preview

How Does Hamlet Change Throughout The Play

Better Essays

Shakespeare’s tragedies are filled with many commonalities: violent murders, treachery and revenge. However, while Hamlet, Prince of Denmark portrays these same ideas, it effectively fights against the traditional expectations of a Shakespearean tragedy. The play centers on Hamlet’s attempts to avenge his father’s murder, yet his greatest struggles are against himself. Stemming from his constant desire to plot a perfect revenge, Hamlet’s obsessiveness often leads to frustration. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony and lengthy soliloquies to give the reader an omniscient perspective that recognizes that Hamlet must let go of his desire to control the future. In his initial encounter with the ghost of his dead father, Hamlet is cast into the …show more content…

Shakespeare uses this communicatory device throughout the play to develop the reader’s perspective and shape the isolated and frustrated character of Hamlet. With a soliloquy following this initial supernatural encounter, Hamlet shows his true reaction to his task. He decries his murderous uncle Claudius as “villain, villain, smiling, damnèd villain” (Shakespeare 1108) and reminds himself of his promise to keep his word as “I have sworn’t” (Shakespeare 1108). The moment, however, feels slightly empty. By speaking alone as an aside, Hamlet’s emotional moments are essentially only for the audience to see into his mind. They, otherwise, don’t hold much value since they fail to communicate anything to the other characters in the play. After his soliloquy, Hamlet’s tone changes dramatically from his confidence with the ghost. He bemoans to Horatio that “the time is out of joint. “Oh cursèd spite / That ever I was born to set it right!” (Shakespeare 1109). This is not confidence. Hamlet, while supposedly ready and eager for revenge, shows that he does not necessarily want to be the one required to fix this mess. The early encounter between Hamlet and the ghost gives him no choice but to avenge his father, but it also highlights his weaknesses, showing that he is not as confident as he may have thought. Throughout the play, Hamlet encounters numerous external forces that remind him of his unfinished revenge. His reactions –in

Get Access