Fear as a Motivator in Hamlet
One reason that Shakespeare's writing is so brilliant and timeless is that he has a knack for subtly portraying the things that everyone can realize, without needing to have his characters voice them directly. He realizes that fear is the greatest motivator of humankind, and that fear of the unknown has always been prevalent. There is no greater unknown than death, because it is truly the final frontier, from which no one comes back. In Hamlet, he shows the human emotional and moral relationship with death in, for the most part, a manner reflected only through the actions of his characters. The revelation inherent in this writing is that death is the greatest motivator of people, no matter how close to or far from it they seem.In Hamlet, Shakespeare does let his main protagonist directly address the issue of his relationship with death. In the "To be or not to be" soliloquy, Hamlet debates whether or not suicide can be a good decision when life is so filled with pain and suffering that to die seems the easiest, most peaceful option. However, he is kept on the path of life by his fear of what lies beyond the grave - he wonders whether the Christian belief is right, and that by committing suicide he will damn himself to an
Hamlet deals with the same motif less directly as well, following Shakespeare's more traditional, veiled form of revealing ideas. This can be seen through his interactions with the ghost of his father and eventually with Claudius. Hamlet follows his father's ghost against the guards' advice because his father's death is still something of a mystery, and when he learns what truly transpired Hamlet sees his father's death as a serious affront. In response to this death, he feels the need to orchestrate Claudius' as well. When Hamlet spies Claudius in the church, he is worried that if he kills Claudius as he is being absolved, the false king may travel to heaven, which would defeat the purpose of his death. Here Hamlet desires to use death as a form of punishment, in contrast to his later desire to use death as an escape from the misery of his own life. Therefore he decides that he would do well to kill Claudius while he is sinning, such as when he is in bed with Gertrude, to ensure that the death serves its purpose. However, Hamlet's desire to kill Claudius may not stem so much from the use of death as a tool of punishment, sending him off to the great unknown and possibly Hell, as it is simple revenge for Claudius' killing of King Hamlet. Hamlet's apparent policy of an eye for an eye would ensure this path even if he were not as obsessed with death as a form of punishment, release, and whatever else it may be. Shakespeare's use of many intricate layers to showcase his point is telling, because Hamlet is a story ent
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1033
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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