Hamlet

A detailed Summary of Hamlet

Renowned for his unparalleled quality and quantity of work, William Shakespeare is not generally recognized as a great philosophical thinker. However it is seen in nearly all of his works that a great thinker is behind the words, which can be better appreciated by modern generations that value not only for his genius but his ability to explore concepts that were not fully examined until centuries after his death. In perhaps his most famous soliloquy taken from Hamlet, Shakespeare addresses not only the existential plight of man but inadvertently reveals the necessity of religion to mankind.

This piece is based on Hamlet's view that existence is a struggle against the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" (line 3). His outlook is marked by the sorrows of life and it is his belief that there is no happiness in mans existence. He is cursed "to grunt and sweat under a weary life"(22). Born into the blight of existence it has become a struggle for him to live daily. He has seen the "oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, [felt] the pangs of despised love, the law's delay [and] the insolence of office" and feels that this are symptoms of an evil world in which he wants no part. He feels condemn

The use of "fortune" is also important in understanding this piece in that fortune carries the connation of fate, which man can never control. In either case he has little influence over his own destiny, death is an absolute end, and life is subject to the will of fate. So in fact Hamlet seems to be mourning for the loss of his free will. The only area of reality that he finds to be an acceptable alternative to live or death is the world that he creates in his dreams, which is ultimately a momentary illusion. This version of consciousness is a sanctuary in his world. It is the only time that the woes of the world can be forgotten and he can still, in some sense live. His rejection of reality is similar to that of any other person that also feels condemned to life, only a momentary escape. Hamlet cannot live in his dreams forever and is thus stuck in a reality where he is unable to find any happiness or conjure any hope for the future.

Shakespeare continues to sculpt the character of Hamlet in this passage and presents his depressing image of our world. Mankind is without hope, as Hamlet believes, unless we can find some meaning that is not an illusion. So we are now to question our own morality and values and try to understand if we feel that we are also trapped in a miserable world that lacks a decisive purpose. In many cases we answer that without faith in an illusion that we are, like Hamlet, condemned to only one life here on earth. But perhaps one can find the meaning in this world alone and strive to create that meaning through existence.

ed to a world that he despises which is very essence of his anguish, the only escape he sees is that o

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1125
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English