in Hamlet. Shakespeare leads up to his famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy by showing how Hamlet fears death. Hamlet reveals significance of his character in his words. Hamlet is indecisive with his decisions to kill himself or to not kill himself. In Hamlet’s soliloquy, Shakespeare portrays his thoughts through Hamlets words using imagery. Shakespeare writes, “To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub, For in that sleep of death what dreams may come.” This writing shows how Hamlet wonders
In the play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, there is a continuous interplay between Hamlet’s fears and cautions when he is making decisions. He fears taking the wrong action that could potentially backlash on him. Hamlet shows great apprehension toward taking action in ways that is frowned upon in Elizabethan times. He does not trust his own judgement well enough to avoid over analyzing the situation. Hamlet continually puts off the revenge he is being told to take on his uncle because he is unable
One of the most common fears is that of death. This fear does not often stem from the process itself, but rather the question of what occurs after. Do we begin living another life? Will that life be better or worse than the one we previously led? These questions are filled with uncertainty, and the impossibility of answering them produces distress. In Hamlet, Hamlet struggles with the challenge of answering such questions himself when he laments, “To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there’s the rub
Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet forces its' protagonist to deal with the crossroads. Prince Hamlet has just returned to Denmark to attend his father's funeral after being away in Germany for school. As time goes on, Hamlet begins to suspect that foul play is the cause of his father's death. Hamlet proves to be an excellent example of a hero in a
In this play “Hamlet” written by William Shakespeare, there are many soliloquies that are said by Hamlet to depict various meanings of his thoughts, feelings, and actions that are inside of him. More specifically the soliloquy in Act 3, Scene 1, in lines 57-91 starts off with the famous saying known as “To be, or not to be”. Throughout this soliloquy, Hamlet is asking himself the question of whether it is better to live or not to live. In life, we are faced with many situations where we feel the
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, commonly known simply as Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare (approx. 1599-1602), is a renowned revenge-tragedy play set within the ever decaying state of Denmark. Shakespeare, throughout the entirety of the play, conveys that fear, of one kind or another, acts as a powerful motivator upon each character. Hamlet, in response to the loss of his father, became obsessed with all aspects of death. This obsession causing a deep fear of uncertainty, resulting
Shakespeare's Hamlet Hamlet play a very important role in this play. Basically the whole play revolves around him. In this play Hamlet is faced with the obligation to kill Claudius because Claudius has killed his father. Some people see Hamlet as a tragic hero with a clear and sacred obligation to kill Claudius but since he is scared to kill him and has many other things going on in his life, he is unable to kill Claudius right away. Throughout the entire play Hamlet procrastinates
Hamlet Thematic Essay Death was a very strong theme in the play, Hamlet. It is the ultimate equalizer. It doesn’t matter how you lived your life. You could have been a prince, king, liar, lover, jester, good friend, or a bad friend, but in the end we all end up 6 ft. under the ground. Humans don 't fear death itself, we fear what comes after it and we don’t know what happens in the afterlife. Whether you have faith or not, there’s still fear of what happens after death because nobody
Shakespeare’s play Hamlet presents many themes such as, betrayal, deceit, and revenge to name a few. Events in the play include murder, eavesdropping, and confessions. Questions regarding love, honor, and loyalty are also fused into the storyline. Madness in the form of insanity is also a question throughout the plot. Moral behavior regarding right, immoral behavior regarding wrong, and whether to be a righteous character, or corrupt are also focused on. Two reoccurring elements mentioned are fear and mortality
Importance of Fear in Hamlet Fear plays an important role in Shakespeare's tragic play, Hamlet. Within the play, the main character, Hamlet, attempts to overcome his fear and fulfill his father's revenge. Hamlet's apprehension toward death prevents him from carrying out the murder of Claudius. Although confrontation with death is avoided for as long as possible, Hamlet comes to recognize his weakness, and faces this anxiety. Displaying an 'antic disposition', Hamlet first attempts