Who said a dream itself is but a shadow

I can control my dreams. Really…any one can learn. Feel free to have a crack at interpreting my dreams or sharing yours with me. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email.

Notify me of new posts via email. Skip to content Menu About Me Contact. Title Quote: Hamlet. Act II. Scene II. Share this: Twitter Facebook. Like this: Like Loading Next Post Et tu, Brute? Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:. Email required Address never made public. Name required. Which dreams, indeed, are ambition; for the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.

Shall we to the court? Nothing is either good or bad until we ascribe meaning to it: we are all the product of the social and family environment we were brought up in, and though born a blank slate, we are quickly given definition of the world we inhabit. How is definition and influence given? Consensus; the herd instinct, which is so strong in human behaviour — the need to belong. Authority; taking note and giving respect to those we think have the gravitas of power and influence over our lives.

Consistency; showing each other that we can be relied upon to maintain a consistent manner and attitude. Shakespeare knew that good and evil, indeed, any given social norm, is relative; simply based upon inventions of the human mind, and like any mind, they could be changed or inverted. The way people think influences their perceptions: all actions have consequences, but they derive from thought, even if on a primeval level locked and loaded into our reptilian brain stem.

By feigning insanity, he manipulates others into divulging more information than they would otherwise have given.

Shakespeare is such a devilishly clever and perceptive old cove: the whole of human psychology is laid before us in his writings; the deepest and darkest infernal workings of human psychosis is presented in Hamlet as a ravishing entertainment of the senses. Like Like. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. This aspect of dreams is a central theme in Hamlet , and informs our understanding of the theme of ignorance which pervades the play. Hamlet demonstrates the uncertainty of dreams in the famous soliloquy in Act III. He thus creates a strong connection between the theme of ignorance and the image of the dream, which symbolizes the uncertainties of death.

Thus, the ignorance and fear of death which Hamlet equates to a dream prevents us from acting with resolution when it matters most.

This effect of dream has strong implications for the psychology as well as the plot of Hamlet.