Question

In Act 1, Scene 2, Hamlet alludes to Hyperion and Niobe. what purpose do these allusions serve?

Answer 1

Answer:

This is an allusion to Hyperion, one of the Titans—a superhuman race in Greek mythology that ruled the world before the Olympian gods. He compares his deceased father to Hyperion, the Greek sun god, and Claudius to a satyr, a Greek mythic combination of man and goat. Satyrs are often associated with lust and promiscuity. Self-deprecation and sense of unworthiness; Hamlet's image suggests that he sees himself as unheroic and incapable of noble action.