Themes in Hamlet

To Theme or Not to Theme
(An analysis of the main themes portrayed in the first three of Hamlet’s soliloquies in Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet) “The tragedy of this play, then, lies in the ways that we are sometimes asked to assume roles that will destroy us as moral beings” (Crocker). In Shakespeare’s famous play, Hamlet, the character Hamlet is a very conflicted individual who is forced to deal with many hardships at a very young age. The death of his father and the remarriage of his mother to his uncle is a bases for Hamlet’s desire to get revenge. He thinks that his mother has betrayed him by marrying Claudius so soon and is even more enraged upon discovering his uncle killed his father. Often, Hamlet will stop and give a long soliloquy in the acts and these are essential to understanding the basic themes that are portrayed within this text. One of the most obvious themes within this play is the theme of suicide or death. Various characters die throughout the course of this play and while Hamlet often debates on self slaughter, Ophelia actually follows through with the act. In each of the first three acts of Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, three main messages are presented within each of Hamlet’s speeches.
In the first act soliloquy of the play, Hamlet, the idea of the garden or theodicy theme is presented. The idea is simply that if the world is described as being a garden, then god would tend it and beautiful things will grow. However, Hamlet says that the world is not a