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Examples Of Despair In Hamlet

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Hamlet's Despair in Act 1, Scene 5
After the conversation between Hamlet and the ghostly figure of his father, the king, in Act 1, Scene 2, Hamlet falls into a manic state of despair, attempting to grasp everything his father had told him from beyond the grave. Hamlet states, "Ay, thou poor ghost, whiles memory holds a seat / In this distracted globe" (1.5.96-97). In this metaphorical sentence, the "memory" of hamlets father is replaced by a "poor ghost" Hamlet is unable to see his father as the strong ruler he once was, now his father's memory has been replaced by the knowledge of Claudius the former king's brother murdering him to obtain both his kingdom and Gertrude, Hamlet's mother. Hamlet's father is now forced to "hold a seat in this distracted …show more content…

All that rage is redirected at his mother, Gertrude and his uncle Claudius. In some adaptations of this play, Hamlet takes out his notebook and writes, "That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain-" (1.5.108). Hamlet is referring to reparation back to the beginning of the play when Claudius justifies his actions to the court. By repeating the word "smile" two times, he emphasizes the importance of Claudius bearing a "smile" on his face, masking his true character. At this time, Hamlet only suspected that Claudius had killed the king. At this point in the play, Hamlet discovers that Claudius is only putting on a show and is "a villain" who is only "smiling" to disguise his murderous actions with happiness. This foreshadows the rest of the play when Hamlet makes the sudden decision, fueled by his despair, to perform the same act as Claudius. He takes Claudius's deception and twists it into his own, where Hamlet pretends to go into a manic state of despair to distract the court from the revenge plan that Hamlet is planning to both expose and dispose of Claudius. Hamlet's lines through these passages show the despair he feels by discovering the true nature of his father's death and

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