Hamlet's feeling of despair towards his life and to the world develops as the play moves on. In Hamlet's first soliloquy he reveals that his despair has driven him to thoughts of suicide; "How weary (horrible) ... His law 'gainst self slaughter." Likewise, when Hamlet talks to his friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Act 2, scene 2, Hamlet wishes they tell the King and Queen that he has "lost all mirth," in this world so "foul and pestilent." In his "To be or not to be" soliloquy, he expresses his despair through thoughts of suicide, suggesting that suicide is an easy way to end life's conflicts. But luckily he concludes that the fear of an unknown afterlife is what keeps us living. All of Hamlet's thoughts of despair can be understood when one looks at the horrible conflicts Hamlet goes through.

Sorrow, perhaps the most evident emotion, is very well developed throu

ghout the play. Initially, the only cause of Hamlet's sorrow is his father's death. However, after reading Act 1, scene 2, we see in Hamlet's asides that another source of his melancholy is his mother's hasty marriage to Claudius, the new king of Denmark. Further, when Queen Gertrude asks her son why his father's death "seems" so important, he replies, "Seems, madam? Nay it is. I know not 'seems'." In addition, Shakespeare reveals another source of sadness; now Hamlet is alone, with the most loved character in his life, Ophelia, rejecting him. This cause is well brought out in Hamlet's soliloquy in which he states; "Now I am alone. O, what a rouge and peasant slave am I!" Finally, when Hamlet discovers that Ophelia had died, new reasons for Hamlet's extreme feelings of sorrow are added. In fact, his sorrow is so great that "Forty thousand brothers/Could not (with all their quantity and love) Make up my sum." Thus, Hamlet's well developed sadness, is reasonable throughout the play. Unfortunately, Hamlet's thoughts of mourning are replaced by those of anger.

Hamlet is self-conscious, while the majority of characters that surround him are not. This explains why he feels inhibited to act. Hamlet resembles a real person more than any discussion, and why the play remains so popular. Hamlet is one of the most interesting characters in English fiction because we can identify with him, and understand, although not always agree with his actions.

Most of the other characters would probably have acted much quicker than Hamlet if they were in his position. Imagine Polonius in the situation Hamlet found himself in. He would n

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1108
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)