Superego In Hamlet

Hamlet doesn’t think it would be just to kill Claudius now because it would be basically sending him “to heaven” which Hamlet does not want. He wants to take what he perceives as the nobler path of catching Claudius in sin and send him to eternal damnation, where Hamlet’s father supposedly roams. To what seems like noble justice to Hamlet leads him to continuously postpone his revenge. Hamlet is not interested in making himself king, rather he is more interested in killing Claudius the, truthfully, unchristian way. Hamlet does not want Claudius to repent and absolve of his sins. Although Hamlet calls Claudius a “villain”, it makes the reader ponder if the executioner of the villain is always the “hero”. So far in the play, Hamlet does not show any characteristics of a traditional hero as he broods and shows temper tantrums. Using his false sense of righteousness, Hamlet waits for the right chance to exact his noble “revenge”.

Palmer 2him. This is just one example of how Hamlet is inactive and is always putting off killing Claudius. Even though Hamlet is inactive when it comes to killing Claudius, he is very impulsive at times. “How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead (stabs his sword through the arras and kills Polonius)” (Act 3, Scene 4). In this scene, Hamlet thinks it is the King behind the tapestry, but instead of looking and finding out who it is for sure, he stabs Polonius. Hamlet acted impulsively in this scene and did not think about what he was doing. Hamlet never figures out how to deal with

When Hamlet is set up and spied on by Claudius and Polonius, he examines the moral aspect of suicide in a painful world. He opens his soliloquy with asking a simple question, "To be, or not to be:that is the question:" (III. i. 58), that is, whether to live or to die. He then begins to question whether it is nobler to suffer life and the, "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," (III. i. 66), or to take ones life and end one's suffering. He compares death to sleep and at first thinks that

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet concerns a young boy, Hamlet, who's father, the king of Denmark, has been killed by his power-thirsty uncle who has now taken over the throne. Hamlet struggles with the idea of revenge throughout the entire play, knowing he must kill his uncle to avenge his father, while simultaneously failing to take action with every opportunity that presents itself. Throughout Hamlet’s soliloquy, “To Be or Not To Be”, Shakespeare avoids personal pronouns, while also using generalized diction and ambiguous, philosophical language in order to further his dismissal of his own situation, showing, rather, his contemplation of life and death as a whole. The beginning of Hamlet’s soliloquy is perhaps the most famous line throughout

This, in turn, exploits Hamlet’s similar flaw of ego and furthers the conflict, but what’s more, it illustrates Claudius’ sheer audacity and lack of repentance. He continues to try to cover up the sin and appease Hamlet into complacency rather than confess and ask for forgiveness. In a mark of pure arrogance, Claudius tells Hamlet to “throw to earth / This unprevailing woe and think of us / As of a father”, conceitedly requesting that Hamlet merely forget the murder and replace his father with the murderer himself (I, ii, 110-112). Similarly, instead of directly confronting Hamlet about his mental condition, the king more or less hires Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on the prince, again cementing his smug mindset. The king does not believe he can be caught or, rather, that Hamlet is competent enough to figure out his plan and foil him. Claudius, too, thinks only of himself after Hamlet’s inadvertent killing of Polonius, pondering “how shall this bloody deed be answered? / It will be laid to us” instead of considering the ramifications of the murder with respect to Hamlet (4.1.17-18). The other two paper-thin traps the king hatches only reinforce his failure to see beyond the apparent; his attempt to deport Hamlet to England and have him killed reeks of treachery and, luckily, Hamlet realizes the king’s subterfuge, crushing the plot and flipping it back on him. Claudius remains steadfast in his efforts to remove Hamlet, going so far as to set up a

Throughout the play, Hamlet is dealing with conflict within himself. When Hamlet finds that he must take revenge on Claudius, he is unsure whether there is any point in having to kill, to take another human life, and whether he would be able to handle this. Hamlet fights inside himself. Is this right? Is this his duty? He considers suicide again, "To be or not to be, that is the question." Hamlet shows his philosophical nature, and talks himself out of the idea of suicide, fearing the unknown beyond. He is thoughtful and intelligent and not first a man of action.

Leading up to the soliloquy, Hamlet wavers between avenging his father’s death or keeping Claudius alive. His final decision is “Rightly to be great; Is not to stir without great argument, But greatly to find quarrel in a straw; When honor’s at stake. How stand I then, That have a father killed, a mother stained, Excitements of my reason and my blood, And let all sleep” (IV.4.104). Ultimately, Hamlet chooses upon the murder of Claudius, but he becomes overly ambitious in wanting to kill the King that Hamlet further leads himself to insanity. From the beginning, Hamlet holds his father dearly in his heart; to diminish his extreme pain of sorrow, he seeks relief through impractical thoughts, actions, and emotions to avenge his father’s death. In killing Claudius, for instance, Hamlet runs through him with

After killing Polonius, Hamlet feel no guilt at all, he acts indifferently. The audience can evidence how appearances and reality come back into play when Queen Gertrude cries out, “O, what a rash and bloody deed is this” (Act 3, scene 4, page 106). Hamlet, responds without repentance, “A bloody deed – almost as bad, good mother, as kill a king, and marry with his brother.” (Act 3, scene 4, page 106). After this statement made by Hamlet, there is a twist in the scene. Instead of the scene being centered towards the death of Polonius, it becomes centered towards Hamlet’s obsession and hatred towards his mother for betraying him and his father by the rapid and opportune marriage to

     When we first meet Hamlet, he is a sad, dark, loathsome figure; the loss of his father and the whoring of his mother have upset him indefinitely. Like a ticking time bomb, Hamlet’s noticeable temper reflects the storm of emotions and thoughts brewing in his head, and then like a catalyst, his meeting with the Ghost of King Hamlet brings his anger to a boil. With revenge in mind, Hamlet plans to fake his madness so that he may be free to pursue his father’s killer. Everyone, except his close friend Horatio, seems convinced that he is mad. Claudius however, fearful that someone will discover his evil deed, has also had his perceptions heightened by his guilt and he experiences chronic paranoia throughout the

To continue, Hamlet’s constant obsession to avenge his father allowed him to become excessively violent, displaying more severe symptoms of a mental illness. These acts of aggression became evident when he killed Polonius. After performing his play, Hamlet desires to speak the truth to the queen. As he attempts to explain, the queen refuses to accept the facts, enraging Hamlet. The slightest noise came from behind him and Hamlet set his anger free. “How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead!” (Ⅲ.4.24). As he believed it was the King, Hamlet drew his sword and pierced it into the unknown, taking Polonius’s life. His anger took over his body, showing acts of violence towards anything that moved. As well, in referencing the king as a ‘rat’ just demonstrates his broken mentality. His aggression has elevated passed normal stages. Furthermore, his violence was present when finally fulfilling his revenge in killing King Claudius. After his mother had been poisoned, Hamlet is enraged, ready to have the King slain. He forcefully makes Claudius drink the poison to have him killed. “Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damnèd Dane,/Drink off this potion. Is thy union here?/Follow my

By understanding that social taboos do not apply to the insane, perhaps Hamlet concludes that the insane are not treated as full human beings due to their mental state. If he reaches that conclusion, then he would have reason to believe that Claudius might let his guard down in front of Hamlet. After all, Claudius does not know that Hamlet is out to kill him, which, added to Claudius' thinking that Hamlet does not have the mental capacity to understand his speech, makes the possibility of Claudius slipping up and admitting his guilt far greater. Greater, that is, than if Hamlet had not acted insanely. For those same reasons, Claudius might let down his guard physically, giving Hamlet an opportunity to strike him dead, thereby avenging his father.

Hamlet poses the question of: “To be, or not to be,” (III.i.58) or in other

During a few of the seven soliloquies, Hamlet insults himself for not speaking out on his beliefs and questions a lot of things about his life. Therefore, showing the indecisive side of him. One key component to Hamlet showing the readers how he is indecisive is when he says, “to be, or not to be? That is the question” (Act 3, Sn. 1,

"To be or not to be—that is the question (Hamlet, III, i, 64)" The previous quotation is the opening line from Hamlet's most famous soliloquy in which he is contemplating suicide as an end to all of his adversities. "Hamlet's world is bleak and cold because almost no one and nothing can be trusted ("Folger Shakespeare Library")." Hamlet allows his words to exhibit his emotions through the soliloquies in the play. While dealing with the sudden loss of his father, Hamlet must now face the reality of his mother's (Gertrude) marriage to his uncle, Claudius, only two months after his father's death. Hamlet learns that Claudius murdered his father to become the king of Denmark. These dilemmas in

By Hamlet’s third soliloquy he still has not taken action to avenge his father’s death and hates everyone around him, including himself. He begins his soliloquy with the famous line “To be, or not to be?” With this line Hamlet is asking whether is it better to be alive or to be dead. In this soliloquy Hamlet contemplates suicide and discusses the trials of life. He wishes not to have to deal with the hardships of life, but realizes that he is not brave enough to take his own life. Not only is he, like most humans, afraid of the unknown, but he is also afraid of committing a sin and damning his soul. At the end of his third soliloquy Hamlet has yet to do as his father’s ghost told him and Hamlet is still angry with himself for being such a coward.