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1. Name : Gohil Devangiba A.
M.A. Semester – 1
Roll No. : 16
Paper No. : 1 (The Renaissance
Literature)
Topic : Symbols in the play ‘Hamlet’
Submitted to Department of English

3.  According to Paul March Russell,
“Symbolism is the expression of one object (an emotion, feeling
or intuition) in terms of another (a color, a landscape, a person)
that suggests an analogy between the two.”
 In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Symbolism is used to offer an enhanced
and hidden meaning of certain parts in the text.
The use of symbolism can be see in Shakespeare’s Hamlet through
the use of poison, Ophelia’s flowers, Yorick’s skull, which serves to
show that death is inevitable.

4.  Poison play a crucial role in
the Hamlet.
 Poison is a symbol of
disloyality, curruption,
dishonesty, death and
vengeance.
Poison proves the theme of
death because many of the
characters die from it.
King Hamlet says to hamlet,
“...Upon my secure hour thy
uncle stole with juice of
cursed hebenon in a vial,
And in the porches of my
ears did pour...”
(I.V. 61-63)

6.  In Act 4, Scene 5, Ophelia appears to have gone
mad after the death of her father.
 Ophelia carries many different types of flowers
and begins to give certain flowers to different to
different people.
 she gives the rosemary to Leartes, which is a
symbol of remembrance. she also gives pansies to
Leartes , as they represents a symbol of thoughts.
 she gives fennel and columbines to king Claudius.
fennel represents flattery and columbines
represents having no faith in marriage.
 Ophelia gives daisies to both king Claudius and
queen Gertrude, which represents deceit and lies.
 Lastly, Ophelia give the violets to herself.

8.  Yorick’s skull in Act 5, Scene 1 represents the after life and theme
of death
 Hamlet’ character develops through this symbol.
 Hamlet questions how the Jester Yorick can be in the same place
as Alexander the great when he says,
 “as thus: Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust,
the dust is earth, of earth we make loam, and why of that loam,
where to he was converted, might they not stop a bee-barrel”
(V.I. 209-213)
 Yorick’s skull is a physical symbol of the inevitabity of death.
 Hamlet literally ages in this scene.
 Yorick’s skull reminds Hamlet of Ophelia’s death.
 Ellen Rosenberg says in Death in Hamlet’
“ The human condition, however that is, the idea that all who live
must eventually yields to death encompasses larger questions
than those posed by the quest for vengeance.”