In the beginning of William Shakespeare’s introspective play, Hamlet’s first soliloquy finds him as a more melancholic and more desperate character. He faced conflicts involving himself, the people around him, and his environment–how the events that have occurred in his surroundings negatively influenced his character. In Act 1, after enduring an unpleasant encounter at his mother and Claudius’ court, then being asked by his parents not to resume his studies in Wittenberg and rather stay in Denmark, Hamlet starts to have his suicidal thoughts for the very first time. For Hamlet, existence itself is a burden; he desires for his flesh to ‘melt’ and wishes that God had not made ‘self-slaughter’ a sin. Hamlet, then characterizes the world as “weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable.” (1; 5) Claiming that suicidal is the only alternative way out of a painful world but it is however forbidden by his religion. In a quote from the text, “O God! a beast that wants discourse of reason, Would have mourn’d longer,—married with mine uncle, My father’s brother; but no more like my father”, (1; 21-24) Hamlet describes his intense disgust at Gertrude’s decision of marrying Claudius, her vastly inferior former brother-in-law. As matter of fact, this is specifically
The main character of William Shakespeare’s tragedy is actually a confused person that’s stuck between two choices. Some may argue that he feels guilty for his father’s death and so it’s his duty to avenge it. While others may disagree and conclude that he is just a maniac who is both violent and dangerous. Hamlet passes through the lane of hesitancy, where he hesitates to kill King Claudius. As a matter of fact, the main conflict of Hamlet is that he feels both the need to solve the crime and punish the responsible. In addition, he suffers from hesitancy in the correctness of their actions. Throughout the play, Hamlet says, “That I, the son of a dear father murder'd, /Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell.” (2.2.581-587) This
Throughout the play, Hamlet is forced to make difficult decisions; as he is conflicted with almost every decision he makes, his uncertainty and unsophisticated thoughts will eventually lead to his downfall.
After King Hamlets passing, Hamlet entered an unknown state of mind that not only feared others for his wellbeing, but also feared himself. Hamlet no longer wanted to live in this life despair and pain. Another illustration of his indecisiveness is during the play when he had a clear chance to avenge his father by killing Claudius but choose not to do so, because he thought that Claudius was repenting for his
Everyone at some point in their life sets a goal that they wish to accomplish for some reason or another, and in William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the goal of the main character is to avenge the death of his father who was killed by his uncle, Claudius. Furthermore, when achieving these goals, people are willing to go to the extreme to make sure that these goals are completed. In Shakespeare’s play the main character, Hamlet, falsely portrays himself as mentally unstable which adds a crafty element to the storyline because his false derangement allows him to undertake rash decisions without consequence to achieve his ultimate goal.
Many characters show signs of intelligence throughout William Shakespeare’s Hamlet as they conjure plans to achieve their goals. However, Hamlet’s intelligence is far superior to that of all the other characters. He is capable of altering the kingdom’s perception of him to his advantage by adjusting his behaviours. The schemes he devises outsmart everyone and leave him to appear innocent. Most importantly, Hamlet miraculously escapes his own death and instead brings an end to those involved in his execution. His detailed plans and keen mental ability make him the most intelligent character in the entirety of the play.
However, in the eyes of a modern audience, Hamlet would not be considered a coward because of our deeper, more enlightened understanding of the underpinning reasons for his hesitation through our values and beliefs. Hamlet perceives himself as a coward for many reasons however after in-depth analysis, it is concluded that his self-accusation is incorrect.
When you say your going to do something, you better do it. Words may indeed lie, but actions always tell the truth. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet the protagonist Hamlet goes through numerous tragedies that cause him depression. His father dies, and his mother marries his uncle. This stress put on him is what essentially created his tragic flaw. Hamlets tragic flaw is his indecisiveness to make decisions. This trait is demonstrated through the entire play and causes Hamlet to his own demise. When Hamlet has immediate suspicious of his fathers murder and later proof, he delays the murder, which is puzzling because the play is about revenge, and one would expect him to have done it earlier as he had ample amount of opportunities to do so. His indecisiveness has puzzled many. Shakespeare uses the indecisiveness of Hamlet to demonstrate that human life is about acting, not thinking.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet struggles to cope with his late father’s death and his mother’s quick marriage. In Act 1, Scene 2, King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, and Hamlet are all introduced. Hamlet has just finished publicly speaking with his mom and the new king, and after he is interrupted by his good friend Horatio, who reveal the secret about King Hamlet’s ghost. Hamlet’s soliloquy is particularly crucial because it serves as his initial characterization, revealing the causes of his anguish.
Throughout the play Hamlet, it is discovered that Hamlet goes through many ordeals in such a short period of time and these ordeals altered his perspective on life. In the play, we learn what Hamlet’s perspective is, how his perspective is formed, and how it affects the meaning of the play.
Hamlet quotes he is “revengeful, ambitious, with more offences at my beck” (III.i.126-127) when talking to Ophelia. He acknowledges his own ambition for revenge and is even able to admit to to, claiming that King Hamlet’s passing was constantly on his thoughts. His actions and intentions in the play all lead up to one thing: getting revenge on Claudius. Not only did Claudius murder him, he also stole Hamlet’s rightful position as king. Another example is during Hamlet confrontation with the ghost when he says “wings as swift, As meditation or the thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge” (I.iv.35-37). Eagerly, Hamlet describes how he wants the ghost to tell him his story so he can kill King Hamlet’s murderer faster than people fall in love; the ghost is even speaks of how aspiring he is. This helps convey how yearning and anxious Hamlet is for getting revenge; his main goal and the climax of the book is him killing Claudius. Based on Hamlet and his actions throughout the book, his intent and objective is retribution for his
Second, one’s self-consciousness decides whether or not the character is considered “theatrical”. Hamlet’s continuous deliberation for theatricality is part of his tragedy. He thinks of himself as a character of a play and always feels compelled to do something because of the influence the ghost of his father holds upon him. Conclusively, Hamlet’s self-consciousness implies that internal freedom can be attained when the he can separate his intelligence for intensifying his mindfulness from his own precarious passion for pure
The ghost’s appearance has a significant impact on Hamlet’s behaviors and forms his decisions through the play. Hamlet, who is suffering from depression since he is dealing with his father’s death and the hasty marriage of his mother with Claudius, his uncle, became obsessed with the concept of life and death after seeing his father’s ghost. In the first appearance of the ghost, he reveals the truth about the how the king has been murdered, which drives Hamlet to seek revenge, and by revenge killing his uncle. The ghost establishes a dilemma and gives Hamlet time to think about his father’s request. But Hamlet has an uncertainty about the existence of the ghost as he notes “the spirit that I have seen may be the devil, and the devil hath power T ' assume a pleasing shape” (2.2.561–563) here, Hamlet is concerned that the ghost may be the devil and questions the motivation of the ghost for killing Claudius. He has a doubt about what the ghost told him and instead of acting instantly to ravage his father’s murder, he starts to figure out about whether Claudius was guilty or not, as he says “I’ll have grounds more relative than this” (2.2.565) which shows that he is looking for enough evidence to kill Claudius. But Hamlet is a great
Though Hamlet is aware of what things may come under the rule of his uncle, he is slow to action, which some might contribute to his"extreme sensitive nature" (Knight 3); however, deep down Hamlet harbors a need to be completely sure of the facts surrounding his father's death before he can convince himself to take action. Hamlet's own insecurities about whether or not he should take action severely halts his efforts at canceling fate, and it may be argued that his insecurities even made it stronger. On the other hand, it can be argued that Hamlet is simply enacting his free will in the way that he chooses to wait and be sure, rather than to take action against Claudius right away as his father's ghost wants him to. This brings about an internal conflict for Hamlet because outwardly, one is able to see that he is nervous of Denmark's fate, comparing it to "an unweeded garden that grows to seed" (Shakespeare 1.2.135-136) under Claudius' reign. Perhaps if Hamlet did not wait so long to take action, he might have been able to save many lives and rule the kingdom himself, thus changing the country's fate. It can be argued that Hamlet's choice to wait, coming from "the consciousness of
In the words of Hamlet, “I am pigeon-livered and lack gall.” Hamlet (2/2 pg. 44). This statement portrays Hamlet’s continuous struggle to seek revenge on Claudius throughout the play. He knows that revenge is in order, but he doesn’t believe he will be able to carry it out. The true question is will Hamlet ever get his revenge or will he delay until it is too late? Hamlet is presented with several opportunities to pursue his vengeance, but delays each time for multiple reasons in which reveal his true nature.