Struggle and Disillusionment in Hamlet Essays

The Shakespearean tragedy, Hamlet, entertains the title character's split between head and heart, and accordingly, the arduous struggle he must endure in order to reconcile the two. It is a difficult struggle that is generated by the necessity to unite the two internal counterparts of human consciousness, head (logic and reason) and heart (passions and emotions). From the very beginning of the play, Hamlet is split against himself in a state of entrapment, which is spawned by the unbearable situation with his family. Throughout much of the play, Hamlet attempts to rationally think his way through his situation. His emotions, however, are far too strong for him to adhere to reason alone. Accordingly, his

murder in a rash mood. It is not seen by Gertrude. It tries to urge

Hamlet has been praised and revered for centuries as one of William Shakespeare's best known and most popular tragedies. Based on its popularity, critics alike have taken various viewpoints and theories in order to explain Hamlet's actions throughout the play. The psychoanalytic point of view is one of the most famous positions taken on Hamlet.

“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 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.

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Laertes and Hamlet both lose a father by unnatural and sudden death. The unnatural death of the father is brought on by someone close to the son. When Laertes discovers that his father is dead, he is outraged. When Hamlet learns from the ghost of his father’s murder, he weeps, and promises action, though he delivers none. Both Laertes and Hamlet grieve deeply for their fathers, but Laertes acts upon this grief while Hamlet carefully plots his revenge and waits for the perfect moment to avenge King Hamlet. Laertes’ unplanned action causes his death by his own sword, while Hamlet’s apparent inaction finally gets him the revenge that Laertes has attempted. Though Laertes’ grief at his father’s death causes his

The tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare’s most popular and greatest tragedy, presents his genius as a playwright and includes many numbers of themes and literary techniques. In all tragedies, the main character, called a tragic hero, suffers and usually dies at the end. Prince Hamlet is a model example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. Every tragedy must have a tragic hero. A tragic hero must own many good traits, but has a flaw that ultimately leads to his downfall. If not for this tragic flaw, the hero would be able to survive at the end of the play. A tragic hero must have free will and also have the characteristics of being brave and noble. In addition, the audience must feel some sympathy for the tragic hero.

Hamlet, one of Shakespeare’s tragic plays, portrays the story of a young man’s quest to avenge his murdered father and his quest to find his true identity. In his soliloquies, Prince Hamlet reveals to the readers his personal perceptions of the events that take place in his homeland, Denmark, and of which are either indirectly or directly tied to his father’s murder. Many critics and scholars agree that while Hamlet’s soliloquies reveal the search of his identity and true character, his soliloquies universally illustrate man’s search for his true identity.

Shakespeare's dramatic treatment of struggle is clear through Hamlet's inability to take action and carry out his duty to his father. Before avenging his father's death, Hamlet first puts on a play "to hold...the mirror up to nature," in an attempt to reinact the events of his fathers death and "catch the conscience of the king" to ensure that what the ghost has told him is true. While by arranging this play, Hamlet is in a sense taking some action by trying to ascertain the truth, Hamlet reproaches himself in a soliloquy for his lack of decisive action. Shakespeare's use of a soliloquy allows Hamlet to reveal his feelings and innermost thoughts to the audience and he admires one of the players' passion and emotion. Hamlet marvels at the

Shakespeare begins Hamlet's struggle with recognition of Hamlet's sincere grief and anger following his father's untimely death. A taste of the conflict is expressed in the dialogue

In Hamlet's second soliloquy, Act 2, Scene 2, his speech moves through anger, self-condemnation and agonised self-accusation, impassioned fury and mocking self criticism, deep reflection and determination. He continuously points out his faults on how he cannot raise himself to adequate passion to avenge for his father's murder, he comments on how the actor showed grief for his lines, and how he cannot, even though he has great reason to. Hamlet's mood is far beyond normal and has gone into philosophical realms, continuously using metaphors to show his disgust and anguish for himself and his attitudes to the current affairs in the state of his own home.

The internal conflicts prevalent in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet are the reason why the play is viewed as a classic. Conflicts are imperative in tragic plays as conflicts are the stimulus for catastrophe in the end. The characters in Hamlet face inward conflicts that are equally important as their outward conflicts. Three characters who especially exhibit this are Hamlet, Claudius, and Ophelia. The conflicts that these characters face play a major role in their downfalls and, ultimately, their deaths. Through Claudius’ struggle to conceal the murder of King Hamlet, Ophelia’s guilt for Hamlet’s madness, and Hamlet’s inaction due to fear, Shakespeare conveys that each character faces a dilemma, in which there are no simple solutions.

William Shakespeare uses the literary technique of the soliloquy to allow the audience to see deeper into his characters’ thoughts in his play, Hamlet. This technique helps to reveal Hamlet’s true character, expressing emotions that the audience cannot see through his interactions with other characters. Through Hamlet’s soliloquies, one may notice that his reluctance to take actions that involve death can be attributed to his fear of the unknown and his uncertainty in regards to afterlife.

    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.

as these lines relate back to the development of Ophelia’s character, as well as play an important role in the plot of the play, and a major conflict that is portrayed.