Essay on Hamlet -- Spirituality

When looking at Hamlet, one could say that William Shakespeare put the play together as a very cathartic tragedy. The emotional result of dealing with so many deaths brings on a plethora of emotions which are not usually felt in a typical play. Hamlet begins not with the normal prosperity and good fortune as do most tragedies, but with a more stifling and depressing sort of mood (Tekany 115). However, something else could be said about this play as well. The play centers on Hamlet and his existential characteristics, such as angst, isolation and his confrontations with nothingness. The exhibition of these characteristics proves Hamlet to be an existential character.

murder in a rash mood. It is not seen by Gertrude. It tries to urge

The tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare brilliantly recounts the tale of feigned and true madness as it delves into themes of betrayal, incest, revenge, moral corruption, and death. The play, set in the kingdom of Denmark, gives an account of how Prince Hamlet seeks exact revenge on his uncle Claudius, for murdering his own brother and Prince Hamlet’s father. After assassinating King Hamlet, Claudius succeeds the throne and becomes joined in holy matrimony to King Hamlet’s widow and Prince Hamlet’s mother, Queen

Hamlet is as much a story of emotional conflict, paranoia, and self-doubt as it is one of revenge and tragedy. The protagonist, Prince Hamlet of Denmark, is instructed by his slain father’s ghost to enact vengeance upon his uncle Claudius, whose treacherous murder of Hamlet’s father gave way to his rise to power. Overcome by anguish and obligation to avenge his father’s death, Hamlet ultimately commits a number of killings throughout the story. However, we are not to view the character Hamlet as a sick individual, but rather one who has been victimized by his own circumstances.

Hamlet sees something that is rotten in his kingdom and he knows it is his moral responsibility to resolve this issues however he finishes off by saying that in actual fact he is powerless “but break my heart, for I must hold my tongue” admitting his weakness. Hamlet begins to grapple with the nature of humanity and morality following the confrontation with the ghost. The appearance of the ghost triggers Hamlet’s existential struggle “All is not well… I doubt some foul play… foul deeds will rise” (Act 1 scene 2) through the use of foreshadowing, Shakespeare exposes the nature of humanity to audiences through the construction of Hamlet’s character. He emphasises that a strong sense of morality can cause conflicts in the decision to make noble choices.

Unlike the mother who questions “Whereon do you look?” (III.4.92) when the ghost appears, Hamlet is the only one who is believed to see the ghost. In such a case, it is suggested that Hamlet cannot even see the ghost himself. However, through his extreme emotion of grief and anger towards the death of his loved one, Hamlet confuses himself into believing his figment of imagination, for the ghost is his primary motivator in avenging his father’s death. Since the ghost is the only connector between Hamlet and his father, Hamlet becomes mentally insane to become close with his deceased dad to the point of actual madness.

In this paper I will be analyzing and discussing how these four soliloquies reflect changes in Hamlet’s mental state; his

Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, begins with the appearance of a ghost, an apparition, possibly a hallucination. Thus, from the beginning, Shakespeare presents the air of uncertainty, of the unnatural, which drives the action of the play and develops in the protagonist as a struggle to clarify what only seems to be absolute and what is actually reality. Hamlet's mind, therefore, becomes the central force of the play, choosing the direction of the conflict by his decisions regarding his revenge and defining the outcome.

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is one of the most famous tragedies William Shakespeare has ever written. Found throughout Shakespeare’s tragedy are many religious references. According to Peter Milward, the author of Shakespeare's Christianity: The Protestant and Catholic Poetics of Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and Hamlet, “From a purely religious point of view, which is more than just biblical, Hamlet is rich in homiletic material of all kinds, reflecting almost every aspect of the religious situation in a deeply religious age” (Milward 9). These pieces of religious literature are crucial to the plot of Hamlet. The religious elements found in this tragedy provide the plot, allusions, and foreshadowing.

    This essay will analyze a very important, non-human character in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet. This is, of course, a reference to the supernatural creature, or Ghost.

    Does the ghost in Shakespeare’s Hamlet conform to the standards for ghosts in the days of the dramatist? This essay will answer this and other questions about the ghost in the drama.

The ghost in Hamlet is the subject of many literary critiques; in my research I came across two articles in particular about this topic that caught my interest. In particular, Zimmerman’s article explores Kristeva theory of abjection. The reaction from a threatening breakdown in meaning caused by the loss of the ability to distinguish between subject/self and object/other. The human corpse is one of the most common causes of this reaction because it reminds the living of their own materiality. Upon reading this I was able to relate it to Hamlet as Zimmerman did, “When the ghost first appears, he comes encased in armor, a "portentous figure," a "fair and warlike form" (1.1.112, 50). What lies behind the armor is of course a corpse: if what makes Hamlet Sr. seem alive is his battle-ready fierceness, then what makes him an "illusion" is the mystery within. "no/thing," an apprehensible outside enclosing and

The ghost made the whole situation for Hamlet seem even that much more unreal. He already wished that all of the recent events he had to deal with were not real. He then has to deal with the reality of this ghost. It seems to influence him terribly and takes a negative toll on his emotions. This occurrence continues to further diversify Hamlet’s feelings and emotions (Snider, 67).

as these lines relate back to the development of Ophelia’s character, as well as play an important role in the plot of the play, and a major conflict that is portrayed.

In Hamlet’s first soliloquy, the readers can infer that hamlet is depressed about his father’s death and his mother remarrying his uncle. Hamlet says, “how weary, stale, fat, and unprofitable, seem to me all the uses of this world” (Act 1, Sn 2. 135-136). This statement is expressing Hamlet’s feelings towards his own life and how there is no meaning. Hamlet also says during his soliloquy, “She married. O most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets. It s not nor it cannot come to good, but break, my heart, for i must hold my tongue” (Act 1, Sn. 2, Ln. 157-160). Hamlet is clearly upset over his mother being remarried quickly after his father passed away. He feels as though as his heart is breaking, it needs to break in silence. He won’t speak up about his feelings, possibly leaving him more depressed about the situation.