Loss In Hamlet

Losing a loved one can take a harsh hit on one’s frame of mind. In the Shakespearian play Hamlet, the death of Hamlets father caused many problems, all of which eventually lead up to the tragic death of Hamlet. Each event that happens in the play is impacted by reason, fate and emotion. The events throughout the play that lead to hamlets downfall are determined by the roles of reason, fate and emotion. These three roles are key factors of the play.

Troubled by his father's death, Hamlet, prince of Denmark wants revenge. He is motivated to kill, with his friend Horatio by his side he has the confidence and courage to overcome any obstacles he faces. Hamlet's circumstances cause him to go insane, leading to the deaths of Polonius, Laertes, Claudius; also he indirectly causes the deaths of his girlfriend, Ophelia; his mother, Gertrude;and the messengers, Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern. Amidst all this chaos and death, he is also responsible for the fall of Denmark. Hamlet's motivations, madness, depression and mental state contribute to his demise.

“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play them” (Pausch, Randy). In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Shakespeare connects the character’s tragic deaths with their personal lives. From the first act, we are propelled into Hamlet’s world, where a great deal of misfortunate events have occurred. Ophelia has always been under pressure by her father, Polonius, and her lover Hamlet which was the result of her death. Polonius lived his life as Claudius’ spy and to do his dirty work for him, Polonius’ behaviour happened to be his reason for his death. Claudius’ performance of acting innocent, happened to be a manipulation which resulted to his brother’s tragic death. By examining William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Shakespeare associates Ophelia, Polonius and Claudius’ ironic day-to-day events as a connectivity to their deaths.

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark has been performed thousands of times since it was “written in 1599–1601 and published in a quarto edition in 1603” (Britannica.com). It’s popularity stems from its themes that translate across time. These themes, are seen to be relatable even to this day with the ever growing audience. Readers and viewers are able to find similarities between the current state and or even relate to one of the characters or events taking place over the course of Shakespeare’s five act masterpiece. Shakespeare's, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark remains a viable text for contemporary readers in that it functions as a mirror.

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.

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness ‘’, a quote by Martin Luther King. This quote relates to one of the principal themes in Hamlet. As a synonym for selfishness, greed also ties in to the theme of the play. The egocentricity of the character Claudius and his brother King Hamlet had a very large impact on several lives. He is the perfect example of ‘’one must do whatever it takes ‘’.

"’Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, / nor customary suits of solemn black / [ . . . ] but I have that within which passeth show; / these but the trappings and the suits of woe” (Shakespeare 1.2.76-73, 85-86) says Hamlet when confronted about his way of grieving over his father’s recent death. Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is a remarkable tale that is centered on the idea of death and grief. While death is a universal occurrence, meaning every person will deal with it, how we grieve after a loss is completely individual. To look at a formula of grief, most turn to the five stages of grief developed by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, a psychiatrist, who studied the topic in her book On Death and Dying. This model consists of denial, anger,

Everyone is going to lose someone they love at some point in life. It is simply the way life works, and how each individual handles the loss can change everything. If a person doesn’t handle the loss well it can ruin everything, tearing their life apart. On the opposite end of that a death could just be a small set back in life before moving forward. The grief is too much for some to bear; they go mad, unable to operate without this person in their life.

These restrictions could be seen when Hamlet hastily murdered Polonius in Act III, due to the fear that it might be King Claudius spying after him. Hamlet, after his erratic behavior, even realized his own action, saying, "I do repent, but heaven hath pleased it so to punish me and this with me that I must be their scourge and minister. I must be cruel only to be kind" (Shakespeare 308). Hamlet knows that he regrets killing Polonius, but due to the conflicting circumstances, he really had no choice in this scenario. His desire for revenge has hazed his morality, preventing him to think rationally.

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the need to protect one’s own interests becomes the one “fatal flaw” which leads to the obliviousness of the inadvertent effect of their actions. In this, the duality of human nature is illustrated; in an attempt to uphold his own morals, Hamlet becomes blind to the excess violence that he causes in doing so and therefore is portrayed as a hero and a villain. In the endeavour to revenge his father’s murder, Hamlet finds himself stranded between the morality of revenge and the immorality of violence. This idea is immediately apparent in the scene where Hamlet is about to kill Claudius: “A villain kills my father, and, for that,/ I, his sole son, do this same villain send/ To heaven” (Act 3.

Realization of unjust scenarios makes people change the normal thinking and handling of issues. Hamlet, being a student, without manpower and resources seeks to revenge his father’s death. He upholds his self-respect by not panicking at the knowledge of his father’s murderer. Handling king Claudius needs careful plotting and planning. He knows him as a corrupt leader who is into oppressing the people of Denmark.

Hamlet, a classic tragic poem written by the inspirational and influential William Shakespeare, tells the tale of a Danish prince thirsting for revenge against the man who killed his father. During the play, the titular character undergoes multiple trials, primarily due to his quest for vengeance. The play highlights a number of themes, including mortality, religion, family, and deceit. By the end of the work, the question remains on whether or not Hamlet truly accomplished his task, since many people, some innocent, were killed in the process. The main reason Hamlet was not able to carry out his goal was due to his three fatal flaws.

Shakespeare’s great tragedy Hamlet is categorized as a tragedy for many reasons, the first being Hamlet’s identity based on his family and himself.  Hamlet’s life is set for a tragedy from the beginning of the play where it is displayed that he is an orphan and he does not have parental figures to support him.   The following quote displays the height at which Hamlet grieves the loss of his father.  “Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, that can denote me truly. These indeed 'seem,' 

The theatrical representation of Hamlet is one of mystery, action, character development, but most importantly, tragedy. A considerable amount of people hold a common belief that the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare is a tragedy, due to the fact that all the main characters perish at the end of the play. An individual might take this stance on this argument upon first hearing. However, the reality of the situation is that there are numerous parts of the play that show that this statement is not only incorrect, but an oversimplified version of the bigger truth. Further investigation into this topic will reveal that, in fact, the decisions the characters make throughout the duration of the play is where the true tragedy builds up.

The death of King Hamlet effected many individuals lives to the point where great changes were made. Especially in regards to his son, Hamlet, who took the death – murder- of his father personally in both mental and emotional ways. By doing so, Hamlet portrays and experiences the death and loss of his father by acting out in manners in which magnify his isolation and alienated actions. These would include excluding and distancing himself, turning on those closest, and taking on measures one would never do so when thinking rationally or clearly.