Hamlet Theme Of Death

Hamlet is strongly held by archetypes that can be revealed throughout the play. Death, itself, is a very strong archetype in the story exploring the social beliefs in that era; superstitions and societies loyalty to religion. Throughout the play, Hamlet experiences his main trifles over the concept of death. Reviewing the murder of his father and the task given to him to kill his uncle, Hamlet becomes fascinated with the idea of existence and afterlife.As a whole, Hamlet is primarily concerned with exploring the individual's relationship with death in which our fear of death comes from the notion that there must be something else, eliminating the fact that we can't ever know for sure if there is. This idea is explored in Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” soliloquy, which questions the righteousness of life over death in moral terms. When Hamlet utters the pained question, “to be, or not to be: that is the question / Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles” (Act 3, Scene 1 59-61) there is little doubt that he is thinking of death. Although he attempts to pose such a question in a rational and logical way, he is still left without an answer of whether the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” can be eliminated since life after death seems so uncertain. All of this mirrors aspects of human nature as man has always questioned the meaning of life and the events that occur after. Theoretically, one will never understand the full nature of our

Hamlet recognizes that suicide is a sin in the eyes of God, so consequently wishes that he could simply cease to exist. In doubting that life is worth all the hardships one must face, Hamlet briefly relishes in the concept of death, equating it to nothing more than a sleep wherein one can be rid of the “heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks” of physical life (III.i.70). Though immediately thereafter Hamlet acknowledges the startling unknown, and the fact that one does not know what comes after death. Hamlet feels a great deal of uncertainty, which surely enhances his overall frustration. Herein lies Hamlet’s reservations in regards to committing suicide: it is a sin, and the afterlife may prove to be more unpleasant than life itself.

In act 3 scene 1 of William Shakespeare “Hamlet” the main protagonist, Hamlet, recites a soliloquy “To be, or not to be.” Throughout his lines Hamlet explains the concept of suicide and why people choose to live long lives instead of ending their suffering. The main point he speaks on is the mystery of one’s afterlife, they never know for sure what happens when they die. For this reason, his speech does a good job highlighting the plays underlying themes of pervasiveness of death, and tragic dilemma, and tragic flaws.

This change occurs during the graveyard scene in Act 5, when Hamlet explores death while conversing with the Gravedigger. Before this scene, Hamlet’s internal struggle was centered not only around how avenging his father’s death would affect his experience in the afterlife, but also about leaving behind the known world of the physical. When Hamlet comes face-to-face with the bones of those from his past in the graveyard scene, this internal conflict is resolved. In this scene, Hamlet observes that death takes everyone, regardless of how one leads their lives. This occurs when Hamlet picks up a skull that the gravedigger has nonchalantly thrown around, only to discover that it belongs to Yorick, a jester who had served King Hamlet and who Hamlet remembers as being “a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy” (5.1.173-4). Even though Yorick devoted his life to making others happy, he died and his corpse rot away, leaving behind only a skull to be desecrated by a gravedigger. Hamlet later talks to Horatio about Alexander and Caesar, two powerful leaders who had all the power in the world. They are, however, “dead and turned to clay, / Might [be stopping] a hole to keep the wind away” (5.1.202-3). Through his experience in the graveyard Hamlet also notices that when someone dies, none of their status or

In the soliloquy “To be, or not to be: that is the question” spoken by Hamlet, he discusses his views on death (III.i.56). In this scene he is contemplating his thoughts on suicide, death, life, and the afterlife as he awaits his meeting with Claudius. He reflects on whether the afterlife will have the same problems as his current life. He also shares his thoughts on death in another scene where he is a graveyard. Hamlet basically says you die and become food for the worms and then you are nothing in these lines “Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returned into dust; the dust is earth; of earth we make loam” (5.i.209-211). He gives so many details on life and death, yet he is the one causing so many of the deaths that occur within the play. If it were not for him seeking revenge for his father’s death then so many of the events that

In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, it’s clear that the title character, Hamlet, has a relationship with death, that relationship is often misunderstood. Some see him merely as an agent of death, and others believe he retains a lust for it throughout the entire play, inspired by the tragedy he’s experienced. While these interpretations are partially true, they don’t hold true throughout the play. Hamlet has a disdain for the world which makes him desire nothing but to fade away in the beginning of the play, but he develops a respect for fate and the unknown aspects of the afterlife. This respect eventually manifests itself in an attitude of indifference towards death.

One of the most common fears is that of death. This fear does not often stem from the process itself, but rather the question of what occurs after. Do we begin living another life? Will that life be better or worse than the one we previously led? These questions are filled with uncertainty, and the impossibility of answering them produces distress. In Hamlet, Hamlet struggles with the challenge of answering such questions himself when he laments, “To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there’s the rub / For in that sleep of death what dreams may come / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, / Must give us pause. There’s the respect / That makes calamity of so long life” (3.1.66-70). Within Shakespeare’s tragedy, the text signifies the fear of the unknown by exploring Hamlet’s uneasy contemplation of life after death.

Hamlet says, “[death is] the undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveller returns” (III, I, 79-80). Hamlet saying no one returns from death is what adds to the elusiveness of it, Fundamentally, Hamlet is saying that nobody avidly takes their own life because nobody knows what comes after death, since nobody has ever returned. Also, since nobody is informed on the experience of the after life, it allows people to make assumptions that it must be terrible since people choose to live through all the pain and suffering they face. These factors combined create a large unknown that is unnerving to Hamlet and make him believe that that is why people continue to live. Suicide may just be too risky of an action and especially for those like Hamlet, who are meticulous and rational, the risk just might not be worth it.

In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the protagonist, Hamlet is obsessed with the idea of death, and during the course of the play he contemplates death from numerous perspectives. He ponders the physical aspects of death, as seen with Yoricks's skull, his father's ghost, as well as the dead bodies in the cemetery. Hamlet also contemplates the spiritual aspects of the afterlife with his various soliloquies. Emotionally Hamlet is attached to death with the passing of his father and his lover Ophelia. Death surrounds Hamlet, and forces him to consider death from various points of view.

In a following speech Hamlet’s disposition towards the world persists, yet his attitude towards death has undergone a transformation. Previously, Hamlet was quick to proclaim his desire to die, but by the third act he’s become uncertain. This hesitation becomes apparent in Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” speech (3.1.56-90). With those opening words, Hamlet debates whether he should exist or not. The fact that this is still a question for him shows that he continues to be displeased with life. Hamlet asks himself, “Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? To die to sleep.” This reveals a new concern that Hamlet has, he doesn’t ask what is best for him to do, but rather what is nobler, which makes it apparent that he’s concerned with maintaining his character. Even though he maintains the desire to escape the world and the experience in it, he still cares about the image that he leaves behind. Subsequently, Hamlet uses war-like diction, comparing life to war with “slings and arrows” which makes life intolerable. This just reaffirms the ideas Hamlet has had throughout the play, however, a shift transpires when he mulls over the idea that death is like being asleep. A problem arises when he realizes that even when you sleep you experience, “To sleep; perchance to dream: Ay, there’s the rub.” This could be easily misinterpreted as Hamlet hoping to dream, but perchance

To die, to sleep--/ To sleep,” (lines 5-10). This portion of the soliloquy expresses that Hamlet views death as something full of pleasure, especially with Shakespeare’s use in the word “consummation,” which means to complete, or sex, thus proving Hamlet’s opposition to life because he welcomes death with a pleasurable imagery. Shakespeare’s use of repetition of “to die, to sleep,” throughout this soliloquy expresses Hamlets want for death. “To say we end/ The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks/ That flesh is heir to,” truly depicts the emphasis that Hamlet has on the finality of death and it shows that he wanted it, but it can also convey confusion in Hamlet since he expresses this finality with this descriptive physical imagery. “For who would bear the whips and scorns of time.” (Line 15.) This is a question to mankind that Hamlet asks, but it also conveys his state of mind perfectly because the imagery articulates the pain and torture Hamlet’s character is dealing with since he views life in that way. The beginning of madness, which is another theme in Hamlet, can be represented with this soliloquy due to these feelings that Shakespeare conveys Hamlet of having towards death.

Likewise, this journal discusses the mystery of death as depicted in the play Hamlet. In the repercussion of his dad 's death, Hamlet gets obsessed with the notion of demise. All through the play, he considers demise from awesome various perspectives. He supposes both the profound result of death, represented in the phantom and the substantial stays of the dead, like the decaying corpses in the cemetery. And since death in the play is the cause as well as the consequence of vengeance, then it is intimately tied to the subject of vengeance and justice.

Throughout ‘Hamlet’ we have the images of death, decay, rottenness, and corruption embedded in the story. The imagery that Shakespeare uses in hamlet relates directly with the plots of the play perfectly. The corruptions images are illuminated in the beginning with Claudius own actions. The characters use metaphors of disease in the connection to sickness and rottenness. Within “Hamlet”, Shakespeare makes a number of references to Denmark 's tainted state due to the deceitfulness that lies within. Shakespeare uses death and decay to exemplify the death of the characters, and the decay of these characters that comes with those deaths, as well as the decay and death of morals and the death and decay that comes of political corruption of the government of Denmark. Denmark is repeatedly defined as a physical body made ill by the moral corruption of Claudius. They don 't know that Claudius isn 't legitimate throughout the play; characters draw clear links between the moral lawfulness of a ruler and the health of the nation. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern state their beliefs that health of a country is tied to the legitimacy of the King. Because death and decay are so prevalent throughout Hamlet, it could be said that Shakespeare intended for them to be a major theme.

“Death, the one appointment we all must keep, and for which no time is set” (Charlie Chan). Although many believe it to be ominous, death, signifies an end to this earthly and material life; the life of which we are sure of. Plato’s Phaedo and Shakespeare’s play Hamlet offer different perspectives on the life we are unsure of, namely death or the afterlife. Through the characters of Socrates and Hamlet, readers are offered two contrasting outlooks on death. On one side, Hamlet is haunted by the fear of the unknown, and leads his morality astray. Inversely, Socrates portrays a man who is relieved by the prospect of death. Both Hamlet and Socrates demonstrate inherent differences in their internal characteristics, but most notable difference is the characters’ contrasting outlooks on the meaning of life and death. Socrates, considered the leader of philosophy, WANTS to die, because only in the afterlife will he be able to see the truth without the distractions of his body. Hamlet, on the other hand, fears what will happen in the afterlife. He would like to escape his life, which at the moment is nothing short of depressing, but he worries that the afterlife might prove to be a bad dream, even worse than his life at this moment.

Death is a natural ending of one’s life journey. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, this theme is explored throughout the story, where the main character is a deeply troubled one and where the plot draws the audience into Hamlet’s speculations on death on multiple occasions. The question of mortality and existence is one that humanity has struggled with since the dawn of civilization, possibly even before; and it is this question that Hamlet is attempting to come to terms with following the passing of his father, King Hamlet. Shakespeare, using his unique literary style and theatrical story-telling, is not necessarily providing the readers with any answers but is rather taking everyone on the journey that every human travels when asking the question, “What is Death?”