Hamlet Theme Analysis

The English Play writer, William Shakespeare had written many well-known pieces of work including Hamlet. Hamlet is known to be one of his most popular works. Hamlet was written in the late 16th Century about the Prince of Denmark. The original title of the work was The Tragedy of Hamlet, now it is referred to as just Hamlet. In Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses the mental state of his characters to prove that not all characters in books have to be one dimensional. Shakespeare’s writing shows that humans are complex, and can have different mental states. Characters throughout the story such as, Hamlet, Gertrude, and Ophelia show their not so stable mental state. First we will analyze Hamlet and talk about Ernest Jones’ Psycho-analytic study of Hamlet. Then we will talk about Ophelia and how the events that happened leading up to her death or suicide played a role into her mental state. Finally we will analyze Gertrude, the Queen’s role in Hamlet, and how she is a mentally weak woman and relies on the men in her life.

Laertes plots for vengeance due to Hamlet killing his father and second-handedly killing his sister, Ophelia. Hamlet, who is still a self-absorbed narcissist, is beyond clueless to Laertes intentions for fighting. In the end, Hamlet is cut with the poisonous sword, Laertes is stabbed with the poisonous sword, Gertrude drinks from the poisonous cup, and King Claudius finally gets what he deserves after Hamlet, as he’s dying, stabs him and forces him to drink the poison. Hamlet, who suffered through a road of vengeance, finally kills Claudius at the last possible second. All of Hamlet’s family and friends die because of his inability to be a man of action and a man of thought at the times when they are opportune. His delay of killing Claudius led him to become invested in his own issues and become the domino effect for the death of others. His moral ambiguity is questioned even at the end of the play because he killed Claudius at the last possible second. In Shakespeare’s tragedies, like Hamlet, Hamlet desire for vengeance ultimately corrupts the morals and decisions he makes further affecting the people around him as he is so self-involved. Hamlet’s morals suffer because he never once looked within himself to understand where he went wrong. Hamlet’s moral ambiguity creates this significance to the play by emphasizing the fact that

When Hamlet hears a noise behind a curtain, and stabs at it wildly, assuming it is the man who killed his father, he finds out it is his friend Polonius, the father of Ophelia. After Ophelia learns of her father’s death, she loses touch with reality, and drowns. Once Hamlet decided to take action, he had no control over the actions of his revenge, which consequently led to his girlfriend’s death. Also, Laertes, the son of Polonius, after learning of his father’s murder by Hamlet, concocts a plot of his murder. He poisons a rapier to kill Hamlet, but Hamlet unknowingly uses that same poison against him. Laertes´ desire for revenge against Hamlet led to his own death from his own actions. After being poisoned in his duel with Hamlet, he says “I am justly killed with mine own treachery” (5.2.338). The characters who pursued these acts of vengeance expected satisfaction, but the opposite occurred. Thus, Hamlet, undermines the belief that revenge gives satisfaction and relief to the pursuer, especially because of Shakespeare’s acknowledgement of the drastic consequences. Finally, the play offers the idea that for both parties, revenge can be forgiven, which is more satisfactory than any other

Hamlet is considered to be Shakespeare's most famous play. The play is about Prince Hamlet and his struggles with the new marriage of his mother, Gertrude, and his uncle and now stepfather, King Claudius about only two months after his father’s death. Hamlet has an encounter with his father, Old King Hamlet, in ghost form. His father accuses Claudius of killing him and tells Hamlet to avenge his death. Hamlet is infuriated by this news and then begins his thoughts on what to do to get revenge. Hamlet and Claudius are contrasting characters. They do share similarities, however, their profound differences are what divides them.Hamlet was portrayed as troubled, inactive, and impulsive at times. Hamlet is troubled by many things, but the main source of his problems come from the the death of his father. “Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew, or that the everlasting had not fixed his canon 'gainst self-slaughter” (Act 1, Scene 2). In this scene, Hamlet is contemplating suicide, which is caused by the death of his father and the new marriage of Gertrude and King Claudius. This scene shows the extent of how troubled Hamlet is. Even though Hamlet’s father asked him to avenge his death, Hamlet is very slow to act on this throughout the play. “Now might I do it pat. Now he is a-praying. And now I’ll do ’t. And so he goes to heaven. And so am I revenged.—That would be scanned. A villain kills my father, and, for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven” (Act 3, Scene 3). This scene shows King Claudius praying, while Hamlet is behind him drawing his sword but decides not to kill

“To be, or not to be, that is the question,” (3.1.64). This famous line in William Shakespeare's Hamlet perfectly encapsulates Hamlet’s internal struggle throughout the play. Hamlet tells the story of the young prince of Denmark and his desire for revenge on the uncle, Claudius, who murdered his father. As is the case in many works of literature, Hamlet changes greatly throughout the play. However, because of his attempts to act insane, it can be difficult to precisely map the changes in Hamlet’s character. By carefully investigating his seven soliloquies, where he is alone and has no need to “put on an antic disposition,” one can understand and interpret how Hamlet’s character develops throughout the play.

Hamlet decides to get more information / prove what the ghost was saying before doing

Vows, to the blackest devils! Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! I dare damnation.’ (Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 5). He has no real emotion toward the death of his father, but his actions to avenge his death, immediately would beg to differ that he had none. The difference between he and Hamlet is Laertes’ focus was not the emotional loss of his father, but, rather on his strength and personal pride. He needed to be a man of action, rather than a man of emotions. Hamlet, on the other hand, is sorrowful for his loss and takes time to think about what has taken place before he plots and plans to act out his revenge. Laertes and Hamlet are very protective over Ophelia, however, Hamlet’s affections are more from the heart and Laertes is a protector. In this relationship, Hamlet is seen as the user and Laertes’s is seen as the one who is keeping her safe and away from the one who is seeking to use her, Hamlet. When she dies, the love they both had for her was quite evident, even though they clashed over her, for different reasons: one, a heart admirer and the other as a good friend and big

"But I am very sorry, good Horatio, /That to Laertes I forgot myself; /For, by the image of my cause, I see/The portraiture of his" (V.2). In seeking to revenge, Hamlet accidentally stabs Polonius, the king's advisor, thus killing the father of Laertes. Hamlet acknowledges, with his sense of higher justice and objectivity, that Laertes has a reason for hating him, given that he is also a parricide. There is a sharp, circular irony to this cycle of revenge. Similarly, Ophelia is driven mad by the death of her father and kills herself. Hamlet, while much of his madness is assumed, is also driven to a state of emotional distress. Laertes, Hamlet, and Ophelia all act irrationally in ways that bring about their death because of the extremity of their grief.

Hamlet, unlike Fortinbras and Laertes, did not follow what his advisor told him without questioning why he should take the advice. As time passes, Hamlet still has not acted out the revenge he promised his father. Out of disgust for his irreverence for his father he says, ?why, what an ass am I! This is most brave, that I, the son of a dear father murdered, prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, must like a whore, unpack my heart with words and fall a-cursing like a very drab? (II.ii.594-598). This statement prompts one to believe Hamlet has been convinced by his father?s words to act, but does not want to do so hastily. Hamlet questions the validity of his revenge by devising a plan to provide evidence of King Claudius? guilt. Hamlet took advantage of his position at the local theater by instructing his actors

In this case, Hamlet is obsessed with yet unable to act out his revenge since he is a man of thought and reflection, not of action and impulsiveness. "Revenge, said Francis Bacon in his essay on the subject, is a kind of wild justice, and something in Hamlet is too civilized for stealthy murder," says Northrop Frye (Frye). While he knows it is his duty to avenge his father's murder, Hamlet's desire to fulfill this obligation constantly wavers. In self-pity he cries, "O cursed spite / That ever I was born to set it right!" (1.5. 188-189), and yet in rage he utters, "Now could I drink hot blood / and do such bitter business as the day / Would quake to loot on," (3.2. 397-399). Hamlet hesitates numerous times to fulfill his duty to avenge his father, and in the end he must actually convince himself to kill Claudius. "... I do not know / Why yet I live to say 'This thing's to do', / Sith I have cause, and will, and strength, and means / To do't... / ... / O, from this time forth, / My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!" (4.4. 43-46, 65-66). This unusual flaw leads to Hamlet's inevitable demise, and is the most convincing evidence that Hamlet is, indeed, a tragedy. The protagonist, however, is not the only character in the play that experiences a want for revenge. Shakespeare uses all three of the sons seeking vengeance to reveal the complexity of the human yearning for

The play, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, surrounds the central idea of revenge and betrayal. Revenge drives the characters and determines their actions throughout the play, which results in several instances of betrayal. With revenge, the friendship and loyalty of characters are tested and conflicts are established between characters. Hamlet’s father, the king of Denmark, was helplessly poisoned by his own brother, Claudius. Hamlet, the protagonist, becomes aware of his father’s death and finds himself seeking revenge and starting a cycle of hatred. Hamlet embarks on his journey for revenge by displaying an act of craziness. Throughout the play, there were several moments where Hamlet’s actions caused confusion and made it difficult for

To begin with, in the novel, Hamlet is very devastated following the death of his father. He becomes so depressed that at one point he even decides to kill himself in order to “take arms against a sea of troubles” (Act 3, Scene 1, Line

What is Hamlet about? Maybe a summary of the plot could answer this question but it wouldn’t do it justice. However it’s impossible to narrow down any of William Shakespeare’s work to one theme. The fact is, that all of Shakespeare’s plays are about many things. There are many ways to look at a Shakespearean play, and none are wrong of course, but it is not entirely true to say that one theme is the most important. Some of the more common and dominate themes that can be found in any of Shakespeare’s works are: conflict, appearance and reality, order and disorder, and change.

    Within the Shakespearean tragic drama Hamlet there are a number of themes. Literary critics find it difficult to agree on the ranking of the themes. This essay will present the themes as they are illustrated in the play – and let the reader prioritize them.

In Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, the thoughts of revenge are introduced early in the play. At the end of the first act, Hamlet meets the ghost of his deceased father. He is brought to see him by Horatio and Marcellus, who saw the ghost "yesternight" (Shakespeare 1.2.190). During this exchange of words between the Ghost and Hamlet, the Ghost tells Hamlet, "[s]o art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear." (Shakespeare 1.5.5). He is telling Hamlet to listen closely to what he has to say. Then he tells Hamlet to "[r]evenge his foul and most unnatural murder" (Shakespeare 1.5.23). When Hamlet finds out that it was his Uncle Claudius who murdered his father, Hamlet plots against him to avenge his father's