guilty about what they have done to get revenge. Only then has one TRULY gotten revenge. EDGAR ALLEN POE’S DEFINITION OF REAL REVENGE

8. Is the ghost what it appears to be, or is it really a misleading fiend? How can we know for certain the facts about a crime that has no witnesses? Can we trust our own judgements CERTAINTY