Throughout generations, humanity has often questioned life. Why is there human existence in our world? What is humanity’s purpose in this modern world? What is the meaning of life? An example that questions life and death is portrayed in the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s perspective on human nature and Hamlet’s view on life are that life is meaningless without purpose, humanity cannot be trusted, death is inevitable, and one gets what one deserves. Shakespeare believes that without any purpose in existence, life can be worthless. An example that portrays how Shakespearean characters question life and death is illustrated in Hamlet’s soliloquy, To Be Or Not To Be. Hamlet begins his speech by saying; “To be or not to be, …show more content…
An incident that affects Hamlet is when his love, Ophelia, rejects him. In return, He insults Ophelia for being a woman; “Get thee to a nunnery. Why, wouldst thou be a breeder / of sinners.” (3, 1, 121-122) Hamlet believes that all women sin and that they cheat on men. Hamlet tells Ophelia to go to the nunnery, in order to protect her chastity and become more loyal to men. Another person that Hamlet cannot trust is his mother. When she marries her brother-in-law, he expresses his anger to her by stating: “She married – O most wicked speed! To post / With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! / It is not, nor cannot come to good.” (1, 2, 156-158). Hamlet is offended that the queen remarries the deceased king’s brother and does not feel any guilt for it. The reader is aware that the situation will not end up well and someone will be have to be killed for their crimes. Hamlet admits that he is angry with his mother when he confronts her about her actions. He finds it odd that his mother marries her dead husband’s brother and she mourns over the death for such a short period of time. Hamlet questions her nature by …show more content…
In Shakespeare’s original play, Hamlet, the audience learns that when an individual executes an evil crime, they cannot cover their guilt and they must face the reality of the world. It is important for the audience to realize that no living creature on this earth is innocent. Everyone has performed an immoral act and had to deal with the outcome of the
Death is a major theme in Hamlet and through Shakespeare’s astonishing words in his “To be, or not to be,” soliloquy; it is obvious that Hamlet is conveyed as a troubled character. He is unsure about death. “To be, or not to be, that is the question:” (line 1), proves that Hamlet is troubled because the use of a colon is a sign that he is not only answering his own question, but he is
After a long meditation on the nature of being and death, Hamlet catches sight of Ophelia. As she attempts to return some of the remembrances that Hamlet gave when courting her, Hamlet caustically questions Ophelia’s honesty. He denies ever having given Ophelia anything and continues to erratically claim that he loved her once before declaring that he never loved her at all. The problem here is that no one knows the exact intent of Hamlet as he claims to love Ophelia amidst a number of happenings that questions how genuine his love towards Ophelia. Not only does he doubt her honesty because he knew about her plan with Polonius and Claudius to eavesdrop on him, he is unsure of her purity and her love for him and he tells her, “get thee to a nunnery” rather than give birth to sinners ( ). Increasingly agitated, Hamlet condemns marriage itself, saying that no more marriages should be allowed, before exiting the room and leaving Ophelia in shambles. Looking deeper into the behavior that Hamlet demonstrates in this scene, there is completely no love that he shares with Ophelia. In a way, Hamlet seems convinced that Ophelia is the love of her life, but yet he has the behavior of insulting her and not giving her the priority that she needs. His character portrays a man who cannot be connected to his self and this leads him to a number of problems as regards the way he treats Ophelia. It is not just the feelings that Hamlet has towards Ophelia that describes his love for her but his actions say a lot on the feeling that is in the inside. Reaching to an extent that he can
Hamlet knows that she is helping her dad, Polonius, spy on him. He accuses Ophelia, and all women, of being a “breeder of sinners” (Shmoop Editorial Team 1). Hamlet orders Ophelia to a nunnery, but she cannot call him out on it because she is not supposed to know what the word means. This is not the only criticism that Hamlet calls out to Ophelia. He says that if Ophelia is to marry a man, she will turn her husband into a monster because she will cheat on him (Shmoop Editorial Team 1). Hamlet: “If thou dost marry, I’ll give thee this plague for thy dowry: be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, farewell. Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go, and quickly too. Farewell” (3.1.130-134).
To those he loves - his mother Gertrude and his lady Ophelia - Hamlet adopts a different tact; his belief that he must go alone and confide in no one, save his friend Horatio, results in his terrible mistreatment of his mother and Ophelia. Between "speaking daggers" to Gertrude and imparting to Ophelia that she should get "to a nunnery," Hamlet makes miserable the lives of the women who love him.
The true meaning of life is unknown. There are many different ideas on what the meaning of life is. Moreover, In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare there are multiple ways the meaning of life is portrayed in three major characters; Hamlet, Claudius, and Polonius. Hamlet’s meaning of life is shown in a belief in justice, that morphs into a craving for revenge. Claudius’ meaning of life is strictly on power. Without power, one's life is meaningless. Finally, Polonius’ meaning of life is all about reputation. Without a reputation, no one will show respect, nor will anyone want to respect anyone. Unfortunately, all of these perspectives of the meaning of life will lead to the characters in Hamlet to breathe one last breath. Although, the meaning of life differs from Hamlet, Claudius, and Polonius. Polonius has the most practical understanding of the meaning of life in today’s world. Without having a good reputation one will amount to nothing. Polonius’ death was the only death that can not be entirely based on his meaning of life because it was not his reputation that got him killed, it was his love for the King that got him killed.
Hamlet is a suspenseful play that introduces the topic of tragedy. Throughout the play, Hamlet displays anger, uncertainty, and obsession with death. Although Hamlet is unaware of it, these emotions cause the mishaps that occur throughout the play. These emotions combined with his unawareness are the leading basis for the tragic hero’s flaws. These flaws lead Hamlet not to be a bad man, but a regular form of imperfection that comes along with being human.
Hamlet’s existential crisis begins with the death of his father and the remarrying of his mother. At this point, for Hamlet, the questions start pouring in; “to be or not to be” (Hamlet 3.1.57), and so on. From questioning his existence and fighting with himself about the purpose of his life begins to show the beginnings of the existential crisis that is soon to consume him. Also, this
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.
His mother, Gertrude, marries her brother-in-law within a few months of because of her lust and vice behavior, while Hamlet believes that his father deserves more than just a few months of bereavement. The Queen’s actions lead Hamlet into talking to his mother in a demeaning manner, not realizing he is talking to someone in authority to him, but also someone who unconditionally loves him. The Prince explains to the Queen that she had thrown away pure and everlasting love, for lust. Also, he expresses his loss of faith in women and love because his mother had moved past the death of her loving husband so quickly. Furthermore, Hamlet once loved Ophelia, but his past experiences have made him ignorant and have led him to believe that Ophelia is a deceiving person. Claudius and Polonius use Ophelia as bait to find the real reason of Hamlet’s facade of madness but while they are both talking, Hamlet gets suspicious and verbally abuses
Hamlet's surrounding are increasingly affected by his flaw. Hamlet begins to forget all important obligations in his life and neglects his responsibilities, causing other problems. One very important commitment Hamlet has which he lets go is his relationship with Ophelia. Ophelia becomes very confused and hurt. Hamlet hurts her in a couple of ways. First, he neglects her, and second, he insults her. "Ha, ha! Are you honest??Are you fair??That if you be honest and fair, your honesty should admit no discourse to your beauty. ?I loved you not? Get thee to a nunnery." Then Hamlet kills Polonius, Ophelia's father, which in turn makes her go mad and in her madness she commits suicide. Hamlet loses objectivity. He does not respect the King nor his mother's feelings. Hamlet meets with his mother and insults her. He calls her a whore and a sinner for marrying a murderer. Since he knows that the King is a murderer, he attempts
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic play about murder, betrayal, revenge, madness, and moral corruption. It touches upon philosophical ideas such as existentialism and relativism. Prince Hamlet frequently questions the meaning of life and the degrading of morals as he agonizes over his father’s murder, his mother’s incestuous infidelity, and what he should or shouldn’t do about it. At first, he is just depressed; still mourning the loss of his father as his mother marries his uncle. After he learns about the treachery of his uncle and the adultery of his mother, his already negative countenance declines further. He struggles with the task of killing Claudius, feeling burdened about having been asked to find a solution to a situation that was
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
As Hamlet says, ?Frailty thy name is woman?, her actions cause Hamlet to curse women all together. In the first Act, Claudius and Gertrude question Hamlet?s depression. They push Hamlet to accept his father?s death and move on with his life. Hamlet hides his feelings about his mother and the king. He should have admitted his hatred for their marriage. While Hamlet is holding back his feelings, he becomes more angered at their attempts to calm him. Gertrude is also aware of Hamlet?s feelings for Ophelia and uses this as an excuse for Hamlet?s madness. Hamlet has plenty of time to confess the cause of his madness and that?s what he should have done. Instead, Hamlet allows his mother to think he is madly in love rather than tell the truth. After Hamlet delivers his play and sees guilt in his uncle, Gertrude sends for Hamlet. Instead of hurting his mother, he insists on her to tell him the truth. It would have been easier to just go ahead and hurt Gertrude. Also, Hamlet should have acted more swiftly on this, then her confession could have taken place earlier in the play. This could save him from a great deal of pain and leave his thoughts for other problems.
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?”
In the play Hamlet, the two women are shamed by the main protagonist due to his harsh words. Ophelia, the lover of Hamlet, is verbally abused by Hamlet causing her to feel worthless. While Claudius and Polonius are spying on Ophelia and Hamlet, Hamlet says, “Get thee to a nunnery. Why, wouldst thou be a breeder/ of sinners?” (3.1.121-122). Hamlet humiliates Ophelia by calling her unpleasant names and telling her that she should not reproduce because she would only bring evil to the world. Hearing such a comment from her romantic