http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/body-politic Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:35:27 -0400 Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:35:27 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1048/polysemic-language-democratization-and-the-empowerment-of-the-body-politic-in-shakespeares-hamlet By Hayley E. Tartell - In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince Hamlet’s polysemic language raises the theme of empowerment of the body politic and, ultimately, the notion of democratization. Through an analysis of Hamlet’s speech, particularly in response to King Claudius, this paper suggests that a democratizing percept is intrinsically rooted in this work and further elucidated upon careful consideration of Ranciere’s The Emancipated Spectator. By exploring Ranciere’s notion of active engagement with the “third thing,” this paper highlights the democratic politics that encompass... Mon, 15 Jun 2015 09:29 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1048/polysemic-language-democratization-and-the-empowerment-of-the-body-politic-in-shakespeares-hamlet