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Why Is Depression Important In Hamlet

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Within the play Hamlet a variety of events occur that could have psychological effects on a person. Hamlet clearly demonstrated signs of depression which could be linked to several events within the play, but can most likely be traced back to one event in particular. Many of the outburst can be due to losing his father while still at a young age. Although Hamlet is not a very young child, he is only entering the adult world. Many of the things he is experiencing, such as depression, manic episodes, and delusions can all be related back to the loss of his father. At times Hamlet is contemplating committing suicide to escape from the pain that he is feeling. Hamlet simply states, “to be, or not to be,” questioning whether he should continue to live or simply kill himself with the use of a dagger (Shakespeare 53). Throughout the play Hamlet expresses many emotions that can be linked back to his father’s death. Losing a parental figure at any point in life can be a very traumatic experience. Coming to the realization that the person whom has raised and taken care of you is no longer alive can have detrimental effects to a person’s physiological …show more content…

However, after about a year many think it is time for that individual to move on. Sadly, when a child loses a parent there can be everlasting damage to a child. The authors of “Differential Vulnerability to Early-Life Parental Death” states that children who lose a parent have long term psychological effects. Many of those who had a parent die from any cause later fell in to hard drugs or major depression. The study also showed that after a parental death a family was much more susceptible to suicide within the family. The major question many people have is, why can one person get over a death very fast but other have it follow them their whole life. The authors explain “the idea that health outcomes following a traumatic experience may

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