THe unraveling of Hamlet

A detailed Summary of THe unraveling of Hamlet

Hamlet (c. 1600) is perhaps the most famous of all the tragedies created by William Shakespeare. The main character - Hamlet -- may be the most complex and controversial character any playwright has ever placed onstage. Hamlet's erratic behavior poses a question: is he being rational in his acts and sacrificing himself for the "greater good" or is he simply mad? How and why does Hamlet move from one state of mind to the other? What significance does this have for the play? Throughout the play Hamlet goes through several different stages of life, constantly being in a tortured mental state, caught between love, grief, and vengeance. His different states of mind are the result of his controversial personality and his ability to objectively analyze any situation.

Over the centuries there have been a multitude of different explanations for Hamlet's behavior. One of the views is that Hamlet is simply a victim of circumstances; the other presents him as a beautiful but ineffectual soul who lacked the willpower to avenge his father. Hamlet can also be viewed as something close to a manic-depressive whose melancholy moods, as his failure to take revenge continues, deepened into self-contempt. His disturbing gift of laughing a

Yet again Hamlet is reminded of his own conflicting impulses and of his inability to feel sufficient desire for revenge or sufficient grief over his father's death. Although Hamlet's mind is still possessed by doubts, he suppresses them and makes a first definite decision to act. It becomes clear that Hamlet constantly battles the fear that the idea of revenge is inspired by his own deranged mind, and therefore by carrying it out he would be committing a sin. By the end of the play however, there is no question that the ghost was speaking the truth. Whether its advice was good and heaven-sent, however, is unclear, considering the death and destruction to which its desire for revenge has led.

Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,

t his own grief as well as at the shortcomings of the world in general also contributes to the complexity of his character. His laughter strengthens the plot, by becoming one of the qualities of his mind that enable him to avoid his mission and postpone his revenge. The reader can see that Shakespeare meant to create Hamlet to be such a complicated character. Hamlet is a person of exceptional intelligence and sensitivity, raised to occupy a high station in life and then suddenly confronted with a violent and terrifying situation in which he must take drastic action. He admits that he is not ready for this task: "The time is out of joint. O cursed spite, / That ever I was born to set it right!" (1.5.188-89). At this point Hamlet's mind is torn apart by the controversy of vengeance. It's hardly surprising to find him veering between extremes of behavior, hesitating, demanding proof, and looking for the most appropriate way to carry out his task. The Ghost appears before Hamlet at a very disturbing time in his life -- his father's tragic death and his mother's quick remarriage are more than Hamlet's mind can bear. The reader can easily find justification for this point of view, especially in Hamlet's own soliloquies. Early in the play Hamlet manifests his anger:

A little month, or ere those shoes were old

As he is very potent with such spirits,

In the end of the play Hamlet says: "There is special providence in fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all. Since no man of aught he leaves knows, what is't to leave betimes? Let be" (5.2. 220-5). Hamlet expresses his belief in fate - whatever is meant to be will come sooner or later. Perhaps he feels that he is destined to die, or he might feel confident

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Approximate Word count = 1741
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English