In the beginning of William Shakespeare’s introspective play, Hamlet’s first soliloquy finds him as a more melancholic and more desperate character. He faced conflicts involving himself, the people around him, and his environment–how the events that have occurred in his surroundings negatively influenced his character. In Act 1, after enduring an unpleasant encounter at his mother and Claudius’ court, then being asked by his parents not to resume his studies in Wittenberg and rather stay in Denmark, Hamlet starts to have his suicidal thoughts for the very first time. For Hamlet, existence itself is a burden; he desires for his flesh to ‘melt’ and wishes that God had not made ‘self-slaughter’ a sin. Hamlet, then characterizes the world as “weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable.” (1; 5) Claiming that suicidal is the only alternative way out of a painful world but it is however forbidden by his religion. In a quote from the text, “O God! a beast that wants discourse of reason, Would have mourn’d longer,—married with mine uncle, My father’s brother; but no more like my father”, (1; 21-24) Hamlet describes his intense disgust at Gertrude’s decision of marrying Claudius, her vastly inferior former brother-in-law. As matter of fact, this is specifically …show more content…
He examines the earth, the air, and the sun, and rejects them as “a sterile promontory” and “a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors.” (4; 4-7) This is an expression of his obsession with the physicality of death. Hamlet uses his angel-like apprehension to determine the worthlessness of man. In fact, to him humankind is merely dust. It is also telling us that Hamlet makes humankind more impressive in “apprehension” (meaning understanding) than in “action.” He himself is more prone to apprehension than action, which is why he refuses to seek revenge on Claudius right away which he could easily
Hamlet sparks an internal philosophical debate on the advantages and disadvantages of existence and whether it is nobler to live miserably or to end one's sorrow with a single stroke. Hamlet is in a state of madness that leads him to question get suicide, comparing it to a peaceful sleep. Through Hamlet's internal struggle with suicide his conscience guides him to live. Hamlet is contemplating suicide because he is going mad over the truth of his father's death, and his mother remarrying so quickly. ” Hamlet is suffering” due to the loss of his dear father “and he wants his anguish and strong passion abundantly evident to the audience”(Source1,Point3).
He depicts his “solid flesh”, urging it to melt and “resolve itself into a dew (129-130). Shakespeare emphasizes his grief - he truly is upset. Hamlet even calls to “the Everlasting”, wishing he had not deemed “self-slaughter” to be a sin (131-132). His cries “O, God! God!”
“The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is a duty of the living to do so for them.” is a quote said by Lois McMaster Bujold. When someone loses their life, they no longer get the opportunity to get revenge. It is up to the living to get the revenge or justice that they feel is fair.
Undoubtedly, the blizzard of death is upon him. Hamlet’s first vision of death is that of a rancorous evil which ripped his father away from him without warning, while his second vision is that of a release, an alluring escape from this “rank and gross” world (Shakespeare 1.2). At the root of this incongruous perspective of Hamlet is hidden the mystery which Hamlet cannot seem to solve—that of religion. Hamlet laments that God has “fix'd His canon 'gainst self-slaughter,” but does not understand why God has done this (Shakespeare 1.2). Through his inaction, Hamlet is following more closely his heart than his head, the wit and sharp reason which in some ways characterizes him.
Hamlet discusses his first suicidal thought, which shows Hamlets degree of depression. In this soliloquy, Hamlet is complaining that he cannot commit suicide and he wishes that his physical state (body) would melt away. During this scene in the play, Hamlet is still grieving his father’s death and controlling his rage towards Gertrude’s incestuous marriage to Claudius, Hamlet wishes to die himself and is having thoughts about suicide due to his melancholy state. Depression is the first symptom of dissociative identity disorder that causes or alters an individual’s personality. Audiences can observe that Hamlet is traumatized from his father’s death, which is causing his mental state to worsen.
The death of his father really weighs Hamlet and it make Hamlet into a spiral of depression in which lead him to contemplate suicide. Basically, death and decay are two words which give an imagery about something that is rotten, become not existing anymore, and smelly. The theme suicides in this play, is symbolize by death and decay in its storyline and most of the action
Once Prince Hamlet of Elsinore learns that his uncle, King Claudius, who has recently wed his mother, killed his father, his emotions become unstable and he becomes disillusioned with the world. He has planned to behave with an ‘antic disposition,’ however, whether his madness is methodic or authentic is uncertain. Hamlet’s frustration with the world is expressed: I have of late, but wherefore I know not, lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of exercises, and, indeed, it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame, the Earth seems to me a sterile promontory; this most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof, fretted with golden fire-why, it appeareth nothing to me but a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors. What piece of work is a
This passage highlights Hamlet's struggle to understand how to act and shows his skepticism towards the authenticity of emotions in others. Hamlet's indecision and contemplation on how to act is further demonstrated in Act 3, Scene 2, when he says "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all" (3.1.83) This passage shows how Hamlet's conscience is preventing him from taking action and how it is making him feel like a coward. He is questioning the morality of taking revenge, and the consequences of his actions.
Hamlet’s intelligence is shown when he does not blindly listen to what the ghost said “Hamlet is aware of the unreliability of otherworldly apparitions and consequently reluctant to heed the ghost’s injunction to perform an action that to him seems objectively evil.” [Foster 2], and instead makes his own plan to see if Claudius is truly guilty of murder because. Hamlet plans to “...have these players / Play something like the murder of my father / Before mine uncle. I’ll observe his looks” [Shakespeare II, ii, 596-598], and see how his uncle reacts to the play , which is like the murder of King Hamlet because “Hamlet believes that he must have greater certitude of Claudius’s guilt if he is to take action.” [Foster 2] he does not rush into anything without analyzing the facts that he has, and checking to see if they are true.
Throughout the play, Hamlet is forced to make difficult decisions; as he is conflicted with almost every decision he makes, his uncertainty and unsophisticated thoughts will eventually lead to his downfall. Man vs. Self is a common theme in Shakespeare’s work, and Hamlet is no exception. The most distinct example of this sophisticated concept is Hamlet himself. When analyzed thoroughly, Hamlet is his greatest obstacle and enemy. The earliest of his internal conflicts is when his mother married his uncle, Claudius, in such a short window of time after his father’s death.
In the beginning of the play Hamlet, the main character, is struggling with events that have taken place in his life. His Father has recently died and his Uncle has now married his Mother. With sorrow and pain, Hamlet tries to understand and unravel the aberrant events that have taken place with his family. The events have amended the way Hamlet views death. After his Father’s death, Hamlet questions the afterlife; whether it offers a “peaceful slumber” or an “everlasting nightmare”.
Hamlet’s perspective causes him to stall and make excuses as to why he should wait to kill Claudius such as waiting till Claudius has sin, in order to ensure that he wouldn’t go to heaven. His perspective on life through his soliloquy “to be or not to be” allows us as readers to interpret to the development of Hamlet’s character. It reveals his inner thoughts and adds more quality to the play. In this soliloquy, Hamlet is contemplating suicide, but is haunted by the unknowns of the
Hamlet’s hesitant nature is well presented in the play. For one, Hamlet cannot bring forth the strength to end his own life; his indecision of whether or not to commit suicide plagues him for more than half the play.
Suicide is a reoccuring theme in Hamlet. Since this is a theme that affects all characters to a certain degree, it is interesting to see how the idea of suicide is treated both morally, religiously and aesthetically. This essay will mostly be based on Hamlet´s own soliloquies, considering their relevance to the theme, but Queen Gertrude´s treatment of Ophelia´s death is also worth a mention. The story of Hamlet takes place in medieval Denmark, but a precise date is not mentioned.
According to International Suicide Statistic, over one million people die by suicide worldwide each year. The global suicide rate is 16 per 100,000 population. On average, one person dies by suicide every 40 seconds somewhere in the world. Global suicide rates have increased 60% in the past 45 years. It seems that the characters found that the simplest and best way of avoiding life struggles is through suicide.