Critical Analysis Of Hamlet

Hamlet, is a tragedy concocted by William Shakespeare around the turn of the 17th century, and it has stood the test of time. How did this tale of Danish aristocracy relate to throngs of readers? What has caused Hamlet to stick around in the lives of English teachers and their students? It has been celebrated for its intriguing plot of revenge, memorable scenes, comprehensive views on life and death, and its focus on a bevy of flawed and engaging characters that readers easily can believe were real. The most captivating character of the story could be argued, is the title character, Hamlet. What gives Hamlet, (and to an extent, also the other characters) more depth than a run-of-the-mill protagonist, is that he is morally gray instead of a

These sentiments are endured by Hamlet in varying forms and times over the course of the story. The introduction of Hamlet lets the reader know that he is experiencing an emerging state of grief over his father’s death, impacting his overall manner, dress and speaking. “To be or not to be”, arguably the most acclaimed soliloquy in literature, deals with the contemplation of suicide, mortality, and duty to do what is right. These topics are weighty and require serious contemplation from a character, reader or theatregoer’s standpoint. Shakespeare’s build up of tension and further introspection, create a long lasting effect on those who read the piece. Hamlet, is a definitive precedent of reflection. The story has two of its main characters seriously contemplate and consider suicide; Ophelia does commit suicide, while Hamlet ponders it multiple times. There is a theme of suicide in some of Shakespeare’s most notable stories. Other than in Hamlet, the title characters of Romeo and Juliet kill themselves at the end of their tragic love story, and in Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is implied to have taken her own life. Shakespeare’s use of suicide or ambiguous suicide in the case of Ophelia and Lady Macbeth, caused exploration and discourse by readers into how the suicides were caused or how they could have been avoided. Deep topics such as suicide always create discussion; in a modern form, the Netflix show ‘13 Reasons Why’, centered on the suicide of a teenage girl created a massive controversy about how it should be portrayed or how an audience may be influenced by the ingestion of the media’s take on it. Use of tragic matters like suicide intentionally or unintentionally create a reaction from a reader or a discussion to form concerning the use of it. For a