The Plays The Thing

The project I chose was the poster for the Hamlet performance. I was able to use six symbols within my poster, including the example previously given for Yorick’s Skull. My own original ideas included a pitcher of poison, a crown, a withering rose, the character of Hamlet, and the country of Denmark.

The crown is significant because one of the main reasons the Old King Hamlet died was his brothers desire to have his crown. Also, the crown is important because at the end of the play when all of the royal family had been killed, Fortinbras was given the the empire and thus received the crown of Denmark.

The second symbol I decided upon was a pitcher of poison. The poison is brought up quite often in the play. From the very beginning to the last scenes of the play, poison is used.

The first king was killed with a poison poured into his ear by Claudius. Then, Queen Gertrude is poisoned to death when she drinks from a chalice that was meant for Hamlet. Hamlet and Laertes both die in a sword fight in which the rapier’s tip is poisoned dipped. And of course, what goes around comes around. King Claudius is killed by the same chalice of poison which the Queen died from, at the hand of Hamlet.

My third symbol was that of a withering rose. The rose represents Hamlet and Ophelia’s steadily fading love for each other. As Ophelia’s father makes her stay away from Hamlet, both of their sanities steadily dwindle, until Hamlet becomes quite apart from her even though he is faking it, and Ophelia reaches the brink of insanity, in which she kills herself.

I had Denmark shown in the background behind Hamlet. Denmark was Hamlet’s life and his background. Denmark is also the setting for the play. Hamlet’s fading into Denmark for him and Denmark had become one and the same, even more so with Hamlet being one of the royal family.

The character of Hamlet is also