Self-Slaughter in Hamlet's Depiction

In the novel, Hamlet, the main protagonist is Hamlet and he has an aspiration of seeking revenge by killing Claudius for his father’s death. Hamlet was unaware of what lead to his father’s death until his father came to him as a ghost and revealed the truth. His father told him everything about how he was murdered and how he wanted his son to seek revenge. Hearing what happened, Hamlet says, “O villain, villain, smiling, damnèd villain!/My tables!—Meet it is I set it down/That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain./At least I’m sure it may be so in Denmark. (writes)/So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word.”(1.5.107-111). Hamlet agrees to seek revenge and that is his aspiration throughout the novel. During his process of achieving his aspirations, many of Hamlet’s closest friends and family die. At one point, Hamlet kills Polonius, due to a misunderstanding. During a conversation with Gertrude, Hamlet thinks that Claudius is behind him, takes his knife out and says, “How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead... Nay, I know not. Is it the king?”(3.4.21; 27).He thought the

In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet, a studious young man and Prince of Denmark, struggles to face the death of his father and the task to kill his father’s murderer, Claudius. He was once known as a charming, smart young man before his father’s death. However, Hamlet experiences depression and anger at the world, causing him to look outwardly on society but failing to look inwardly on himself. The death of his father and the task for vengeance leads him to question whether or not he should follow through in killing Claudius. He becomes a man of thought rather than a man of action. In addition, the delay of King Claudius’ murder leads the readers to believe that he wishes not to kill him; he

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the titular character struggles to engage in his desired plan of revenge. Hamlet shows throughout the play that he is inconsistent, indecisive, and unsure of himself, as well as his actions. The play focuses on Hamlet’s revenge; however, he continuously fails to happen at opportunistic moments. Throughout the play, Hamlet insists that he intends to avenge his father’s death through the murder of Claudius, but Hamlet fails to act on occasion because of his indecisive personality.

Almost every story involves a conflict between hero and villain. In some stories, there is a plot twist where the hero is also the villain—but in Hamlet, there are no heroes and many villains. In Hamlet, every character has lied, kept secrets or is seeking revenge that leads to a tragic ending at every corner, but what we fail to see is who the true villain is. Looking at the character of Hamlet throughout the play, it is easier to spot his many dishonorable actions than his few honorable ones.

In the play “Hamlet” the first word to describe who Hamlet is would be revenge seeker. Several times throughout the play we see how Hamlet tries to seek revenge on people. An example of this would be on Claudius for the murder of his father. One way he seeks revenge is to make Claudius watch a play on how he killed Old Hamlet, making him suffer through it. “Play something like the murder of my father/Before mine uncle. I’ll observe his looks./I’ll tent him to the quick. If he do blench,/I know my course.”(2.2.574-577).If Claudius starts to look pale or uncomfortable Hamlet knows that the ghost was not lying when he said Claudius killed Old Hamlet. Another way Hamlet tries to seek revenge on Claudius is by killing him while he is praying, asking for forgiveness from the sin he has done. “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.”(3.3.74-76). Hamlet then puts his sword away because he does not think it was a good time to kill Claudius. Another way Hamlet tried to seek revenge was when Hamlet heard someone in his mother's room

Self-preservation is defined as, “a natural or instinctive tendency to act so as to preserve one's own existence” (Merriam-Webster).  One of the recurring themes within Hamlet is the role of self-preservation. All through the play, many of the characters actions are driven by the need to look out for themselves. Shakespeare puts forth the idea that being overly cautious or having no self-preservation can be the cause of demise; this is shown through many of the characters in the play. Hamlet shows no self-preservation at all and shows this throughout the play by making rash decisions that affect the people closest to him negatively. In opposition of Hamlet is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern; who put climbing the social ladder ahead of helping Hamlet. They tried to coerce him to obtain information for the King, this act of betraying inevitably ended in their demise. By means of these characters, Shakespeare displays assorted outcomes of having too much or too little will to survive.

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

Hamlet faces challenges throughout the play that try his inner strengths and test his ability to handle the situation. He is torn between wanting to seek justice, and avenge his father’s death. Hamlet is also caught up in an intricate web of lies and deceit, he is considered mad by most characters when in all actuality it is just playing off of the actions of others to benefit himself. He puts on different acts trying to hide the truth, which makes him seem sincerely mad to the people around him. The truth of the matter is that Hamlet can’t decide whether or not his convictions are accurate. This dilemma ultimately leads to not only the deaths of the main characters, but the downfall of the kingdom.

Hamlets father was king married to Queen Gertrude but Hamlet had to return home to attend his funeral. He was a loving son; mourning, only to figure out his mother (the queen) had already married once more. The Queen’s new husband is King Claudius who is Hamlets uncle and the deceased King’s brother. This betrayal was like none other in Hamlet’s eyes. He knew right anyway from a feeling that Claudius was responsible for King Hamlet’s death. Hamlet even worried and sometimes assumed that his mother was part of the planning or even killing of his father. Returning home immediately became about getting revenge on the people that hurt his family and even in some cases that meant his mother. Hamlet was a smart man and very cunning but in the end it doesn’t work out for anyone.

Throughout the play, Hamlet is constantly pulled away from his goal and kills many of the wrong people. One example is when the Ghost says “This visitation/Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose” (Shakespeare 2.4.122-123). I this scene, after Hamlet kills Polonius the Ghost appears to tell Hamlet that he needs to be reminded of the task at hand, killing Claudius and keeping Gertrude alive. Hamlet kills many of the wrong people instead of Claudius. This includes Polonius, Laertes, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern. During this time Claudius plots against Hamlet.

“O, 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! O God, God, How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world!” (Act 1 Scene 1, Hamlet) Hamlet’s idea of role-playing was truly important to Hamlet in the play, because it was his way of conducing revenge, for his father’s death. Hamlet acted deranging and irrational throughout the whole play, to cover up his capacity of killing Claudius, who was the killer of his father, King Hamlet. Hamlet’s actions of insaneness, led him to committing many mishaps in the play that completely disarranged his objective of obtaining revenge against Claudius. However, due to Hamlet’s exploitation in role-playing in the play, it precipitated him into temporizing and delaying his ability to obtain his revenge, which effected many characters along the way. Characters like Polonius, Ophelia, Laertes, Gertrude, and Claudius suffered dramatically throughout the whole play, because of Hamlet.

Revenge is a dish best served cold, being one of the biggest themes in the play, at its Hamlet’s biggest goal in the play. From the very start Hamlet was out seeking revenge over his father’s death. He wanted to kill Claudius because Claudius killed his father, in an effort to become king himself. Hamlet then becomes obsessed with seeking vengeance, going so far as to fake madness in order to prove that Claudius is truly guilty for his father’s murder…

The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark is William Shakespeare’s most well-known and analyzed work of literature. As the play unfolds, Hamlet has to face the difficult task of seeking revenge against his uncle, Claudius, for the murder of his father, King Hamlet. Hamlet has captured audiences and readers for centuries and has caused much inquiry and debate. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a very psychologically complex character. Throughout the play, Hamlet conveys two different sides; the young, emotional and intelligent prince, who is committed to honesty and loyalty; and his destructive and impulsive side which led to the death of Polonius and nonchalantly sent Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths as